Nicola rolled her eyes and said "Whatever" as she absentmindedly picked the white potion and chugged it.
"What exactly do you think will happen when we drink your colored water, is this some kind of social experiment?" she asked rolling her eyes again.
James was more cautious and asked if there was a different potion he could test, Merideth gave a pause and then
a sly smile, but then pointed to several other potions without labels he could choose from. James used his pop culture knowledge when assessing his options and shied away from pink but also the "baby" blue color fearing that in the off chance the woman who takes her role so seriously, happened to be truthful, there may be consequences, picked the brown vial.
Nicola had already downed her vial before James had chosen and was waiting impatiently as James removed the stopper and sniffed. James was mentally transported to a forest glade, it smelled fresh, inviting, and free from the honking cars and constant hustle and bustle of everyday life.
"Just drink it James. Then we can go." Nicola said, unaware her feet were now stone and the transformation was quickly moving up her legs.
James looked to Nicola for reassurance and smiled seeing no change in his sassy and somewhat abrasive friend. "All right, Here goes." James knocked back the vial and swallowed the potion which left a slight heat in his mouth, throat and belly. "Ooh, a little harsher than it smelled." he commented.
"I did it without complaint..." Nicola commented, always wanting to appear tougher, more capable, and less effected than everyone else. She had a... challenging... history with her family and countless insecurities, but James just smiled and said, "yep." not caring about who 'wins' this experience.
Nicola turned her head to Meridith and James expected Nicola to say something, but she didn't.
After a few seconds James said, "Okay well we drank your potions and so per our agreement our debt has been paid. Can we please go now?"
Meredeth wrote something down on her notebook, ripped off the page placing it on the shelf with the 7 remaining white potions and said, "Excellent. We now know what the white potion does. Lets give yours another minute or so..."
James read the note she had written, 'Petrification' he read. "What? That would mean.." James was confused. He turned to Nicola who was still staring at Meredeth and hadn't shared a sassy comment in the last 20 seconds, uncharacteristically. "Nicola?" James uttered before doubling over as his stomach felt stabbing pain and his body went cold as though it should have something much thicker than a t shirt on...