Chapter 6

Joel

Man, I was bored. Washing dishes had to be the worst job in the whole world.

My hands had shrivelled up like two sad, deflated balloons in the water, and this was just in preparation for the ball!  

Another chef passed a dirty saucepan my way. I say saucepan, but these things were so huge I could probably have a bath in it!

I scrubbed away at it, letting out small curses at the chef who had let the sauce burn onto the bottom of it, making me feel like I was trying to scrub off concrete.

I couldn’t even imagine how crazy it was going to be tonight when we served the 4 course meal to the 200 invited guests. At least my uncle had drafted in extra help for later so I wouldn’t be on my own.

Speak of the devil….my uncle came racing into the kitchen, nearly knocking the pastry chef off his feet. A fluster of apologies followed before he zoned in on me and started heading over.

“You ok there Uncle? You know if that vein in your neck throbs any harder, it’s going to burst all over the lovely food they’ve already cooked.”

I probably shouldn’t talk to my uncle like that in front of the other staff, but I just couldn’t help myself sometimes.

He raised an eyebrow at my choice of words but clearly had more pressing issues to deal with.

“Harry can’t make it tonight as he was injured in training this morning, so I’m a valet down.”

“Oh shoot,” I said in sympathy. “Can Simon not cover?”

“No Simon is my head waiter tonight as Justin’s wife has gone into labour.”

I let out a short snort of laughter before quickly changing to a more sympathetic face.

“Damn, looks like you’ll have to find someone else then.” I said grabbing another pot to wash.

“Emm, yes, well, actually that’s what I’m doing right now.”

Something about my uncle’s tone made me stop washing, and look over at him. He was looking directly at me with a slightly apologetic expression on his face.

“Me?!” I asked in part surprise, part horror.

“You’re perfectly capable of doing the job Joel,” he said in his calming but authoritative voice.

I didn’t believe him at all.

“Surely one of the waiters would be a better choice,” I said clutching at straws.

“Sure, they could step up, but then who would wait the tables? It’s an important night tonight, and it’s silver service, so I need to have trained waiters. Believe it or not you need less training to be a Valet even if it is a more senior position.”

“But it means I’ll have to speak to...to them. And be like sociable and stuff.”

My uncle rolled his eyes. “You’re a big boy now Joel, I’m sure you can manage to be pleasant for just one night.”

I pulled a face.  

My uncle switched tactics.

“Look Joel, you said you wanted to advance, and get the opportunity to earn more money. Well here is an opportunity opening right up for you. Most people would give their right hand to be offered the job of Valet for the night. It will look good when you apply for other roles…..unless of course you want to spend the next 5 years washing pots…”

Ok, he had me there…

“Fine. What do you need me to do?” I said with a resigned expression.

My uncle didn’t even try to hide his victorious grin. “Just go home, have a shower, and be back here at 6pm sharp wearing your best shirt and trousers.”

“Yes Sir!” I said giving a hearty salute and clicking my heels together.

My uncle groaned and started walking away.

I dropped what I was doing and flipped off my apron before turning to run out the door, like a prisoner with a day release pass.

“....and don’t forget to polish your shoes!” my uncle shouted as I ran out the door.

-----------------

An hour and a half later and I was slowly making my way towards the manor, feeling tarted up in my freshly pressed shirt and trousers. My mum was so excited when she heard I was going to be a valet for the evening, and she had thrown herself into shining my shoes until I could see my reflection in them.

Even though I could see my uncle’s point about being given the opportunity to progress up the ladder, I still couldn’t bring myself to feel any enthusiasm for what was to come.

I would have to interact with Them. Me! I struggled to be pleasant in my own company. Hell, I regularly wished I just had an off button to make me shut up. And here I was being expected to make pleasantries with people who I would quite happily empty a rubbish truck over.

As I approached the entrance to the manor, I could see that there was already a small crowd gathering at the gate at the bottom of the drive.

Did people not have anything better to do with their lives? Who did they think they’d be seeing? I would never understand why the family you were born into would define how you were seen by others.

As I got closer to the crowd, a couple of familiar faces suddenly broke away from the group and started making their way over to me.

“Oh god, not you too!” I wailed, disappointed that my two friends had succumbed to

‘celebrity spotting’.

“What?!” Lyla said innocently, while Mark just rolled his eyes.

I suspected that Lyla had actually dragged him here and he would probably rather be at home, playing his video games.

