Although Isabel had long possessed an interest in hypnotism, and she'd always wanted to try it out on someone, she didn't really get a proper chance to do so until the end of her sophomore year, during one particularly memorable spring afternoon with her lucky friend Claire.
*****
"Oh my
God
." Claire slammed her molecular biology textbook shut and chucked it onto the carpet in exasperation. "I am so
sick
of all this
work
."
"No kidding," Isabel chimed in.
"One more paragraph about membranes and chromosomes and I am going to
puke
." She grabbed her empty glass of water, walked out of Isabel's bedroom and into her friend's kitchen, then poured herself some more water out of the ice-cold pitcher sitting in Isabel's fridge.
"Seriously, I feel so stressed out."
"Yeah, it never really lets up."
Claire had come over to Isabel's apartment so that they could cram for finals together. They were both biology majors, but had recently become good buddies as well. Lately they'd bonded over complaining about boys: Isabel loved to complain about her current boyfriend Brad, while Claire loved to complain about her ex-boyfriend Pierre.
However, griping about the men in their lives had not been the main item on the agenda that day: they had two beautiful, glorious finals to study for. It had been a brutal semester, and they couldn't wait to get it all behind them. That said, spring was certainly a nice time of year, and this day was no exception -- sunny and warm, but not
too
warm.
Isabel was wearing a long yellow and purple flower-print skirt and a white short-sleeve button-up blouse, with a light blue tank top underneath, and sandals. A dark green plastic clip pinned back a portion of her shoulder-length black hair. Claire was looking a little more casual that particular afternoon, in a slightly oversized white t-shirt that was tucked into her snug blue jeans, her long brown hair tied back in a pony-tail. The shirt was one of those typical university t-shirts with block lettering and an image of the school seal on it. A pair of comfy white sneakers rested on her feet.
"You know what cell biology is? They put biology students in a giant cell that's called
this fucking class
, and we're
stuck
in it for all eternity."
"Oh God." Isabel smiled and shook her head at Claire's creative use of hyperbole. "A week from now you'll forget all about it."
"And thank God too."
"We can take a break if you want."
"Yeah, let's just stop for a moment, OK?"
"Fine with me." Although also feeling overworked, Isabel was feeling a little less vocal about it. Much as she loved hanging out with Claire, she had to admit that her classmate could be a bit of a ... well, a high-strung drama queen. And so, after having crammed for four hours non-stop (not without progress having been made, fortunately), the two of them sat down on Isabel's bed, completely fed up with their studies.
"Hey Claire."
"What's up."
"I think I know of something that might help relieve some of your stress."
"And ...?"
"You wanna give it a shot?"
"Isabel I am all ears."
"Ever been hypnotized before?"
"Hypnotized? I don't think so. Why?"
"Well, I've been studying about it a little bit and I think it's supposed to help people relax."
"Shit, I could definitely use a little of
that
." It sounded interesting. "Are you gonna like dangle a watch in front of my face or something?"
"No, no, you would just listen to my voice. I'm a little new at it, but it should be fun."
Claire thought for a moment. It did sound like it could be fun. Besides, she really trusted Isabel. "Sure, let's do it."
"OK." Isabel got up and sat in an armchair that faced her bed. "Now, sit up on the edge of the bed there ..."
Claire followed her directions.
"And sit right across from me ... and look very closely into my eyes ... and relax."
Claire placed her hands on her thighs, took a deep breath, and gazed quietly at Isabel.
"Your body is becoming extremely relaxed."
The subject of Isabel's hypnosis could already feel the tension escaping her chest, like it was pouring up out of the neck of her t-shirt.
"All the pain of the day, all the stress, is slowly ... melting away."
Suddenly Claire could truly feel the soft cotton of her shirt as it gently ruffled around her skin.
"You are feeling a little drowsy, and you want to surrender to the drowsiness."
Claire's eyes began fluttering against her will, and the image of serene Isabel began fading into darkness.
"Lie back, lie back against the bed, and let all of your thoughts just ... float away."