Chapter 7

                                    

                                          
I head back to my room after many more hours of cleaning. After I had finished the hallway, I swept the other floors, the living room and the kitchen, and dusted off all the things in the living room. I started to work on the kitchen when the Phantom made some dinner, some odd soup, and then afterwards, I started to get sleepy, so here I am now.
                          
I blow out the candle and leave the door ajar, and then crawl into bed. I adjust the pillows and snuggle into the blankets.
                          
'Gonna have to wash the sheets somehow tomorrow. Unless he has something planned for tomorrow.'
                          
I fall asleep.
                          
]~[
                          
I wake up, possibly in the morning time, and change into a new outfit for the day. I put on a black t-shirt and navy blue basketball shorts. I wear sky blue socks with my red converse for today. I brush my hair, clean my teeth, and then head to the storage closet.
                          
I find the broom, duster, and dustpan, and start to clean the kitchen. As I sweep, some music fills the air. I pause for a moment to listen to see if I can find where it's coming from. I quietly walk and find that it's coming from the Phantom's room. It's quiet, and so pretty. Small and gentle, sweet even. It sounds like 'Masquerade.' I continue to stand by the door, and as soon as I heard the door open, I jump.
                          
"What were you doing, standing by my room?" he asks, harshly.
                          
"I heard music, and I liked it, so I stayed to listen to it. I won't do it again, if you like."
                          
He shakes his head. "Just clean. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
                          
"No. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard the music."
                          
"Hmm." He passes me and walks to the kitchen.
                          
He walks around my messes, and makes me another crêpe, but this time with a few pieces of bananas, and the rest of it is the same. Drizzled with chocolate and covered in powdered sugar.
                          
"Here. Eat that, and then after you finish, wash the dishes you used, and then continue cleaning the kitchen. Your work is good so far."
                          
He walks out of the kitchen, and slams a door, supposedly meaning he walked back to his room.
                          
'Still need to ask him about washing and such.'
                          
I eat what has been given to me, wash the dishes, and then continue cleaning the kitchen.
                          
]~[
                          
I get back to the storage closet and try to organize it. I set taller things on one side, which collected in a corner, and shorter, and possibly fat things, on the other half. But then all the things fall onto one another, leaving it messier than it was before. I groan and give up.
                          
I make my way over to my room when he stops me.
                          
"How is the cleaning going?"
                          
"It's going well, I guess. I have to clean up the other bedroom, and I'm not going to try yours, because, well, it's your room." He nods to that statement. I notice then that he's only wearing a suit, and not his hat and cloak. "I do need to wash the sheets of my bed, and then also for the other bedroom. So...where can I wash those?"
                          
His eyes hold an, are you serious judgemental look. "Here."
                          
He walks off in a different direction, leading me to another, small, storage closet. Inside is a washboard. "You use this." His voice is innocent, more confused than anything. "Can you figure the rest out?"
                          
I shake my head. "I don't know how."
                          
His gaze only hardens. "I will show you this one time, but you must remember. I'm not showing you how to after this. Bring the washboard with you." He stalks off to the bathroom.
                          
I pick up the awkward object, and toddle off to the bathroom. The Phantom isn't inside, but he approaches. He enters with the bedsheets from my bed.
                          
"You will learn how to do this, and if the bedsheets are itchy and uncomfortable, you'll learn to do better." He dumps them on the ground. "First, you'll fill the tub with hot, soapy water, and let the sheets soak, for several minutes."
                          
We wait while the tub fills up with hot water. He looks around the room, seeing what I had already cleaned.
                          
"At this rate, you'll run out of things to clean in about five days' time." He states.
                          
I take it as a compliment. "It sounds like there's a 'but' to that statement."
                          
"You are correct. But we'll be doing other things, pushing the date of which you'll be 'done' cleaning back another two or three days."
                          
"Hey, as long as I do as I've been told."
                          
He snorts, and then stops the water. He grabs the bedsheets and such and dunks them under. I notice that there are no pillow cases.
                          
'I guess the pillows are the more decorative kind. What's the point though? Shouldn't comfort come first? Then again, this is France...'
                          
"You take the cloth, soak it, and then squeeze the water out of it. You then take the cloth and rub it against the washboard like so." He takes the drippy material and scrapes it against the metal board. He does so for about five minutes, and then he says, "Then when the suds are gone, and it looks clean, you set it somewhere to dry. Any questions?"
                          
"Not that I can think of at the moment."
                          
"Good. Get cleaning girl."
                          
He walks away, giving off a mood of not impressed. I contemplate the situation I'm in for a moment, before there's a knock at the door, and I clean the sheets.
                          
]~[
                          
After several hours, I finish washing and drying my bedsheets. I throw the sheets onto the bed, and go to collect what possibly may be Christine's bedsheets, from the other room. I scuttle back to the bathroom, my arms full, when someone coughs to get my attention. I drop them to see who needs my attention. It's the only other living guy down here.
                          
"How are you holding up?"
                          
"I'm doing fine." I notice that I need to eat and or drink something.
                          
"You look pale. You are not doing fine. Come."
                          
I follow him to the kitchen and he fixes me up something. It's a soft pink color.
                          
"It is often seen around the children." He says as he hands it to me. I swirl it. "Pink lemonade." He says.
                          
"Oh!" I instantly drink all of it up. "This is delicious!"
                          
"There's one thing I don't understand."
                          
"Ask the question."
                          
"Why do children like the lemonade?"
                          
"Well, one, we're children. We're bound to like any and everything. Secondly, it's the sour and sweet contrast. You never really know who's going to be more sour, or more sweet, hence why we drink it every chance we get...or at least, I do."
                          
"So it's the flavoring?"
                          
"Pretty much."
                          
"Interesting." He stares off into space for about ten seconds. "My apologies. It's getting close to the evening. Would you like to see Paris in the daylight?"
                          
"I'd like to! I just have many things still left to clean."
                          
"This is you taking a break. Come on, let's go up to the roof."
                          
I set the glass down, dash to get my jacket for in case it is cold, and then follow the Phantom up the forever staircases.
                          
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