I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, my eyes widened in fear. It was quite obvious that I was cursed. Why else would so many bad things be happening to me in a day? And judging by the look on Derris' face, my fate was obviously sealed.
I chanced a glance at him and immediately looked away for fear of what I saw. The seconds seemed to drag by as I awaited my fate in Derris' hands. And just like that, he was standing in front of me, an unreadable expression on his face.
On impulse, I sank to my knees and clasped my hands in front of him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it, I swear," I begged, my voice quivering as I spoke.
"And just how do you plan to do that? That's a frigging two thousand dollar vase and last I heard, you were attending Ridgeway on scholarship so how exactly do you plan to get two thousand dollars?"
His words were curt and sharp. I bowed my head and admitted, "I don't know."
I waited for his next words but instead of a reprimand, he took my hand and pulled me up without much stress on his part. I looked up at him, my mouth just slightly open.
"What if I told you that there was something you could do to make up for the vase without paying?" he hooked his thumb in the pocket of his pants.
"Wait really? What is it? I'll do anything," I exhaled, relieved at the thought of being able to pay my debt.
"Anything, huh?" the corner of his lip tilted into a devilish smirk. I moved an inch back, shivering a little from fear.
"You don't mean...?" I trailed off. His face contorted into a look of disgust and he shook his head furiously.
"No, of course not! Eww gross! Definitely not with you! Ugh! Eww!"
"Oh!" I looked away. His words stung but at least, I was safe from that. "So what is it you want me to do?"
He merely smirked and said, "How good are you at obeying orders?"
***
"Okay, I get that I'm being punished and all but do I really have to wear this?" I murmured to Derris, shuffling my feet. He whirled around and gave me a look. "You're not seriously complaining because if you are, I don't mind taking that two thousand dollars… You don't have it? Then quit talking!"
I grumbled something under my breath which Derris heard and he turned to face me again. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all...Sir," I forced a smile.
Derris turned back to his locker and I heaved a sigh. When did my life come to this? Waiting on a celebrity's every need just before I broke a dumb vase? If this isn't a curse, I don't know what is.
That was the arrangement. To pay off my debt, Derris made a deal with me. I was to be his maid for the rest of the time we were to work on the project. In return, I was off the hook for the vase. Being his maid also meant doing anything he asked me including wearing these extremely uncomfortable demeaning maid like clothes: a plain blue pinafore with a white long sleeved shirt.
If he needed anything, it was my job to get it for him. Sounds like a nice deal, right? That had been my thought at the time but as of now, I was starting to rethink it. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it. I was stuck!
"Here!" he turned and placed a pile of books in my hands. I struggled to lift them and my knees buckled. "Where to?" I asked, my hands trembling.
"Class of course. Come along and keep up!" he ordered, walking away without so much as a glance in my direction. I walked behind him, ignoring the looks I got, completely focused on not tripping and dropping the books in my hands. When we eventually at our destination which was the laboratory, I dropped the pile of books on his table before slipping tiredly into the seat next to him.
"Uh, what are you doing?" he asked, causing me to look up at him. "The seat was empty so I just thought-"
"Because the seat was empty doesn't mean you get to sit beside me. Sit at the back or something. When I need you, I'll text you or whatever," he waved me away dismissively.
Hurt and just a little bit insulted, I slid off the chair and took the only empty seat at the back. I could fear a tear prick my eye as another girl took the seat beside him. Great, just great.
I looked away from him and placed my head on the table before I gave in to the urge to cry again.
Class was over fairly quick and apart from the two times Derris ordered me to get him a bottled water and some help with his work in Chemistry, it was all well good. Things however didn't stay this way.
By the time school was over, Derris had sent me round the school for things as little as a toothpick, his phone during a pop quiz and just for his amusement, he asked me to do the robot dance during recess in front of everyone even after I begged him just for his amusement.
Yeah, not my best day and worse still, I barely talked with Nellie at all before Derris pulled me into his luxurious Ferrari so I could help out some more at his home.
The ride to his home was quiet and was basically just me sneaking glances at Derris as he drove, his eyes completely focused on the road. Some strands of his hair kept falling his face and despite all the times he brushed them away, they kept coming back to the same position.
I fought the urge to reach up and brush them aside, if only to hold those silky strands for a millisecond and know how they felt against my hand. Derris wouldn't like that though so it was best I kept away.
Still that didn't stop me from stealing glances at him. He seemed frustrated with trying to keep his hair in place and now those raven black strands lay across his forehead, almost completely covering his left eye.
Pushing my fear away, I reached over and moved the strands to the side, enjoying the feel of them in my hands for just a second. I must have lingered too much because Derris glanced at me from the corner of his eye. He didn't seem offended though.
"Thanks," he mumbled as I pulled back. I blinked unsure of what I'd just heard. Did he just- thank me? Whoa! Unbelievable. Maybe this was a sign that things were going to get better. Maybe, just maybe...
