Lannie Doll 3

Lannie Doll and the Overbearing Puppet

Lannie's fabulous Halloween night passed into memory, but it was never forgotten by her, for she replayed that splendid holiday in her head over and over again. The thrill of it all – the costumes, the revenge, and most of all, the magic key that made it all possible spread an intoxicating happiness through her every time she thought of that night. In the days since then she approached life with an entirely different eye. Bucking the fall trends of earthy tones, she frequently dressed herself in bright sweaters that were typically paired with knee-length skirts and tights. She talked more, laughed more, and was an overall happier person since that Halloween night.

There was, however, a single sore spot left in Lannie's life; that of her boss Georgia, who a shrewd, conniving middle aged woman. She was pretty, to be sure, with lush red hair, typically dyed to give it an extra pop. But she was never content with her own image and constantly shifted her hairstyles and makeup. The constant attention to her appearance paid off, and she was a fetching lady, but it came at the price, ironically, of a nonexistent social life. But there were other, worse, things about Lannie's boss, and they manifested themselves ten days after Halloween.

That day began as many others do with the whole region filing into a cramped conference room to discuss recent happenings and plan for the future. But it also served as a showcase for Georgia to assert herself over her workers.

"Carl, did you get the reports back from the Westminster account?"

"Uh," The college wunderkind said as he shuffled into his folio, "I thought we didn't need those for another three days?"

"Well, I'd like to see how they're coming." Georgia tapped her foot and waited, not really expecting anything. To her, and most of the room's surprise, Carl pulled a stack of papers from his folder.

"This is most of it." He said, "There are a few more things I need to get, but I think it's about 85% done." He slid the papers to Georgia, barely hiding a smirk. Lannie quickly turned away from her boss and fiddled with her pony tail to hide a brimming smile of her own.

"These are . . . good." Georgia said. This was the way it had always been in meetings lately; strange sparring matches between Georgia and Carl, and it looked as though he now controlled the tempo of the game. The meeting ended not soon after that battle and as Lannie left, Carl grazed her arm and gave her a quick thank you, as it had been Lannie who warned him that Georgia was looking to get the report back early. She replied that it wasn't a problem, and left the room with a smile.

After returning from lunch that day, Lannie had barely sat down before her phone began to ring. An odd occurrence, but she didn't think much of it."

"GQS, this is Lannie Doll speaking." She said. The words popped out of her on instinct, and she didn't even realize she had said them until a few hours later.

"Lannie, this is Georgia. Could you come to my office, please?"

"Sure." She replied, and quickly walked to the corner office just three doors down. While it had a beautiful view of the city skyline, only two small vertical windows let passerby in the office see inside.

"Close the door and take a seat." Lannie nodded and did as her boss instructed. Georgia folded her hands on her desk. "I wanted to talk to you about Carl."

"What about?"

"Well, I wanted to know how he knew I was going to ask about the Westminster account today."

"I told him." Lannie quickly said, not a bit of remorse in her voice.

"Why?"

"I thought he should know. Was it wrong to tell a coworker something that would help them, and the rest of the region?"

Georgia shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Lannie, I don't think you understand: by knocking Carl down a peg, I'm trying to help you, Crissy, Amanda, and Valerie."

"I'm not following."

Her boss sighed, "Look, of the thirteen people working in this region, nine are women who have been with this company for longer than Carl, including you. But, when the next round of promotions comes, who do you think is going to get the big office?"

"To be fair, Carl is one of the best employees in the region."

"What about the harassment?"

"I –" Lannie looked around the room in disbelief, "—what harassment?"

"Oh, come on, Lannie. Just today I saw him grab your arm and whisper in your ear."

"Well, yeah, but . . ."

"Look, you don't have to be afraid of Carl. We can take this down to HR right now and get him out of the building by the weekend."

Lannie's mouth dried as she began to understand Georgia's implications. "I can't . . . he hasn't done anything!" She said.

Georgia sighed and stood up. She turned her back to Lannie and looked out over the majestic city. "Lannie, if you don't say something about Carl, someone will."

Lannie looked around the office helplessly. She couldn't just accuse someone of something they never did. But, she needed this job so . . ." And then Lannie remembered that earlier in the day she had packed her magic key in her purse. She quietly reached inside her bag and took out the plush silver key. Georgia's back was turned; it would be for Lannie to get they key into her. Lannie Doll took a breath and quietly stepped behind Georgia, and a moment later slid her silver key into her bosses back. She twisted five times and then let the changes begin.

In her first steps to dollhood, Georgia's red hair wrapped itself into tight red buns over both ears and a black fur hat materialized upon her head. Her low-cut satin blouse turned a bright red, the buttons turning a shiny gold. Sleek black business pants shortened and changed shape into a navy blue skirt with gold trimming. Sharp heels grew into calf-high black riding boots with gold buckles, and her legs became encased in opaque black tights.

Once her Russian Cossack costume was complete, sharp red circles were painted upon the apples of each cheek, accompanied by feminine black eyelashes and bright red lips. Georgia began to shrink to a less than impressive two feet tall, and as she did her body took on a sanded wood polish. Mechanical joints formed beneath her clothing at various points. And then for the coup-de-grace: strings began to rise from each hand, foot, and her head, and tied themselves to a newly formed marionette handle.

Lannie picked up her silver key and put it into her purse, then grabbed her marionette by her handle to bring her to eye level.

"I'm not going to be your puppet, Georgia."

The rest of that day moved at a hectic pace, but Lannie was still relaxed when she arrived home and set her new toy upon a makeshift stand, setting the Cossack marionette next to her Jester jack-in-the-box. She smiled sweetly and sat in a chair facing her toys.

"Well, it looks like I have the makings of a collection. Don't worry, I'll treat you two better than you treated me."