It's morning, day two of my week of serving Helio. I hurry to his room and knock several times at his door but there's no reply. "Sir, this is Rebecca, can I come in." I say, but again there's no reply. In a state of panic I rush into his room to find it empty. It can't be that he's left already. I woke up as early as 6am this morning, which was too late for him.
"Sir?!" I run around but I'm in search of Helio who is nowhere to be found. This is trouble. I'm going to be scolded for letting my boss wake before me, ugh I suck at this maid thing.
After a tireless effort in finding Helio, I return to his room and sit on his bed staring into an empty space as I worry about what I'm going to do when he returns and scolds me.
Creak!!!
Went to the bathroom door. A hand stretches outside and a voice yells, "towel." Delighted to find Helio, I rush to his wardrobe and sort a towel for him. My worried heart finally calms after being assured that he was still home.
I wait outside the room for Helio to finish up, "hey, come inside." Hmm, but I just stepped out, is it really a good idea to go back inside? Let's obey first.
"Yes sir." As obedient as I could be, I walk inside without making a fuss. Helio stood before me with nothing but a towel strapped around his small tender waist, and a body that unbelievably belongs to a man. Oh shit.
Helio catches me staring and steps back a bit as a sign of the protectiveness of his body. I can't believe I seem like a pervert.
"Stop staring at me and ask someone to replace the empty lotions and creams in my bathroom." He says, "Ugh!" Helio holds his head and frowns in pain.
"A hangover preharps?" I ask him but Helio only glances over at me and turns away angrily. "I'll have someone replace them right away sir. I'll leave you to change." Desperate to hide my flushed reaction I rushed out from his room in a definite awkward style, bumping into whatever I could in order to avoid looking at his body.
I close the door and leave his room only to bump into a set of clowns, Maria's escorts. "Are you having fun stealing someone else's spotlight?" The tall one, Brenda asks.
"I don't remember stealing her spotlight, she's the one who was awarded the rest of the week off if you don't remember, oh and by the way I do enjoy having the ability to order you five around. The boss is in need of a new set of lotions and cream, and please make it snappy." I shoo them away, not waiting for them to complain or talk back and entertain myself with their facial reactions.
Hmm! Which reminds me, his hangover doesn't look good, maybe I should prepare something for him, a hangover soup before work would do. Hmm, I've never drank alcohol but my father drinks a lot so when I was still living with him I would look after him and prepare hangover soup. Sometimes he had bruises when he was drunk and when I asked he'd tell me he met with his debtors but I wonder just why he runs into them every time he's drunk and so since he refused to tell me anything I gave up on him and left.
"Would you mind preparing some hangover soup?" I speak to the chef. "Sir could really use one now."
"Well that's a first, I mean we all know he gets drunk but no one bothers to bring him a hangover soup before because they're scared of him." Scared of Helio, the guy who can't even stand if he's drunk? I'm beginning to think all the rumours about him being all tough and difficult to approach were lies, he seems like an egg, hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
"Well, it'll be a first then, let's see how it goes if he's scary as they say or just a big softie, hurry up now." As I waited for the soup I had to return to Helio because I didn't want to complain much on my second day. "Sir I'm here." I say knocking at the door.
"Where were you?" A voice suddenly says from behind me, Helio, who was almost ready for work, surprises me as I discover he was no longer in his room. I try my best to maintain my composure and respond.
"Making hangover soup, it seems like you're experiencing some serious after effects."
An awkward silence befalls us. I was expecting Helio to say something but he just remained silent, and I don't understand the look on his face at the moment, he looked speechless but more than that, he looked shocked but that possibly can't be because of a hangover soup now can it? "Seeing as you're ready, I'll go fetch the soup and bring it to your room."
"No, there's no need to." He sharply said.
"It's just a soup sir, you'd still have to eat something, you can't leave here with an empty stomach sir?"
"Not that…." Although he was a bit sober, Helio still gave me the feeling that he was drunk. Helio looked away from me, his eyes were unsteady and he would constantly make weird facial expressions even his body seems to react in a funny manner, sometimes he'd raise his hand a bit and the next he'll drop it, or he'll turn around and then face me and other more movements that was beyond my understanding but there was one thing I know and that is, he's taking quite a lot of time to make up his mind on what he wants. "There's no need to bring it to my room, have it served at the dinner table." Ah. I brighten up immediately and bow my head, rushing out of the room after excusing myself to prepare all he needed at the table.
Hmm! That's quite odd, there was no one at the kitchen, which was a bit odd since the chef was at least always in the kitchen, I looked around a bit to find him arguing with one of Maria's buddies and leave the two of them. The hangover soup was already prepared, even breakfast, I'll just serve it myself then. I moved everything I needed to the trolley and moved it to the dinner table, arranging everything while I waited. "Sir, everything's ready." I say to Helio while knocking at his door, but once again he does not answer and so I leave him and wait downstairs for the impossible man.
He took his time before coming, in fact I think he changed his clothes because the colours and style of his present clothes didn't match the style of when we met after the bathroom incident. He took his seat at the head as always and was about to taste the soup when suddenly a loud voice cried out. "Stop."
I shook with fear at the loudness and impact of Brenda's scream that happened unaware. "What's the meaning of this?" Helio asked fumingly.
Brenda shook with fear and I wondered if she didn't think to interrupt in the first place. She clenched her skirt tightly like someone who was trying to be brave or hold back and then when she opened her mouth, her hand raised high as she pointed at my direction. "Sir, there's poison in that soup, I saw Rebecca putting something in there."
My jaw drops as I'm unable to reason, I've been framed.