VOICE OF REASON
Leila Scales put the cordless phone down on the hallway table in disgust. Her heart pounded furiously as she struggled to accept the bad news from the phone call.
Kay Melville, her best friend, had started smoking.
Leila had known Kay for years, and never imagined that she had ever been a smoker. Kay said that she restarted through stress from work, managing a busy restaurant in the middle of town.
As she walked to the staircase, she knew her anti-smoking allies were dwindling on an almost weekly basis. One by one, they were either relapsing into the habit or sinking into addiction through alcohol-fuelled experimentation. As each member of the pressure group had left, the strength of argument in support of a ban also declined, which was proving fatal as Leila had a meeting with the local newspaper to further promote her campaign.
Only a month earlier, Leila had formed a pressure group of local bar and restaurant managers to put pressure on local government to implement a ban of smoking in these public places. Leila, who managed a nightclub, saw banning smoking as a personal crusade. However, the other outlet managers joined her in this movement as a reaction to complaints from their own non-smoking customers.
"Jen - you've been in that shower for 20 minutes...get your ass out of there!" Leila retorted to her daughter.
"Yeh." Jen replied, her voice filtered through the steamy bathroom door upstairs.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door.
Leila opened the door to a blonde-haired, tall man in a business suit smiling straight at her, carrying a suitcase. The man had brown eyes that peered through the black-rimmed glasses she wore, and strongly stank of aftershave and body spray.
"Hi, my name is Bernie and I represent PM Securities. I wonder if I could take just a few minutes of your time..." Bernie said as she handed Leila a professional-looking business card.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not interested in buying anything." Leila replied.
"I understand your reluctance, but we are going around all the houses, checking to ensure that the public have adequate fire prevention products in place. It would just be a quick inspection. Please." Bernie reasoned.
Just as Leila was about to turn the salesman away, she relented at the last moment and allowed Bernie to enter the house, unsure of her change of heart.
She can do her check and get out of my way, Leila rationalised.
Bernie began checking each room as Leila walked back into the kitchen, packing her bag for the appending newspaper meeting down at her nightclub.
Ten minutes later, and Leila sat at the kitchen table, tapping impatiently on the wooden surface. Her daughter, Jen, was busy getting dressed upstairs in her room, as Bernie walked eventually into the kitchen with her briefcase.
"I'm so sorry for taking so long." Bernie apologised as she went on to explain that she would need to arrange for engineers to come and fit their specialised Smoke Alarms.
"Listen, I don't have time for this!" Leila exclaimed as she stood up from her seat.
"Yes, you do Leila. Sit down and relax. The sooner you comply, the sooner I can leave." Bernie stated, her tone more aggressive.
Leila felt compelled to follow Bernie's advice, and sat back down at the kitchen table.
Bernie smiled, placing her briefcase on top of the kitchen table as she helped herself to a couple of beers from the refrigerator.
Taking a seat at the table, Bernie placed one of the beers in front of Leila, opened her own can and took a sip.
"Ah, that hits the spot...I was dying of thirst out there. I know what you are thinking...you want to throw me out of your house and maybe even call the cops...but you are not going to do that. So just loosen up, have a drink and I will explain everything." Bernie said to her oblivious captive.
Leila opened the can of Pepsi and took a sip as instructed. After the first sip, she felt her body relax as the anger and frustration melted away with each passing moment. Soon, she found herself enjoying her Pepsi, and the impending meeting with the newspaper suddenly seemed unimportant. Despite this, she was disturbed by her own behaviour.
As well as confessing that the Smoke Alarms sales pitch was fraudulent, Bernie went on to explain to Leila that PM Industries was actually a sister company of Philip Morris. The company had been investigating the anti-smoking pressure group since it's birth. They were aware of the current campaign to abolish smoking from public places in the city, and had decided to crush the organisation. Bernie explained that they wrote up a shortlist of all the group's members and got address details from the electoral roll.
"And that's where I come in, Leila. I was employed by Philip Morris to nullify the growing anti-smoking movement with my special gift." Bernie smiled as she pointed to her mouth.
"I don't understand." Leila said before taking another sip from her Pepsi.
