The Maids

"Hello Mo-om?"

Her voice was being interrupted by static sounds so much that I couldn't hear a thing she said. Maybe there wasn't cell signal in her current location.

Dejectedly, I cut the line and as soon as I did, the phone was snatched from my hands.

"Think fast," someone called and a mysterious looking thing sailed through the air towards me, instinctively I caught it before it could make contact with my hair. Looking down at what was caught in my hands I discovered that it was warm, hairy and could move.

Screaming, I dropped the nasty vermin as I couldn't believe my hands just held that thing, nonetheless the girl that told me ' think fast' already caught the mouse before it hit the ground.

Apparently, the little stunt had not gone unnoticed by the others as it earned me deadly stares, scoldings and many snickers. Two palms latched themselves on to either side of my cheek another brushing away my hair from my face.

"Ewww what happened to your face," said one of the girls that surrounded me. She was also in her underwear, most of them were and they were laughing and making faces.

"Ooh puerido," said the brown skinned girl that had her palms latched onto my face. I didn't know what language she spoke but she sounded almost sorry for me. Almost. "You look like my dog back home, El Guapo and he looks even better than you do."

The laughter that followed that stupid joke was marring for me but I'd endured worse, I felt quite uncomfortable not only because of the joke or the laughter or the palms that were latched onto my cheeks but 'cause of the mouse that was being held close to me by the brunette who first spoke to me.

Another came forward smiling brightly at me.

"Hi, I'm Amber."

She's still smiling as she grasped my left hand with hers shaking it.

"Nice to meet you, can we be friends?"

The others stared in mock anticipation, I was even more confused but her gesture looked so convincing and genuine. I almost smiled back and reciprocated until she suddenly started laughing and pointing at me like I bore two heads.

"That's what I woulda said if your face wasn't the worst one I've ever seen."

"Should have seen that one coming," I thought and sighed as most erupted in laughter.

"Yeah, Madam should have been blind for her to have employed someone like her, this is outrageous."

Great. Now it was like I wasn't even here.

There was more laughter and awful remarks directed at me, by then I'd detached my cheek from the stranger's hands. Words couldn't describe how unstable and scared I was, my back pressing against the wall and my eyes frantically roving around was testimony to that.

"Hey, are you all just so jobless that you can't find something better to do if it isn't messing around with the newbie," hollered another girl standing a few feet away from us. She was short and with how she was all dressed up in her maids' uniform, my guess was that she just entered.

"You all know who she's with and if any of you value your reputation or your job in any way, I reckon you should all quit this."

She didn't know how grateful I was that she showed up, I could be getting skinned alive and no one would care. Looking back at them—the ones who were having such a fun time at my expense I wondered what they were going to do next, and to my surprise they started retreating one by one but not without leaving provocative impressions.

Even the mouse girl was smiling at me, in a way more sinister than innocent as she went back to her bunk. I didn't even want to know what was going on in her head...

Someone cackled aloud at the girl that defended me. "Bambi, Bambi, Bambi... Bambi's getting a lot of nerve these days..."

I wondered what that meant or if she was sent by Evelynn to look after me as I started to settle down on my bed. However, before my rear could make contact with it, the girl with the strange language dragged me by the hair.

"Don't even think of it, Scarface—don't you have any idea how uncomfortable you make others feel?"

She let go when I stood up painfully.

"So where am I supposed to sleep?" I questioned her. I completely understood that they wanted nothing to do with me, I knew I tended to have that effect on people.

Tracing my line of vision to where her finger pointed, I almost groaned. They wanted me to stay at the farthest bed by the right, closest to the bay windows, but not wanting any trouble I had to comply.

"Oh and we took the liberty of transporting your things," she added, grinning.

"That can't be good."

As I made my way towards the farthest bunk nearest to the window, numerous eyes followed my movement. Sounds of sardonic laughter and insults echoed around me and some bulky woman probably in her early thirties shoved past me purposely bumping her shoulder into mine, almost sending my slender form crashing to the ground.

She still had the nerve to smile showing off yellowish teeth and say, "Watch it Red!" before sizing me up with her eyes. "Nice dress." she remarked slyly.

It was as though I had a target on my back. On the top bunk bed above the one I was to stay in and snoring loudly was yet another obese lady, beyond oblivious to all the commotion occurring all that time.

Pushing aside the sour feeling of how hard it was going to sleep amidst her big snores, I looked down to my bed. On it were my things scattered all over the place; at the foot of the bed, on the dresser, window sill—just name it.

"How am I to survive a day here?"

Lightning...streaked across the sky—I couldn't sleep—cheering the already heavy downpour on. It was almost funny how the weather right then was indicative of how I felt; sad, somewhat hungry and conflicted.

How silly it was of me to think that leaving home would mean being free of my terrorists but then I'd found out that the cycle continued, this time with people, more crazy than normal—especially the girl with the rat—with even crazier agendas. Howbeit, I didn't have to fall a hapless victim to their japes, there had to be a way around it.