“All you’re going to see is a bunch of stuck up pretentious guests who wouldn’t know their arse from their elbow.”

“Oh, Joel, remove that stick from up your ass for a second,” Lyla said, while mimicking removing something long and thin from behind me.

I swatted at her hands like I was trying to bat away a swarm of bees.

“Just give it a rest you two!” said Mark, looking really fed up.

“Fine!” I huffed, putting my hands back by my sides.

It was at this point that Lyla finally noticed what I was wearing.

“Oh my god Joel, why are you dressed like that? Are you going to be waiting tables?”

“Didn’t you hear Lyla?” said Mark with a mischievous smile, “Joel is providing the entertainment, pulling rabbits of the men’s top hats!”

That earned him a cuff round the head from me.

Lyla just sniggered.

“Actually you’re both wrong” I said, trying not to sound too smug (and failing miserably), “I’m being a Valet for the evening.”

Lyla did her signature squeal and started bouncing up and down in excitement.

“That’s so exciting!” she squeaked. “What will you be doing exactly?”

“I have no idea,” I said laughing. “I’m going to meet my uncle now to find out.”

“Good luck mate,” said Mark patting me on the back. “You’re going to need it to make it out alive.”

“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” I said slowly making my way to the gate. I turned to Lyla, “Any last words of advice?”

She looked slightly panicked at being asked such a thing, then clearly blurted out the first thing she thought of, “Always wash your hands after you’ve been to the toilet.”

“Don’t eat yellow snow,” Mark added with a huge grin on his face.

“Why do I bother?” I said, mostly to myself as I walked away.

“Keep calm and carry on. Dance as though no one is watching. You only live once..” Mark was clearly enjoying himself as he carried on throwing useless advice my way.

“...Just be yourself.”

“NO!” Lyla suddenly shouted making me glance back at them.

“If there’s one piece of advice you should listen to, it’s don’t be yourself!” she shouted as Mark doubled over in laughter.

I flashed her my best dirty look before showing my work pass to the guard and being let through the gate.

-----------------

I looked at myself in the mirror, not sure whether I should laugh or cry.

Duncan had given me a navy blue blazer and tie to wear - standard uniform for the Valets. I turned to the left a bit, and then to the right, and then all the way around, all the while keeping my gaze on the mirror.

I looked good. Even my arse looked good I was pleased to note. But how could I think I looked good in this? For me, it was the equivalent of fluorescent orange scrubs, otherwise known as prison uniform.

It was like wearing the label that said, this is all I am worth - serving those who are better than me. No, correction, think they are better than me.

I looked around at all the other staff, busy with their jobs getting everything perfect for the start of the ball. There was a general buzz of excitement around the place. A tingling sensation in the air that something amazing was about to happen. Even the staff looked happy with the prospect of being involved in something as grand as this.

I wasn’t happy...or excited.  

Duncan suddenly appeared in front of me, snapping me from my thoughts.

“Right Joel, are you ready?”

“As much as i’ll ever be,” I said, with a small sigh.

My uncle rolled his eyes. “Enough of that attitude. You’re going to have to smile tonight. Do you think you can at least manage that?”

I put on my best fake cheesy smile. All teeth and no substance.

Duncan ignored my effort but continued leading me through the manor. He gave me a quick guided tour of the main areas, not because I would be working in any of them, but because if any guest asked for my help, I needed to know the basics.

The guests would basically be in three areas. The lounge, the dining room and the ballroom. I suppose the ballroom was kind of what I was expecting. A massive room with a vaulted ceiling and shiny wood floor. The space was pretty empty to allow for dancing, except for a small stage at one end, where the band would play, and various chairs around the edge, for people to watch from.

The dining room and lounge were not what I was expecting. The lounge was huge! It was probably as big as all the rooms in my house put together. There were 3 different seating areas with settees, beanbags, tables and chairs, and one wall had a massive TV on that was the size of a large window. I also noticed a pool table in one corner and some table games in another.

The dining room was the one the took my breath away. Molly was right about the pillars being gold. Although in my mind I thought it must be gold paint. Surely they can’t be solid gold right?

The tables looked amazing. It looked like a scene from a very expensive wedding. The white table clothes looked pristine with the best silver cutlery immaculately spaced for each setting. There were flowers everywhere, mainly pink, white and red, and the seats had white covers with red bows on them.

Again, I was whisked along by Duncan, barely taking in anything he was telling me.

