Cassandra

Thank you Saige, Jester-Jami, rhea's kochanie, and nivell! I'm glad you guys like it so far! :D



Yes, I know, it is starting off a bit slow, and I apologize for that! But you've gotta have some veggies before the dessert, right?! ...or you know what I mean. ;)



Enjoy!



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So, uh, I got the job.



When I got to the mansion that next day, I parked my rusty car right in front of the glossy-green yard, glad that I didn't have to park behind some metallic sports vehicle. I walked up the long pathway to the door and knocked, my small fist making little impact on the enormous wooden structure. Dave heard me, though. "Come on in, Taylor. Let's not waste any time here."



I trailed behind him as we walked past the entrance and through the door opposite to the one I was in for the interview. It was like walking into a new world. It was not as clean as the den, no, but the clutter of portraits, books and other items only made it look disorganized, not filthy. "This is the parlor," Dave told me, motioning to the beautiful cream-colored couches with warm-colored blankets thrown over them. "That's the fireplace there," he pointed, "and on those shelves is where all the books will need to be placed. The rugs and carpeting will also need vacuuming, as well as dusting the mantel and shelves."



He led me to the dining room, the kitchen, the two bathrooms and the office/study, explaining to me the different tasks and jobs I would have to complete during my time there. And that was only the first floor. Up the stairwell was the master bedroom, Dave's office (where he preferred I would not enter unless told to), two more bathrooms, two guest rooms, another study that was more like a storage room, and Cassie's office at the end of the hall. "We have an attic, too," Dave added, "but that's not something you have to deal with."



I laughed weakly and mumbled, "Thank you," under my breath. It seemed very overwhelming, but I had all summer to take care of this place. It couldn't be that hard.



"We were hoping that you would start today if you could."



Swallowing, I nodded. "Sure," I shrugged.



He gave me a tight smile. "Excellent. Cass?" he called, knocking on the door to her office.



In one second, I mean literally, Cassie opened the door to reveal herself. There was a smudge of something black just above her dark, right eyebrow that forced me to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She looked at Dave in an alert manner; I don't think she even realized I was next to him.



"Taylor's going to start today," he told her. She still didn't look my way. "I have to get down to the office, so if Taylor has any questions, she'll come to you."



Obediently, she gave him a nod.



Dave looked down at me. "Okay?" he asked.



I nodded again. "Is there somewhere certain you want me to begin?"



He shook his head. "No, no, you decide. We just want the place to stay tidy."



He walked past me and Cassie shut her door to get back to whatever she was doing. I walked down towards the stairs that led to the lower level of the house and waved good-bye to Dave. For some reason, when Dave walked out that door, I had this sudden burst of energy. Like when your parents leave town and you want to throw a house-party. Do some damage. I had to shake that out of me; that was something I could not do.



Out of all the rooms, I figured I'd start with the simplest: the kitchen. Sweeping, scrubbing counters and stovetop, mopping. Easy enough.



It actually was easy, but it took a very long time. I had to sweep under things that I could barely reach and then scrub off things that were actually glued to the marble counters. An hour had past by and I was already breaking a sweat, pulling my hair up into a ponytail to relieve my warm, perspired neck.



I had just finished mopping the tiled floor and had set the tub of water and mop to the side, heaving a loud sigh and brushing a strand of hair back. Their kitchen was about three-times bigger than my kitchen, so to get it done in about two hours made me a little proud. But tired. Man, what else did I have to do today?



"Wow," a voice behind me exclaimed. I spun around to see Cassie, her eyes roaming around the newly scrubbed-and-washed kitchen and a grin forming along her lips. "You're already doing a great job, Taylor."



Smiling back, I replied, "Thank you."



"No, thank you," she retorted, her almond eyes teasing. Already barefoot, she tiptoed over to her refrigerator and pulled out a root beer. "Want one?" she asked, waving the can.



I shrugged and nodded in response.



Cassie grabbed the two cans and a bag of potato chips from one of the hanging cupboards before tiptoeing across the slick tiles over to the dining room. She sat down on one of the chairs, popping the top of her soda and ripping the chip-bag open.



I took a sip of my root beer, standing awkwardly above her, wondering if I was supposed to sit with her or get back to work. Thankfully, she wiggled her fingers towards the chair I stood beside and told me to sit down -- she was good at that.



After I sat down, I took another drink and saw her reach into the bag of golden crisps. When she pulled the chip up towards her lips, I heard my stomach growl. Flushing, I turned my attention towards my lap. That's when she laughed. She had a very sweet laugh -- one of those you-can't-help-but-laugh-with-them laughs. "You can have some," she told me, grinning. "Go ahead! They're tasty!"



My wrist flicked at the offer, crawling into the bag to grab a small handful. I tucked one inside my mouth and ate it simply, knowing that my stomach wouldn't be growling much longer.



I could feel the weird tension between us, like we were both itching to say something, but we didn't want to bring up something stupid or irrelevant like the weather. Or maybe I only felt that way... Anyway, the silence of words was making my blush get worse. I was always bad in these kind of situations.



"Did you have any other plans this summer, Taylor?" she asked suddenly, slicing the tension away.



I shook my head. "Not really. I wanted to get a job, actually."



She smiled. "And you have one now, so that's good, hm?"



I smiled back and nodded, feeling much littler than I really was. A toddler. Maybe if I had the guts to say something important.



"Well, I'm going to go back upstairs," Cassie said, standing up to wash her hands from the crispy debris. "If you need anything at all, don't be afraid to ask."



I nodded, downing the last of my soda.



Her smile spread when she took my can and tossed it into a cupboard with the other recyclables. She had two dimples on either side of her lips. Cute dimples. Whoa, cute?



She grabbed her own can, only half-empty, and started to leave the room, but then I called, "Cassie!" to turn her attention back to me.



She halted in her steps, stood for a second or two, and pivoted around on her heel. "Yes?" I almost thought I'd offended her by the way her almond-eyes were looking at me behind the stray black bangs. Agitated eyes, or something like that.



"When will, um... Dave be home?" I asked in a meek voice.



"About five o'clock," she replied, her eyes getting softer with each word she spoke.



I nodded and stood up, turning towards the kitchen to grab the vacuum from the pantry to pick up the potato-chip crumbs. When I came back, preparing to turn the machine on, I was surprised to see Cassie had still been standing there. "Oh..." I said automatically to express my shock, and I immediately blushed.



A slight smile rose to her lips. "No, I just..." she began, scratching faintly on the side of her neck. "I'm sorry that I acted like that just now. I... It was rude of me."



Mouth open, I shook my head. "No, no, there's no problem."



"Thanks, Taylor," she murmured. "Can I just ask one thing?"



"Of course."



Before she turned on her heel to walk back up to her office, she said, "Please, call me Cassandra."