"It's me, Genevieve," Genevieve said to me.
"Oh! That's true. I totally forgot that there is someone else in my room," I explained to her.
"Am sorry if I scared you," she apologized to me.
"Nah, it's fine," I said to her and got up from the bed.
I walked towards the door and switched on the light. She has already won the nightgown, it is revealing from under the breast down to the waist top of the hips.
"I didn't want you to sleep here," I told her.
"Am sorry, my Lady," she said and sat up.
"Aren't you leaving again?"
I asked her. I thought she was going home or to her agency.
Ugh!
Am seriously not ready for this.
" I thought you wanted me to spend the night here," she said to me.
"No, I don't," I said to her.
"So why did you give me your nightgown?" She asked me.
"Because I didn't want to give you my clothes. Maybe," I said to her without thinking. Not even for a second.
"What?"
"My Lady. Were you expecting to go home with a nightgown?" She asked me. She was surprised at what I replied to her.
"It's already dark," I said to her.
"Infact, no one will notice," I added.
She just nodded. I do not know if I was offended. I was not ready to fend for anyone tonight.
"I thought we agreed in one week," I said to her.
"Yeah"
"I am sincerely sorry for being selfish, my Lady," she apologized.
She stood up from the bed and walked towards her bag and knelt before it.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"Want to go home," she replied.
She brought out the polythene bag that contained the wet clothes she was wearing before she had her bath. She opened the polythene bag and removed her clothes from it and kept them on top of her bag. She raised her arms and was going to remove my nightgown.
I quickly walked towards her and stopped her.
"I didn't ask you to remove them," I said to her.
"So, what are you asking me to do?" She asked me angrily and slid her arms from my grips.
"I only gave them to you to go home, so…."
"You see?"
"You do not want me here," she said to me.
She was about removing it again when I said,
"Do not remove it. I have told you before, you can keep them."
"Thank you, noble Lady," she said to me and and put back her clothes into the polythene bag, tied it and returned them inside her bag, she fastened the zip, lifted the bag and stood up.
"Now what?" I asked her.
"Now what?" She asked back, Mimicking me.
"Do you care?"
She asked and stormed out of my room.
I went after her, caught up with her and stood in front of her.
"Where do you think you are going?" I asked her.
She stopped and asked me.
"Why do you care?"
"Because you are my friend," I said to her.
"Friends?" She asked me.
"Yeah, friends. We became friends about one or two hours ago, remember?" I asked her, smiling.
"No, we are not friends. You do not treat me like one. I understand, we are not in the same class. I am just a maid," she said to me with teary eyes.
"Yes, of course. We are friends. I wouldn't have given you my nightgown if we weren't. I did not know that you would like to spend the night here. In Fact, apart from Lizzy, you are the only person that I have given my personal belongings to," I said to her.
"Really?" She asked me.
"Beside that, it's late"
I stretched my hand and pointed my phone to her face.
"It's already eight p.m. It's too late, risky and very dangerous to come out by this time," I said to her and made a funny face.
"So you really do care about me?" She asked me.
"Yes, really. I am sorry if I annoyed you or made you feel sad," I said to her and stretched my arms for a hug.
"I am sorry too," she said to me, dropped her bag and hugged me.
"Why are you sorry?" I asked her, because I was a bit confused.
"Because of what I did earlier," she replied.
"And what was that?" I asked her.
"I almost. I was going to slap," she said to me.
"It's fine. It's okay"
"I had forgotten about it before. You just reminded me," I said to her.
"Are you going to tell your mom?" She asked me, scared.
"Of course, not."
"Speaking of my mom. Let's go back inside before we get into her trouble," I said to her.
I raised her bag, we both giggled and went back inside my room.
When we got back inside my room, I gently dropped the bag on top of my blue drawer and sat down on my reading chair, while she sat down on the bed.
"Why did you say we would get into trouble?" She asked me.
"Trouble?"
"What trouble?" I asked her.
"You just said that about forty seconds ago," she reminded me.
"Oh that."
"Yeah that."
"My mom might think that you have left. If she knows that you are still around, you will have to explain yourself and that will be very bad," I explained to her.
To be honest, mom will not be happy with me if she finds out that Genevieve is inside my room by this time. She would kill me.
"Oh!"
"Do not worry, I will leave first thing tomorrow morning. I promise," she said to me, sadly.
"I will help you to sneak out. I promise," I said to her and we both grinned.
"Type in your cell number," I said to her, stretching my phone to her. We were seated opposite each other.
"I don't have one," she said to me.
"What?"
"What do you mean that you do not have one?" I asked her.
"Am serious."
"Am not lying. I do not have a call number," she said to me.
"Why?" I asked her, surprised.