"Oh Allison!" came the all-too familiar call, a couple of metres away from me. Holding back a frustrated groan, I slid off the stool I was seated on and sluggishly walked over to the poolside where Derris and Elaine, the girl who'd sat with Derris in Chemistry were relaxing on lounge chairs. "You called, Miss?" I said through gritted teeth. "Yeah. I would like a refill of my drink," she held up an empty cup which I was sure I just filled a minute ago. "Why?" I asked in an overly sweet voice. This was getting ridiculous as were her requests. "What do you mean 'why'? I want a refill of my drink and last I checked, you were here to help, weren't you?" "Yes, to help him. Not you!" I retorted, losing the politeness. "Besides, I just filled that for you. Do you have a tank in your stomach or something?" She gasped and turned to Derris. "Derris! Your maid's being mean!" Derris who hadn't been paying attention t
I was not ready to see Derris again the next day after what transpired the day before but it wasn't really up to me. It was up to him which meant that I was already at his parking spot, thirty minutes before his arrival because that was what he wanted. A part of me desperately wanted to hate Derris for what he did, like really hate him but it was literally impossible for me. I'd been in love with him since I was a little girl and a part of me still hoped that things would change and he would love me for me. I know it sounded stupid but what could I do? By the time Derris arrived in his flashy Ferrari, I was downright exhausted but I tried not to let it show as I greeted Derris a good morning and took his backpack from him. "Why's your voice so hoar... Oh!" he nodded on remembering. A part of me hoped to get an apology or something but it was not to be. "Serves you right, anyway," he shrugged, shouldering past me and heading into the school
Was it possible to love a jerk? Someone who was so mean and inconsiderate you sometimes found it hard to believe you actually loved them? If you ask me, I'd say yes. I should know too. I'm in love with the biggest jerk I know. Worse still, he doesn't love me back. After my meeting with Aria and my conversation with Nellie afterwards, I had no idea what to do concerning Derris. A part of me wanted to agree with Nellie and get rid of my feelings for him but another much larger part of me could only think of Derris defending me against Aria Charles, his own ex and a celebrity like him. And when I thought of that single act, I felt it more than made up for his earlier treatment of me. Anyway, by the next day, I was excitedly waiting for Derris at his parking spot, eager to see him again. When he hadn't arrived by the time he usually did, I became worried and thought of calling him. There had been no reported accidents so where was he? I had just made
Derris turned out to be a lot more creative than I would have ever thought because five minutes later, I was on my knees, preparing to scrub the floor with...wait for it...a toothbrush! Derris had this authoritative air hanging over him as he stood over me, a smirk forming on his lips. I glanced at the toothbrush in my hand, then at the bucket of foamy water beside me and up at him. "What exactly am I doing?" I asked, still a bit unsure. "Isn't it clear? I want you to scrub this whole lobby clean using only the toothbrush," he grinned devilishly, a clear sign that he was going to enjoy making me suffer. Once again, I glanced at the pristine floor and looked back at him confused. "What exactly do you want me to clean here? The floors are as clean as physically possible." On hearing my words, Derris frowned and furrowed his brows in thought. He left soon after which I took to mean he'd given up on punishing me but I rec
Despite arriving home quite late, I was lucky enough to avoid being scolded by my dad since he came home later than I did. All because of Derris' sudden act of generosity. Thinking back, I realized that I would never truly understand him but it didn't stop me from wishing his attitude would carry on till the next day.Who knows? Maybe tonight was just a sign that things were finally about to go my way. Only time would tell.Morning came and I did what I always did: got up from bed, said a prayer, made breakfast for dad and tried not to get on his bad side, took a shower, got dressed, met up with Nellie and walked to school with her. Since Nellie had some stuff to do with her partner, Caleb Stone concerning the English project, she left me in the parking lot to meet up with him. As I watched her leave, I was suddenly reminded of the project which I'd all but forgotten. Sure, the deadline wasn't for weeks but that didn't mean we didn't have to work on it. I would hav
After Aria left, things progressed smoothly from then on, better than I expected. For the rest of the day, I wasn't treated like Derris' errand girl. Instead, he treated me like an equal, for once. It was an experience that I would remember forever.By the time we got back to his home, it was getting pretty late so I wanted to get home as soon as possible and I told him so."Sure," he answered simply and waved over the driver from the day before.He told me to get back in the car and gave the driver the same instruction as before. Once the driver got in the car, he cupped my cheek through the open car window of the backseat where I was seated and gave a little smile."See you tomorrow, Red," he mumbled under his breath and pressed his cheek to my forehead. It was only for a few seconds but it was more than enough.I could only blink as my body was tried to process what just happened because I didn't quite get it too.On pul
On hearing the distinctly familiar voice, I whirled around and sure enough, it was him. Max Crest. "Oh! It's you. Morning," I addressed him, cheerfully, hoping that I'd wiped all evidence of tears away from my face. He didn't seem to buy it though. "Have you been crying? And what's with the clothes?" I looked down at the maid like outfit I was wearing and tried to think of some excuse as to why I wasn't wearing my uniform but I'd never been a good liar so I tried diverting the topic instead. "I haven't seen you in school for a few days. Have you been sick or something?" I placed my hand against his temple, hoping that would distract him. It didn't work. "Nice try, Allison but I'm on to you. Back to my question, why were you crying and why aren't you dressed in your uniform? And the truth please," his voice, though not commanding, told me that I had no choice but to tell him or he would find out either way. So I told him. Obviously, I d
On arriving back at school, I saw that it was already recess which meant that I wouldn't get to miss History which was right after recess.Heaving a sigh of relief, I turned to Max and clasped my hands in front of him."Thanks so so much for this, Max. You're an absolute lifesaver!" I whispered gracefully."It's fine, Allison," Max smiled just a bit, holding my hands."Still thanks a lot," I turned and began heading in the direction of my locker when an all-so familiar voice called my name."Allison, is that you?" I instantly whirled around on hearing his voice. His eyes locked with him and he strode towards me with fierce eyes and a scowl on his face. Oh no!"Just where the heck have you? Where are your clothes? And...where is my sushi?" he glanced at my empty hands and looked back at me. "So... answer my questions!""I-I..." I tried speaking but the words got caught in my throat."She was with me," Max placed a hand on