Status: Thank you for reading.
Just to Live
Listen & Learn
“How’s your first day going?” the only other person in the kitchen asked Tabitha. Her light brown eyes skimmed over the 17 year-old girl, secretly wondering if the girl had a bad track record.
“It’s okay ma’am,” Tabitha replied meekly, taking a small bite of her ham and cheese sandwich. She knew the woman sipping her mug of coffee was busily scrutinizing her. Although she expected the other women in the house to judge her, she wasn’t ready to handle it.
Suddenly, the woman laughed. Tabitha’s eyes shot up to the woman in confusion. “Sweetie,” she began, placing her mug on the granite surface, “you don’t have to be so scared. None of us are going to try to get you. I should introduce myself. I’m Eleanor, aged 45, and I’m pretty much the mother to all the other girls. I’m the oldest here dear. Please educate me about yourself.”
Tabitha blinked in surprise. She couldn’t believe Eleanor judged her in less than five minutes and decided that she wasn’t any type of threat. It was sort of an amazing quality.
“Hi,” Tabitha started softly. “I’m Tabitha, 17, and I was homeless. That’s pretty much it.”
Disbelief stained Eleanor’s eyes. She knew that wasn’t “it.” She knew fully well that Tabitha had a deeper story to tell, a hardship of a life. Eleanor could feel it in her bones that Tabitha wasn’t just a homeless girl. She had a feeling the young girl was holder of another secret. What the secret was, however, Eleanor couldn’t figure out.
“I’m going to steal Tabitha again,” Matthew announced, walking into the kitchen, wearing a different shirt. Before, he wore a black button down shirt with cuffs at the end of the long sleeves. As for now, he adorned a Guns N’ Roses shirt with the sleeves cut off. Tabitha gaped at the tattoos covering the skin of his arms. She hadn’t pictured him as a “badass.”
Eleanor nodded her head. “Go ahead sir. I’ll clean up her plate for her.”
“Oh wait,” Tabitha asserted, making Eleanor and Matthew halt their actions. “It’s my plate. I’ll clean it.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s one lousy plate. If it were 10 then I’d gladly let you wash them,” Eleanor insisted.
Matthew and Tabitha left for the second floor once again. Favorably for Matthew, he finished his work for the day with spirited concentration and no coffee breaks. This meant that he could once again test Tabitha’s cleaning abilities. She cleaned Brian’s office to his liking, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was good enough.
Matthew, however, was stricter. By the end of two hours, he expected to waltz into his office to find not even one speck of dirt and that his important documents safe and untouched.
“Okay, for the last time today, you have to clean another office—mine. I’ll be back in two hours. The cleaning products are in the same place as Brian’s.”
And without another word, Matthew left his office.
Two hours later, Tabitha sighed exhausted and threw the used gloves into the trashcan in the bathroom located in Matthew’s office. ‘Whew, just in time,’ she said to herself when the office door opened and in walked Matthew and Brian. The pair acknowledged the young girl whilst investigating in the office. They found Tabitha wasn’t sneaky; they liked that quality.
Wanting to get petty revenge on Brian, Matthew stepped in front of his friend and graciously told Tabitha she earned her job and he would be the one to take her to a bedroom that would belong to her for as long as she offered aid in their mansion. Before this, Matthew led his new employee down to the first floor to grab a large 6661 Records t-shirt and shorts for her to sleep in.
On their merry way to the third floor—reserved for Avenged’s employees—Matthew explained that Brian would take care of her underwear and brassiere needs by the morning after a good night’s sleep. “He owns a clothing line so he’s not weirded out by buying female clothes,” Matthew said nonchalantly. Tabitha, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable having to tell any man her personal sizes in such intimate clothes. She bit her lower lip, knowing she either had to grit her teeth and bare the embarrassment or face the streets once again.
“This is your room,” Matthew verbalized, allowing Tabitha to take her first step into her new bedroom. Inside the homely square room was a plain twin bed, small dresser with a TV, and an open window.
“Wow…” Tabitha breathed. It felt like so many years had passed since she was able to own a solid accommodation that she could freely declare as hers.
