Lilly stood outside a shabby looking building with a tiny rickety sign sporting the words "Home for troubled youths" lazily hung over an equally rickety but not so tiny front door. Although it wasn't like it was her first time being in these parts of the city, the East End certainly did not disappoint in living up to its less than amicable rumours.
She clutched the knapsack containing the few belongings she had brought with her. This was it.
Ignoring the way the lights fluttered around the entrance she steeled herself and made her way to the door, now clearly able to see the sign, and pushed it open.
The interior was about as inviting as the exterior, with dull grey walls and cement flooring. A wooden staircase was at the back, winding up to the second floor. At the right was a plain looking reception desk and as she made her way closer to it, she was greeted with the snoring figure of a chubby man, precariously perched on a wooden chair, his booted feet up on the desk.
Well, she hadn't expected this.
Tentatively, she gave him an experimental poke,
"Um excuse me..."
He continued snoring.
she poked him again.
"I'd like a room in this place..."
"zzz zzz..."
Poke.
Still no response.
She was deciding whether it would be appropriate to jab him again when a gruff female voice sounded.
"Hello there young lady! ignore 'em he's sleeping on the job again..." she grumbled something about old Boris and useless.
The woman looked to be in her late forties, however, that didn't stop her from wearing a rather interesting black dress with a neckline that would be considered less than appropriate in other parts of the city. She had dark raven hair through which now slight slivers of grey could be seen. But rather than making her look old, if anything, it just added to her unconventional look.
"So you want to stay here? Troublesome child are you?" she said winking.
"Not exactly..." Lilly replied unsure of how to respond.
"It's going to cost you, darling, this isn't a charity you know" the woman drawled and as she mirrored the same phrase that Lilly's aunt had said to her earlier, she wondered if she had quite possibly wandered from the frying pan into the fire.
Too late for second thoughts now.
"So how did you end up coming here darling?" the woman crooned, somehow making her gruff voice sound comforting.
Why is she asking Lilly wondered. She seemed nice enough but there was something about her demeanour that was off...
"My aunt wasn't pleased with me...it's a long story" she offered, hoping to change the conversation.
"Aw poor honey, so now you're all alone, forced out of your home with nowhere to go but here..." something gleamed in her expression but she quickly hid it "or do you have someplace else to take you in? a relative? friends perhaps?"
Why was she asking all these unnecessary questions? Of course, she had nowhere else to go! That's why she was here! Her grandparents were too far away and she didn't want to trouble Patsy, Flora or Eve with her problems. Although there is Empire House a nagging voice from inside her whispered.
"No, I don't have anywhere else to go" Lilly replied.
"Excellent!" the woman cried excitedly, "so... let's see, kicked out of home, no relatives, no friends, no place to go...but here! excellent! exactly what I like!" she repeated like a professional saleswoman, still beaming brightly.
"That'll be 20 pounds per night, with the first night at 25 pounds because we need to set the room up see.." she gave a sweet saccharine smile "there are no other lodgings nearby and if you can't pay then I'm afraid it'll be the streets so best you pay properly with no arguments" She continued, flashing another toothy smile.
Lilly had to try hard to keep her mouth from betraying her shock. Which was definitely new. It had been a while since anyone or anything had shocked her.
But what choice did she have?
She had nowhere else to go. Shouldn't have told her that she thought glumly. 25 pounds!? and that too, only for the first night?!? She only received a total of 15 pounds in her paycheck from Mr Ambrose and that was the amount he paid all his staff, even though he was a miser-they were asking a ridiculous amount!
Sensing her unease and hesitation, the woman smiled even brighter and morphed her features into something she thought should resemble sympathy.
It quite reminded her of the face her aunt made whenever she gave Lilly an extra chore to do while telling her that really it was for her own benefit.
"Or, if you don't have the amount we ask for...I can give you a special deal, a special discount for you, out of the goodness of my heart, seeing as you do have no place else to go..."
she paused dramatically.
"...for the first night, you can just give us all the money you have, no matter if it doesn't reach the 25-pound pricing"
Lilly's stomach lurched. She only had about 20 pounds with her, and her next paycheck wasn't due for a while. What about her other expenses? And those wonderful solid chocolate bars
Plus it was getting late. Glancing through the open door that she had come in through, she could clearly make out the dark tiled streets of London-and the sinister figures that hovered around its edges. Shivering, she turned away- the streets weren't an option.
She looked at the woman again who was now pulling out a piece of paper, like the grim reaper, here to reap her soul and check it off. And charge her a ridiculous price while she was at it. Or maybe the streets would have to do?
Why did her aunt have to kick her out! Blast!
The woman was still eyeing her hungrily. And with that blasted toothy smile of hers.
"Well?..." The woman prompted, already bored of Lilly's silence ha! she should meet her employer! "you realise you won't get a better deal than this" another flash of teeth and at Lilly's continued silence, saw it as a sign of acceptance, "As soon as you give me the cash I'll show you to your room for the night!"
"Uh... No"
"Hmmm? did you say something darl" she drawled already about to turn away and lead her up the wooden stairs.
"I've changed my mind. I don't think I want to stay here after all...the uh...Petunia's don't agree with me"
"What! Changed your mind!? Can't be! And these things?" she exclaimed grabbing a handful of the Petunia's that had been placed on the desk in a brown vase "These are nothing! I can easily get rid of them if you don't like them" she continued, roughly scrunching up the flowers in her hand as if to prove her point.
"Uh no...really it's okay, you see, I'm very allergic to Petunias, very deathly allergic, so if its okay I'll just be leaving, maybe next time" Lilly added.
The woman's face became dangerously close to resembling a ripe tomato, her smile visibly getting more strained. "I don't think you understand darl" she started, all pretence gone. "This is my business, you come in here, you pay, especially if you waste my time"
Of course out of all the boardings for troubled youths she had chosen the one run by a mad woman!
But before she could decide what to do, the woman shoved two fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle.
"Mutt!"
Mutt?
Mutt, apparently was not a dog and was a six-foot tall bearded bloke with sunken bloodshot eyes-bloodshot eyes that were now focused on her.
She gulped.
"Take care of this time-waster!" the woman screeched apparently not done with making Lilly's life difficult.
Why were all the woman in her life like this?
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Hello, fellow Ifrits!
Just how much trouble can Lilly get into before Monday?
feel free to comment your thoughts!:)
~a fellow fangirl