It was eleven am, Laurie was sitting in her office, staring at her computer, and she wasn't reading one word on her screen. It was eleven am, and all Laurie could think about was how this was the time she normally went to have a cigarette. That is, it was the time she normally did that, before she'd gotten the boneheaded idea that she needed to quit.
She was already wearing two nicotine patches, and that wasn't helping. Digging her nails into her palm wasn't helping either. There was only one thing that helped when she was craving it this badly – and she really hated listening to it at work.
But, it always came down to the fact that it was listen to it, or give in and have a cigarette. And she'd made it three weeks so far – the longest she'd ever gone – and she wasn't about to ruin that streak now.
With a sigh, she stood up from her desk, walked to her office door, and eased it shut. At home, she really preferred to listen to it with the lights off, but it wasn't an option here. At least, not before 5 pm – she'd had a few close calls after hours when she was the only one left, working late but sitting in the darkness with no one to notice was one thing. Her office had a lot of foot traffic going past at all times – someone would notice the lights off.
So the best she could do was a closed door. She returned to her desk, and fished in her purse for her headphones and cellphone. Finding them, she took them out, hooked one into the other, and placed the headphones in her ears, already scrolling through her phone to find her savior – "Self-hypnosis for Successful Smoking Cessation." She'd rolled her eyes at the title – once. Now it worked so well she didn't care what it was called.
With a sigh, she hit play. The beginning ambient tones surged through her headphones, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Just the beginning sounds alone were enough to calm her. She'd listened to this so many times by now, she knew it by heart, and yet it never seemed to stop working – only got more effective. If only she could listen to it all day, she'd never crave a cigarette again.
"Welcome," the pleasant female voice intoned. "Before we begin, please acknowledge to yourself the tremendous step you have taken in purchasing this recording. Many smokers try and fail to quit many times before they make it stick – by buying this recording, you have already made a commitment to quitting for real."
Laurie sighed. She hadn't even gotten to the induction yet and her mind was already hazy. She supposed she was slowly training herself to drop for this voice, this music, and her brain was tuned into the cues after so many listens. It was definitely getting easier and easier to drop every time – the first time it had taken her many listens. Now, all she needed was the command and she'd be under instantly.
"Let's begin," the soft-spoken woman coaxed through Laurie's headphones. "First, ensure you are in a comfortable position, as the recording will play for approximately 20 minutes, during which time you will not be able to get up. Please ensure you are ready to sit still for 20 minutes."
"Check," Laurie said to herself, leaning back a little further in her office chair.
"Please close your eyes," the recording instructed her. "I am going to count backwards from 10, and when I reach 1, you will be in peaceful hypnotized state, and we can begin fighting your addiction together."
Laurie sighed again. She couldn't help but feel a little anticipation. She'd never figured she was the type for it, but she'd discovered she really loved the feeling of dropping, of being induced. She exhaled, trying to be patient.
"10," the woman counted. "You can already feel your eyes getting heavy..." It was true.
"9," she added. "You feel your body sinking more deeply into relaxation."
"8," the voice said next. "A warm wave of comfort is passing through your limbs, making you feel drowsy and languid." On cue, Laurie felt that warm wave ripple through her. She sighed again, in contentment.
"7," the voice counted. "You feel drowsier, now."
"6," the woman intoned. "Your eyes are so heavy now." Laurie felt that it was true. She could feel herself sagging forward in her chair, as if she were about to nod off and fall asleep. She was so ready.
"5," she heard. "Your mind is becoming unfocused and hazy."
"4," was next, though she was starting to have difficulty focusing on the voice. She was so close, she could taste it. "All my words just slip right past you, and that's alright. You're so ready to drop now, that you don't need to understand what I'm saying. You only need to obey, and wait for my command."
"3," the recording played, but Laurie didn't hear it. She was drifting, just waiting for permission. "So sleepy, so pliable, so unfocused..."
"2," played, and still Laurie drifted. It was just a taste of what she would get, but it was still delicious.
"1," the voice said. "Drop now."
Laurie let out a little moan as she obeyed the command. The feeling of slipping completely into trance, letting it overtake her was powerful, but quick. It was like a rushing wave, like a current sweeping her under the water and dragging her down.
It was over in a second, and she completely blank, and empty, listening to the same instructions she'd heard a million times, wearing the grooves in her mind in deeper. She didn't have to worry about anything now. She could just drift in this delicious feeling, with no thoughts or concerns, soaking it all in, until the voice told her to come up again.
She was startled by the feeling of her headphones being ripped from her ears. She opened her eyes, to see the face of her coworker, Jane. Jane was saying something, telling her to do something she hadn't had time for... still really didn't have time for... but the drifting feeling... she had to do it, yes, she had to do it now...
Jane was gone again, the door shut once more, and Laurie sat, drifting still, her headphones on the table... complete the Waller report... I need it today... complete the Waller report... I need it... the words looped and looped through her mind. Laurie's eyes, still glazed over from the trance she was under, stared unseeing at the screen, her fingers typing of their own accord.
***
Laurie woke from her trance at 3 pm. The time on the clock nearly gave her a heart attack – 4 hours! She'd been under trance for 4 hours! It was the longest she'd ever gone, and she'd never done a long stretch like that at work!
When she woke, it was to find a neatly bound report on her desk – when she read the title, her eyes bulged out of her head. The Waller Report.
The report that Jane, that bitch, had been on her case about for two weeks. The report she hadn't under any circumstances had time to complete – not in the middle of the billing cycle with all the other deadlines she had coming up in the next week. She had been so justified in putting it off that she'd gone with Jane to their mutual boss, Mr. Henrickson, and he had told Jane specifically that Laurie wasn't to be bothered, that the Waller report could wait, that Jane was to wait for Laurie to come to her for it when she was ready, if she didn't have time for it herself.
Not that it had stopped that conniving bitch. Every day, multiple times a day it was the same thing – "I can't wait for that Waller report any more, Laurie," and "I need the Waller report today, Laurie." As if Jane had the authority to assign her work! They were equals under the same boss, but Jane always acted like she was Laurie's supervisor, even when Mr. Henrickson repeatedly reprimanded her for it.
So how was it that she was now holding the Waller report in her own two hands?
She thumbed through the pages, only skim reading – but it was perfectly done. In fact, it was maybe even up to a slightly higher standard than the rest of Laurie's work, even though that was up to a high standard already. It looked like she'd poured a huge amount of effort into it, yet she couldn't remember writing one word on the page.
