Common Sense • drivers license

9 ~ Two-Faced

I might take a whack at cleaning that attitude while I'm at it. Normally, she would watch as he and Big Red got started and critique the small mistakes, but she was inside at the moment. Most likely stirring some cauldron.

As he started, he could already feel the sweat on the back of his neck flowing down and soaking into his shirt collar. He takes his shirt off without thinking and throws it with the pile of cleaning supplies. No shirt and swim trunks weren't the most common way to dress for their odd jobs, but this one was outside in the 90-degree heat, so it was acceptable.

As he's going around the edge of the pool, Ricky hears a noise. He assumes it must be Dana checking in on his progress (or as she calls it, lack thereof), but it was something else. He lifts his head a little and begins searching for the source of the sound, knowing it'll drive him crazy until he identifies it.

After ten seconds of looking around, he finally finds it: in one of the lounge chairs was a girl with a tall glass of some fruit drink; the ice cubes were hitting the sides of the glass, making the sound that had interrupted him. (It was usually quiet outside, so that's probably how he heard it.)

Her knees were up, so he couldn't see her face, but a maid came out shortly after to refill the glass. Ricky sees the girl nod at the maid via the top of her head, yet he still can't actually see her. How did I not notice her before?

She drops her legs, and her voice breaks him out of his distracted trance. "Are you gonna stare at me all day or get your job done?"

Like mother, like daughter I assume.

She was wearing a black bikini that did anything but cover her, and her skin was glistening in the sunlight; the lighting combined with the shade of her umbrella helped define her features. Ricky reluctantly approaches her and extends his hand. "Ricky."

"Nini," she says, looking up at him yet not returning the handshake. "Back to work if you don't mind."

Yup, just like her mother. Ricky does as told and tries to ignore her for the rest of the time; it's kinda hard to do that when she's watching him. Well, he assumed she was; he couldn't see her eyes because of the sunglasses, but her head was facing him, so it was his best guess.

"Nina," Dana says, coming outside, "I have some errands to run; it'll only take a few hours." She walks closer to her daughter until she's hovering over her. "Make sure he does his job correctly."

I'd like to see you do it.

"Don't worry, mother; I'll make sure he doesn't stop."

Mother. So formal and old-fashioned for no reason. Her daughter looked to be around his age, and for her to call her mom 'mother' was just... flat-out weird.

"Here's his check. Only give it to him when he's completely done."

I am... with you at least. Nini takes the check and puts it under the coaster on the table next to her. Dana nods at her and walks back into the mansion. After a little while, Ricky sees her car leave through the open gate at the bottom of the hill and away from the mansion.

"Finally," he hears. Ricky's head whips around and sees Nini setting her drink down and taking off her sunglasses as she stands up from her chair. Now that he could see her whole face, she was rather beautiful despite her rotten attitude.

Instead of 'staring at her' as she had claimed before (just a quick head-to-toe glance), he goes back to his job but is greatly surprised when she jumps in the pool. He's splashed in the process, and when she comes up, he's incredibly confused. "Um... what was that?"