Just a Kiss

Part Three- The Tour

Corrections: Haylie is seventeen! Just a little note c: 

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I glanced at the sheet Mr. Jenkins gave to me, as I sipped a glass of some fancy juice with a french name I wouldn't dare to pronounce. The sheet explained what my responsibilities were, my salary and a description of benefits.

"So, what to do first?," Mr. Jenkins said. He wore a navy blue tux and slicked his hair.

"Yes?" I asked politely. "I hope it's the outfit," I said, jokingly, hoping it wasn't.

Mr. Jenkins got the joke and laughed, "Nope. I'll think I'll show you around. "

He ushered me towards a glass elevator, and I stepped inside. It was absolutely beautiful. The walls were lined with mirrors and there was a cocktail fridge in the corner. A cocktail fridge, I knew, because Mr. Jenkins had told me, precisely, what types of fridges there were. I glanced at the juice I was holding, before draining it. My mother never brought juice home, since we could barely afford the water bills. Plus, waste not want not. I placed the glass on the fridge top.

"Here is the second floor, there are five rooms, one is my daughter's and one is my son's. The other's remain unoccupied, for guests," Mr. Jenkins said, pleased at the fact that I was utterly shocked at the sizes of both rooms. And at the fact that he had kids, which he had failed to tell me.

"Next floor. Come on, Hallie," he said, pointing to the elevator, that waited obediently for us.

I was consumed in thoughts about how my sister and I shared a room, and my mother had the basement, which got flooded, every now and then. People actually have their own rooms, the size of my entire first floor! It was hard to absorb all of the luxury life.

As we continued along our journey, within this nine-storey house, I had a feeling that I had a lot of work on my hands. There were two other maids, as well, but they did not need the money as much as I did. I nodded at each description about the floor and felt relieved when we reached the main floor again.

"So, Haylie, how did you enjoy that?" Mr. Jenkins asked. We spent nearly fourty minutes exploring this castle he calls his house.

"It was very interesting, Mr. Jenkins." I said, putting my hair into a ponytail. "I've never been in a house bigger than three floors," I admitted.

My. Jenkins chuckled, "That's alright dear. Just don't too overwhelmed, and no worries, we're only starting with baby steps. Now, I'm afraid it's time for the outfit." He opened up a seemingly small closet, to reveal rows and rows of clothes. Not normal clothes, but maid outfits. He pulled a certain one off the rack, that looked fairly appropriate, considering some of them had fishnet stockings and stilettos.

"Here try this one on. It's quite lovely, but useful. Ah, here comes Marcia, our head maid."  

I turned around and was greeted by a five foot three brunette, who looked about my mother's age. She had a bucket full of water and a mop that she put down to greet me.

"Hello Marcia. I'm Haylie," I said, clutching the outfit as she shook my hand. She had a nice tight grip, and a couple of bangles on her wrist.

"I already like you! Very polite, unlike some of the bimbos you hire, Scott..." She waggled her finger at him and gave me an endearing smile. "Let's go try this one on," she said, when she noticed I was holding a maid outfit near identical to hers. She grabbed my arm and led me towards a change room.

I opened the door to reveal a white, nice-fitting blouse, a black apron and a perfectly ironed skirt up to my mid-shin. I wore the sneakers I had brought. "Wow! How adorable!" Marcia said, her eyes shining. "But you're gonna need to gain more weight, deary!" she said in a motherly tone. I felt her squeeze my arm, and knew that gaining weight wouldn't be an option anytime soon.  

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With my lips pursed at the fact that I was wearing something I could never afford, I went out to show Mr. Jenkins, who was waiting in the living room. Well, one of the living rooms.

"You look stunning, Haylie! And you know what would make it nicer?" he asked, with a sly smile. I shook my head no.

"A smile, dear! Haylie, this job will change your life for the better. I know the, er, financial problems with your family, so here's an advanced cheque of three hundred dollars. I want you to enjoy this place, like your own," he said, with a weary look on his face. I wondered for the first time, how exactly does he do this? Earns this money?. He handed me an official-looking envelope, "You shall be meeting my family tomorrow. I can't wait to introduce you!"

I felt near tears in my eyes. I've never brought more than a hundred dollars home, and this was all in one go. I didn't even work yet! He hasn't seen what I could do. I felt a twinge of pity from Mr. Jenkins, that made me speak again. I smiled and thanked him, "Thank you so, so much. This means a lot. And this definitely deserves a smile."

'And this deserves a smile...'  

That sentence brought a flood of memories. Memories of my father to be exact. My father was one of the richest people in the town Forster, where we resided before moving to Canterville. He made money by owning the town's hotel. Our family was very known and respected. He was a very friendly man with good morals, until the incident that ended his life. I couldn't even think about it without being upset.

His signature sentence was "this deserves a smile" and I haven't heard it in more than fifteen years.

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A.N 

Lol, i did some housework today, woot! Kinda feeling like Haylie, eh? Yup, so feedback and I hope the spacing is better c: TO the right is the Jenkins' mansion ----->

Teaser: First day of work? And what's the 'incident' that killed Haylie's father?

And I would like to thank ketss13 for this amazing cover!