Just to Live

It was dinnertime throughout the Avenged Sevenfold manor. Most of the women retired to the dining room to finish their last meal of the day before returning to the Relaxation room until sleep fell upon their beings. Only a small group stayed in the kitchen area, munching little bites of their chicken enchiladas.

“So tell us your story!” the woman closest to Tabitha gushed. The unnamed woman’s hair shined with beauty with her short raven hair and moderately pale skin tone.

“Story?” Tabitha gulped.

“Yeah. Of how you got here you know?” the woman continued.

“Well, I was homeless,” Tabitha mumbled quietly, finding quick interest in a fallen piece of chicken on her white plate.

“Oh gosh! How did you survive?” Eleanor squeaked, covering her agape mouth with her hand.

Tabitha shrugged. “You learn a thing or two.”

“You could probably kick all our asses right now,” laughed the woman. Tabitha decided to call her Raven.

“Nope,” Tabitha said. “I had to gain wits.”

“Oh snap we have a mastermind on our hands!” Raven practically howled, waving her arms in a flamboyant manner.

“Not even close.”

The conversations lowered as everyone wanted to finish their dinner so there wouldn’t be a long line at the sink to wash dishes. One of the few things the women disliked the most about living in a house with so many females was finishing their food at the exact same time. It grew rather agitating.

Tabitha watched in hilarity at the rambunctious women arguing over their place in line towards the sink. She didn’t think waiting was an important matter to argue over. It would only take each person approximately five minutes to clean their dishes anyways.

“What are you doing here all alone?” Vanessa asked courteously, taking the kitchen stool seat next to Tabitha.

Tabitha smiled and shook her head, taking another small bite of her enchilada. She was among the few left that hadn’t finished eating just yet. “Can you explain this maid thing to me? Oh, and I’m Tabitha.”

“I know. Vanessa. It takes awhile to remember everyone’s names. You’ll remember mine because of my hair,” she mused and she absentmindedly combed through a section of her orange red hair with her slender fingers.

“I remember,” Tabitha stated, remembrance shining in her facial features as she thought back to the day she met Zacky and when everyone insinuated she was the sole reason the bosses were “spoiling” them.

“Anyways, it’s kind of strict here. We’re only allowed to wear our uniforms to work, we can’t leave the house without approval, and we get a phone call once a day. Damn I’m making it sound like we’re in prison. Uhm…”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I was thinking that too,” Tabitha giggled, beginning to adore Vanessa and her cutesy personality.

“Oh okay. So yeah, don’t even think of trying to get out of here after hours. They have some security system set up and if you don’t punch in the code, the alarm goes off and it’s crazy everywhere.”

“No problem. What about paychecks?”

“We get them once a week. Everyone wakes up early Sunday morning and we go to the bank to deposit our checks.”

“It all sounds so complicated,” Tabitha groaned, rubbing her forehead.

“It is, but you figure if they can run a record label, they can keep check of our bank accounts,” Vanessa reasoned.

“They invade our privacy?” Tabitha muttered lowly.

“What? No!” Vanessa gasped in alarm. “We get to keep our cards. All our mail goes to them though. They give it us and never look at it since it’s illegal.”

As Tabitha discovered more information about how her life now at the manor, she was beginning to see the somewhat complex, yet clever system her bosses devised. She recognized them for their rules and regulations.

Tabitha took a larger bite out of her enchilada before another question popped into her head. “What if I want to buy something?”

Vanessa giggled. “Our time of the month and girly stuff is already taken care of. It’s in the bathroom of the Relaxation room.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about clothes, shoes, music, books?”

“Oh. I don’t know.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome! You should finish eating quickly and head to bed early. Tomorrow’s Sunday and you get your first check!” Vanessa shouted in glee, not for herself. She was strangely hyperactive most of the time, and although other women found it distracting, Tabitha liked that feature of Vanessa. She thought it was refreshing to find such a unique person with an equally unique personality. If Tabitha hadn’t known, she developed the beginning of a close friendship with Vanessa.