DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 3 - Rules

1. Keep the house clean.

2. Only use the bathroom in your room.

3. Always check underneath the toilet seat.

4.No chewing gum; they're hazardous.

5. Do my laundry.

6. Act like you're not here if I have guests.

7. Call me Master Jamie.

8. You can only wear my clothes, get rid of yours.

9. Greet me whenever I come home.

10. No back-talking; this is my home.

11. We're not friends.

12. Do not sneeze or cough without covering your mouth with your elbow; that's immediate fire.

13. Go to bed when I tell you to.

Joe's eyes repeatedly read the list Jamie had given him in the morning before heading to work. This list was piled with rules that it was borderline outrageous. The list went on for hundreds of rules, and Joe even raised an eyebrow at rule #101: No falling in love; promise you, it's one-sided.

Jamie had two jobs and took classes, online and in-person. Strangely, Jamie offered to pay Joe six hundred a week and pay for all his needs, such as groceries, transportation money, and best of all, alcohol. Jamie had promised to buy all the alcohol in the world for Joe if he agreed to live with him, and although Joe did not really agree with all the criteria, being a housemaid until Jamie returned home and having the night to himself while getting everything paid, sounded almost surreal.

The best part was that the apartment was already clean, which meant maybe two plates in the sink, making his bed and picking up his clothes from the floor. Other than that, the toilet was barely used, and when Joe lifted it to clean it, it was the whitest of whites he had ever even seen. Only four clothes that were dirty and he left them in his basket; doing an entire machine of four clothes not only seemed pointless but wasted money, at least that was what he though. Another bonus was that although he was somewhat upset he had to trash his clothes, Jamie's clothes were much more comfortable than his own. He grabbed his sweater and his sweats and laid on the sofa the entire day.

When Jamie returned, he was clearly tired, lethargically walking through the house with droopy eyes and a slumped figure. However, when he reached the kitchen, he furrowed his brow and eyed the counter bizarrely. Joe watched him as he tilted his head sideways, examining the counter of the counter from the side before slowly wiping his pinky across the surface.

"No, no, no...." Joe heard him mumble under his breath. When he raised his pinky, his entire heart dropped. "You didn't clean the counter."

Joe raised a confused eyebrow.

Then, Jamie, as if he had drank an energy booster, burst through the cabinets and wiped his finger across every single plate. "None of them have been cleaned. This must mean..." He knelt down, wiped his hand across the floor and expelled a horrified gasp. "You didn't even sweep the floor."

Anybody that walked into the apartment could visibly see the twinkle from all those spots since they were spotless. But for Jamie, they were much too dirty.

He headed for the bathroom and gagged when he lifted the toilet seat. "You definitely didn't clean this."

"Jamie, there's nothing on the—"

"Yes, there is." He turned away, checking other parts of the apartment before reaching the basket in his room and seeing a few clothes. He lifted the basket and motioned it towards Joe. "You couldn't even put these in the washer?"