The Brady family had enjoyed plenty of unusual evenings together, but nobody could remember one quite like the night they invited a stage hypnotist to the house.

The hypnotist, Mr. Merriweather, stood in the family room beside the piano and addressed the six children.

“Who would like to volunteer?”

Six heads turned toward one another.

Then Jan's hand shot into the air.

“I will!”

Marcia smiled. “Good for you, Jan.”

Greg chuckled. “Brave little sister.”

Jan marched to the center of the room. Mr. Merriweather performed several standard hypnotist's tricks. He had Jan count backward, convinced her that an imaginary feather was enormously heavy, and instructed her to behave as though the family room floor had suddenly become a skating rink.

Jan performed every trick with exaggerated seriousness. She struggled to lift the imaginary feather, slid carefully across the carpet, and counted backward in a dreamy voice.

Everyone applauded.

Finally, Mr. Merriweather said, “And now, Jan, when I snap my fingers, you will become your older sister Marcia!”

Snap!

Jan immediately tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“Well, hello, everybody,” she said in a startlingly accurate imitation of Marcia. “I simply cannot believe you expect me to sit around here all evening.”

Marcia burst out laughing.

Jan continued, striking an exaggerated pose. “Oh, my goodness! I have absolutely nothing to wear! And Greg, would you mind terribly moving your guitar? It's interfering with my natural beauty.”

Greg laughed so hard he nearly fell off the couch.

“That's not fair!” Marcia protested, although she was laughing too.

Jan put a hand to her forehead dramatically. “Oh, my goodness, Marcia, you're so funny!”

The entire family dissolved into laughter.

Then Jan dropped the act.

“Okay, okay! I'm not hypnotized.”

Everyone stared.

“What?” said Peter.

Jan grinned. “He didn't really hypnotize me. I was pretending the whole time.”

Mr. Merriweather gave an exaggerated bow. “A most impressive performance.”

Marcia shook her head, still laughing. “Jan, you had me fooled.”

“I've been studying you for years,” Jan replied proudly.

That produced another round of laughter. Even Marcia joined in, particularly when Jan demonstrated her impression of Marcia's famous phrase.

“Sure, Jan.”

The evening ended with everyone in good spirits. Nobody thought anything more about the hypnotist's demonstration.

Unfortunately, they should have.

---

The next afternoon, Greg, Peter, and Bobby happened to be alone in the house. Mike and Carol were out, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy were elsewhere, and even Alice had gone out on an errand.

The house was unusually quiet.

Greg was practicing guitar when he heard something on the television.

A commercial announcer said, “And now, for a marvelous demonstration…”

Greg froze.

Peter was upstairs when he heard a radio announcer use the same unusual word.

Bobby encountered it last, when he happened to open the newspaper.

None of them consciously remembered Mr. Merriweather saying the word the night before.

But something clicked.

Greg blinked.

“Marcia?”

His expression changed.

“Why am I sitting here like this?”