"I can influence others into doing anything I want, Ms Scales, through the tone of my voice. I studied most hypnosis techniques when I was younger, and moulded my own format that didn’t require putting anyone into a trance. By using this calm but firm tone, and my constant eye contact, I can impose my thoughts and opinions onto others, including yourself." Bernie explained happily as she helped herself to another Pepsi from the refrigerator.
Accepting another Pepsi from Bernie, Leila sat back in her chair as her captor opened up her suitcase.
"Fetch me a saucer, Leila." Bernie commanded as she spread the suitcase atop of the table.
Leila complied, placing the saucer on the table next to the open suitcase as she took her seat again.
To her disgust, the suitcase revealed packs of cigarettes and lighters of all different brands.
"What are you doing? Get out!" Leila stated, as she began to feel Bernie's influence starting to subside.
"Just relax." Bernie said calmly, her tone forcing a tingle to run up and down Leila's toned body.
Suddenly, Leila could feel Bernie's influence grow again, and was unable to disobey as Bernie looked adoringly over the cigarettes. She was unable to break the intense eye contact between herself and her captor.
"Tell me Leila...why do you hate smoking with a vengeance?" Bernie asked as she removed a pack of Marlboro Reds from her pocket, lit up routinely and held the smoke in her lungs, only releasing a perfect plume once satisfied.
Rather than complain, Leila could only manage a direct reply to the question. The hate of smoking started during her previous failed marriage. Leila and Max had been lovers since their late teens. Leila fell pregnant to daughter Jen, a year after they got married. Although they had much in common, Leila hated Max's social smoking habit. Leila constantly tried to harass Max into quitting for her and Jen, as she felt Max was setting a bad example to her daughter by smoking in front of her. The smoking issue eventually forced them to drift apart, and Max eventually left Leila for someone else who was a smoker.
"I think you've got this all wrong, Leila. It's a good thing I'm here to help you see the light." Bernie said as she took a final large puff on her cigarette, before grinding it out in the saucer.
"Think about all of this. Your ex probably enjoyed the social element of smoking...and all you did was get on his back for it. You should be ashamed of yourself." Bernie moaned as she lit up another cigarette without protest from Leila.
Leila instantly felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame as her thoughts altered. Bernie's comments now appeared to make perfect sense, and she now felt responsible for ruining her relationship.
"You also can't shelter Jen from smoking either. She is going to be exposed to it at some stage of her life." Bernie suggest as smoke punctuated her words.
Leila nodded in agreement uncontrollably as she finished her second Pepsi. Looking back, she could now realise that she felt excluded, and was unwilling to associate herself with her anymore.
Bernie realised that the anti-smoking bitterness had gone, and decided to press on with her plan.
"Now you understand the need to start smoking. Not only as partial retribution for your failed marriage, but also so you can learn to truly relax. Your priorities have been so misplaced for so long. Time to put that right." Bernie said, inhaling again, as she brushed her hand over the packs of cigarettes.
"I think Virginia Slims will be good for you. They are the perfect cigarettes for a lady. I know you will love them." Bernie said, removing a pack from the suitcase and handing it to Leila.
With a blank expression on her face, Leila flipped open the lid and removed one of the white-tipped cylinders, and put it between her lips. She was surprised by how light it felt between her lips, and instantly accepted the light from Bernie's bic lighter.
The warm, creamy smoke filled her mouth, and a feeling of satisfaction spread throughout her body as the tip glowed red. Bernie smiled as Leila removed the cigarette from her mouth, held the smoke for a couple of seconds before blowing it slowly out in a dense cloud.
"Well done Leila. Now you copy me. You will love your first inhale, and will suffer no ill-effects from the process." Bernie commanded, knowing her statements became engrained into Leila's memory. Bernie taught Leila to inhale and, as commanded, she complied, releasing the smoke towards the ceiling like her teacher.
From that first inhale, Leila was now hooked, and her anti-smoking repertoire had been crushed with ease. Although Bernie had converted the other members of the pressure group, she took equal pleasure in watching Leila's transformation from anti-smoker to smoker.
