9. Duties

Now that I got myself kicked out before my eighteenth birthday, where will I stay in the meantime? I thought as I hurried back to my broom closet room. And I still need to get to work right now otherwise, the work will be too much for Martha, and I might get punished if we don't meet up with time

I enter and look around. I don't have much packing to do since everything I owned in my life fits into one suitcase.

I just go to the corner where some paint buckets are stacked into each other. I remove the first five buckets. Inside the sixth bucket, wrapped carefully with a stripe of cloth and a small ziploc bag is the fifteen hundred dollars that I managed to save after Celine collected more than half of my salary every month.

I open the ziploc bag and exhale in relief when I see my money is intact. I remove the piece of cloth leaving only the ziploc. Then I fold it tightly, remove one of my sneakers, and put the money inside. I wear my shoes back and tighten the shoelace to make sure it won't by any chance slip off.

When I'm ready to leave, I grab my suitcase and bid a final goodbye to the Walker's residence.

_Utill when I'm ready to take my revenge on you guys._ I say under my breath before heading toward the door.

I arrive at the pack house and enter through the kitchen back door. I smile and heave a sigh of relief when I see Martha is already preparing breakfast. I drop my suitcase by the door and hurry to where she's sitting on a stool, to give her a smacking kiss on her cheek.

"Martha, you're a lifesaver! What am I ever going to do without you?"

"Can you not be so dramatic?..." She replies but smiles sweetly back at me. "And where are you going with that?" She ask, jutting her chin toward the suitcase I placed by the door.

"It isn't your birthday... Oh my god, please don't tell me you're running away! Ash, you know that's not going to be possible. It's illegal. You know the consequences if you're caught..." She rambles on with concern for me.

"I'm not running away, Martha, relax," I say, making my voice louder than hers

and she finally stop talking.

"Okay. Good, then why do you have the suitcase?" She asks

"I've been kicked out of the house," I say with a shrug

"What!?... Your parents kicked you out of the house!?... But why!?"

"Well, about them being my parents... I just found out they aren't my real parents. According to Celine, she picked me up from the trash when nobody wanted me, something like that..." I say as I look around the kitchen to see if there's something I can do before going around the apartments to gather all their laundry.

"Hallelujah, child! Thank you, Jesus! Well, why am I not surprised!?" She exclaimed.

"I suspected they weren't your parents all along because no parent will do to their kids what they've been doing to you! I'm glad they finally kicked you out!"

Her reaction surprises me. I pause from filling the huge kitchen sink with warm soapy water and turn to see her grinning from ear to ear.

"You're happy I got kicked out!?" I ask and chuckle while putting dirty pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils into the water to soak.

"Yes! I am very happy that they finally kick you out!"

"Oh, Martha!..." I gasp, feigning surprise and heartbreak at her reply. "You're happy I'll be sleeping on the street from now on? I can't believe this!" I laugh and throw my hands up in resignation, even though I sort of knew she would ask me to come to stay with her at her house."

"I'm happy you're finally coming to stay with me. Silly! How do you think I will allow you to sleep on the street?"

I drop the spatula I'm washing and rush to hug her. I knew she live alone, but I wouldn't have asked to stay with her if she hadn't offered first. I don't want to put her in a tight spot and take her kindness for granted.

"Ughh... Okay, that's enough! You don't have to put so much strength in a hug, are you planning on crushing me to death" she complains and squirms out of my embrace, immediately switching to work mode

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, take your suitcase into the pantry and quickly finish the washing so we can immediately start setting the breakfast table."

"Aye, aye Captain Martha, ma'am!" I happily reply with another kissing smack on her cheek.

Breakfast starts at seven. I check the time display on the oven and see it's some minutes past six. I quickly finish washing the rest of the utensils inside the sink before getting the food trolley. I place the chafing dishes that contain the food on the trolley, plus the plates and cutleries, and proceed to push them to the dining room before going back to get the coffee and tea urns.

Before leaving the dining room, I make sure everything is set and nothing is out of place. I then check the water pitchers to make sure they're filled to the brim before going for my next task of the day which is laundry and general cleaning

Martha and I always gather the laundry and clean the apartments together but ever since she injured her hip, I've been taking care of it. I'm not afraid of the work, I just hate being all by myself with the likes of the Gamma chief who couldn't keep his hands to himself

The Night Howlers pack house looks like a fancy hotel from the outside. A fancy hotel that's without all the trappings that come with a hotel. It's a five-story building with two, three-bedroom apartments on each floor and just two maids hired to cook and clean for the whole residents.

Only high-ranking officials are allowed to live in the pack house if they wish but if they prefer their own house, then they can pass the offer to any pack members but not without the Beta's approval.

After getting the laundry basket and the cleaning agents I'll be needing for the cleaning. I take the elevator straight to the top floor which has the Beta and Gamma chief's apartments. I push my vacuum cleaner that I've somehow managed to attach to the huge laundry basket on wheels ahead of me towards the Beta's apartment.

Not that I'll be needing them there, since the Beta's family never required me to clean their apartment. I always wait at the door to collect their laundry, wash, and also keep by the door for them to retrieve later. I press the doorbell and wait for someone to answer. When the door opens, it isn't the Beta's wife that usually opens the door with a laundry bag in hand this time.