THE 33 KEYS: Key 2 - ANSWER THE CALL "Listen for that Perfect Beat"

CHAPTER 45: KNOW YOUR LEVEL

I follow her instructions to the letter. There's a loose-fitting black dress hanging on the wall. I am near tears putting it on. Does Tessa really expect me to walk out there wearing this? At least provide me with some tall socks or something. I pace the room for a solution. Dammit! How am I going to solve this problem? I have tall socks, five pairs to be exact. All of them at home though.

And why is that, Mary? I'll tell you why. Not once did you ever examine the janitors at Bophus Brothers Bank. Otherwise, you would have thought this through to the end. But no! Mary Pethiel has to think herself to be above all others. Why would she even imagine herself in a janitor's getup, right?

Thirty minutes later, I still have nothing. Oh, what's the use? Perhaps I should dress and leave. No, Tessa's too close to the Matron. There's no lie I can possibly tell that she'll believe. This time you've got to face the music, Mary.

When I knock on Tessa's door, she yells for me to come in. I enter cautiously. Her back is turned, finishing up the dregs of a conversation. I use that time to examine her office. The walls are the same boring white. Thank goodness for her furnishings or I'd feel I was drowning in milk. Her chair is black leather and matches her chequered floor tiles. But her sofa is aquamarine blue. It reminds me of the Bloody Sea before it turns red. Her coffee table makes up for that with its tray of red ornamental gemstones.

The walls are littered with her certificates and modern artwork. Two leafy plants stand guard on her left and right. There's a tall burnt-orange vase engraved with runes on the right side of her desk. I must admit. This is not the Tessa I love to hate on. This Tessa can get a hug if she asks. She drops the phone and spins around.

"I was beginning to think you didn't want this job. What took you so long? Got lost again?"

"I had some trouble with the uniform, that's all."

She looks me over.

"Fits just fine to me."

"Yes, it fits well. Just a bit too short for my liking."

"Worried everyone will see your horrible skin?"

I turn away embarrassed.

"I just like to cover up, that's all."

"Listen, Mary," Tessa sinks her teeth in. "No one cares about that. You're just the maid, remember? Around here, we expect our maids to be unpolished. You don't work at that bank anymore."

"I didn't say that I did."

"Any questions before I send you off to do what maids do?"

"What's the salary? And when do I get paid?"

"Five hundred every Friday at three. Got a problem with that, you can leave right now."

"No. Just wanted to know," I reply indifferent. "So; where do I start?"

"Dip in your pocket. That page should tell you everything. You can leave the store room for tomorrow."

I do as she says and head back to that room with my head down in the page. No wonder I got this job so easily. All this for five hundred measly dollars a week? I do some quick multiplication. That's about two thousand for the month. Just enough to supply the basics: food, camouflage and rent. I shrug my shoulders in defeat then move down my new pathway of gloom and doom. But then something sinister forces me to stop and weigh it against Hazel's five thousand. Needless to say, I almost drag the maid's uniform off and prepare to leave my umpteenth job for this year alone.

However, when my eyes stray down to my legs, unseen voices begin pounding into me, all repeating the same words; that I no longer walk down streets paved with gold and that I'm no longer worth anyone's anything. So it is here in this depressing janitor's room that I finally accept whatever everyone else, and Ebony, always knew.

Mary, no matter how great you think yourself to be, it's time you start acting your true level.