Chapter 6 - His Personal Maid

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...