How does one start their story? Should they begin at the very start of the day? When the sun had risen and they were crawling out of bed, cursing all the way to the bathroom? Should they begin with a deep rendition of who they are and what they're all about? Who knows what the answer is? Who could say they know the meaning of life?
Jasmine swallowed, pausing to give eye contact to the two people sitting before her. "Reggie Jelzi is just like you and I. Going through life hoping to find his purpose. Maybe he would have found one, one day, who knows? But maybe he'll join the same jam packed train going nowhere."
The light above her head flickered. She paid it no mind; it did that sometimes. Before her, she could hear the clang of pots being taken from the cupboards. She ignored that too. She focused on the paper she read from, her eyes shifting up before shooting back down.
"Here is where Reggie Jelzi isn't like you and I. Reggie Jelzi wants to have a purpose, to the very point he would create one himself. And I know what you're thinking. A normal person would say he just wanted to win a national medal, or make his name known. Well, he did make himself known alright, but not for the reason you're thinking. Mr.Jelzi took it upon himself to be the one to purge the world, which, as you all know, resulted in the nine serial kills of 1987. He was so hell bent on losing his ticket to the train going nowhere, that he went the extra mile to rip it up, throw it in the air and let it fall to the ground with his prints all over it. He got caught eventually. But we all know the name: Reggie Jelzi, the Throatslasher."
Jasmine smiled when she finished. She folded the paper behind her, eyes excited, waiting for her parents' response. "So?" she said. "What do you think?"
"What was this paper about again?" Frank, Jasmine's father asked. He was reclined comfortably in the couch, legs spread. His eyes crinkled with a hidden smile. The bald spot in the middle of his head shone with every flicker of the light.
"'Why Reggie Jelzi became the Throatslasher'," Jacey, Jasmine's mother answered him. She rolled her eyes in good natured annoyance, picking up her tablet. She bent her leg over the other. "Weren't you listening?"
"I was listening," Frank quipped back. "I think it's good, Jasmine. You have a real way with words."
Jasmine's smile widened. "Mommy?"
"It's was very good, dear."
"You think it's A worthy, right?" Satisfied, she lumbered over to the kitchen and plopped down on the stool at the island. At the stove, her sister Felicia stood over a frying egg. "No need to tell me," Jasmine continued. "They'll put me on the Dean's list. I'm a genius. I know, I know. Hold your applause. I'll be signing autographs after I eat my breakfast."
"You talk too much," Felicia said. She slid the fried egg off the frying pan and reached for the bread. She was still in her pyjamas, which consisted of just her bra and a pair of shorts. She didn't like wearing clothes if she didn't have to and that meant even when she was standing over a frying pan popping with anger. Her hair was still wrapped in her bandana.
"Make me an egg, please?" Jasmine asked. She sent her older sister her brightest smile. Felicia rolled her eyes, sandwiched her egg between her bread and walked away. She waved to her parents sitting in the couch, heading up the stairs.
Felicia attended Dement State Medical School where she was religious when it came on to ignoring her little sister. Jasmine didn't mind being ignored. She had her own life and friends too. The more separate they were, the better.
Jasmine was in too good a mood to be upset. She made eggs for everyone in the house, then she scarfed hers down and headed upstairs to get ready for class. As soon as she stepped into her room, her little sister jumped out of her bed. Jasmine jolted in surprise.
"Lend me your cute black shirt," Kristin said.
"No."
"Please!"
"Why?"
"I'm going out with some friends tonight and I don't have anything to wear."
Jasmine ignored her pout and went to her dresser, dragging clothes out. "Does mommy and daddy know you're going out tonight?"
"Of course they do. What do you take me for?"
Kristin popped up beside her, smiling. She was the lightest in the house, favouring a caramel shade while everyone else was coffee coloured. Her hair was shorter but currently had false hair braided down to her back. It was tied up now since she never bothered to wear a bandana to bed. A long shirt served as her pyjamas. Jasmine looked at her.
"Fine," she said. "But when I want something, you have to lend it to me."
"Deal!" Kristin was quick to jump back into her bed. She was a phone addict. If she wasn't talking to someone, she was text messaging them or reading. Sometimes she did all three at the same time.
With her clothes in tow, Jasmine went to shower. Ten minutes later, she left the bathroom in only her underwear. Her brown skin glowed with the scent of strawberries, her hair tucked under her shower cap. For most her life, Jasmine hated her tiny boobs. They barely scraped the requirements for an A cup, and surrounded by heavy chested women, she was the odd one out. Her hips may be wide, her ass may be sizeable, but God forbid any guy be interested in her with such tiny breasts. She didn't mind them anymore. They were a part of her she had to accept and so she pulled on the tight V neck with confidence and slid her legs into skinny jeans with even more. Her necklace swung around when she bent to tie her shoelaces.
"Aren't you going to school?" Jasmine asked Kristin while she ran her hands through her afro. The curls were heavy with products so it fell downwards.
"Teacher's workshop," Kristin murmured, too caught up in her phone to push out a full sentence.
Kristin was still in high school. Jasmine didn't think she would miss being at that hellhole, but law school made it possible. Her professors were assholes, her classes were impossible to pass and she was awful at studying. Not a very good combination.
At least she didn't have to commute to school any more. She lived an hour and a half away from campus, which was hell if you were trying to get there on time. It took two buses, nearly three hundred dollars and a cup full of anxious sweat to get to her first class. She finally managed to convince her parents that living on campus was the right thing for her. Jasmine would finally be able to wake up later than usual and she would be closer to Raymond, her best friend.
