Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Story: A Taste of Her Own Medicine.

By B.L Sharp


In the story "A Bet Was Maid" an out of place woman named April approached a local woman named Heather and challenged her to a game of pool. The condition of the bet was that the loser had to be the winner's maid for a month. April pulled a conned and beat Heather making her April maid for the month. After the month, Heather mom Maura approached the con artist and challenged her to a game of pool with the same terms that April and Heather made. April was not prepared for the fact that the woman beat her and forcing April to be her maid.


There is something else April does not know. Something that will lead to her demise and social downgrade from respected billiards player to a maid once and for all.


"False modesty can be worse than arrogance"—David Mitchell


Tonight will be the ultimate downfall of April Yeoh, the professional billiards player that have been running scams on women pretending not to know how to play pool and suckered them into games with the conditions of the losers being maids to her. Heather Thompson, the woman who fell for this con, learned about her scheme from a few friends in the pool hall. She started a campaign to bring this scamming professional pool hustler all the way down the social ladder back to her rightful place. The place she had before she became a professional pool player. A maid!



Coming inside the pool hall Heather carried what seems to be an outfit that is on a hanger covered in black plastic with a plastic bag. Setting the items down she took out her billiards kit which includes the balls along with her pool cue and set up the table. She practiced for the first hour, then the second hour she began really honing her skills clearing the table beating her previous times. After the second hour, she set up again and began patiently waiting for her rival April. She cannot wait to get this party started and by the end of the night, little miss April will get a very cold rude awakening.


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While Heather is waiting for her rival to show up to get the game started, April is at a local billiards shop looking at pool cues to buy. She has thirty minutes before she starts her match with Heather and she could not wait to beat her again. She definitely enjoyed having Heather on her hands and knees serving April needs in her tight uniform. The biggest satisfaction she had was seeing her on her hands and knees scrubbing the floors. After tonight she will be back on her hands and knees scrubbing, cleaning and catering to April.


A black and red cue with Chinese script on it caught April attention. She loved the way how the cue was polished accentuating the red and black background which suited April very well due to the fact that red is her favorite color. Grabbing the pool cue, she walked up to the cashier who knows April very well and smiled. "Nice cue, I am assuming you have a game tonight"


"Yes, I do. I am playing Heather again"


"Nice, I know you it's the same as last time. If you beat her and she becomes your maid can you loan her out to me for a week, please? I really could use a maid to clean my house and do other things if you know what I mean" the cashier said seductively licking her lips. April smiled nodding knowing exactly what she means.


"No, I problem at all, I got your covered"


"Yippee! I finally getting a maid" the cashier said smiling while processing April's purchase. Once the transaction complete April promised her she will get her maid sooner than later and exited the store. Looking at her cue April is confident that this will be her good luck charm in beating Heather. Grinning with glee Heather walked a few blocks and crossed the street entering a pool hall call Clyde's Place. After tonight the Clyde's will be the place that will change April life forever.


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It is 7:28 pm and Heather got up from her seat and taken out her polish wooden pool cue that has a white bandana tied a couple of inches from the cue tip. She did that for one reason. Good luck. Not that she needs luck but her mother Maura who was back to back US Billiards champion in 2008 and 2009 did the same exact thing. That was how she was able to become champion two years in a row. Hopefully, her mother good luck charms would rub off on her.


At 7:31 pm a wiry Asian woman who hair is tied in a ponytail approached the table with a very smug grin on her face. Heather noticed the red and black pool cue that April has in her hands and was surprised that she is using a new cue. "Well hello there April, I see you came prepared"


"I most certainly did, are you ready to go down a second time?"


"Confident are we, you going to need it. I decided to take a page out of your book and have you sign this one-page agreement stating that the loser will become the maid of the winner" Heather said handing the sheet over to April. Her ego is so and so confident that she will easily beat Heather, April did not read the fine print of the contract and signed it and handed it back to her. That arrogance and ignorance will ultimately become April undoing. Smiling confidently Heather put the agreement in the pocket of her jeans and grabbed her pool cue and stood next to April.


April saw her cue and asked, "Any reason why you tied a bandana to the cue?"


"Good luck, my mom did when she was playing professionally. Hopefully, it rub off on me"


"You are going to need more than good luck sweetie. 2 out of 3 sound good?"