"Because I do not have a cell phone," she explained to me.
I do not believe that.
I giggled.
"You are lying," I said to her.
"Why would I lie about something like that?" She asked me.
"I don't know. You might be joking," I said to her and giggled again.
"No, I am not joking."
"Am damn serious," she said to me, with a very serious face.
"Okay," I said to her.
I was just staring at her.
"What?" She asked me, when she noticed my stare.
"May I ask a question?" I asked her.
"Yeah."
"Sure," she said and nodded at the same
time.
"Why?" I asked her.
"Why what?" She asked.
"Why don't you have a cell phone?"
"Because I can't afford one?" She replied.
I did not believe at first, just then I remembered that it's not everyone that is as privileged as I am.
I am lucky.
I am not just lucky.
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
"Oh!" That was all I could find myself to say.
"It's not everyone that is as privileged as you. Lucky you," she said as laughed softly.
I smiled back at her.
"Am very dizzy. Can I sleep on your bed?" She asked me.
"Yeah. Sure, you can," I said to her and nodded.
She turned and laid down on the bed.
I could not do anything else, but just to pity her.
Tomorrow is Sunday, which means it will be easy for me to help sneak Genevieve out.
I have to plan for tomorrow.
I am not sure that she has any money on her either.
I stood up and walked towards my wardrobe and opened it. I collected some money and put it inside her bag. It's not really much, but it will sort her out for a whole month.
I suddenly became very dizzy.
I walked across the room and switched off the light.
I walked towards the other side of the bed and laid down beside Genevieve.
The creak of the door woke me up, I opened my eyes, but the room light was on and very bright.
I closed my eyes again, lifted myself and sat up.
I rubbed my eyes and took a quick glance at my phone screen.
The time was five thirty a.m
Perfect!
This is the perfect time to sneak Genevieve out of the house.
I quickly stood up and walked towards the toilet door.
I knocked twice on it.
"My Lady, I will be out soon. I promise," she said at the top of her voice.
"Shhhh"
"Don't shout if you don't want anyone else to wake up," I cautioned her.
"Okay,my Lady," she said.
"Be quick. This is the perfect time to sneak you out, before anyone finds out that you spent the night here. You know the consequence, right?" I asked her to scare her.
"Yes, my Lady," she said from the other side of the door.
I then remembered that I was wearing a sweatshirt last night.
I searched for it and found it on the top of my wardrobe.
I dragged my reading chair towards the wardrobe, climbed and stood on it. I stretched but could not reach it.
As I was trying to reach it, I lost my balance and slipped.
I shut my eyes, but opened them again when I heard the door creak open.
Luckily for me, Genevieve just came out from the toilet on time.
But, unfortunately, she was not able to catch me.
My head hit the wardrobe first before reaching the ground.
"My Lady," I heard Genevieve calling me before everywhere went blank.
"She will be fine," I heard an unfamiliar female voice saying the moment I regained my consciousness.
"Are you sure?" I heard mom's voice.
'Mom?'
I guess they are outside the room, standing behind the door.
"She has not moved for a week now," I heard mom's voice, she was talking to the person that owned the unfamiliar voice.
She was sounding very sad and disappointed.
Who hasn't moved for a week?
Me?
No
It can't be.
I tried opening my eyes, even a little, but I couldn't.
There was something tied around my head too that also covered part of my eyes.
"She will be fine, but it should be up to a week before she wakes up again. For the first time in a week now, she responded to treatment this morning," the voice said to mom.
"In a week?" Mom asked, she was not sounding happy.
What the hell is happening?
I tried saying something, but there was something on my mouth too. It was covering my mouth like a mask, but it was plastic.
I tried lifting my hands, but I couldn't too. I can't even feel it.
It is terrifying.
'Someone should talk to me.'
'Please.'
I heard the door creak open, then footsteps coming towards me.
Someone gently grabbed my left hand and rubbed it.
That is my grandma's hands.
'Grandma?'
"My baby, how are you today?"
She said and started crying.
'Don't cry Nanna. I can hear you.'
I wish she could hear me.
I tried holding her hands too, but I couldn't.
The door creaked open again, but grandma was still holding me.
I heard footsteps, but it belongs to two people.
"Good morning doctor," I heard grandma greeted.
Doctor?
Am I in a hospital or am I being treated at home?
But this doesn't feel like our house.
The smell and environment. I could feel it.
But it doesn't smell like a hospital either.
Wait!
I can't smell anything too.
What the hell happened to me?
Am scared.
Am I dead?
"Good morning ma'am," the unfamiliar female voice greeted grandma back.
"How is she doing?" Grandma asked her.
The owner of the unfamiliar voice is a doctor.
Wow!
So I am in a hospital.