The Housemaid [in edit]

The Housemaid - Chapter One

1: INTRODUCTION

She was nervous as hell. When Christine walked across the large, circular driveway that was filled with cars parked on the curb, she could feel her heavy breathing. She might as well be having an anxiety attack. She felt extremely nauseous for what she was about to do, which was something she thought she would never do: apply for a job as a live-in housemaid. There was no way that she could get the job if there were many cars parked before hers.

Christine walked between neatly aligned block-shaped bushes along the red bricked walkway, trying to control her anxiety. She had never done this before: apply for a job. Only freshly turning 22, her life wasn’t all that perfect. Since high school, her main specialty was, well, running away. Her parents suddenly divorced, separated, and left, leaving her older brother to take care of her and their younger siblings. Those days were hard, and she couldn’t stand being in the house; she then left to live with a friend.

She became one of those teenagers that sneak out at night to hang out with her friends. While she had never done drugs, she had been accused of doing them; nevertheless, she would always have trouble with the law. Stealing, drinking underage, partying until dawn, hooking up with strangers…yeah, she was that type of girl.

It was after her 21st birthday when her now ex-boyfriend started acting strange around her, and complained how she doesn’t do anything in her life. He had done things to her that she never thought he would do—and to this day, she wouldn’t speak of it—so, naturally, she ran away.

Now living with her siblings again, Christine has been seeking little counseling at a local community college, which was where she found copies of the housemaid flyers. It hit her that maybe this could be her first shot in moving on from her past.

The thought eased her anxiousness. She looked at the flyer once again and read through it:

LIVE-IN HOUSEMAID NEEDED

WHEN: MARCH 2, 2013

TIME: 10AM-1PM

WHERE: 3566 STANTON STREET, HOLLYWOOD HILLS, CA*

You must be able to:

- do usual duties such as cleaning, laundry, and other household chores

- handle five hyper young boys

- be professional and respectful

Accommodations and other inquiries are to be discussed. Please bring your resume and what you can offer for this job.

(*note: not a real address)

It was at the very bottom where, in large handwriting, it reads, “Please wear a sexy housemaid costume.” Christine wasn’t exactly sure why she would have to wear a sexy costume for this impromptu interview to impress the parents, or single parent of five young children. She never contacted the person, Sandy, whose name was at the bottom of the flyer to ask. So she just decided to wing it and wore a nice blue dressy top that wasn’t too revealing and dark denim skinny jeans.

As she was near to the home, which was a large pale yellow two story mansion, her anxiety crept back up again. The house was huge. It must have more than five bedrooms, as there are countless long rectangular windows. There must also be hidden rooms to play in, and a large backyard…how can they just need one housemaid for this?

The red bricked walkway ended before the cemented gray pavement that led up to three steps to the front door. Christine stood in front of the door, which had a blurry oval-shaped window design on the door. She could see human figures walking back and forth, which meant she was probably already late for this job interview. But looking at the time on her cell phone, it was only after 11am…