Now all that was left was to give Leila new instructions...
Meanwhile, Jen had been admiring her athletic, toned body in the mirror after getting dressed. Jen was in her mid teens, tall, black hair and blue eyes. She was a member of the school netball team and took great pride in her appearance. Jen could hear conversations come from downstairs as she put on her jacket. Closing her room door behind her, her nose instantly picked up the fresh scent of cigarette smoke as she descended the staircase to the hallway.
Jen blinked in shock as she walked straight into the kitchen, aghast to see her mother smoking leisurely.
“What the hell is going on?! You hate smoking!” Jen retorted, horrified to see her mother release a cone of smoke towards the ceiling.
“I did hate smoking, but Bernie has showed me that I was wrong. I didn’t understand why people did this, but now I do. It is so fantastic…it just blows my mind.” Leila replied enthusiastically, smoke punctuating her words.
Bernie just smiled knowingly, delighted with the progress her captive was making with the smoking.
“What have you done to my Mom?! Get the hell out of our house!” Jen shouted as she vented her anger at Bernie.
The girl has spirit – but it is so misused, Bernie thought.
“Daughter, watch your language. You need to calm down. I’m sorry Bernie for her behavior.” Leila said as she tapped her cigarette ash into the saucer the way Bernie had shown her before taking another long drag.
“Don’t worry Leila…it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Don’t you wish your daughter could be more tolerant like the new you?” Bernie suggested to Leila as she exhaled casually towards Jen, who waved away the smoke in disgust.
As Bernie took a final deep puff of her own Red and ground it out in the saucer, she turned her full attention to Jen. She knew her work wasn’t finished quite yet in the household.
“Look at me, Jen. Relax. Read my lips. Calm down and take a seat.” Bernie spoke softly, peering straight into Jen’s blue eyes.
Jen’s anger began to disappear as she stared compliantly at Bernie’s red lips, each spoken word echoing inside her mind. Jen tried in vain to look away, but her body felt drained of energy suddenly.
“Do as you are told, and sit your ass down!” Bernie demanded as she noted the look of confusion on Jen’s face. She smiled as Jen eventually complied, sitting next to her smoking mother.
Bernie lit up another Red from her diminishing pack confidently as Jen sat with a blank expression on her face, looking straight at her captor.
“You have a lot of built up anger inside you. You need something to do which can contain your anger.” Bernie suggested as she nodded towards the suitcase packed with brands of cigarettes.
“What are you thinking?”
“I loathe smoking…it stinks. The sight of these entire cigarette packs disgusts me.” Jen replied, still angry enough to give her captor abuse.
“That is how you used to think. Tell me – how did you come to hate smoking?” Bernie asked as she inhaled on her cigarette.
Leila lit up her second Virginia Slim, and put her arm around Jen, trying to reinforce her approval of the current situation. She now wanted Jen to co-operate as much as possible with Bernie.
“Mom has always ranted and raved against smoking. Even when Max smoked, he was always forced to smoke outside. It looked pathetic. I pitied Max and wondered whatever Mom saw in her. I also tried to get my grandparents to quit smoking…but they refused and ended up dying of cancer.” Jen responded instantly, unable to break her gaze at Bernie’s smoky lips.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Leila.” Bernie said genuinely as she took another puff, thinking of how to deal with Jen’s hatred of smoking linked through grief for her grandfather.
“Thanx Bernie…like my daughter, I also used to think my mother wasted her life on cigarettes…but now I know better. Jen just doesn’t realize the truth yet.” Leila acknowledged, raising her Virginia Slim to her lips for another drag. She was now reveling in the smoking process.
“Jen – you need to know that your grandparents smoked because they were addicted…but they were addicted because they loved how smoking made them feel. Smoking helped them deal with all situations. Asking your grandparents to give up that life-coping method was really wrong of you. How would you feel if you were told you couldn’t do something that you really couldn’t live without?” Bernie asked Jen.
“I would feel annoyed and frustrated.” Jen replied blankly.
“Exactly. You should have been supportive rather than aggressive about your grandparent’s smoking. Your anger probably made them more stressed out in their last days. You simply never helped their situation.” Bernie exclaimed, as her influence grew over Jen.