"Actually, it sounds really good. Let's flip for it"


"Heads," April said with a sing-song voice. The coin flipped in the air and it landed on heads. Pumping her fist in the air, April looked at her opponent with a very smug arrogant look and told her "I'm going to put this baby to bed". April lined her cue on the cue ball and drew back exploding the cue ball causing a few striped balls to hit the pockets. The set up was too easy and April ran the table winning the first game. Heather clapped her hands in a manner that April took as sarcastic. She did not care as she is flying high on cloud nine after her first win. "One down, one more to go before you don the apron again"


"I would not bet on that. Don't get too arrogant, it can lead to your downfall" Heather said amusingly. After tonight April going to learn that lesson the extremely hard way. April took the cue and lined up the cue ball and exploded the cue ball again and this time nothing hit the side pockets. Heather kissed the tip of her cue and went to the right side of the table. She studied the table profusely and noticed she don't have any room to score balls in the pockets. She noticed a huge grin April face noticing her plight. Heather winked at her and looked at the table and nodded.


Seeing an opening April did not see she lined the cue and told the smug opponent what she is going to do. Heather lined the cue to the ball and hit the cue ball in the upper right-hand corner. It hit the 6 ball, in turn, tapped into her striped 14 ball and cut into the side pocket. A micro stunned expression crossed April face wondering how the hell she did that. That set up the opening for Heather to clear table ending with her hitting the 8 ball off the side into the corner pocket. After seeing this a tiny speck of concern crossed April's lips. She did not expect Heather to play like this.


When they played a month ago Heather could not hit a fly let alone any billiards ball. Now all of a sudden she performing trick shots? Something fishy is going on here and she does not like it.


"One down and one more to go before you don the apron"


"Just shut the fuck up and break," April said in a very nasty tone that momentarily stunned Heather. Where did this side of April come from? She never seen her angry and definitely never heard her use foul language. Putting her hands up in mock surrender Heather conceded and set up the balls.


She exploded the cue ball causing the strip and colored balls to hit in the pockets. Going to the side Heather took the cue ball and hit the 5 ball off the side landing in the left corner pocket. The next shot was extremely difficult because like the last game she was at a disadvantaged and that gave her opponent little relief. She studied the whole table for a minute and decided what she was going to do. "I'm going to jump the cue ball over the 10 ball and cutting into the 2 ball hitting it on the right side into the left side pocket.


"That's impossible, you not that damn good"


"Let's see shall we," Heather said confidently. Taking her 10 seconds to calculate how to do this. Heather aimed the cue slightly down to the bottom right of the cue ball and with a quick snap the cue ball jumped the 10 ball ran slowly and cut into the 2 ball into the side pocket coming inches close to scratching. April eyes now became wide as saucers. "Ain't no way in hell"


"It went in did it?"


"I don't know what kind game you playing," April said seething with anger. Heather is now seeing a side of April she never saw before. Somebody that is hostile and pissed. Somebody that is getting really nervous that she is going to lose. Gone are the false modesty and the fake smile and innocence. Now is the angry, bitter and very scared woman who is about to lose and fall down the social ladder faster than she has risen.


"I'm playing pool, I'm winning," Heather said lining the cue and hitting the next ball cutting into the right corner pocket. The next two hit the side pockets with ease. For the last colored ball before the eight ball, Heather hit the cue ball down the right side of the table causing the 3 ball to hit the other end of the corner pocket next to Heather.


"You got loaded balls, you cheated" April now screaming at the top of the lungs trying to accuse Heather of rigging this game. The patrons watching this game with extreme interest catching not only April the professional pool player being beaten but also catching her angry tirade. A cold humiliating reality is about to set in on the scheming professional pool hustler.


"Come on April, be a good sport. I did not complain when I lost and honored my deal. I expect the same from you" Heather said. Smiling, she took the cue and dropped the eight ball in the left-hand side pocket for the win. April rage is just beginning. For the next five minutes, she let out a volley of expletives that was so vulgar even some other adult patrons in the hall was floored. "I win, now you have to pay up"


"YOU RIGGED THIS GAME, THE BALLS WERE LOADED. YOU SET THIS UP SO YOU CAN WIN. YOU A FRAUD" April screamed at the top of her lungs trying to get attention. Her goal is to scream as loud as she can so the people could investigate her claims to see if it true. In reality, this is the ploy to weasel her way out of the agreement so she won't have to honor her terms.


Heather on the other hand taken this very seriously. The hard nasty glare in her eyes demonstrated how seriously she took this. Approaching April, her eyes became pitch black and soulless causing April for the first time to shiver up in fear. Heather cold voice matched her look. "Don't you ever accuse me of rigging a game! I can sue you for defamation easily. I take that very seriously and that is a serious allegation you are levying. You better watch your mouth going forward" she said in a tone that April never heard from her before. This really scared her to the core and what really scared her is that she is telling the truth. She can be held civilly liable for making a claim without proof. Heather continued "You lost this game so you have to honor your agreement. If your dumb ass would have read the contract you would know that the terms of you being my live-in maid are 2 years" Heather said and her confident smile returned.


