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The Girl Next Door
Dorothee
Lang
312. All she wanted was to go back to bed. Just go back to bed. Her own bed, or any other bed. At the moment, she wouldn't even mind crawling into the used, crinkled sheets that were left from the night before. Still warm, they carried the sandy taste of sleep, the sweet taste that was calling her, tempting like a ripe sliced up mango on a plate, ready to be devoured. 313. Not only was this room not to be disturbed, it in fact was non-existent. Not on this floor, and not on any other floor. Too scary, this room number. Not for her, though. Thirteen was one of her favourite numbers. If she could have the choice, she would have picked this room above all the others. Well, this wasn't up to her. 314. Here we are, she told herself. Open the door. Empty the rubbish bins. It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it. Clean the bathroom. Breathe again. The worst is done. Move on now. Make the beds. Dust the floor. Clean the table. Clean the window. Don't get lost in front of the window. Keep moving. Good girl. Draw the curtains. Spray insect spray, four times, left, right, up, down. Don't breathe. Don't think. Simply keep moving. Don't expect any applause. Don't ever expect any applause. This is just a job. This is just for money. Close the door. Move to the next room. Repeat. 315. At least she was on her own today. At least she could follow her own thoughts, without being disturbed by Patty's deadly good mood. She wouldn't be able to stand it, not today. She liked Patty, she honestly did, but on days like these, her endless chatter was just too much. And it wasn't like you could do anything about it. She had tried. She had tried everything, from refraining to answer, to trying to ignore it, to bluntly tellling her to stop talking. "Patty. Could you do me one favour?", she had said. "Sure, what is it?" "Look. I am tired. I am cranky. In fact, I shouldn't be nowhere near another person today. So could you just pretend I am not here? Stop talking? Just let me be?" "Sure, but what is it? Tell me, why do you feel so bad today?" There was no way. Learn to live with it. Learn how to put your mind to zero. Learn that there is so much more you can take. And put this imaginary gun down, for Christ's sake. Put it down here. You don't want to hurt Patty, not seriously, do you? 316. "Please do not disturb," the room said. "You're more than welcome," she answered, pushing the cleaning cart one door further, wishing these kind of labels existed not only for doors, but also for humans. |
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