CHANGING PLACES
Chapter 2
As Cherie walked back toward campus, her mind was spinning. She did not want to disappoint Wendy or to forget any of Wendy’s instructions. She really did not have to worry, Wendy had carefully implanted her instructions in Cherie’s subconscious along with the desire to participate in her scheme to change places. Just thinking about the opportunity to help Wendy excited Cherie. She had never really considered herself a lesbian, but the kiss from Wendy was incredibly hot and made her determined to do as Wendy instructed. For her part, Wendy was excited as well, but for completely different reasons. Since coming to the Female Institute, she had longed for her freedom. The Institute was decidedly better than prison, but it still deprived her of liberty and the ability to exploit others. She had been able to manipulate some of the staff to make her life easier, but had never been able to leave. Although she did find Cherie to be cute, she was not about to risk her plan by becoming personally involved with anyone. To Wendy, Cherie was little more than a unexpectedly lucky key to her freedom. It was regrettable that a perfectly healthy young woman like Cherie might spend her foreseeable future at the Institute, but that was life.
Wendy returned to her room knowing that she would spending the next evening beyond the confines of the Institute. When Cherie returned to her room, she knew exactly what needed to be done. She pulled out and folded a pair of jeans, a polo shirt, bra and panties and a pair of sandals for Wendy to change into. She also went to the ATM and withdrew $500 to give Wendy sufficient funds to visit her sister and for food and transportation. Funny, she did not recall where Wendy said her sister was hospitalized, but that was unimportant. The important thing was that Wendy would get to see and support her sister. Any inconvenience to Cherie was a small price to pay to help her friend. She carefully set her alarm to that she could meet Wendy as scheduled. Each time she thought of Wendy, her pussy got wetter. She finally drifted off to sleep.
Cherie’s phone buzzed at 7:15am. She had been sleeping soundly. Wendy was already up and was eating what the Institute called “Breakfast,” which consisted of some oatmeal mush, a ripe banana and a piece of toast. She was not going to miss the food in this place. Cherie showered quickly and dried her hair. Normally, she would put on makeup, but something in her head told her that was not necessary this morning, so she skipped it. She slipped into a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She made sure that she had the bag of clothing for Wendy, the money, her keys and student ID card and driver’s license. She had told her landlady that she would be leaving for a trip and that her friend might stop by the apartment. The old woman nodded nonchalantly. The only thing she worried about was getting the rent and Cherie was paid up for the next three months. The morning was cool as Cherie made her way toward her meeting with Wendy. Wendy had gotten permission to take an early walk around the grounds and few of the other patients were out that early. Both women converged at the fence. The time was 7:59am.
Wendy smiled. “Hi sweetie.” Cherie loved when Wendy called her that. It just reinforced her desire to help Wendy.
“Hi yourself. I brought everything you asked for.”
“You’re such a good girl. I brought you a book with some poetry in it.” When Cherie heard the trigger, her eyes closed and she dropped down. She was floating on a sea of peace. “Deeper. Deeper,” Wendy whispered. “Mind so open for me, so empty.” Cherie’s arms and legs were limp and loose. Awaiting her instructions from her mistress. “Cherie, listen to me carefully. When I wake you, you will remove your clothes and change into the clothes I have for you. I will remove my patient bracelet and put it on your arm. That will identify you as Wendy Perkins. You must wear your bracelet at all times. If you remove the bracelet, you will be punished. You will also listen to and obey each an every instruction you receive from the staff at the Institute, especially from Dr. Jennings. They know what is best for you. By pretending to be me, you will help me support my sister, which is very important to me, but also very important to you. Do you understand my instructions?”
“Yes, I understand and will obey.” Cherie said vacantly.
“Good girl. When you obey me, you feel incredible pleasure.”
“Yes, incredible pleasure.”
“Good, now waking on the count of 5, ready to do as instructed. 1-2-3-4 and 5.” Cherie’s eyes fluttered open. She began to remove her clothes. Wendy did the same and handed them to Cherie. Cherie slipped into the white gown, which felt really comfortable. She then sat and slipped on the white crew socks and sneakers. Finally, Wendy removed her patient bracelet by picking the locking mechanism. Normally, the bracelets were locked in place unless removed by a member of the Institute staff. She then locked it around Cherie’s right wrist. The lock clicked firmly into place. The bracelet read “Perkins, Wendy. Patient No. 16231. Code Blue.” The opposite side of the bracelet read “Patients wearing this bracelet should be considered severely mentally disturbed. Do not interact with them for any reason.” Wendy slipped into the underwear, jeans and shirt that Cherie brought. It felt good to be in street clothes. The sandals fit her perfectly. For all the world, the casual observer would have sworn the two were sisters. “How does your uniform feel?”
