Just a Maid

Chapter 5

I was mopping the hallway when Ms. Rose suddenly called me. Sighing tiredly, I went to where she was - the main hall.

As I walked down the spiralling staircase, I saw there was a bunch of maids with her - way more than usual. I recognized all of them, but there seemed to be a new one. From what I could tell she was shy and around my age. She awkwardly stood beside Ms. Rose, looking down at her petite feet. Excitement filled me as I realized I might not be alone.

When I reached Ms. Rose, she said, "Alanna, this is Lea. She's our newest maid. She'll be helping you take care of Brianna since you're apparently too slow."

A few snickers escaped some of the maids, but I ignored them and smiled. "Sure, come with me Lea."

Without a word, she followed me up the stairs. I felt angry at the other maids who seemed to think they were better than me. For some reason they always treated me like trash, even though we had the same jobs. At first it hurt, but I had learned to ignore it.

When I reached the hallway I was previously in, I smiled at Lea who still seemed nervous. She was gorgeous with her long, raven black hair and green eyes. There was no reason for her to be nervous.

"Hey, I'm Alanna," I said, hoping to break the ice with introductions.

She smiled at me, her nervousness vanishing with the smile. "Hi, I'm Lea. How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen. How about you?"

"Nineteen." She grinned. "Thank god you're here. I was afraid I'd be stuck with those other maids."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm happy I finally have someone around my age. Those ladies always act like I'm some useless child."

Lea shook her head. "Assholes."

My smile grew. I knew I would like her. She already related to the pain I felt the past two weeks.

*****

"This is harder than I thought," Lea grumbled.

"Yeah," I replied. "You get used to it though."

"Really?"

"Okay, not really," I said, smiling sympathetically.

Two hours had passed since I told her the ropes of the place, and we had been mopping our hearts out ever since. I could tell Lea was exhausted from her uneven breathing. Pity welled up in me from the noise because she was such a small person.

"How's Brianna?" Lea asked.

"Horrible," I replied honestly. "She's a brat."

"Dammit," Lea grumbled. "Her boyfriend is hot though."

I froze. Sometimes I forgot his good looks were obvious to others, too.

"What's wrong?" Lea asked, frowning.

She could sense something was wrong and I was grateful, but I didn't know why I froze. Donovan wasn't mine.

"Nothing," I said, forcing a smile. "I'm just surprised you saw him already. He isn't around much. Brianna likes to go out often."

"Oh, he was here today," Lea said. "Do you think he's attractive?"

I shrugged awkwardly. "Sure, but it's not like I could ever get him."