"I just had to figure it out," I thought, letting my medallion sift freely between my fingers. If I hadn't tucked it into my dress when I did, they would've taken it too along with my phone. And then, retrieving it was going to be a big task.

I considered tabling the matter to Evelynn however, if they found out I did, surviving a day here would be much harder so that plan was cancelled and the matter persisted.

Badaboom!! There went the thunder again, the sounds of it were at its loudest in this part—this must be one of the reasons they sent me here, coupled with that woman's snores, no doubt.

"Surely, me getting any sleep tonight was off the list," I thought, wrapping my sweater-covered arms tighter around myself. Even without the rain, that lady's snoring fused with the fuzzy scent of the bed I was on, wasn't going to let me sleep.

I changed beds to the one across when I realized that sleeping underneath her was impossible but still her snores persisted. I could've chosen to stay farther away from her as there were at least five unoccupied bunk beds around, which made that corner a little secluded, but, they were all dusty and inasmuch as that one smelt a bit fuzzy, it was the most bearable.

I envied her though, if only I were blessed with the ability to sleep through thunderstorms...

Letting my eyes roam the room, I could see that most were asleep and the only lights I could see were the ones emanating from torches as the main ones had long been switched off. A torch flared in my direction, forcing me to shield my eyes from its intensity. Then it pointed downwards and that's when I heard footsteps approaching me.

"Who's there?" My voice came out in a faint squeak as I was about to spring out of bed.

"Stay put, no one's trying to hurt you," A familiar voice whispered back, then she pointed the torch light to illuminate her face. It was the girl that defended me from before.

"Take this." Her hand was outstretched in my direction and in it held...my phone, which I gladly collected.

"Thank you, how did you get it?" I asked her after having tucked it into my shorts pocket.

"The bathroom's directly opposite this room, just in case you didn't know," she started off, ignoring my question entirely.

She looked short from afar and this up close, she looked even shorter with curly blonde hair and brown eyes.

"OK, thanks for the information," I said.

She kept a straight face.

"Yeah, and just because I got you off the hook today doesn't mean I would do it tomorrow or any other day. Here, you watch your back and sleep with one eye open..."

"Or two eyes open, I haven't even gotten any sleep."

"Or you go down hard, don't draw attention to yourself..." Then she sorta started laughing abruptly. I looked around for anything that could be the cause of her laughter then returned my gaze back to her, she seemed so serious a moment ago.

"Oh sorry...sorry," she said, wiping just below her eyelids. "It's hard to keep a straight face"

She looked harmless...just like Delilah did and I was more than convinced that she too could do a lot of damage. For all I knew, she could be working with the others.

She snickered, "No, it's just that putting you and 'not drawing attention' in the same sentence is crazy, because, looking the way you do you'd draw attention anywhere."

I was right, she came all the way just to taunt me about how I looked, she was right anyways...

"It's like you're some kind of celebrity or something, one that I wouldn't like to be friends with."

I chose to remain silent so she could get to the bottom of what she was saying. She'd made it clear that she didn't want to be associated with me in any way but I wasn't looking for one to start with.

Her smile was still there and it was looking kinda eerie in the glow of the torchlight and the sound of angry thunder in the background.

"I like your necklace," she said again and my hand instinctively went to touch it when her eyes lingered on it.

"Thanks," I said, unsure.

I was grateful for her help and for her returning my phone however she did it. It was clear that she was not sent by Evelynn and honestly right now, I'd rather drown in my thoughts than listen to her nonsensical babbling.

Her smile faded then she leaned in as she said:

"The worst mistake you could make is trusting anyone here, 'cause you'll be signing your death warrant if you did," she stopped for a moment then continued. "I'm only telling you this because it irks me to see this kind of treatment being given to someone.

We're not acquaintances to say the least neither will we be, and the moment I turn to leave when you see me again don't try to call out to me or acknowledge me or pretend like we know each other 'cause we don't." She said all this in hushed tones.

"I wasn't hoping for us ever becoming friends anyways," I said, feeling the need to clarify myself as I stared back at her.

"Good," she smiled, it was obvious she spoke from experience and her telling me this was a very kind gesture. The fact that someone cared enough to give me a heads up on what to be expecting there really touched me. Not minding that one moment she would be serious and equally perverted the next.

"Thanks for helping me," I voiced.

She was getting up now from the bed beside mine where she sat.

"Yeah...oh look the rain's stopped and if anyone asks, I was never here." she said, jabbing a finger to my shoulder blade.

I wanted to scoff, as if nobody saw her heading this way or heard the incessant noise coming from her.

As she was retreating to her bunk, probably on the other side of the room, I called out to her. Turning reluctantly with her torchlight pointing downwards and glaring daggers at me, she asked, "What?"

"What's your name?"

She sized me up, then scoffed. Her torchlight switched off, concealing her form perfectly in the darkness and my ears could barely make out the sound of her footfalls as I stared at the spot she recently stood on, in utter resignation.

"All these maids..."

*Oh puerido—(spanish)—Oh dear/darling.