“It feels really comfortable,” Cherie said.
“I’m glad. I think you will enjoy wearing it.” Wendy lifted the chair link fence that had come detached from the post and the two women changed places. Cherie was now the patient and Wendy the student. Wendy took Cherie’s phone, the cash, a credit card, student ID, driver’s license along with the t-shirt and shorts Cherie had come in. It was now 8:15am. “In a few minutes, you will hear a tone from the speaker. That tone means that it is time for you to return to your room in the Institute. You can follow the other patients in. Your are assigned to Room 231. Your nurse is Cindy. She will take care of you because she is under my control. You should enter the room, remove your sneakers and lay down on the bed. The staff will be doing their morning rounds. Just play along and do as you are told. Do you understand sweetie?”
“Yes, I understand and will obey.” Wendy smiled. This was almost too easy.
“We will plan on meeting back here at 8:00am in two days.” Cherie nodded. As Wendy had predicted, a few minutes later, there was a tone over the loud speaker followed by ‘Morning Exercise Period is Over. All Patients Return to Their Rooms.” Wendy kissed Cherie one last time as she walked back toward campus. Cherie turned and began to walk back up the path following the other patients. Each of the patients held their right wrist up so that their bracelet could be scanned. Cherie did the same. She was now Wendy Perkins. The followed the line of patients until she arrived at Room 231. She sat on the bed, removed her white sneakers, and let lay back. The digital clock above the door read 8:34am. She had not given much thought to what she would do while pretending to be Wendy. There was no television in the room, no magazines or newspapers, not even a radio. With no stimulation, she found herself dozing off. She awoke to a knock on the door.
“Good morning Miss Wendy. Time for your meds. Cherie looked at the nurse’s name tag, it said “Diane”.
“Where is Nurse Cindy?” Diane smiled.
“I’m afraid that Dr. Jennings fired her yesterday. She was not carrying out his instructions for treating patients. Dr. Jennings expects the staff to obey him without question. From now on, I will be your nurse. We won’t have any more problems with your treatment. As a matter of fact, Dr. Jennings wants to try a new, stronger drug to help you cope with your anxiety.” Cherie was worried. She wanted to do as Wendy had requested, but this was an unanticipated change. She wondered if she should tell Nurse Cindy that she had traded places with the real Wendy. She decided that it was best to keep silent and hope for the best.
The nurse wheeled in a stainless steel rolling table with a syringe and a small paper cup with several capsules in it. Cherie hated needles, but she reminded herself that she was doing this for Wendy. What good was it to be someone’s friend if you could take a bit of discomfort. The nurse dabbed her arm with an alcohol wipe. “Just a little stick and we will feel so much better,” she chirped. She injected Cherie with the light blue serum. She then handed Cherie the cup with the capsules and a glass of water. “Down the hatch. That’s my good girl.” Cherie swallowed the capsules. Her head was feeling very swimmy from the injection. “Such a good girl. Time for our nap.” Cherie slid her socked feet under the covers and the nurse tucked her in. “One last thing sweetie.” The nurse put a pair of headphones over Cherie’s ears. “This will help you relax.” Cherie could hear soft music and what sounded like a voice in the background, but she could not make it out.” The nurse closed the door and turned down the lights. Cherie drifted off the sleep. The clock read 9:03am.
Wendy had made her way to Cherie’s apartment and let herself in. It was simple, but nice. What one might expect for a grad student. She took a quick shower. The first thing on Wendy’s list was a nice meal. She walked down the block to a diner and ordered breakfast. She could not remember the last time she had pancakes and bacon. It was a treat for her taste buds. When breakfast was done, she had decided a little pampering was in order and entered a small salon to get her hair washed and her nails done. The Institute only allowed patients to shower once a week and no makeup or nail polish were permitted. Her first taste of freedom was wonderful. She thought briefly about Cherie. She felt a split second of guilt, but it vanished quickly. How could anyone had been so gullible? Although she was tempted to hang around Claremont, she decided it would be best to take Cherie’s car and put some serious distance between her and the Institute.
