Story: Miss Cassandra Fellows. Chapters 9-10.

by Jackie J

Chapter 9.

Following the meeting with Doctor Jenkins Cassie was back at work in the restaurant steaming off the griddle plates and cleaning the ovens ready for the week ahead. Whilst she laboured Cassies mind could not help reflecting on the questions Miss had asked her. She was still confused what it was all about. The calculation’s, ratio’s, percentages? She had no problem with those, or so she thought, but were they relevant for a maid? She knew everything about her rota and work at Temples and maids work in general. Surely that is what Miss really wanted to know how good a maid she was, like Miss Lockwood had told her she must be. The games at the end were familiar, she had done something similar before, with Miss, matching words and pretending to be someone else, but it was already a little foggy in her mind. That was over now, she had work to finish and rubber gloved, Cassie continued scrubbing at the caked-on grime from inside the ovens.

Thursday of Cassandra’s second full week a maid at Temples and the thoughts of high finance and the life- style enjoyed by Miss Cassandra Fellows continued to be unconsciously and effectively suppressed by the industrious and willing maid Cassie. Kept busy with her work and being constantly reminded by Mr Roberts, and indeed all the other staff at Temples, what a good maid she was, there was little capacity or scope for thoughts of other than what she was, who she was.

Cassandra Fellows had been convinced to and willingly embraced her maid persona under the pretence of Evelyn Lockwood’s scheme to remove the conflict with her inner maid. With Maid Cassie exposed, Cassandra’s maid was to be contained, isolated, and separated from the troubled Executive. Cassandra would then free to continue her executive career unfettered, the interfering and debilitating maid persona banished to be buried deep within the darkest recesses of her mind, or so Cassandra had assumed.

Captions Sunday!

Dolores Azul deliver three new excellent captions. Three short stories basically. Very well done. Enjoy!

Undercover in a Rival Hotel! 

I am (or was) a manager of a national chain of hotels, breathing a huge sigh of relief that, with COVID-19 finally under control, people started to travel—and, of course, stay at hotels again! It was I who came up with our newest little slogan: 

“We won’t mask our delight to see you again!” 

After a full year of working seven days a week, eighteen hours a day, I figured I (finally) earned some time off; but I just couldn’t rest, because of a nagging suspicion... 

Most of the national hotel chains were starting to do well, but one new company was apparently making money hand over fist! After only a year in business! How they could erect brand-new hotels in all the major cities in such a short time boggled my mind, that shouldn’t have been possible! I had my personal assistant search the ’web for information—and who should ultimately turn up as the owner but a very famous gentleman whose father-in-law is even more famous! 

Yes, I deserved a vacation, but I couldn’t let this go! Armed with fictitious I.D., and traveling to a city where our chain had no hotel (yet) so where I haven’t visited, I went undercover—yes, undercover, as housekeeper for hire! This was going to be hard work; but I think I look, and physically I think I am, much younger than my forty-eight years. I figured I could keep up with the duties, and NOBODY looking for evidence knew better where to look than I! 

Story: The Cleaner Returns. Chapters 49-50.

by BigBird74

In the modern world, time is becoming an increasingly rare commodity and not just for those sitting atop society’s pyramid. Think of those among us who simply never have time for themselves, for example the small army of cleaners and manual workers whose days breeze by in a blur of simple tasks that keep them constantly busy. Even so, you may say, surely it would be possible to devote even half of one’s attention to something as important as literally handing one’s life to another? The gravity of situation facing Dahlia would no doubt have commanded the attention of most people. But, from the moment she walked out of her sister’s room that fateful day to when she started packing her ‘luggage’ for the trip back to the outside world, Dahlia seemed unable or unwilling to contemplate just what was about to happen.

As per usual in this sordid tale, initial appearances can be deceiving. You see, Dahlia had spent months training herself not to think much at all. After all one of the reasons she found herself in this mess was because she thought too much. Her imagination, always vivid and colourful, went hand-in-hand with an intense sensitivity that had sparked those early doubts about her self-worth. Unable to let go of her worries, Dahlia’s anxieties had grown and she found herself fuelling a debilitating cycle that had led all the way to the psychologist’s couch.

Breaking that spiral was why she had found herself in this clinic in the first place. Her menial work had provided a great amount of solace, as she learned to enjoy the peace of mind those moments gave her, so far removed from the usually hectic pace she lived at. In those first days at the clinic, she had literally trained herself to empty her mind, developing her ability to still her thoughts and bring on the inner peace she craved so badly. Once her steely self-discipline was deployed to the task, she found herself going minutes without an unwanted thought entering her head. With time, she perfected the technique of using diversionary thoughts – simple things like listing the foods she liked to eat or how dreamy the doctor was – to occupy her increasingly sluggish mind.

