Daisy sipped her vanilla milkshake with both hands wrapped around the glass, her pinky finger raised like she was in a royal tea ceremony. The café buzzed softly around them, but most of the eyes weren’t on the menu, they were on her. As always.
Her hair was half tied with a velvet ribbon, makeup soft and doll-like. She didn’t dress extravagantly, just a cream blouse and a flowy skirt, but still, she stood out. Or maybe shimmered was a better word.
Aurora, on the other hand, sat across from her with a pounding heart and a brain full of guilt.
"So..." Aurora cleared her throat, trying to start light, "how have you been?"
Daisy looked up with a little smile, licking milkshake off her straw. "Busy. Tired. But thank God, I am alive, I guess?" she giggled.
Aurora blinked. "You? Busy?"
"Yes!" Daisy rolled her eyes, a bit too dramatically. "I’ve been applying to every place that pays weekly. Even the ugly uniform ones. We need the money, Aurora. I’m not just sitting around."
"I know, I didn’t mean... sorry," Aurora winced. "I just didn’t expect you to be... like, looking."
"Well, someone has to." Daisy swirled the straw around. "Dad’s medication bills are getting bigger. And Mom... don’t even start. You know she refuses to eat anything unless it’s made by that chef at the hotel. The one with the tiny portions and big plates?"
Aurora nodded with a half-laugh. "Still? I thought she’d drop that after your dad’s last hospital visit."
"She says it’s for her nerves." Daisy shrugged. "She cried for three days because our rice cooker broke."
Aurora buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God."
"I had to cook on the stove," Daisy said, dead serious.
That made Aurora snort despite the tension hanging in her chest. "At least you can cook rice now." She reached for her glass but didn’t drink, just watched her friend quietly for a moment. "Hmm, Daisy..."
Daisy looked straight at her with her round doe eyes. "Hmm?"
"My boss is looking for a maid," Aurora paused, swallowing hard. "Would you like to try?"
"Maid?" Daisy blinked hard. "You mean, me working as a maid?"
"Ah—ah... probably not something that suits you—"
"No..." Daisy quickly waved her hand, shaking her head. "I mean, it’s not like I refuse to work as a maid," she stopped, pressing her lips together. "It’s just... I don’t know how to do most of the housework."
Aurora leaned forward, both elbows on the table. "Well, you can learn, right?"
Daisy hesitated, chewing on her straw. "Will your boss... be okay with someone who’s still learning?"
Aurora let out a slow breath, then forced a smile. "He’s... actually a little strange," she said, voice lowering. "Like, he wants a maid just to... look at the house?"
Her words came out more like a question than a statement, clearly unsure because she was lying.
Daisy’s brows pinched slightly. "That doesn’t even make sense."
Aurora shrugged too quickly. "Right? But he’s rich. Maybe the house is lonely or something. Rich people and their weird quirks."
Daisy bit her lip, thinking. Her straw made a faint squeak against the cup as she stirred what was left of her milkshake. Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "How much is the salary?"
Aurora blinked. "Huh?"
"You said it’s a job. What’s the pay like?" Daisy leaned forward, eyes suspicious. "Don’t tell me it’s one of those jobs where they say you’ll be compensated with ’experience.’"
Aurora shook her head quickly. "No, no... he’s serious about paying."
"Hmm... One million," Aurora said, watching her friend closely.
Daisy’s straw froze halfway to her mouth. "One million what?"
Daisy nearly choked. "You’re joking."
"One million dollars for a year?" Daisy’s eyes widened. "To be a maid?"
Aurora nodded. That’s what she was being told by Theo, five days ago. She didn’t need to pay back her loan and Daisy was promised a million just to stay around him.
"Does he want me to clean his soul or something?"
Aurora shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe he just wants someone in the house." She smiled, showing her teeth, trying her best to cover up her anxiousness.
"This sounds like the start of a Netflix documentary and too good to be true." She looked at Aurora with her side eyes, "You are not selling me off right? I am just gonna be a maid, sure?"
Aurora laughed awkwardly, "Of course! Sure!" She looked away for a second before continuing, "My boss was suddenly asking if I knew anyone that could make the house feel brighter, you know, the house that big but feel empty, and I immediately thought of you." She giggled again.
Daisy tilted her head, then slowly nodded, her expression softening. "Hmm... that actually makes sense," she murmured, eyes wandering to the almost-empty glass in front of her. "I mean, if I had a house that big and empty, I’d want someone cheerful around too."
Aurora stared at her in disbelief for a moment. "So... you’re okay with it?"
Daisy gave her a small, innocent smile. "You said it’s safe, right? And you trust your boss, right?"
Aurora opened her mouth, paused, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. Totally. He’s... intense. But not dangerous."
Daisy clapped her hands lightly. "Then I’m in! One year of being a ’vibe maid,’ how hard can it be?"
Aurora blinked. "A what?"
"A vibe maid! You know, not really cleaning, just existing in the house to lighten the mood." She grinned like she’d just made up a new job title.
Aurora let out a nervous laugh, unsure whether she wanted to hug Daisy or start praying for her safety. "Yeah... vibe maid. Let’s go with that."
Daisy picked up her glass and sipped the last of her milkshake, humming happily. "I’m actually kind of excited now."
Aurora stared at her. Guilty covered her heart but she was trying to remind herself this was for her own survival.
Well. For now, Aurora could only pray that Daisy’s innocence could be a weapon.