Driven to Kill

02 | meeting

FLASHBACK:

Janice hummed softly to herself as she walked along the streets.

Birds were chirping and the sun was out. It seemed like such a great day. Janice stopped at a café and pushed the old door open. It creaked and groaned before opening.

They really needed to change that door, thought Janice.

The  smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted her. Everyone was chattering among themselves, looking energised after their cup of coffee. The place was bustling with people and it made sense since this café delivere the best coffee in town.

'Hi, what would you like?" asked a kindly looking lady as she gave Janice a warm smile.

Kelly, read her tag.

"Hey, I'd like an espresso," Janice said, eager for her cup of coffee which would kick start her day.

"Sure, anything else?" the waitress asked as she began jotting down Janice's order.

"No thank you, just the coffee," Janice said while the woman gave a nod.

"Your total comes to $3. 10."

Janice handed her a five dollar note and she quickly gave Janice her change. After a few minutes, Janice's coffee was ready.

"Have a nice day."

"You too," Janice said before turning around and trying to find a seat.

Sitting down, Janice sipped her coffee and sighed. She loved coffee. Janice set her coffee down on the table and grabbed her book. She gave one last look at her surroundings before she opened her book.

Janice loved to read. She felt like it opened other worlds, worlds that were only open to the imagination. It was amazing how you could communicate with so many people through words.

After a while, Janice lifted her head and looked at the clock. Her eyes widened when she saw that half an hour had already passed. Quickly, she grabbed her purse and other belongings before walking out of the café.

She was late to see her mother. Weaving and dogging through people, she walked quickly and quickened her pace. Her mother had Alzheimer's and had recently begun forgetting important things. It was extremely dangerous to leave her alone as Janice had once found out.

Janice and her father were taking turns in looking after Janice's mother. One time, a few years ago, Janice's father had told her that he was going to be out with his friends from work. Janice too was partying but they both did not realise how bad it would be to leave Janice's mother alone. Once Janice came home she found her mother who had attempted to make a sandwich for herself and cutting herself in the process.

She was rushed into hospital but thankfully only had minor injuries. All was well in the end but both Janice and her father never left Janice's mother alone again after that incident.

***
"Is that you Stella?"

"No Mum, it's me Janice," she said and her throat suddenly choked up.

Her mother had recently begun forgetting her friend's names and even Janice's father, calling him Devin instead of Peter, but Janice never really thought her mother would forget her.

"Oh. I could've sworn you look exactly like her," Janice's mother mused with a small frown on her face.

Janice let out a small sigh. Her mother's disease had been going on for a while now, and each year it was obvious of her deterioration. It was only small things at first. Forgetting her car keys, her lunch or her friend's address. It became worse after that; people's names and forgetting places where she went to nearly everyday. It hurt Janice to see her mother so frail and weak.

After looking after her mother for some time, Janice left her mother in the care of her Aunt Stella. Janice let in a deep breath. It was always so emotionally draining, seeing her mother. Janice knew exactly who to go to, after a visit like that.

***
"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine Izzy. Really,"Janice said when Izzy gave her a doubtful look. Janice gave her friend a watery smile.

"I don't know how you deal with it. I probably would be bawling my eyes out if that happened to my mother," Sam commented.

Janice knew, that if you didn't know Sam well she would be mistaken for someone who was rude but Sam was just blunt.  She just said whatever was in her mind, but she knew well enough when to keep her mouth shut.

The three of them were in Izzy's house. Janice needed her friends to cheer her up. They knew what was going on with Janice's mother and were sympathetic.

They really were the best friends anyone could ask for, Janice thought.

They talked for some time and after a while she decided that it was time to leave. After she said goodbye to her friends, she walked downstairs and saw the body of a man in the doorway. The guy was talking to someone and then turned around to face Janice.

Janice stared into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. They were almost like the shade of emerald. Janice then realised that she was staring at the guy and she gave an apologetic smile. The guy, in turn, chuckled.

"Hey, I'm Carl. And you are . . .?" asked Carl. At least Janice now had a name to go with the face.

"Janice," she introduced herself and Carl gave her a smile.

"Carl, where are you?" was heard as Izzy's 24 year old brother came into view holding his head with a grimace.

Janice gave a slight laugh.

"What did you do to your head?" she questioned, already knowing it would be a funny story.

"I was trying to do my homework when I realised my shoe was untied so I reached down and tried to tie it under the desk. The  I hit my nose on my knee, jerked up in shock and hurt my head on the bottom of the desk," replied Izzy's brother with a sheepish look on his face as Carl and Janice burst out laughing.

"Shut up. It's not that funny," complained Izzy's brother who then walked away, muttering something under his breath.

'"He always does these things, since high school," Carl said with a shake of his head.

"You're friends with him?"Janice asked surprised. She hadn't really seen Izzy's brother's friends that much before.

"Yeah that idiot is my friend and drives me completely mental half the time," he replied with an infectious grin they Janice grinned back.

"Carl, hurry up!" shouted Izzy's brother from the living room.

Carl gave Janice an apologetic smile. He turned to leave but then stopped and turned back, looking unsure.

"Hey, is it okay if - "

"Sure."

" - I give you my number?" he asked with a nervous smile.

They both chuckled when they spoke at the same time. Quickly they exchanged numbers.

Carl gave her one final smile before turning around and joining Izzy's brother.  It might have been the last time Janice saw him that day but was by no means the last time she saw Carl.

In fact a week after this incident, they would meet again for a coffee and that began their romance. Unfortunately though, they did not live happily ever after. This was no fairy tale.

The first time she met Carl!  Unfortunately though, they had such a tragic ending. This is the first insight you get into Janice when she was still alive. What do you think of her?
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