Page 23 of The Prime-Time Experiment

“He altered exercise selection within the same movement patterns,” she said. “Adjusted rest intervals inconsistently. Redirected attention between myself, the client, and external points, including the camera.” Her jaw tightened slightly. “None of it was sufficient to breach agreement. All of it interfered with measurement.”

Dee’s expression sharpened. “That’s… ugh. That’s so deliberate.”

Riley didn’t look up. “When I attempted to correct for the inconsistency, he re-framed the issue as individual error,” she said. “He stated I was over-complicating the task.” Another pause. “He did not adjust his behaviour.”

“And when you told him it was too much?”

Riley’s grip tightened again.

“He continued,” she said. The words were flatter this time.

“He reduced the task instead of the input,” she added. “Simplified the instruction while maintaining the same environmental conditions.”

Dee exhaled through her nose, irritation flickering across her face. “Of course he did.”

Riley pulled at another stubborn knot, attempting to undo it. When she couldn’t get it, she moved on to another.

“He commented on my appearance,” she added, the words more clipped now. “In a way that did not relate to the task.”

Dee blinked. “He did what?”

“He stated that I looked ’fine,’” Riley said. “And ’cute’ in relation to being recorded.”

Dee’s mug lowered slowly. “Okay, no. No, that’s not—”

Riley continued, as though finishing a report, “When I was no longer compensating effectively, he continued to instruct rather than reduce variables. The interaction did not adjust to my capacity.”

Silence settled between them for a moment. Dee stared at her.

“Okay,” she said finally, slower now. “That’s… a lot.”

Riley didn’t respond. Her hands kept moving, but the rhythm had changed to one that was more erratic. Dee leaned forward slightly, her voice shifting.

“Hey,” she said. “Pause for a second.”

Riley’s fingers stopped. Dee watched her for a second, then shook her head lightly. “That’s what he did,” she said. “I get it that is a lot to absorb.”

She placed her mug down on the table, before looking Riley in the eyes.

“You had a pretty obvious reaction from how you came home, so how did it make you feel?”

Riley blinked. The question didn’t land cleanly.

Dee didn’t look away. “Not the variables, not the effects on the experiment or the environment. I want to check in on you.”

Riley’s gaze dropped back to the wool, her fingers tightening slightly around it. There was a delay.

“I was unable to stabilise,” she said.

Dee’s expression didn’t change. “That’s not a feeling, Ri.”

Riley exhaled, sharper this time. How did she feel? She had never been good at analysing emotions. She knew the facts, that her physiological state had been affected. “My breathing did not regulate correctly,” she said, slower now. “It remained shallow.”

Dee softened slightly, but didn’t interrupt. Riley swallowed.

“I could not organise the inputs,” she continued. “They did not separate into usable patterns.” Her grip tightened again. “There was no point of reference.”

Dee nodded once, gently. “Okay. Keep going.”