Chapter Three: Home sweet Home

~Kena~

"Kena!" A high-pitched voice crackled over the intercom.

"Well, it's morning, and the princess is undoubtedly awake." Mariah rolled her eyes before temporarily abandoning the dishes she had been washing to look sympathetically at me: an overworked young lady who was currently running around the massive kitchen of the Mason's multi-dollar, Magazine-worthy home in a panicked haste.

It wasn't anything new; I'd done it so many times before that it felt like second nature. Except for the fact that I was a walking disaster and always managed to injure myself, it was completely natural.

"Okay, I've got this." I took a shaky breath and turned to smile at the sweet old lady, who was as usual worrying her pretty head off about a situation over which none of us had any control; but what did I expect? Mariah, who saw herself as more of a mother to me than a fellow housekeeper, took it upon herself to constantly worry, and nothing I said could ever change it, so I gave up trying a long time ago.

Leaning in close, I softly pecked her cheeks and chuckled lightly at her pouting lips and creased brows.

"You're overthinking it again, Mariah; I'll be fine as usual." I could tell she didn't believe a word I said because her expression remained unchanged. But there was no harm in trying. So, with one last smile and three exhausted puffs of air, I yelled cheerfully, "Here I go again!" and dashed out of the kitchen.

I only had a few hours before school started, and by the looks of things, I was going to be late again, but this was my life, and I had no choice.

A gold tray containing a steaming cup of coffee, a plate of scrambled eggs with two slices of toasted bread, and a side dish of various cubed fruits balanced nicely on my hands, while a plastic bag containing a neatly ironed black dress draped over my shoulders as I made my way slowly towards the staircase which led to the second floor.

This right here was the part I hated so much about my life but as I mentioned earlier, I had no control whatsoever so why fret over it?

I had lived in this house for a little more than five years and had grown accustomed to its glandular, the excess of gold in everything from the furniture to the door handles; but what I could never get used to was the back-breaking number of stairs I had to climb every single day, hour, minute, and even second of my life.

I sighed dejectedly as I came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and turned slightly to my right to gaze longingly at the gold-plated elevator that was currently not in use.

I could just slip in and out without being noticed, that way, I wouldn't have to take the stairs. My brain calculated as my eyes continued to stare wistfully at the stress-free contraption which as a matter of fact was staring back at me invitingly.

But then, like it always liked to do, reality jolted me out of my trance in the form of that same high-pitched voice screaming from one of the intercom speakers that was installed just above the elevator, and I instantly shrieked and took to running up the three long flights of stairs but not before sending a heated glare at the small speaker."Bitch!"

Holy cheese crackers! What was I thinking back there? If mum or Jessica even found out that I looked, talk more of getting on that thing, I did be buried six feet under before I could even say sorry.

Fuck Kenena, you need to stop having these crazy suicidal thoughts!

I paused briefly at the top of the long staircase to catch my breath before sprinting toward the third room at the far end of the long corridor.

God, I couldn't count how many times I'd fallen down those stairs. Maybe that's why I wasn't allowed to use the elevator. Mum and Jessy seemed to enjoy seeing me fall flat on my face, so I suppose it was all in good fun.

Standing in front of the door, I elected the room occupant to my presence by gently tapping the door in a knocking motion with the tray that was in my hands, despite the fact that this said occupant was younger than me by a year and two months.

"Well, don't just stand there, come in here and make yourself useful! Good god, Kena, you're going to give me wrinkles!" And, just like the last few times she'd used the intercom, Jessica's enraged voice could be heard on the other side of the door.

With a smile and a shake of my head, I pushed open the door and entered the room that could only be described as every teenage girl's dream.

First and foremost, this room was enormous! Well, I thought everything had too much pink and gold, from the king-size bed with pink floral bedsheets and gold plated bed frame to the massive walk-in closet to the beautifully designed ceiling with a gold chandelier hanging from it to an elegant vanity table and pink fluffy sofas.

In any case, who was I to voice my opinions? I'd figured out my place in the house a long time ago and I wasn't looking to be reminded where that was.

"Good morning, Jess. I brought your breakfast just the way you like it, and I ironed your dress." I smiled cheerfully as I walked further into the room.

"Shut up and help me with my hair; I'm about to lose my shit!" Jess yelled as she continued to frown at her reflection in the mirror while fumbling with her hair, attempting to keep all of the strands in place.

"All right, I'll be there in a minute." I stared down at the tray in my hands tiredly, briefly thinking about how the coffee and toast were going to get cold, but I knew Jess was in one of her moods again and that it was best to just do what she asked and not argue. Oh well, I'd just have to get a new cup of coffee and some toast like always.

Sighing, I swiftly walked towards Jess, taking the tray and gently placing it on her centre table, then I picked up a hairbrush from her vanity table and turned to look at her expectantly.

"So, what do you want to do with your hair?"

"I don't know, just do something to make me look beautiful because I suspect Paul is going to ask me out today or one of these days. It doesn't hurt to be always prepared, you know." Jess squealed with delight, and my mouth involuntary sagged open.

"I'm really hoping today will be the day, so I need to look my best; so hurry up!" Jess continued as she fumbled with her pretty dark hair.

Somehow, my hands had lost their feelings and stilled in Jess's hair as I stared at her in shock, but the happy girl didn't even seem to notice this.

"I thought you said you didn't like Paul?" I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. Jess scuffed and continued to arrange her stray strands of hair that hung on her face.

"You always find the slightest chance to make fun of him and call him a nutcase for hanging out with me; so where did this sudden affection come from?!" I just couldn't stand still and contain my dislike for this subject, and I was sure if she cared to notice, Jess could have clearly seen in my features how this subject greatly affected me, and deep down, I knew Jess was only doing this to make me feel horrible.

The knowledge that Jess had decided to set her sights on paul made me feel like a dagger had been plunged straight into my heart because I knew for a fact that Paul was indeed head over heels in love with her. God, I wanted to die!

"Save your speech for someone who actually needs it, Kena, because clearly, I don't." I bit down hard on my bottom lip trying to stop the tears that had quickly piled up at the corner of my eye, threatening to fall at the slightest blink. I couldn't let her see how badly she affected me, she did never let me live it down; so, I decided to keep my mouth shut, not because Jess asked me to but because I knew I did have said too much in fury and probably cried if I opened my mouth again.

"The way I see it, I think you're just jealous that I like Paul and he clearly likes me too and not you," Jess said without sparing me a glance, while my lips tightened even more before I released my hands from her hair and dropped the brush I was holding and decided to turn towards the door in anger.

"Excuse me, I need to go attend to mum." I left without waiting for a response, walking swiftly to the door and opening it before walking out and jamming it. I could hear Jess shouting her lungs out about how her hair was still a mess and how her breakfast had gotten cold but I ignored it all.

Once I was out the door, I stood still beside it for a while to calm myself, while a stray tear slowly found a way down my cheeks.

"It's going to be alright Kena. You're strong, intelligent and brave, no one can put you down." I whispered to myself, took a few calming breaths and then turned toward the last room by the right side of the corridor. It was time to meet with the beast.