Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that originally appeared in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". More's the pity.
Janet Weiss had awakened far too early that morning, too excited and nervous to sleep. Now she was sitting at her kitchen table, checking that she had everything she'd need for the day. Notebooks? Check. Two pens, just in case one pen ran dry? Check. Campus map? Check. Class schedule? Check. Parking pass? Check. Stylish backpack in which to carry the aforementioned necessities? Check. The only other thing she needed couldn't be put in any backpack…namely, self-confidence.
She'd been through so much during the past two years. Before, her life had been on a predictable, safe, traditional course. She'd met Brad Majors, the quintessential all-American boy, in high school. They'd had a chaste, wholesome courtship, culminating in a marriage proposal at the wedding of their best friends, Ralph Hapschatt and Betty Munroe. When Brad had suggested they visit their old teacher, Dr. Everett Scott, to tell him the news of their engagement, she'd readily agreed. He'd done so much to bring them together that was only right to give him the good news in person.
Okay, so there was one very small cloud looming on Janet's otherwise sunny horizon that day. Brad, admittedly, wasn't the world's most exciting man. All her friends had always complained about how hard it was to resist the temptation to sleep with their boyfriends – or gushed about how fabulous it was once they gave in to the temptation. She could never relate to their stories. She was comfortable with Brad, and it felt safe and warm holding his hand or kissing him. However, she'd never experienced passion, that hot, frantic sensation urging her to abandon her resolve and give herself over to physical pleasure. She told herself that would come after the wedding…that it was only her determination to save herself for marriage that prevented her from wanting to express her love for Brad in sexual terms.
Of course, later that night she learned how wrong she was, in the most shocking manner possible. She'd literally passed out when she first saw Frank N. Furter. Initially she thought her reaction was due to his attire and makeup, which was, indeed, startling. However, in retrospect, she realized she had been reacting to more than just his appearance – she'd been reacting to his blatant sexual energy, an energy that proved to be more than a little contagious. She'd been under its influence when he visited her bedroom later that evening, masquerading as Brad. As "Brad" kissed her, with a fire and self-assurance he'd never exhibited before, she'd been thrilled. At long last he was demonstrating the ability to arouse the kind of passion and desire in her that her friends had always talked about. When she discovered her lover's true identity, it had put her off only briefly. By that time, she was fully controlled not by her mind, but by her body. Against all rational thought, she wanted – no, needed - him to make love to her, and it had turned out to be the most electrifying, life-altering experience she could have ever imagined. Subsequent events that night… her own seduction of Rocky after discovering that Brad had been similarly seduced by Frank, her performance in Frank's floor show…only served to confirm that she was forever changed. Frank had ignited a flame in her that could not be ignored.
But Frank was dead, dead and gone, and she and Brad decided to put the That Night behind them as best they could. Their wedding took place, as planned, and they settled into the life of a traditional married couple. Brad worked as a clerk in an accounting firm, and Janet was a housewife. Brad had insisted, over her objections, that she give up her secretarial job once they were married. No wife of his was going to work outside the home…everyone would think he couldn't support her. Janet spent her days cooking, cleaning, and socializing with her friend Betty. Janet also got bored. Very, very bored.
It didn't help her mood that Brad, perhaps not surprisingly, turned out to be helpless in the bedroom. Not only was he inept, he was angered by any attempts on her part to suggest things she would enjoy…suspecting, correctly enough, that they were things she had experienced with Frank. While Janet understood his jealousy, his unwillingness to take any action to improve their sexual relationship frustrated and angered her.
Her dissatisfaction with the state of their marriage led to what would turn out to be the biggest problem of all, her refusal to get pregnant. Throughout their courtship, Brad and Janet had always anticipated having at least two children, and Brad was increasingly eager to start their family. However, Janet was determined that children would have to wait until she and Brad had their relationship back on track. Brad, for his part, was convinced that a baby would bring them closer together. This conviction was supplemented by the idea, never expressed, that once he gave Janet a child, she would lose her obsession with Frank. The debate between the two of them raged on, with neither willing to concede to the other's point of view.
Matters came to a head one Saturday, when Janet had run out to the drugstore to pick up some toothpaste and shampoo. When she opened the medicine cabinet to put the toothpaste away, she noticed her container of birth control pills was missing. After looking in every possible place, she finally asked Brad if he had seen them. His reply had infuriated her beyond belief…he'd thrown them out, blithely stating that she didn't need them. It was time for her to get pregnant, and that was all there was to it.
Unfortunately for Brad, that was not "all there was to it," and it was all bad news for him. As far as Janet was concerned, it was an unmistakable sign that Brad was completely incapable of respecting her feelings. That very day she packed up her belongings and moved back in with her parents. She finally realized that Brad would never be able to make her happy, and both of them deserved more than a hollow shell of a marriage. Despite Brad's repeated pleas that she take him back and give him another chance, she filed for divorce. Brad, finally realizing there was nothing he could do to change her mind, declined to challenge the action, and the divorce was quickly finalized.
Despite the fact that Janet initiated the divorce, and was fully convinced it was the right course of action, the failure of her marriage still hit her hard. All her life she'd always done what she was supposed to do…she'd been the perfect daughter and the perfect girlfriend. However, she'd failed in her attempt to be the perfect wife. As "wife" and "mother" were the only roles she had ever expected to fill, she was at a loss as to what to do with her life. It had been her father who suggested that she go back to school. Her high school grades had been excellent, but she'd seen no reason to go to college. A college degree was unnecessary for the life she'd envisioned for herself. Now, everything had changed. She applied to the College of Denton and, to her delight, was accepted. It was time to approach the blank canvas that was her life, and begin to paint the picture of a glorious and fulfilled future. At last, she was free.
Her decision to make the most of that freedom had led up to this, the first day of classes. Let's see, what was on her schedule today? There was English composition at 8am, world history at 10am, then no other classes until chemistry at 2pm. She was definitely not looking forward to that one, but she'd been told all freshmen were required to take a science course. At least her advisor assured her the professor was absolutely first rate…
