THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶AHOH¶

October 21st, 2021

Ace

After the exercise, Femi shared the house into sections for each housemate to clean and tidy up while he supervised and reported back to Mr. Han. When he allocated the job of cleaning the kitchen to Ace, a small part of him wanted to dispute it but he thought better of it and grudgingly carried a mop to the still burnt out area. Apparently, Mr. Han and the organizers thought it would be nice if the housemates cleaned up a mess that could have been managed better.

As he cleaned, he observed the slim guy alternate between watching those upstairs and downstairs, making sure the house was clean before the second game at noon. When Ace was done, he motioned to Femi who walked over.

"Good. You're done." Femi entered the kitchen, looking at the floors as he nodded. "Great work, man. You can go rest now." He clapped him on the shoulder and walked away.

Ace gritted his teeth and went downstairs where other housemates were working; in the rooms, the toilets, the lounge, and even the walls. The AHOH made sure everyone was doing something, asides him and that was annoying. He should have been the one allocating work to the housemates, while he rested and watched them work. Ace felt confused and angry; this was his chance to lead others and somehow he knew he was meant for that, maybe he had followers or employees who he couldn't remember.

Ace felt someone staring at him, and when he turned, he met Eryk's eyes. The sturdy guy waved to him and started towards him with a limp. He looked at the guy's hands which carried a broom and parker, and he subtly shook his head. The guy moving towards him didn't look like he did the cleaning for anyone, but to be fair no one really looked the type.

Eryk stopped a few inches from where he stood, okay guy with a good sense of personal boundaries. Ace appreciated that.

"Hey man. Are you done with cleaning?" Eryk asked.

"Yeah. You?"

Eryk raised the broom in response. "Man, this feels wrong. Couldn't believe I agreed to give up the position like that, you know?"

Ace nodded, he knew. "Yeah, I get you. But really nothing we can do till after the second game. Who knows, maybe one of us will get lucky this time." He tried at being optimistic, even though it still bothered him.

Eryk nodded and started to turn away. "Maybe. But it makes me wonder, did Jasper tell the truth?"

Ace wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he shuddered at the last question and like Eryk, he thought back to Jasper and the manner he left the house- confused, angry, scared- and now he couldn't help doubting Femi's claims. Now, watching his housemates and remembering how he and Eryk easily agreed to drop the AHOH post, it seemed possible that Femi really threatened Jasper.

He stood outside his room and looked around at the other housemates dutifully cleaning, no one grumbled, complained or even talked to anyone else. They were all too focused on their tasks, and it was a bit upsetting to him. Once, he had watched a film- he couldn't remember the name, or if it was even a film- where the villian convinced people to do whatever he wanted and he got away with it till he met someone who fought against it and defeated him. Ace knew it was a long stretch, but just maybe it was possible in real life.

He stared at Femi who was now downstairs, talking to Priya animatedly. The guy was African, who knew if he had experience with evil magic and voodoo practices.*

Femi

As Femi stood in the lounge, he felt proud. The house looked clean and smelt nice, just like cranberries which reminded him of his grandmother's house back in Nigeria. He looked towards the kitchen, which now stood devoid of any stain or debris from the fire. It hadn't been easy to convince Mr. Han to let the masked men in to repaint the place, and his effort had to be repaid. He gave the culprit, as he liked to call her, the opportunity to clean the lounge downstairs. The girl appreciated it, and why wouldn't she? It was the venue for her nightly rendezvous with his roommate, Marcello.