BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

23

The flatmates absolutely ream me out for disappearing Thursday and not returning until Friday afternoon. Niamh was mad that I left them with the entire mess to clean, Amanda was worried sick, and Ali didn't like that Graham's panic ruined the energy of the party. In fact, they were only a few hours away from calling the police to come and search for me. All I could say was an apology. I couldn't explain it, even if I wanted to try.

If the police found me, that certainly would not be good. Actually, I wonder if my parents even called the police after I had left. Before now, I assumed that they would. I might have been a legal adult, but I was still their daughter. Maybe I was faded out of focus, even to them. My father always preferred my brothers.

Work is rougher. For the rest of the weekend, it pours rain each day. Extremely hard. If I had that money, I would take a cab to work, since the events of Thursday have me less than enthusiastic about getting soaked. By Monday though, the skies have calmed down.

I convince the other cleaning lady, whoever has replaced Janet, to clean the lobby that morning so that I can avoid Graham. Usually, I use the lobby to leave my shift since it's more convenient than the staff entrance, but this time I don't even bother. I don't feel all that spectacular after the events of the weekend. It all feels foreign.

Unfortunately, the new lady asks me to come up to the lobby since she thinks she used the wrong chemical on a mud stain from last night. She thinks the stain might be growing larger. I follow her to the lobby, careful to not look in Graham's direction.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we here at the Dunlop Inn value the privacy and security of all our guests," Graham's voice says just as I round the corner. "I... I can call my supervisor if you have any questions."

"You're going to tell me," I only dare peek.

The man reaches across the desk and grabs Graham's arm, yanking him forward.

"Hey!" I shout, heading over.

The man turns his head to look at me. He's tall and wide and has a buzz cut. My feet plant on the ground but I want to step back. His eyes narrow in on me. His lips snarl before he lets go of Graham. He moves towards me, and Graham tries to scramble out from behind the desk.

"Hello," he finally manages, smirking.

"Can I help you?" I ask him, maintaining eye contact. "I am the acting supervisor. I believe our front desk has already explained our privacy policy. Is there anything else you require?"

He snorts, before stepping back. His eyes go to Graham, who has raced up beside me, and to the new staff member whose back is against the wall. He might be big, but he certainly seemed to have an easier time dealing with just Graham, rather than Graham and two women.

"Whatever," he spits. He backs away, eyes switching from me to Graham to the lady. When his fist grabs the door handle, he turns and leaves.

Graham lets out a sigh of relief, "thanks."

"David said there was no supervisor before check-out," the lady speaks.

I nod my head, "correct."

"Well, you shouldn't have lied, you should-"

"It's your second day," I tell her.

She scowls at me. She stalks off back down the hallway. I hear the lift doors ding open as she heads down.

I feel myself relax. Graham practically folds in half, resting his hands on his knees. His breaths are heavy.