Cherie’s eyes fluttered open as the lights in her room came up slowly. “Did we have a nice nap Miss Wendy? It’s almost lunchtime and then we have your daily conditioning session.” Cherie sat up in the bed. The clock read 11:55am. The nurse pulled over a portable table and placed a plastic container in front of Cherie. It contained what looked like mush with some pureed vegetables and a blob of red jello. “You need to eat up sweetie, we want you to be nice a strong for your session.” She scooped some of the food up and offered it to Cherie as if she were a baby. Cherie opened her mouth and the nurse forced the food in. She forced herself to swallow, but it tasted like crap. “We need to make this all gone,” the nurse said as if she were talking to a three-year-old. Cherie forced down one bite after the other until the revolting mixture was gone. “Such a good little girl,” the nurse cooed. “I’ll be back in 30 minutes to take you for conditioning.” When the nurse returned, she was pushing a wheelchair and had a diaper in her hand. “I need to put on your diaper Wendy, just to make sure you don’t make any poopies during conditioning.” Cherie was humiliated. She was an adult, but she was being diapered. Nurse Cindy slipped the diaper under Cherie’s behind and taped it in place. Actually, it felt pretty good. Cherie was still feeling a bit woozy from her medication. The nurse helped her into a wheelchair and pushed her down the hall. They stopped at a door marked “Brain Conditioning and Surgery”. The door opened and Cherie was wheeled in.
A man in a white lab coat was waiting for her. “Good afternoon, Miss Wendy. I am Dr. Jennings. So nice to see you. I think you have been a bad girl trying to avoid your treatments. I am not sure how you got Nurse Cindy to help you avoid your treatments, but that stops today. Nurse Cindy has been fired and today will be your first real conditioning session.” Cherie looked behind where Dr. Jennings was standing to see a large padded table with restraints and a large metal dome and the top of the table. The dome was connected to an array of wires. “This is my Brain Conditioner. It is designed to help patients to relax and to help remove the anxiety, which has caused them to misbehave in the first place. A few sessions in the Brain Conditioner and you will feel like a new person.” Dr. Jennings smiled. Cherie was beginning to panic. This was not what she had imagined when she agreed to switch places with Wendy. She did not want to rat Wendy out, but she also did not want undergo brain conditioning.
“I’m sorry, but I am not Wendy. I am Cherie King. I traded places with Wendy so that she could go support her sister during her operation. I don’t belong here. I’m a student at Claremont College.” The words flooded out of Cherie’s mouth in desperation. Dr. Jennings chuckled.
“I’ll give you credit Wendy, you are very creative. But you have avoided treatment long enough. You fooled Nurse Cindy, but you are not fooling me.” He turned to Nurse Diane. “Please help Wendy up onto the table and make sure she is secured. She is way overdue for her conditioning.”
“Yes, doctor.” With the help of two orderlies, Nurse Cindy lifted Cherie up onto the padded table and secured her with the Velcro cuffs. She pulled at her restraints to no avail.
“I don’t understand why you are fighting this Wendy. You will feel so much better once your brain has been conditioned and we remove all of those bad thoughts,” Dr. Jennings said.
“I told you, I AM NOT WENDY. I am Cherie King. I look a lot like Wendy, but we swapped places. Wendy is pretending to be me. At least try to verify my story.” Dr. Jennings shook his head.
“Young lady, you clearly think that we are idiots. You come up with some cockamamy story about swapping places with a Claremont student. Your deceptions worked with Nurse Cindy, but not with me.” Dr. Jenning nodded and Nurse Diane place a pair of earphones over her ears and lowered the metal dome over her head. “We will start out on a minimal setting and gradually work our way up. Your first session will last about an hour. You will feel some pain, but that is normal because the Brain Conditioner is removing thoughts and memories that are undesirable. You will feel much better very soon.” He nodded again and Nurse Diane typed several commands into the laptop. The metal dome began to hum. In her ears, Cherie could hear binaural beats growing louder. She felt a mild headache, which grew steadily worse. Oddly enough, she also was feeling pleasure.