Tabitha sat down on the twin-sized bed, leaving Matthew to stand alone. “I’m going to explain some things to you,” Matthew obviously began to explain. “Your paycheck comes in once a week and you receive a fresh uniform every month. You can’t leave the house after hours: after seven pm.”
She folded her hands into her lap, nodding, waiting for Matthew to leave. She didn’t dare ask for she supposed it was a rude thing to demand. Matthew noticed she was waiting for him to make his exit also. He detected the youthful female held great manners. Such great manners needed rewards since it was rare for teenagers to have such superior behavior. However, he couldn’t leave the poor girl to sleep just yet. Therefore, he sat on her bed next to her, peering at her.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” he asked mildly.
She smiled. “You’re my boss; you can do whatever you want.”
“Well okay then,” he replied. “Have you ever been…touched by people?”
“Me?” she asked, pointing to herself. Matthew nodded. “No. I was lucky I guess.”
“Good, good. Men can be such despicable beasts,” he uttered with such conviction, it was as though he knew how despicable those in his gender were.
“Yes…” Tabitha answered, a bit daunted by Matthew’s sudden angry nature.
“So how did you know about our ad?”
“I was in the library on the PC checking the weather and the librarian passed the papers out.”
“Why were you in the library to begin with?”
“I had to check the weather, like I said. I needed to know if there was going to be rain.”
“To uh, find a new place to hang out?”
“You don’t have to be modest. I constantly look for new places to spend the night depending on the weather.”
“Sounds like you led a stressful life.”
“If you think so.”
The conversation was not reaching any new heights. Tabitha was diffident with her answers and Matthew was faltering in his speech. He knew it wasn’t a common topic to talk about, living a life on the streets without a permanent shelter, but he found it interesting. Although, he realized that he was very rude for invading into such private aspects of her life.
“It’s a good thing you have a home here now huh?” he asked, finally bringing the conversation to an eventual end.
“Yes,” she answered with apprehension.
“I’ll let you sleep early then. Have a good night.”
“Good night.”
Once Matthew left the room, Tabitha let her head drop harshly against her pillow. The delicateness of the pillow and blankets was enough to bring tears to Tabitha’s eyes. She was lucky, so unbelievably lucky.
“It’s okay ma’am,” Tabitha replied meekly, taking a small bite of her ham and cheese sandwich. She knew the woman sipping her mug of coffee was busily scrutinizing her. Although she expected the other women in the house to judge her, she wasn’t ready to handle it.
Suddenly, the woman laughed. Tabitha’s eyes shot up to the woman in confusion. “Sweetie,” she began, placing her mug on the granite surface, “you don’t have to be so scared. None of us are going to try to get you. I should introduce myself. I’m Eleanor, aged 45, and I’m pretty much the mother to all the other girls. I’m the oldest here dear. Please educate me about yourself.”
Tabitha blinked in surprise. She couldn’t believe Eleanor judged her in less than five minutes and decided that she wasn’t any type of threat. It was sort of an amazing quality.
“Hi,” Tabitha started softly. “I’m Tabitha, 17, and I was homeless. That’s pretty much it.”
Disbelief stained Eleanor’s eyes. She knew that wasn’t “it.” She knew fully well that Tabitha had a deeper story to tell, a hardship of a life. Eleanor could feel it in her bones that Tabitha wasn’t just a homeless girl. She had a feeling the young girl was holder of another secret. What the secret was, however, Eleanor couldn’t figure out.
“I’m going to steal Tabitha again,” Matthew announced, walking into the kitchen, wearing a different shirt. Before, he wore a black button down shirt with cuffs at the end of the long sleeves. As for now, he adorned a Guns N’ Roses shirt with the sleeves cut off. Tabitha gaped at the tattoos covering the skin of his arms. She hadn’t pictured him as a “badass.”
Eleanor nodded her head. “Go ahead sir. I’ll clean up her plate for her.”
“Oh wait,” Tabitha asserted, making Eleanor and Matthew halt their actions. “It’s my plate. I’ll clean it.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s one lousy plate. If it were 10 then I’d gladly let you wash them,” Eleanor insisted.
