Chapter 7 - Punishing Red

"Oh Allison!" came the all-too familiar call, a couple of metres away from me. Holding back a frustrated groan, I slid off the stool I was seated on and sluggishly walked over to the poolside where Derris and Elaine, the girl who'd sat with Derris in Chemistry were relaxing on lounge chairs. 

"You called, Miss?" I said through gritted teeth. 

"Yeah. I would like a refill of my drink," she held up an empty cup which I was sure I just filled a minute ago. 

"Why?" I asked in an overly sweet voice. This was getting ridiculous as were her requests. 

"What do you mean 'why'? I want a refill of my drink and last I checked, you were here to help, weren't you?"

"Yes, to help him. Not you!" I retorted, losing the politeness. "Besides, I just filled that for you. Do you have a tank in your stomach or something?"

She gasped and turned to Derris. "Derris! Your maid's being mean!"

Derris who hadn't been paying attention to us before sighed and said to me, "Get her the drink, Allison. Unless, you want to leave and terminate our deal. Because the door's that way!" He gave me a daring smirk.

"Fine!" I grabbed the cup from Elaine and trudged off in the direction of the refrigerator, murmuring under my breath. 

Stupid Elaine! Whiny little... Ugh! What does Derris even see in her anyway? Then again, it's pretty obvious. She's blonde, tall and perfect. Basically everything I'm not. Hurts even more that Derris likes her but ot me.

I filled the glass and was heading back to the pool when I saw something that looked like a salt shaker on the kitchen counter. An idea formed in my mind and I tiptoed to the kitchen and emptied a good amount of the salt in her orange juice. 

Let's see how she handles this. 

I headed back to the pool, struggling to hide my excitement. If I seemed too happy, Elaine would probably figure out that something was wrong and she wouldn't accept the drink. I would have plenty of time to react after she guzzled down the drink. 

By the time I arrived at the pool though, I was not ready for the sight I met. Elaine wasn't on her lounge chair anymore. Instead, she was lying directly on Derris, both of them involved in an intense make out session. 

As I stared at them, I was torn between running away or bursting into tears. This wasn't the first time I was seeing Derris with a girl but this was my first time seeing him up close and personal, actually making out with any girl. And it honestly broke my heart. 

He finally knew my name and that I existed which was something I had hoped for for so long but now that I had it, I kinda wished he didn't know me.

Because now, I was facing the harsh reality of seeing someone I loved kiss someone else in front of me while he regarded me as nothing other than a maid. Hurt like hell and there was nothing I could do about it.

An eternity seemed to pass before they parted and even noticed me staring at them. 

"How long have you been standing there?" Elaine growled on noticing me.

"I- Uh-" I tried answering but the words kept getting stuck in my throat. I was still having a hard time processing what I just witnessed. 

"Doesn't matter," Derris said, pushing her aside and walking towards me. "She'll be gone soon and then, you and I can continue," his steely eyes were fixed on me as he spoke. Before I could react, his hand wrapped around mine and took the drink I was holding. 

"No, no, wait!" I tried to stop him but it was too late. He took a sip and just like that, he was spitting it out at me. 

"What did you put in that?!" he yelled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes were blazing and he did not look happy. I looked away from him at the ground, scared to meet his gaze. "Answer me!" he raged. 

I gulped and managed a glance at his face. "S-s-salt," I stuttered. 

"Salt? What kind of dummy puts salt in orange juice?" Elaine snorted. 

"The drink was for you so I guess the salt was a prank on you," Derris said, still not looking away from me. 

"Why you skinny little-" Elaine growled advancing toward me but Derris held his hand up, stopping her in her tracks. 

"No need for that, Elaine. I have the perfect way to punish Red here," he smiled devilishly, causing me to give a frightened gasp at the look I saw in his eyes. Still staring at me, he passed the glass of orange juice to me. I shakily accepted it from him. 

"W-What do you want me to do with this?" I stuttered with a quivering voice. 

His next words were simple and direct. "Drink it."

I blinked rapidly, not understanding him at first. I took small steps back from and glanced at the drink and back at him.

"You're not serious about that- right?" I questioned in an unsure voice. 

"I am, actually. Since you think it's funny to pour salt in people's drinks, then you should know how it feels. Drink. It." he ordered in a stern voice. 

"P-p-please-" I tried saying but the look in his eyes made me stop. I looked away from him and gazed at my reflection in the orange juice. I gulped and prepared myself for what I was about to do. I brought the glass up to my lips, closed my eyes and tilted it up. 

It was horrible. As soon as the liquid touched my tongue, I could literally feel my tongue shrink. I couldn't swallow, I wanted to spit it out so bad but Derris' commanding voice penetrated my head with the words, "Don't spit it out! Drink it all!"

With that, I buried the urge to spit it out and focused on being done with the salty concoction as soon as possible. By the time I was done, I opened my watery eyes to the sight of a giggling Elaine who seemed to be enjoying herself and Derris who bore a victorious smirk. 

"I hope you've learnt your lesson," he said, taking in my appearance. I simply nodded. My throat burned as did my mouth, nose and eyes. "Great. You can take your leave now. Elaine and I have some business to get to."

I nodded again and hurried away from the pool, trying to put the moans and the image of what was happening behind me. After getting out of the house, I was able to hail a taxi after walking for a few minutes. Once the taxi was on its way, I settled back into my seat and let the tears flow...