Jen now felt ashamed and embarrassed. Was it really worth hassling my grandparents over smoking?, Jen asked herself as new thoughts began to form in her mind. Her grudge with her late grandparents lifted instantly.
“Do any of your friends smoke?” Bernie asked, tapping her cigarette ash into the saucer whilst exhaling casually.
“Yes…just a few though.” Jen replied.
“And what do you think of that?” Bernie asked.
“ Smoking makes you breathless, and is not good if you want to play in the netball team. Our coach doesn’t allow it at all. I’d been thinking of ratting on my friends to the coach as I am struggling to get a game for the team.” Jen said blankly.
“I say to you, Jen, that you don’t want to do that. If your smoking friends are getting a game ahead of you for the netball team, then smoking isn’t the problem here. You feel as though you are missing out. Don’t you agree?” Bernie commanded as Jen nodded effortlessly.
“The only way you are going to get into the team is to become a smoker yourself. That way you will be able to share your new habit, and get your friends to put in a good word to the coach for you. You want to play after all?”
“Yes I do want to play…but do I really have to smoke?” Jen asked.
“Yes you do. I know what is best for you at the moment. Smoking is the only way. Now you admire and envy all your smoking friends, and dream of joining them.” Bernie commanded as she watched Jen absorb every spoken word directly into her mind, processing suggestion into fact.
“So there’s no time like the present.” Bernie stated brightly, puffing furiously on her cigarette as she removed a pack of Marlboro Lights from the briefcase.
Handing them to Jen, Bernie sat back as the entranced teenager tentatively peeled the cellophane off the pack, flipped open the lid, removed the foil, and extracted a cylinder delicately.
Jen looked up at Leila, her blue eyes pleading for approval as she held the cigarette between her fingers.
Leila smiled back, noting how mature Jen looked holding her first cigarette, before reaching for a lighter, and producing a flame.
“Go ahead - Let’s see you smoke.”
“You will enjoy each drag, and not have any urge to cough whatsoever. You will love the feel of the smoke as it fills your mouth and enters your lungs.” Bernie said gently as Jen put the Marlboro Light between her lips and accepted the light.
The tip glowed red, and smoke flooded into Jen’s mouth. The feeling was of pure bliss as the smoke was held in for five seconds, before being blown out. Jen smiled back at her mother, who continued to suck on her own Virginia Slim greedily.
Bernie passed two lighters to her new recruits as she thrived on the sight of mother and daughter watching each other smoke with a passion. Closing the suitcase, she witnessed with joy as Leila went on to teach Jen how to inhale. From Jen’s first successful inhale, she was overcome with pure delight, directing her exhale towards the ceiling.
An hour later, and a haze of smoke dominated the Scales household. Leila and Jen had been chain-smoking since Bernie’s departure, and were loving every moment of it. As Jen shot some hoops out on the backyard with her smoking friends, she constantly had a Marlboro Light dangled on her lips.
Inside, Leila sat in front of the TV, chaining into another Virginia Slim. Now with her own smoking habit, she contemplated apologizing to Kay about the treatment she gave her. As she looked at the burning white-filtered cylinder burning between her fingers, she realized that smoking would give her a stronger bond with Kay than she ever had before.
Meanwhile, Bernie drove in her car en route to her next assignment, one hand on the wheel and the other dangling her cigarette out of the window, when her carphone buzzed to life.
“So how did it go, Bernie?”
“Very well, boss. We now have converted the entire pressure group so there should be no problems now. I also ensured with each conversion, that they bought their cigarette supplies through me…so that the company would benefit directly as a result.”
“Fantastic news. Where are you now?”
“I’ve got a meeting with the local newspaper. Our latest target, Leila Scales, has arranged for me to meet with her contact at the press office so we can nullify their own threat. We can kill this dead in the water in a matter of hours.”
“You have exceeded our expectations. Can I invite you out for dinner tonight?”
“I appreciate your offer, but I have other plans for tonight. I am going clubbing.” Bernie smiled, thinking of Leila’s nightclub in the centre of town later that evening.