A slacked jaw April looked at her with utter shock at what she just said. "Live In maid? 2 years?  I can't be your maid for two years"


"Yes you can and you will. Unless you want to breach the contract and I will sue you for everything you have. I can show you" Heather said showing her the contract she signed. April read it and her eyes became big as saucers at what she read. What she read made her gasp in horror. "Now you see the dilemma you are in?"


"I do the two years as a live-in maid; please don't make do the other thing you have on their"


"You lost the game and you have the honor the terms plain and simple. There is outfit on a hanger covered in black plastic along with a plastic bag. Take them and put them on right now. You have ten minutes. Don't make me lose my patience with you" Heather said in a deathly serious tone that has April scared. Tears running down her face she grabbed the items and went into the bathroom to change.


Eight minutes later April came back out the into the hall to the stunning gasps or shock of the patrons. Two or three people is recording April in her maid outfit on their cell phone. The black maid dress with the white collar and cuffs is deliberately tight on her, black seamed stockings seemed to cover her thin legs accompanied by six-inch open toe stilettos. The humiliation was topped off with a frilly apron and a maid's lace cap.


"Now you look like you ready to work. Here is how it going to go. You are going to be my live-in maid for two years. Why two years? Because that's how long you ran this scam you been running. You don't think I know you did this in three states? You need to be taught a lesson" Heather told a crying April who has no idea that this humiliation is the tip of the iceberg


"I forgot to tell you that I played professional billiards for two before I tore my ACL and since it healed I am going back to playing professional pool. As for you April, your days as a professional pool player is over. In the contract you agreed to, you will retire from professional billiards permanently" she told a sobbing April. The pool is her life, she can't quit. That is her livelihood. She can't go back to being a maid. That is why she played pool at the professional level. To escape the drudgery and social suppression of being a maid. Now she is paying the price for her stupidity for not reading the contract and has no choice but to go back to what she escaped from. What Heather said next made April cried uncontrollably and pushed home the fact that she can never return to playing professional pool.


"After your two years of being my maid is up the contract will still be enforceable as far as you playing pool goes. You may not be my maid after two years but you still will never play pool again. If I find out and I will find out that you went back to playing any type of professional pool I will not only sue you for everything you got. I will also send a video of you in your cute maid uniform that was emailed to me by one of the customers to your friends, family, and the World-Pool Billiards Association. What will they think of you in a maid's uniform with a duster in your hand? Want to try me, I can show you better than I can I tell you" Heather warned her taking pictures of a crying and sobbing April with her camera phone. "Let's get going, you will address me as My Lady and do a curtsey. You remember how to do a curtsey right" Heather asked. Tears still running down her cheeks April was too stunned or shocked to say anything. She can not believe she went from being a professional pool player back to being a maid. She thought she left that life three years ago. She is definitely back home where she started from and is not happy. Heather's stern ice cold voice jolted her back to reality. "ANSWER ME NOW!"


"Yes, My Lady," April said doing a curtsey blushing with embarrassment over the extremely humiliating predicament she is in.


"Good! When we get home, you will cook, massage my feet and run my bath water preparing me for bed. Am I clear?"


"Yes, My Lady" April mumbled doing a curtsey. Heather walked up to her with murderous eyes staring right through April frighten eyes. Her voice was low and had a very hard edge to it.


"You better speak up and do it right. You also better smile and show some enthusiasm when you do it and curtsey. If I hear you mumble again I will severely punish you. Am I clear? Please mumble again, I dare you" Heather stared coldly at a trembling April who put on a smile and said "Crystal clear My Lady" more enthusiastically and put more energy into her curtsey. Grabbing her gear Heather guided a crying and sobbing April out the pool hall with the stunned and shocked customers still taking pics and videos of April in a very compromising and humiliating position.  April just received a taste of her own medicine.



12 comments:

  1. An Appreciative ReaderJanuary 19, 2017 at 10:24 AM

    I was debating writing this comment, I think it's important to support each other. So take these thoughts in the spirit intended!

    There's lots to like in this story, nice set up with the pool game and a forfeit. I like the threat "don the apron" and the pride. What didn't work for me so much was April's foolishness. She's a hustler, she knows Heather is a reasonable player at least. I think she would read the contract and take more care. This is a game she knows well, can't catch me this way.