"Bye guys!" she shouted, running down the stairs.
"Bye, dear," Jacey called out. "Don't forget to call us and visit us whenever you can! Keep your necklace on!" Jacey never failed to tell her that whenever she left the house. Jasmine dismissed it as her mother wanting her to keep her close at all times.
"Yes, mommy. Bye, daddy!"
"Bye, dear." Frank's eyes never left the TV screen. Jasmine smiled. She would miss them. She would even miss waking up to her sisters screaming at each other, and to the sound of weed wackers. She would miss the chirp of crickets at night, and surprised shouts when a bug flew in from the window. She made a promise to herself to visit as often as she could. She knew she wouldn't even get to see Felicia a lot, since her sister didn't mind commuting back and forth and preferred to stay at home.
With one last look, Jasmine grabbed her book bag and left.
**
This time, when she took the very last bus to the Dement University campus, Jasmine wasn't thinking about the hole in her purse. Nor did she complain about the long ride to herself. She was thinking, instead, about all the campus parties she could attend. She was happy she didn't have her parents breathing down her neck anymore. Jasmine was in no way a party girl. She much preferred hanging out with a few friends to downing alcohol with strangers. Yet, the fact that she had the breathing room to do what she wanted made her feel free.
The bus was blaring. Loud music blasted from the speakers and, even sitting at the very back wedged between the window and a weighty woman with her son in her lap, Jasmine could feel the bass shake her insides. She didn't mind the noise though, although others complained to the bus conductor. She was lost in her own world, as she normally was. Staring out the window, watching the world past her by with the driver's reckless driving, Jasmine's mind was in wonderland. She was a loud daydreamer. Her mouth moved, imagining different scenarios in her head. Her face changed expressions many times. To others she supposed she looked like she was talking to herself, but Jasmine didn't mind that either. She spoke to herself often.
Finally, the ride was over. The jam packed bus cleared out. Jasmine was the last to leave, taking a deep breath of fresh air. The bus terminal at the campus' front entrance milled with students. Chatter drifted around. Heaving her bag back onto her shoulder, Jasmine began towards the Communications building for her minor in journalism. It wasn't long before she heard someone shout her name.
Turning, she saw Raymond running towards her. He swung his arm over her shoulder as greeting then quickly slid away before Jasmine could bite him. Ray loved touching others. He made it his goal to embrace Jasmine as long as he could before she threw a fit. Jasmine hated to be touched. She wasn't mushy like Ray was.
"Hey, roomie," Ray greeted.
"Roomie?" Jasmine frowned at him. "I'm not rooming with you. Boys and girls have two separate dorms."
"Yeah, I know, I just..." He sighed. "It was a joke, Jaz."
"You're not funny then." Jasmine walked away. Ray jogged up beside her. He was taller than her but shorter than most guys she knew. His skin was the colour of roasted coffe beans. His hair was curly, the edges lined up, and his mouth was plump. He often drew the attention of many girls but Ray didn't pay them mind. Right now, he focused on one girl.
"Jeez, Jaz. I just said that because you and I will be living on campus together. You dropped off your things already?"
"Last week," she replied. "I was moving them in bit by bit 'cause I couldn't bother with the whole load-one-time thing."
"Sounds like something you would do. You know you could just get someone to move them for you right?"
"And spend what money I don't have? I don't think so." Ray shook his head at Jasmine's scoff. He grew up in a family that never had to worry about cutting back. She didn't. Jasmine knew the value of money more than he did and never tried to spend it on anything she didn't need. That being said, Jasmine was a spendrift when it came on to filling her own gut and putting clothes on her back.
"Anyway," Ray continued. "You heard about Lexi's party?"
"Lexi's having a party?"
He sighed, sliding in between the seats. They chose their seats right in the centre of the lecture room. "You didn't hear about Lexi's party?"
"I never hear about anything, remember? Is she back from Gaitland?" Unbothered, Jasmine took out her books. Lexi was an old friend, but Jasmine didn't keep in touch with her when she migrated to Gaitland. The country was too far for them to be on the same sleep pattern. Giving up her sleep wasn't an option. Jasmine decided they were never that close in the first place.
"She came back two weeks ago!" Ray exclaimed.
"Oh, she's staying?"
"No, she's on break from school so she came down to visit some friends. She's throwing the party as her last chance to see everyone before she goes back up in the next few days."
"Obviously she didn't want to see me if I didn't get an invite."
"You probably did get an invite but never bothered to check social media to see it."
"That's probably it," Jasmine agreed. Other than a few text messages here and there, Jasmine was too busy watching TV shows and reading fantasy novels to interact with the outside world.
"Anyway, you have to come."
"Oh, come on, Ray. This is my first day staying on campus. I just want to sleep."
"Stop acting as if you've been pulling luggage and moving furniture all day," Ray said. "You want to go."
"I want to go but I don't want to go. If you get what I mean."
"Alistar will be there."
"I'm there."
The rest of the conversation was cut short when Ray's 'girlfriend' came to sit beside him. They never made it official since they were still in the 'talking' phase, but Jasmine knew it was only a matter of time. She hoped she would soon jump on the in-a-relationship bandwagon. She's had a crush on Alistar Hamil since she started the semester. They exchanged words a few times, even worked on a project together, but Jasmine didn't think she made it out the friendzone. She wanted to be more. She could make that move at the party.
The professor walked in. As a handsome man, he usually held the attention of his students, but Jasmine wasn't feeling it today. She blamed it on the cold room and her full belly, but as soon as he spoke, Jasmine rested her head on the desk and fell fast asleep