Story: Miss Cassandra Fellows. Chapters 7-8.

by Jackie J

Chapter 7

Mr Roberts office being just down the hallway was not hard to find and having knocked on his door Cassie nervously entered, did this man know who she was, a co- conspirator to Miss Lockwood’s program? Offered a seat she sat by his desk and soon realised he was not.

“Another Tutteridge maid I see from your uniform Cassie. Very smart I must say. Have you worked for Miss Tutteridge long?”

Cassie adjusted her glasses perhaps they were a little stronger than she had first thought.

“Yes, a number of years.”

It was not a lie she had, albeit only part time but ever since she moved to the area and she had started working for Hobson and Lloyd. Cassie chuckled to herself considering Miss Lockwood’s demarcation, since Miss Fellows joined Hobson and Lloyd.

Mr Roberts offered a temporary contract to sign.

“Just routine Cassie get you registered, here is a pen sign across the bottom.”

Story: The Cleaner Returns. Chapters 47-48.

by BigBird74

If the moments leading up to that moment of delicious triumph had been among the most nerve wracking of her life, the release Melissa felt the moment her sister had stepped into the bathroom was pure ecstasy. For weeks now her anxieties had been building as the day approached that she would try to supplant her sister. All those sleepless nights, bouts of self-doubt and moments of near panic had suddenly paid off. Melissa closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, replaying recent events in her head, recalling how she had snatched away her sister’s undeserved fortune.

For a moment, Melissa thought she recognised the old Dahlia trying to assert herself. She feared she was about to fight back and upend all the careful planning. However to her palpable relief and just as the doctor had expected, Dahlia’s desire to reclaim a life she now associated with pure stress and near terror was so tepid, any remaining willpower she possessed simply imploded at the moment of truth.

Melissa nodded at Ms Nechita who duly left the suite to collect the doctor. In any good cop, bad cop routine, you need a foe and a friend, and it was now time for the doctor’s soothing manner to convince Dahlia make the right decision for everyone. After all, no one could rest easy until she was safely consigned to her new life. That thought sent a shiver through Melissa, as her moment of reverie was interrupted by a forgotten ghost. Despite everything that had been achieved in such a short time, in spite of standing so close to having it all, she knew she would never be able to relax until Dahlia was out of the way. Melissa hated uncertainty and was eager to push things as far as she could and finish this.

Captions Sunday!

Three excellent new captions (short stories really) from a new contributor, Dolores Azul. Enjoy!

It Took All Her Brains—To Drop Down 

Sylvia Morales had a big problem. Before they passed, her parents got to see Sylvia become a success in life: she dealt in real estate and the stock market (got to diversify after all) and became very wealthy—a multi-millionaire at age 28. 

But success was the last thing Sylvia really wanted. Her desire to drop down the social ladder was difficult, but not impossible for a resourceful woman like herself. First she set up a dummy corporation to purchase office buildings. None of the business tenants were kicked out; in fact, they were offered slightly BETTER terms to stay if they used her maid service for cleaning. Then she set up another corporation: “Jiffy-Spiffy Maids”, and hired a good manager to run it. 

Then, in a vacant apartment building she also bought, Sylvia looked up YouTube videos on how to houseclean “like a pro”. When she got good enough, she went to her manager to hire on at “Jiffy-Spiffy”, impersonating an illegal alien. By the time she sought work, Sylvia had put on enough pounds to be unrecognizable to the manager she hired but only met once! Looking too heavy to do the work, Sylvia begged the manager to let her clean one day—for free—to show she had what it takes... 

Story: The Cleaner Returns. Chapters 43-46.

by BigBird74

We can all relate to that feeling of unease commonly referred to as our sixth sense. Perhaps it is a series of discreet signals picked up unwittingly over a period of time? Maybe it really is some form of extra-sensory perception, some invisible set of antenna that pick up a sense of danger? Whatever it is, Dahlia had first felt it as she finished her duties that night. As usual she had gone to the guest’s room that evening following the conclusion of her duties, only to find that the guest was no longer there. Disappointment rippled through Dahlia as the cheap thrill of playing maid and cleaner to the guest was denied to her. She found herself lingering in the room for far longer than she could reasonably explain, hoping that the missing woman would reappear and she could play the role of dutiful servant once more.

In the end it was only the appearance of Ms Nechita at the door that forced her to move on. The older woman motioned for Dahlia to leave and watched as the red faced and very fat cleaner eased her bulk past her and out of the room. The staggering extent of Dahlia’s transformation never ceased to amaze Ms Nechita. The doctor has told her to expect a significant amount of weight gain, but the reality was far in excess of anything they had thought possible. The professional inside of her winced a little at the numerous malpractices involved in their manipulation of the former supermodel, but the promise of a generous bonus had silenced her unsettled mind. No, Dahlia’s self-destruction was largely her own doing. She had convinced herself that she did not deserve all the gifts god had bestowed on her and all they had done was to open the door and show her the way. She watched as the former beauty turned and waddled slowly from the room, her fat thighs now starting to affect how she walked, making her rock a little from side to side.