At last we came to a stop, in a rather dark, miserable looking room, right next to the front door.

“And this is where you will be working,” Duncan said with a flourish, like I would be impressed or something.

I glanced around slightly puzzled. “And what would I be doing in here?” I asked in anticipation.

“This is the cloakroom” replied Duncan. “You will be taking the guests coats and hanging them up in here.”

I nodded my head while deep in thought. This was do-able. How hard could it be?

“Well coats are certainly easier to deal with than the guests” I said smiling.

A frown appeared on my Uncle’s face.

“You’ll still have to deal with the guests. How else are you expecting to get their coats?”

I grinned sheepishly, “I thought maybe you would hand them to me?”

My Uncle chuckled quietly. “I’m afraid I will be much too busy to do that! The guests will be met in the lobby by Jeremy,” Jeremy was a butler, “then they will make their way into the cloakroom where you will take their coats and hand them a ticket number which will match the hanger in this room here.

“Wait, so the guests will be coming in here?” I said looking around at the drab room, full of rails of hangers.

“No. This is also part of the cloakroom,” he said, opening another door and leading me into what could only be described as a posh dressing room.  

“Once they have handed you their coats, the ladies usually want to spend a few minutes preening themselves in front of the mirror before they enter through here..” he said before opening another set of double doors, “....where Casper will be waiting to greet them.”

I followed my Uncle through to this next room, all the while thinking just how close I would be to Casper for the start of the night.

This room was quite small and intimate, with just one chair and a small coffee table in it.

“Wait.” I said a little confused. “Why is he greeting them in here and not in one of the main rooms?”

“Because the whole idea of this ball, is for Casper to find his mate. Can you imagine what it would be like if he was doing that in front of all the guests. It would be like some sort of stage show. This way it is all done in private, and when he does find his mate, they will be able to share a brief moment together before she will be thrust into the spotlight.”

I remained silent while trying to let all this sink in.

“In truth,” Duncan added, “if he does find his mate tonight, you may be the first one to know.”

I looked across at my Uncle in horror, then quickly adjusted my expression when I realised he thought this would be an incentive to do this job.

Why would I want to know who his mate was? I’m sure she would be some stuck up rich werewolf with very little to say for herself other than how wonderful and smoking hot Casper was. Ok sure, I thought that too, but at least I had the decency to keep it to myself.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Hang on, how would I know if he met his mate. I’ll be in that room not this one,” I said pointing back to the cloakroom.

“Ahh, but here is the other part of your job,” my Uncle said rather cryptically, while walking back towards the cloakroom, but waving at me to stay where I was.

I waited for a few seconds before I heard a noise from behind me.

I swung round to what I thought was just a wall, to see one of the panels opening up, revealing a small hatch at about chest height.

My Uncle suddenly appeared in the space, grinning at me, like he’d just revealed a secret passage.

I walked over to him and peered into the room, surprised to see that it was the same room as before - the drab one with all the hangers in.

“The other part of your job will be to usher people from the cloakroom area, through to Casper, but you have to make sure that there is only one female with him at any time. So you will use this hatch to take an inconspicuous look to make sure that the previous guest has left and entered into the ballroom. It is very important that you are as discreet as possible. The whole point of this room, is that they have a moment in private. They don’t need you stood there staring at them.”

For the first time that day I felt a wave of anxiety suddenly travel through my body. I had no idea I would be working this close to Casper. It was literally my job to keep my eye on him. And what if he recognised me from that time in the kitchen? Would he still be mad? My uncle would be mortified if he took one look at me and told me to leave. Should I maybe tell my uncle what happened?

My uncle must have been able to see from my expression that I was worried, as he asked, “Is everything alright Joel?”

I smiled weakly at him, not wanting to let him down. “It’s fine, honestly….it’s just I didn’t expect to be working this close to Casper. What if I get it wrong, or he takes a dislike to me?”

My Uncle smiled, “if you’re talking about that little incident when you came for your interview, you don’t need to worry. I’ve already had a chat with him about it.”

I felt my chin drop to the floor.

“You...you know about that?”

“Of course I do. It’s my job to know,” he said while tapping the side of his nose.

I had so many emotions whirling round right know that I didn’t know where to start. Embarrassment, relief, anxiety, surprise, anger, disappointment, curiosity?

Before I could dwell on any one of these feelings, my Uncle whisked me away again muttering something about showing me what to do with the tickets.