Falling [completed]

16

Questions so far??  You won't know the answers until you ask.   

An annoying buzzing sound woke Remmy up.  She turned off her alarm on her phone and started to get ready for work.  She put on her usual white t-shirt and pair of jeans and put her hair up.  Remmy didn't care too much to wake up early, but she didn't want to walk either.  She grabbed a bag and shoved some clothes in it, blindly grabbing a few things. 

    Yesterday was not the fun she had expected, but it wasn't something she would ever forget.  Her first kiss was hot and passionate, everything she thought it would be.  She could still feel his hard body against hers and it gave her shivers down her spine.  She wanted to see him today, and after Mack had acted about the door, she felt a little unprepared. 

    Remmy didn't think Mack was being overprotective of her, but at the same time, she had never heard of someone's house getting broken into.  In fact there was little crime in this area.  It was almost like she was the only one being attacked in the world.

    Remmy filed the thought away and met Mack in the kitchen.  He was grabbing breakfast to go and offered her an apple.  Remmy didn't eat in the mornings and carrying a conversation this early was not going to happen.  She shook her head no and followed him out the door.

    Mack took her cue and didn't say a word on the way there.  His office was only a few minutes drive from the house but Mack often drove his truck just in case something needed to be hauled in or out. 

    They got there and Remmy dropped her bag by the door inside his office.  They weren't there too early, but no one else had showed up yet.  Remmy sat down and propped one of her legs over the armrest of the squeaky leather chair.  There was no way she could go back to sleep after waking up but she was still too tired to function. 

    She watched as Mack booted up his computer and went through his e-mails.  He printed off a few and opened up his log book.  Remmy had never watched him work before and decided it was more boring than she thought.  It only took a few minutes before Naldy and Gertrude showed up.  Mack started giving the orders put in for today, not waiting on Quin.  They got split up to do a few small orders and after lunch would go and wax the foyer and clean the bathrooms.  Remmy got a leaky sink and tile repair.  Out of everyone, she always got the jobs that required more skill.  Quin showed up late and was ordered to help Remmy.

    "So what did we get?"  Quin asked as they stepped into the elevator.  Quin didn't bother to apologize for the tardiness and acted like nothing had happened.  That was normally how it went with her.

    "Leaky sink in 314 and tile repair.  Which one did you want to start with?

    "Uh, neither.  But I guess I can pull up the old tiles while you fix the sink."

    They didn't say anything and walked out and down the hall.  Remmy knocked on the door and announced, "Maintenance."  When no one answered she unlocked the door and stepped in.  Most of the rooms had a shared bathroom with the neighbor, very few got their own.  Who ever had this room had extra money to spare.  Remmy looked around and saw a laptop and professional camera left out.  Designer clothes strung across the bed and floor.  The room was messy and Remmy hoped the bathroom had been kept a little cleaner.

    She opened the bathroom door and found some of the same mess. 

    "Quin get out of the closet and come help me clean this up." 

    Remmy began to pick up towels and clothes and piled them in the corner of the bedroom.  She and Quin took turns carrying items out of the bathroom so they could get to work. 

    Remmy crawled under the sink once the floor was cleaned up.  The bathroom wasn't that big but she and Quin worked around each other to make more space. 

    "This person is disgusting."  Quin grimaced as she pulled a screwdriver out of the tool box and flipped over a tile. 

    It didn't take long for Remmy to find the leak.  Thankfully she didn't need any tools to fix it.  The dip in the pipes seemed to be leaking, which meant the water wasn't getting through like it was supposed to.  She unscrewed one side of the pipe and pulled on the other.  The pipe came out almost splashing Remmy in the face.  She crawled out from under the sink and poured the extra water in the toilet. 

    Quin had flipped over five tiles and was working on what looked to be her last one. 

    "We could probably clean these off and reuse them.  They aren't broke, the grout just cracked and the mud behind them gave way." 

    Remmy tossed her a wire brush. "Go for it." 

    Any money they saved in the long run meant better raises at the end of the rear.  Once Quin had found that out she became the cheapest skate of them all, finding anyway to cut corners.  Remmy didn't mind, not on a room like this.  The only reason the tile needed to be redone was because the tenant had left wet towels on the floor.  More than likely they would be here again before the year was done.

    Remmy took a wire coat hanger that had been bent out of shape for just this kind of job and used it to pull a wad of brown hair from the pipe.  It had been in there for a while and was slick with mold.  Remmy dropped it in the toilet and flushed.  She rinsed the wire off with the water in the shower and packed it back in the tool box.

    By the time she had the pipe together, Quin had scrubbed all the extra grout and spackle off the backs of the tiles.  She had cleaned up the bare floor too.  Quin wasn't bad to work with, she knew what had to be done and knew what she was doing, it was getting her to start working that was the problem. 

Remmy opened the mud and began to glaze the open spot on the floor while Quin mixed the grout.  Remmy laid the tile and spaced them with the little white x's and Quin began to clean up their tool mess.

    The quiet must have been getting to Quin because she broke the silence.  "Did you hear about the tournament?"

    "No, what is it?"  Remmy preferred the silence but knew having a conversation would keep Quin from complaining. 

"The council feels it is time to select a new Ruler, and have come up with a tournament to pick the king or queen."  Quin squealed and Remmy couldn't help but laugh at her.  "They are going to announce contestants next week at school.  The teachers pick students they believe would make a good Ruler and the students have to compete against each other.  Then one student from each school goes against each other for final selection.  Magical vs instinctual vs ceptual. I can't wait to see who wins!  We haven't had a ruler in almost 30 years."

    Remmy thought about that for a while.  She wasn't alive 30 years ago and wondered if it was better with a Ruler or with the council.  She didn't see anything wrong with how the realm was being run now. 

Quin continued to talk without pause and Remmy tuned her out.  She was so busy in her thoughts she had finished tiling and grouting and was just sitting there.  She shook her head to pull her out of the reverie and began to clean up.  Quin pitched in and fell into silence. 

    "Quin can you find some paper and pen and put a note on the door about the tile?" 

    Quin had much better handwriting then Remmy.  It was pretty and bubbly and girly.  Remmy's handwriting was almost a manly scrawl.  She checked the time.  They used a quick set grout and mud so it should be good to walk on in a few hours. 

    "It's 11 right now so put do not walk on until 3pm."  Quin nodded and jotted the note.  When she hung it on the door with a piece of tape it read do not enter until 6 pm. 

    "Quin you're so mean!" 

    Quin laughed.  "Teach them to leave a nasty mess in the bathroom for maintenance."         

    She grabbed the toolbox and headed out the door with her head held high.  Remmy shook her head and followed with the bucket of mud and grout.