Matthew and Tabitha left for the second floor once again. Favorably for Matthew, he finished his work for the day with spirited concentration and no coffee breaks. This meant that he could once again test Tabitha’s cleaning abilities. She cleaned Brian’s office to his liking, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was good enough.
Matthew, however, was stricter. By the end of two hours, he expected to waltz into his office to find not even one speck of dirt and that his important documents safe and untouched.
“Okay, for the last time today, you have to clean another office—mine. I’ll be back in two hours. The cleaning products are in the same place as Brian’s.”
And without another word, Matthew left his office.
Two hours later, Tabitha sighed exhausted and threw the used gloves into the trashcan in the bathroom located in Matthew’s office. ‘Whew, just in time,’ she said to herself when the office door opened and in walked Matthew and Brian. The pair acknowledged the young girl whilst investigating in the office. They found Tabitha wasn’t sneaky; they liked that quality.
Wanting to get petty revenge on Brian, Matthew stepped in front of his friend and graciously told Tabitha she earned her job and he would be the one to take her to a bedroom that would belong to her for as long as she offered aid in their mansion. Before this, Matthew led his new employee down to the first floor to grab a large 6661 Records t-shirt and shorts for her to sleep in.
On their merry way to the third floor—reserved for Avenged’s employees—Matthew explained that Brian would take care of her underwear and brassiere needs by the morning after a good night’s sleep. “He owns a clothing line so he’s not weirded out by buying female clothes,” Matthew said nonchalantly. Tabitha, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable having to tell any man her personal sizes in such intimate clothes. She bit her lower lip, knowing she either had to grit her teeth and bare the embarrassment or face the streets once again.
“This is your room,” Matthew verbalized, allowing Tabitha to take her first step into her new bedroom. Inside the homely square room was a plain twin bed, small dresser with a TV, and an open window.
“Wow…” Tabitha breathed. It felt like so many years had passed since she was able to own a solid accommodation that she could freely declare as hers.
Tabitha sat down on the twin-sized bed, leaving Matthew to stand alone. “I’m going to explain some things to you,” Matthew obviously began to explain. “Your paycheck comes in once a week and you receive a fresh uniform every month. You can’t leave the house after hours: after seven pm.”
She folded her hands into her lap, nodding, waiting for Matthew to leave. She didn’t dare ask for she supposed it was a rude thing to demand. Matthew noticed she was waiting for him to make his exit also. He detected the youthful female held great manners. Such great manners needed rewards since it was rare for teenagers to have such superior behavior. However, he couldn’t leave the poor girl to sleep just yet. Therefore, he sat on her bed next to her, peering at her.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” he asked mildly.
She smiled. “You’re my boss; you can do whatever you want.”
“Well okay then,” he replied. “Have you ever been…touched by people?”
“Me?” she asked, pointing to herself. Matthew nodded. “No. I was lucky I guess.”
“Good, good. Men can be such despicable beasts,” he uttered with such conviction, it was as though he knew how despicable those in his gender were.
“Yes…” Tabitha answered, a bit daunted by Matthew’s sudden angry nature.
“So how did you know about our ad?”
“I was in the library on the PC checking the weather and the librarian passed the papers out.”
“Why were you in the library to begin with?”
“I had to check the weather, like I said. I needed to know if there was going to be rain.”
“To uh, find a new place to hang out?”
“You don’t have to be modest. I constantly look for new places to spend the night depending on the weather.”
“Sounds like you led a stressful life.”
“If you think so.”
The conversation was not reaching any new heights. Tabitha was diffident with her answers and Matthew was faltering in his speech. He knew it wasn’t a common topic to talk about, living a life on the streets without a permanent shelter, but he found it interesting. Although, he realized that he was very rude for invading into such private aspects of her life.
“It’s a good thing you have a home here now huh?” he asked, finally bringing the conversation to an eventual end.
“Yes,” she answered with apprehension.
“I’ll let you sleep early then. Have a good night.”
“Good night.”
Once Matthew left the room, Tabitha let her head drop harshly against her pillow. The delicateness of the pillow and blankets was enough to bring tears to Tabitha’s eyes. She was lucky, so unbelievably lucky.