The Monarch Effect (DISCONTINUED DRAFT)

Chapter 2

When Samuel opened his eyes that morning, the first thing he felt was a terrible headache. Feeling the couch scratching his back, he carefully turned his head and looked to his right. Standing proudly on the coffee table were three, large bottles of whiskey labeled 'SCOTSMAN', as well as stronger spirits in the carpet. Only one headmate drank this heavy, and he remembered there was a soccer, or football match that was held last night. "Wade," he condescendingly said to himself. He pulled himself up and shifted into a sitting position. The room didn't look as bad as it usually was, so there was likely a win for his preferred team.

Wade was what you call a football hooligan. He was "born" when Müller, a blanket name for the system and the body it resides in, was at a college party that reminded Samuel of the last time he was at a club sometime beforehand. Wade ultimately came in to fulfill the college party-goer model, so the host, as well as others, could catch a break. You could say he was a born alcoholic, which explains the entire section in the fridge dedicated to different types of spirits, from wine to beer, to tequila, whiskey, even Listerine when he's feeling desperate, to prove it. All of it for one person in a body that holds many, as well as a job in a hospital. The fascination with soccer came about during the 1986 World Cup, when Samuel and some other mates would watch it when they could. One fateful night, some friends got him into a sports bar that played the games on their screens, getting well wasted after a game of "take a shot every time someone from the team they like kicks the ball.

Samuel, of course, didn't drink too much, but that didn't mean the body wasn't under some sort of influence. Then, something happened, and a fight started between Samuel, who's shorter than the average man, and a much larger one. At first, he thought he had simply blacked out after a blow to the head. Then, he met this odd, outrageous new Headmate. Ever since, he's become more active, much more defensive, as well as more stereotypically Scottish—accents and all. His defensiveness has earned him the title of System Protector, watching over anyone when the body's alone, like an uncle that's well-meaning, but always drunk and could never keep a job.

Samuel heard an accented curse from him. "What did you do?" The aforementioned Scotsman gave a terrible answer.

"Look, now, there was a game on, I-I couldn' miss it, we even won!"

"I said, hopefully quite clearly, that last night the body needs its sleep. We have a job to do, and we can't just drink all night without a care in the world."

"We? I'm the one drinkin'!"

"And I'm the one with a hangover in the morning!" Samuel sounded like an angry dog as he reached back, forcing Samantha to switch to the front, then Wade, who acted out by slamming their hands on each side of their face, started a cycle of the three trying to maintain control of the body. Eventually, Samantha kept fronted and looked at the room herself. She was alone for the most part, so she took it upon herself to start cleaning the room. Looking at the clock on the wall, she realized they were about three hours late to work. She threw away the bottles, empty or not, and went over to the TV, which had a cordless phone connected to the LAN outlet and called the front office.

     "Hello?" She asked the woman on the line with her best Samuel voice. "Yes, this is Dr. Müller calling in to check in with the hospital, I should be arriving in about fifteen minutes." With the situation cleared, she went back to the room to change. She found a gray shirt and some old jeans in the closet, replacing whatever the body had on before. Samuel was technically on call, but Samantha needed to be there as a doctor for the younger patients, most of which were inpatients at the mental help center.

Feeling ready, she spun around and grabbed the large bag of things, a tote which had chips for littles, her purse, Samuel's wallet (since it was his face on the license), and other things. Then, she paced out the front door, almost forgetting to lock it, and walked off to the car. When she went inside, shut the door and turned on the ignition, she realized Wade was suddenly co-conscious with her.