Silence

Silence

The carnival had been in full swing most of the afternoon, and Janice
was just about sick to death of it by now. Whether it was the full
force of the summer sun, the screaming of the crowd or the constant
blasting out of the distorted teeny-bop music that pierced her temples,
she couldn't say. Her head was in a spin and her mind was veering off
in all directions, not really concentrating on exuding the false,
strained smile that was constantly expected of her. That's what the
public wanted to see she kept reminding herself. How could she be
expected to smile so convincingly when all she wished for was a few
moments of silence? Oh what she would give right now to be away from
all this palaver! Please God let it finish, she kept saying to herself
as yet another tuppence-ha'penny press photographer bumbled alongside
her trying for yet another photo for the colour supplement of the local
rag. In spite of the racket she was immersed in she swore she could
still hear the metallic 'clink' of the camera's shutter, or was it just
her mood and unbearable headache that made it seem that way? Every step
she took was a step closer to the finish of the carnival. A step closer
to solitude and maybe a little silence. Gritting her teeth she marched
on -- smile fixed, head up and looking the celebrity that she
was.
Janice had gathered quite a following since first appearing in the
soap opera a little over six months ago. Her rise to stardom was
relatively quick and she was already an established star in the
programme. She came into the programme with all guns blazing and the
producers were quick to cash in on her obvious sex appeal, developing a
storyline that lured Ben, one of the main characters, away from his
loving family. The more elderly viewers resented her for offering
temptation to their beloved Ben and letters of hatred to her were not
uncommon but it always amused her how some viewers took it all so
serious. Her male fans sent her letters of a different kind, many
finding her 'girl next door'qualities attractive, which flattered her.
But she also received more disturbing mail from cranks, which sometimes
worried her. She often wondered why people found her attractive, but
women envied her near perfect figure while men admired it. She was
always dressed immaculately, and with her long flowing chocolate
coloured hair she had the sophisticated look. Although she was only 29
she played a character of 35 in the programme. She would rather be
dressed in shorts and a T-shirt on a hot summer's day like this but the
occasion called for her sophisticated look to be on show again. That
was how the viewers see her and that is what the public will get. The
fixed smile and obligatory waves to the crowd had to go on
regardless.

*

An hour later the carnival was all but finished and the crowds were
beginning to disperse. The street cleaners were already buzzing around
and clearing the empty drinks cans, ice lolly wrappers and rubbish that
people tossed over their shoulders. The sideshows were almost packed
into vans and away and the police had begun to open the roads to
traffic again. A sense of normality was returning, but first Janice
wanted to have a few moments of peace and quiet on her own before
attending the small function that was put on by the organisers. Maybe
it would put her in a friendlier mood. Maybe help to ease the throbbing
pain of the headache she had had all afternoon. Silence. That's all she
wanted. Silence.
Being a Sunday, the office blocks were empty and apart from that
pulsating music and melee of voices coming from the function room, it
was indeed becoming more peaceful. She knew of a small courtyard only a
few minutes away and headed off to find much needed peace and quiet
there. It was a place she knew well as she had done some filming there
earlier in her career for a local film production company. The raised
flowerbeds were always a joy at this time of year and the scented smell
of roses could only help to relax her. It served as a favourite meeting
place for office workers in their summer lunch hours, and being a
suntrap was used by sunworshippers to top up their tans -- at times the
perfumed smell of roses was overpowered by the sickly smell of sun
cream. As Janice entered the courtyard she was relieved to see that she
would be alone. She'd had quite enough of crowds today. The old
sandstone buildings that enclosed the courtyard muffled any remaining
noise and the sweet smell of roses beckoned her. The near silence was
heaven to her and she could already feel her pain subsiding. The
courtyard had never changed and the roses were as beautiful as ever.
The colour scheme was a red and yellow and complimented each other
perfectly. She stood for a minute or two admiring the scene as a whole
before slowly approaching to get a closer look and stoop down to smell
a few blooms. First a yellow. Then a red.
"Beautiful," she said softly to herself "just beautiful."
This is my own oasis, at least for now, she thought.
Somehow, the silence seemed to intensify with the sweet smell of the
roses. It was not complete silence, but as close as she was going to
get to it. She stayed for maybe fifteen minutes before she had to prise
herself away and get back to the function. She had to keep the others
happy. Reluctantly, she turned away and then froze in terror.
"You bitch!" came a hiss that echoed around the courtyard. Before her
stood a burly looking youth dressed in denim jeans and jacket. Wire. He
had wire stretched taut from one hand to the other.
"You bitch you!" he snarled again as he approached with a look in his
eyes that meant business. "You've ruined my mother, you bitch! Now I'll
ruin you!" he spat out as the wire was raised and edged closer to her
throat.
Janice was rooted to the spot. She tried to let out a yell. There was
nothing. Absolute silence. Struck silent with fear, all she could hear
was the crunching sound of gravel beneath her attacker's feet. Her
lungs expelled every last breath of air but ? silence! There was
nowhere to run. One way in. One way out. The wire! The crazed fan mail!
? The end.
"Cut!" echoed around the courtyard as people rushed in. The snarl of
her attacker turned into a smile, the wire dropped to his side and he
flung his arms around her. A confused but terrified whimper finally
came from Janice.
"Well done Tom. Well done Janice" the director said with a smile. Only
then did she start to recognise her 'attacker'. It was of course Tom,
who played Ben's son. Although she had met him before it was early on
in her time with the show. Tom only made an occasional appearance and
never really featured much in the programme, until now. Janice burst
into tears as relief came over her.
The whole cast came from nowhere and congratulated the confused and
sobbing Janice on her unrehearsed and off the cuff performance while
apologising for the secrecy they had kept from her. Still trembling,
she looked the director in the eye and with her voice barely audible
spat out, "What kind of stunt was that? Don't you ever?"
"Hey Janice, great acting!" was all he could say while patting her on
the back. Janice recoiled in disgust.
"Anyway you creep, how did you know I was there? How did you set it up?
Why!" now shouting out at the bemused director.
"Hey Janice?"
"Don't you patronise me, you ?"
"Well we know you always want that bit of time to yourself after a hard
day. We followed you and shot from across the way. Simple as that." He
said shrugging his shoulders. "And the silence, the silence when you
tried to scream? Oh fantastic. Loved it. The viewers will love it.
Great television!"
Turning on his heels with his assistants beside him, he left Janice in
disbelief.
"Yes, the silence" Janice muttered. "That damn silence."

***