The Housekeeper (Camren)

Chapter 1

Another day goes by and nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes. This small town with a population of 465's only hope is the fact that Route 66 runs right through it. But no one ever stops. No one comes to stay, and no one ever leaves. This town has no appeal, nothing to do, and nothing to see. Every town has a hook to it that draws people in, but ours has nothing. I guess Normani's mother's clothing outlet is of some worth to the people coming through. The only businesses in town are: Motel 66, Andrea's Boutique, Mr. Jacob's gas station, and Grandma Mercedes's Country Convenience Store. We have a small school, in which classes are like 5 people, so we are forced to get along with everyone. I just wish things would change for once. Just once.

It's a usually Monday morning, and my mother and I's motel hasn't sold a room overnight. This doesn't come as a surprise to me, since this town is like a ghost town. Every so often, Mr. Jacob's wife will stay in a room because she got sick of her husband talking about his 'prized gas station' that brings in all of the town's revenue. Those two are the wealthiest in town, so staying in a motel room every few nights is almost nothing to their family. But because tonight wasn't one of those nights, there would be no need for me to be at work.

"Mila." my mom called for me, as I laid down flat on my stomach writing a new Lauren Jauregui fanfiction.

I closed my laptop, then rolled off of my bed in order to get out to the kitchen where my mom was making the three of us breakfast. By the three of us, I mean me, my mom, and my little sister Sofia. I entered the kitchen to see my two favorite ladies sitting at the table, waiting for me to sit down and join them. My mom had made us waffles that were covered in butter and brown, sugary maple syrup. Immediately, I began eating away at the waffles, finishing one in under a minute.

My mom smiled at me and said, "You have an appetite just like your father."

I smiled at those words, remembering that my dad and I used to have eating competitions on a daily basis. Sometimes I won, but other times he wrecked me. I glanced at his empty chair at the table, then frowned as I remembered that my favorite guy in the whole world was no longer in my life. Tears arose in my eyes, but I fought them back with a few blinks of an eye.

"I miss him too." my mom said, reading my mind.

A few years ago, my dad passed away. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but we weren't able to get him to a hospital before we had figured out that something terrible was going on with him. The doctors tried to save him, but we caught the disease way too late. It was such a sad way to see him go. I really wished that he could have seen me graduate and Sofia's first day of elementary school. Unfortunately, some things don't work out like you think they were meant to.

Shaking the thought from my mind, I dug right back into my waffles. Not even sadness could tear me away from my favorite hobby—eating. The waffles seemed to have never existed by the time I had finished, as I hadn't left a crumb or a spot of syrup. I took my plate, fork, and knife over to the sink, then soaped and rinsed them to make them as clean as they were before. Using the towel that had been hung over the oven handle, I dried the plate and silverware off. When done, I placed the plate, fork, and knife back in their respective places in the cupboard and drawer.

Moments later, Sofia and my mom had finished eating, so I decided to wash their plates and silverware off for them. My mom did so much hard work every day, and sometimes she just needed a little break. Owning a business is not an easy job, even if there is barely any customers coming in. As for Sofia, I just felt like being the nice big sister that I am. I repeated the same soap, rinse, dry, and put away procedure two more times, then I turned around to see my mom smiling at me as Sofia ran back to her room to play with her toys.

"You're such an amazing daughter, Camila. I know that you've grown up to be quite the woman. I'm really glad that Sofi has someone like you to look up to and call her big sister." she complimented me.