Disclaimer: all characters involved are aged 18 or over.
Friday, the 6
th
of March.
Janice looked mournfully down at the pack of cigarettes at the bottom of the binbag for a moment.
Clean break,
she thought, tying off the top of the bag and carrying it outside. Today would be the day that her tapes arrived, and she knew how dangerous the 'just one more' mentality could be. She had had about a thousand last cigarettes in her time. She knew from experience that a clean break was best.
She was excited. She had picked up the habit in university, and for the past eight years she hadn't been able to shake it. She had heard good things about hypnosis tapes though. Maybe this time would be the time it stuck.
Barely two hours later, the cravings started to set in. maybe she should have waited for the tapes to actually arrive before throwing her stash away. One last cigarette was sounding pretty good right about now. Her fingers twitched with the first nervous spasms of withdrawal. It was 6pm on a Friday. If they didn't come tonight, maybe then they wouldn't come until Monday? Janice really felt she needed the tapes tonight if she was even going to make it through the weekend.
It was another hour before her doorbell finally rang, and when it did, she practically leapt to go open the door. When it swung open, she was surprised to see John Lawson standing in front of her, a box tucked under his arm. John was in her 7
th
period English class, and it was certainly a surprise to see him out of school. John was a gawky boy, tall and skinny. He had greasy brown hair, pale skin and a spotty face.
"Miss Locke," he greeted. "I've got the tapes you ordered."
"Oh, thanks John."
Crap.
This was awkward. Janice was ashamed of her smoking, and was careful to make sure that none of her student knew about it. "I never realised you were a delivery boy."
Before he answered, Janice noticed his eyes dart down to her chest, just for a moment.
Pig,
she thought resentfully, crossing her arms. Her dress was modest and showed no cleavage, but still. That wasn't the point.
"I'm not, really. My dad owns the company that makes these. You know how it is with small family business. Kids are always working odd jobs, never getting paid. I do a bit of delivery, bit of work with the recording software, a bit of editing. Basically, anything I can so that my dad doesn't have to actually hire enough people. Anyway, I won't keep you."
John handed the box over, and Janice took it awkwardly. He turned to leave.
"John," she called after him. He stopped on the path and turned, expectantly. "Do these really work?"
"Oh yeah, they definitely work. Work so well you don't even need to be tired; the start of the tape just puts you straight to sleep. Good luck with it, Miss Locke."
And with that he was gone.
Damn.
Now John had seen her as a smoker, and nervous with withdrawal. A teacher had to work damn hard to earn a class's respect. In her case, that meant being stern and strict. Any sign of weakness from her and she could spend more time shushing than teaching. Ah well. She could worry about that later. For now, the most important thing was that she quit smoking.
Janice's couldn't tell how much of her antsy behaviour was excitement and how much withdrawal. Either way, she was definitely putting this in soon. She looked at the clock. 7:15. Way too early to go to bed. John had said that they could put you straight to sleep though. Surely that wasn't true, just a company line. Janice had heard that these tapes worked, but surely not that well?
Curious, she tore open the box. Inside were 6cd's.
Retro,
thought Janice. Hadn't John's dad ever heard of digital download? It didn't matter much to her because she still had a CD player, but surely this wasn't good business practice.
None of that mattered though, because for her, this could work. This could be the end of it. No more shameful trips to the bathroom at parties. No more bad smells. No more shortness of breath. She couldn't wait. What was the harm in putting it in now? If it didn't put her to sleep, then she would just play it again later when she was tired. Besides, if she was awake much longer, she might break and go buy cigarettes. It had happened to her before.
She put the CD into her player in the living room, turned it on, pressed play. As the track crackled to life, she sat down on the couch. Suddenly, she felt sceptical.
If I listen to this and it's just a load of nonsense, then I'm definitely asking for my money back.
Janice had always been stern, no nonsense, and practical. She had no patience for people wasting her time or money.
Hello.
The voice that came from the track was deep and calm and smooth. Yet there was something in there that she recognised.
You are trying to quit smoking. This recording will help you along with your journey.
This is John,
she realised with a start.
It's John putting on a deeper, calmer voice.
Any hopes of this tape being created by a psychology genius were dashed. John was no genius. Janice had marked his work. She did have to concede that this voice he was putting on granted him a certain gravitas.
You are in a forest. You are sat on a tree stump. In front of you, a stream flows calmly. Its course across the pebbles of its bed is the only sound you hear. Golden shafts of sunlight beam down through the branches of tall oaks.
The more Janice listened, the silkier that voice sounded. It was like she was melting into it, being consumed by it.
You lay back. You are in the grass now, looking up at a clear blue sky.