Horrid Thoughts with Hard Questions

The first night in our new home is awkward, as you would think. Adrian had mentioned other tenants, but he hadn't mentioned how many. After the lights come on in the streets, and all people in the diner have gone, the rickety staircase comes to life with sounds of footsteps going up and down.

Claire and I stay in our room until the staircase is quiet, not wanting to bump into anyone in the small hallway, and then we slip out into the kitchen. Ten pairs of unfamiliar feminine eyes land on us all at once, and there is an immediate silence. A short, bittersweet silence, before...

"Adrian, love. Introductions are in order." Says a woman in the far left corner of the kitchen, eying us hungrily.

"Don't fret, Annabelle, dear." Adrian replies smoothly, directing a toothy smile in our direction. "I've taken the liberty of hiring a maid. Her name is Elizabeth, and her cousin, Claire, is to work as the restaurant's new waitress. Please be gentle, girls." The finishing comment makes me uneasy.

"Aw, you're no fun, Addy." The one called Annabelle whines. He brushes her off, and excuses himself. As he passes me to go to the stairs, he gives me a quick smile. I don't return the favor.

Claire is eaten up by the gaggle of girls, chatting happily with them as if they were all old friends. I remain alone, quietly surveying the situation at hand. There are ten other girls living here, with only one man. What kind of place is this? I decide to list what I already know.

It's a diner by day, and a secret bar by night (though I've yet to see this bar.) It all sounds shady to me, but I shrug it off. It's better than being on the street again.

Annabelle comes towards me, and tries to strike up a conversation.

"So, whereabouts do you two come from?"

"Virginia."

"Sweet little state, innit?" She sighs, seeming to be reminiscing of a familiar time. "I remember...Well, that's not important, I guess. So what brings you here?"

"Well...A train." I say, trying to at least crack a joke. She laughs dryly at my attempt.

"You seem fun. I wonder what Addy has in store for you."

I turn to look at her, and I see she's not smiling. What does she mean by that? I decide not to ask her, and to wait for her to continue instead.

"We go way back, me and Addy." She sighs that dreamy sigh again, and looks at me. "He's a great guy. Just kind of..." A pause to find the right word. "Intimidating."

"I'll say..." I mutter.

Another silence falls between us, widening the gap in our conversation...Or lack thereof. I preoccupy myself by looking around at the other girls.

There are four blondes, three brunettes, and two raven haired girls. Annabelle has an odd shade somewhere in between black and brown that's too close to call. It makes me feel like my gingery hair stands out even more than usual. I am always self-conscious about my hair. Or at least, I used to be. Lately, I've had more on my plate to worry about...

"Oh, I guess I should introduce you to everyone!" Annabelle cried out of the blue. Her hand wraps around my wrist, leaving me no time to worry about my hair as she drags me towards the bustling group of girls.

The next morning I start work. Adrian shows me up the stairs and indicates which rooms to clean. He leaves out the room where I assume the bar is, and another room near the top of the stairs that is locked. As I clean the girls rooms, I realize how disgusting women can be, and I begin to wonder how they dealt without a maid to begin with.

Over the course of the next week, I quickly learn and memorize all the girls' names. It's hard not to know someones name if you have to clean their room.

Annabelle slept in Adrian's room with him, much to my befuddlement. Although, she did say they went way back, I didn't think she meant like that.

Esme and Estella are twins, carbon copies of each other. They share a room with Alexa, a very temperamental woman, and Angelina, the epitome of irony being that she's the least angelic person ever.

The next room is shared by Rita, an loquacious gossip, Maria, a quiet, but witty comic, and Eva, an unrestrained man eater.

The last two girls, Jan and Katrina, are diamonds in the rough, or at least they seem that way to me. They're pleasant to talk to, and refrain from calling me, "the new girl," which I appreciate very much.

It's exhausting, this job. Who knew girls could be so...gross? Once the days work is done, and I've eaten my share of food, I fall into bed, and sleep until my alarm goes off in the morning. Claire's work isn't any more forgiving, working from six in the morning to seven in the evening with an hour lunch break. We hardly see each other with those hours, but when we do, we're too tired to talk. I feel like we're fading apart trying to keep together.

I just keep telling myself it could be worse...right?