Equality Rule (A.U)

Chapter 3

Once Zayn had finished his food, his mom got up taking the bowl to wash it as she spoke softly to him, "Take care of yourself today, Zayn."

"I will." He kissed his mother's cheek then said goodbye to his parents before hiding to his way.

The road Mr. Asaad had shown Zayn was easy. All he had to do was go behind the mosque and walk straight ahead with the fields on his left for about an hour. Once the field ends he would notice the gas station followed by the huge houses and shops that line the border of Daccron city. He then would walk for another thirty minute to reach where the Payne's live.

Walking didn't really bother Zayn, not at all. He enjoyed walking, it cleared his mind on most occasions but today it just made him more nervous. He had a lot of expectations to what Mrs. Payne would have him doing all day. He tried not to think about it but he couldn't. He had nothing else to think about.

Once he reach the Payne's house, he took a deep breath and knocked gently on the door. A few seconds later the door was opened revealing a very elegantly looking Mrs. Payne. She was wearing a perfectly ironed plain white dress that was fitting on the upper part and fluffy from the waist down. Her hair was done as if she just returned from the salon and Zayn wondered when did she wake up to look this perfect this early in the morning.

Mrs. Payne gave Zayn a thorough look, making Zayn feel small under her gaze, "Follow me." She finally spoke after a minute of just inspecting his appearance.

Zayn quietly nodded getting inside and gently closing the front door behind him, then he followed Mrs. Payne to the kitchen where she stood, "You told me you were taught how to cook, right?" She asked raising one eyebrow at him.

"Yes, ma'am." Zayn nodded.

"Good. Make breakfast for four." She said then took a seat on the breakfast table in the kitchen. She had a weird looking bottle in her hand that smelled like paint and a very small brush holding red paint in it as she started to apply the color on her nails.

The whole process was foreign to Zayn as he didn't know why a classy lady like Mrs. Payne would want to dirty her hands with paint but he didn't dare make any comments as he knew it was none of his business. Instead, he focused on the task on hand for him. He opened the fridge and took a look at what's inside of it. He noticed some pieces of bacon, a few eggs, cheese, jam, milk, juice and many other ingredients. He decided on making his famous egg and bacon, his old master used to love it then he would put some pieces of cheese, jam and beagles in a plate and served it as other options if his cooking wasn't to the level.

Once he reached for the bacon he heard Mrs. Payne's behind him making a 'tsk' noise so he turned to look at her, unsure what he had done wrong. "Have you washed your hands before touching any of the food? I don't want any of my family to catch any sort of diseases." Her tone of voice was the usual dull one she always uses around him but her words were spitting venom on Zayn's heart.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger from Mrs. Payne's remark, Zayn tried to bury his feelings as he softly mumbled a 'Yes, ma'am.' then went to the direction he knew was the bathroom's.

Hearing another 'tsk' noise coming from Mrs. Payne, made him stop in his tracks, "Your bathroom is outside." She pointed at a door behind the kitchen.

Zayn looked at her for a second thinking she was joking, but when she didn't budge he simply nodded his head swallowing his pride and walking to the bathroom pointed by Mrs. Payne just now.

The bathroom, if you can even call it that, was very small. It was a cabinet that barely fitted a small sink and a toilet. Zayn sighed trying his best to not give this much thought. He knew that working here wouldn't be easy. He knew the rich white people thought of the help as less than them. He even expected the hint of superiority in Mrs. Payne's voice when she talked to him, but what he didn't expect is to be treated like he was a disease. Not even a fellow human being that had the right to take a wee in a comfortable space.