The Fox, Red

016 - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I promised myself that once Madam Delula released me for the day that I would help work with Anne to get her chores done. Lunchtime for me comes around but I beat her to the kitchen. She comes in to grab my plate and just about jumps out of her fur to see me there. I offer my services again and she reluctantly accepts. Before I leave I look over to see Penny working diligently and she notices me. We exchange a look and then it is on. I slyly get Anne working at a faster pace getting food out and plates back. She has to clean the floor in Madam Odette's bedroom today so I assist with that. Between the two of us, we finished in what sounded like a record time. But two vs one will do that.

After finishing up Madam Odette's room the two of us assisted one of the garden ferrets in moving wheelbarrows of soil. They're working on getting a new compost pile set up so next year they can have more, richer soil. I was light on Anne because she is in her nice maid outfit. I'm sure it gets dirty but anything to help it stay clean. We helped as much as we could and got them caught up just in time for dinner. Like before, I was able to sneak Anne into a faster work pace and sure enough we were able to finish half an hour before we did last night. She and I brought the last of the plates back to the kitchen. Anne was about to walk out but I managed to stop her, "Oh Anne! Hold up a second."

She waited for me. "Penny, you good?" The short little skunk comes around to the counter where I'm at, "I am. Finished up and now I'm done for the day. We do this, you remember what you owe me?"

"I do, I do."

Penny walks around and grabs Anne's hand, "C'mon, we worked hard to make this happen." Anne is pulled off into Penny's corner of the kitchen where she cleaned up and got ready. Anne still looks lost as to what is happening but quickly realizes what's going on when Penny drops a recipe book on the table. Penny grabs an apron to keep herself clean. The two go over some basics while I sit at the small table and watch. The rest of the kitchen has gone home but those two are still working. The echo is different than when there are half a dozen people. It's more open but empty.

It's about 40 minutes before Penny and Anne come over with a plate for each of us. I take a look at poke it with the spoon they provided. It bounces back and forth, "It's pudding!" Penny corrects me, "Gourmet Pudding, with crisps." I take a scoop and there are little bits of what I think are graham crackers. I take a bite and quickly realize they are more than that. There's a sweeter flavor that I immediately identify as cinnamon. That mixed with the vanilla and chocolate pudding, while strange, is very sweet.

The three of us each share a small helping to taste the work. Everyone seems to have the same agreement that it was a good first try. As was our agreement, after Anne finished her lesson I assisted Penny in cleaning up her small corner of the kitchen. It's a few bowls, some leftover ingredients, and about 20 minutes of work between the two of us then we both get to leave. Penny goes off her own way to their homes while I take the short trip down the stairs to my little overhang shed. I dig through my bag looking for a new set of clothes. The ones I have on are just gone from everything that I did today.

With all the hustle and bustle I almost forgot one important thing. Madam Odette ordered me to meet with her after my day was done. With the kitchen cleaned up now was my chance to meet up with her. Instead of going out the doors, I head to her office first. Knocking has no answer so I head to the bedroom. There is still no answer for me. I look over the railing trying to find where she would be. I eventually ask the badger who stands by the back door. He informed me that he saw her by the shed. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling that I should be very worried.

I head outside and sure enough, she is sitting at the table by my shed with a book in her hand. She's reading it and that strikes me as bad. I step down so that she can hear me walking on the grass. She marks her book before putting it down, "Red, have a seat please." I take my seat across from her looking at her face. She does not break eye contact with me the entire time and it is incredibly unnerving. "So, do you remember what I asked of you yesterday?" I pause going over the entire day. I learned with Madam Delula, helped Anne, and cleaned the kitchen after her lesson. The only time I saw Madam Odette was when she was talking to me about my lessons where...