    So, how to reel her in? How about Maura and Heather both offer themselves as maids for two years if she wins and she does two years if they win. This lopsided deal would appeal. And April herself adds the give up pool clause as an act of finality. Heather can still be overweight so April's final condition is she is the player.

    What April doesn't know is that Maura has been coaching Heather, something she's always been too proud to accept in the past. It lifts her from very good to truly excellent. The story finishes like yours.

    Hope you are not offended by these thoughts, only wanted to feedback what didn't work for me and at least have decency to give another idea! Feel free to reject of course!

    Best wishes :)

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  2. I appreciate your comment. I am not offended at all.

    You said you did not like April foolishness. Was that the fact she refused to sign the contract? If so, that was strategic. April is so arrogant and full of herself she felt she was confident that she will beat her that she did take in the consideration the terms and the price she is now paying for not reading the contract

    I agree with you on this. I should have utilize Maura more in this story. I used her in the other story. I did not know how to incorporate her in this plot which is why I did not include her

    Your feedback was greatly appreciated.

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    1. An Appreciative ReaderJanuary 19, 2017 at 8:51 PM

      Good, glad to hear that. A writer puts a bit of themselves up there when they release their work, I don't want to be the miserable critic who shoots them down but if words can be given and taken in the spirit intended it can only be good :).

      Nice to see justice done for once!

      I must finish my own piece. Unfortunately it has taken on a life of its own and keeps growing. I need it finished before I release it; I know me, I'm liable to get lazy and leave it mid way through and please nobody...

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    2. I tend to get lazy also. I discipline myself to
      Stay committed and see things through

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  3. Keep on writing, i really enjoy your stories!

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  4. Well another great story B.L I hope the grammarly is working out for you. It cannot cure all but it has helped me some. Keep them coming.

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    1. Thank you Malcolm, it's helping me out a lot.

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  5. I have some advice from a fellow writer, maybe it could help? I know I'm thankful for any feedback, so take it as you will:

    - I would have loved to see more of April's servitude. I feel like the story ended at the best moment! It definitely leaves readers wanting more, and there are so many opportunities to show April's continued humiliation. Off the top of my head: Maybe Heather hosts a billiards night while April is just the lowly serving girl, applying chalk to the pool cues, re-racking the balls, and keeping womens' scores. Maybe she's the prize for the winner? Works as a servant girl at the pool hall?

    - I'm not sure I would go the contract route, I remember another reader saying that that some contracts are unenforceable. Of course, this is fiction and we believe certain things. I think the 'torn ACL' angle is more interesting: maybe April sustains an injury that messes up her playing skills? It could be at once, or a calculated part of her continued servitude. This would create a humiliating outcome of her playing pool very poorly in front of a big audience.

    - I love Appreciative Reader's idea of April gambling to get two maids of her own -- let her greed be her downfall. I think your characterization of April is interesting: an escaped maid who is captured and re-subjugated. I like Heather's cruelty also. Overall a strong story, I just wish it had more time to breathe!

    Are you going to write more?

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    1. An Appreciative ReaderJanuary 20, 2017 at 10:21 AM

      Lots of good ideas from Fellow Writer. The story definitely has more legs if you wish it. I love the idea of April humiliated and reduced to service at a pool party. Double or quits could see her losing more, like her house. I think she's smart and as a hustler herself I think she's cautious (which is why, despite being arrogant, I think she would read any contract). As an escaped maid she will certainly be thinking never again. But fatally she's both greedy and a gambler, and I think these are the weaknesses to exploit to bring about her downfall. If she's a victim of her own vindictive clauses so much the better...

      If you do expand the story I'd like to see some reminiscence of April's earlier life, a dream broken by an alarm maybe. It's good to compare her previous life of ease and luxury with the harsh servitude she has brought on her own head.

      I think these comments show your story has been greatly enjoyed, and we want to see more. It's a good and original take on how someone's arrogant foolishness costs them, as Fellow Writer says we could let that process breathe more and we are only approaching the most interesting part...

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    2. I like Fellow Writer's idea of April suffering a torn ACL or other injury which ends her playing career. Perhaps April injures herself during play, which causes her to lose, and then Heather gives her chores which worsen the injury, making the damage permanent so that April will never be able to play again.
      Boy, that's starting to get downright evil, but if we want to see April lose her entire career, that might be the way to go.
      One of the things I like about online publishing is that people feel more free to revise a story long after it has been shared with the world. It's always been known to happen, but these days it's quite routine, and I think that's all to the good.

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  6. Glad you liked it. You really want to see this story expand? I definitely will considering taking it under advisement

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