A Firefly's Glow

Chapter Seven: Part One

I glanced from my left to my right. One corner of the hallways led to another. The number of twists and turns throughout the halls were uncountable.

“So where do I turn first?” I whispered nervously, feeling an anxious smile cross my face.

Seconds later, I heard a peculiar, distant noise that interrupted any silence there was. I slowly stepped down the hallway and away from my bedroom doors. Sticking my gaze slimly around a stiff corner, I spotted a familiar figure scraping the walls with a small rag.

My jaw flew open and I gaped without making a single sound. It’s the evil maid!

The maid’s dark hair was pinned into a long ponytail that swung back and forth behind her shoulders. She stood beside a large cart. After every few seconds, she would grab something from the depths of the cart and use it to scrape the wall. It seemed as if she was trying to intensely peel the wall from where it stood.

As she moved further down the hallway, I tiptoed behind her trail. I inspected the results of the scraping against the wall. The crème-toned paint that covered the wall gleamed in the fluorescents of the hallway’s ceiling.

“She’s not bad at her job after all,” I murmured in a dim whisper. But I still believed she was mean and evil.

I spotted the hem of the maid’s dress disappear around another corner and I quickly dashed away from the wall I was gawking towards. I rapidly rushed around the corner she disappeared behind. Though the second I turned the corner, I immediately flew backwards resisting the temptation to shriek in shock.

The maid was just inches away from the corner, and I had nearly run into her. As she slowly turned her gaze towards my direction, I kicked my feet off of the ground and got the heck out of there.

I slid myself behind an exaggeratedly large vase that sat in the middle of the hallway. Exotic plants hung from the depths of the vase.

Through the leaves of the exotic and gaudy plant, I caught the maid peer around the corner I had just eluded with a bemused expression looming over her face. Once she glanced away and swerved her head back around the corner, I released the exhale that I had anxiously held in.

I have to follow the evil maid! I silently instructed, knitting my eyebrows together in determination. She might lead me to the stairway!

Through the vivid twists and turns, I kept my gaze firmly onto the maid, watching her glance left to right for signs of any imperfection to the hallways. When she happened to occasionally whip her gaze around to glance behind her shoulders, I would dive out of sight and behind one of the hallway’s exaggerated décor. Though I had unfortunately happened to stumble every time, the maid didn’t seem to notice . . . that is until she pierced her glare behind her shoulders a second later after I dived behind a “The Thinker” statue.

It was impossible to avoid being seen if I had just simply stood behind the statue, so I was forced to mimic the thinker’s pose to remain concealed.

I narrowed my eyes in frustration. How on earth could a man sit in this sort of pose for more than a minute—let alone frozen into a statue?

“Okay!” the maid’s cold voice firmly pronounced. “Whoever you are, I know you’re there! You better come out right now! I have a broom and I’m not afraid to kick your butt with it!”

Thinking about being whacked with a maid broom did not seem pleasing and pleasurable to me. I didn’t dare move a muscle, even though sitting in the thinker pose against the thinker’s statue gave me the wish to flaunt my arms into the air in relief.

“All right! You asked for it!” the maid snapped, whipping a long broom through the air. She brandished the broom violently as she stomped towards my direction.

I shut my eyes. This is it, Hotaru! Your death awaits you in five-four-three-two—

I opened my eyes, expecting the maid’s dark glare. Instead, I heard a voice shouting on the opposite side of the hallway.

“Where are you?! Huh?!” the maid screeched from around the corner. “Come out so I can violently whack you with my broom!”

“As if anyone would come out after you announced something like that,” I murmured in relief as I ran towards the maid’s cart that sat several feet away from where I hid. I swerved around the nearest corner and a smile lit up my face.

Up ahead was a stairway that descended towards the first floor. I dashed towards the stairway whispering the cheer, “I found it! I found it!”

I quickly descended down the stairs, freely skipping through every two steps. Though as I reached the bottom of the stairway, I broke my running with the heels of my sneakers.

Hurrying across the first floor’s marbled floors were maids and chauffeurs, dashing from one doorway to the other. They scattered across the rooms like anxious bees on the race to search for flowers.

I was positive that if I casually stepped foot out onto the floors, one of the maids and chauffeurs might ponder what I was plotting to do.

My shoulders slumped as I bent my mouth into a frown. “There are no ends to this . . .” I murmured, leaning against the railing of the stairway when a lady rushed up towards me.

“Excuse me, miss!” the lady exclaimed with her eyes tracing fatigue. She looked like one of the maids that I’ve seen surrounding the long dinner table during dinner. She was out of uniform, dressed in a thin, black coat. A maids’ uniform was clutched in her arms.

“Uh?” I questioned as the lady shoved her uniform into my hands.

“Could you please put my uniform away for me?” the lady pleaded. “I need to leave my shift early today. My cousin’s uncle’s mother’s sister’s son’s wedding is today, and I’m going to be late!”

“U-Um—“ I began as the lady shook my shoulders to and fro.

“Thank you, miss!” the lady cheered as she dashed through a doorway in a blur before I could answer.

My body was glued into place with my mouth still open. I bluntly held the uniform in my arms.

I didn’t have an idea where I was supposed to put the uniform. And even if I did, I didn’t think I had time. Through the large windows that lined the walls, I caught the sun slowly slipping underneath the horizon.

One of the maids rushing through the rooms caught my eye. She whipped a finger towards me with a glare, gawking from me to the uniform I held in my arms.

“Hey, you!” she snapped, aligning me with her pointed finger. “Why aren’t you in uniform?! We’re busy! We can use another pair of hands, you know!”

“W-Wait, you don’t understand,” I nervously began. “I’m not a—“

I paused as an idea crossed my mind. A smile loomed over my face.

“Well?” the maid persisted. “You’re a what?”

“I-I’m a . . .” I repeated, returning to earth. “I’m-a late! I’ll get dressed right away, ma’am!” I whipped a stiffened hand to my forehead in salutation.

“That’s more like it!” the maid shifted a firm nod and flailed away with the rest of her maid companions.

A sly smile crossed my face. I hurried the rest of the way down the stairs and into a corner. Pulling the uniform over my T-shirt and sweats, I pumped my fist into the air in determination and headed into the scattering mobs of maids and chauffeurs flailing about the rooms.