Human Again (A Jeff the Killer story)

4. A new job

Emilie's pov

The next day, I open my eyes at 11 a.m. It was really hard getting to sleep after that scary night as pictures of this man always came back to my mind. I slept with the TV on, to create some background sounds in my flat and got my mind off the laugh I heard yesterday. But it was not a success. When I am fully awake, I look at my phone to check if I have received some replies from my friends on Facebook, but I haven't. Maybe they are hanging out with friends today, or preparing a party.

A party. How many months have passed since I went to one?
I push the thought away as I decide to send a message to my mom to tell her that I will call her later during the day.
I get up and grab some Oreo's cookies in the kitchen. I then lay on my bed and finally focus on the TV which had been on for so many hours, my electricity bills will probably suffer. The news are still talking about the woman found dead in Chicago. A beautiful journalist appears on the tv and starts her speech.

"The woman found dead yesterday evening in her own house in East Chicago has been identified by her parents. Her name was Elizabeth Smith, she was 25 years old and was still studying to become a surgeon, here, in the university of East Chicago. Specialists affirm that she was stabbed around five times in the chest and stomach and her throat was sliced. Plus, her two cheeks were cut into a permanent smile. The police still haven't found the murderer, but it seems that the cuts lay to a person they well know. Moreover, the words "Go To Sleep" were written on a paper near the crime scene. As it wasn't the first time for this criminal in our beautiful city, it is hugely advised to stay inside your house at night, with all the windows and doors locked. This is serious. A dangerous serial killer is in Chicago."

With that, I change the channel. A criminal's here, in Chicago, and apparently it's a serial killer. A gore one on top of that. I can't help but imagine a corpse with the two cheeks cut like the Joker. Disgusting. How can a human being do that? How can someone be so psycho? After yesterday's weird meeting, I shouldn't be surprised that this kind of person exists.

With that thought in mind, I get up to find some nice clothes - which are a black skinny jean and a white lace shirt - and head to the bathroom. Today, I want to go somewhere and do something fun, like the 20 years old girl I am. I take a shower rapidly, get dressed and apply some make up. I choose to put on some mascara, a bb cream and a pink gloss. I'm not the kind of girl who put too much make up, but I want to feel a little more confident about myself today, and that's not an easy thing. I then brush my teeth and look in the mirror, my brown eyes staring directly at me. We can still see the small freckles on my face, even though I'm not a redhead. I smile rapidly trying to convince myself that I'm good and return to the living room. I notice the newspaper under my door : the postman deliver it to me every day as I have a subscription.
I look at it rapidly and see the title "a serial killer in Chicago". Damn, that's the news of the decade. Annoyed by that, I just put it on the table near the kitchen, next to the front door. I grab my phone, my bag and my keys, and head to the front door, which I carefully lock.

Today is going to be a great day.

*******************

I don't really know where to go, it's already been half an hour since I'm walking with no specific destination. Finally, I notice a small French coffee shop/restaurant in the corner of the National Street. It's cute, a huge coffee is put on the roof and its name is "sil vous plait". I laugh a bit about the attempt to sound cute and chic with that name. It's kind of ridiculous, plus they forgot the apostrophe. But it seems cool so I enter it anyway. It's nearly empty, just 2 girls are drinking a coffee and eating pastries in a table at the end of the room, probably two chocolate Eclair.

"Bonjour" a boy around my age greets me. "For one person?"

"Yes please" I reply, following him to a small table in the corner of the room and accepting the menu he's handing me, a smile on his face.