开云体育

This business trip would be such a blessing, thought Emily Jeong. Her parents were always pressuring her to excel at school and even though the school year had ended they insisted she studied daily. An interesting investment opportunity for their company called both of them abroad for two weeks, leaving Emily alone in the family mansion with the family maid Esther Davis, a woman just a few years older than Emily.
In their absence, Emily’s parents left her with a reading assignment and book reports to complete. That evening, after her parents had left for the airport, Emily was bemoaning how boring the books were and how she hated those reading assignments. While Esther understood her frustration, she put the young lady’s complaints in perspective. She wished she had time to read herself but her duties left her little time and energy to do so. This gave Emily an idea. She thought for a few minutes, unsure whether she could suggest such a thing but decided that Esther and her had been close enough for years that she would not find her too odd for suggesting Esther complete the book reports for her while she would take over cleaning the house, doing laundry, and cooking.

Esther laughed at the suggestion at first but seeing that Emily’s proposal was made in earnest, she actually thought about it. Of course it would be dumb to reject what was basically two weeks off when offered to her but she worried whether the pampered Emily could adequately do her job. Emily reiterated she was being honest and just could not stand reading more of her father’s boring dry literature, much preferring actually being practical and useful. Understanding how desperate Emily was to escape her parent’s pressure, Esther acquiesced. After Emily had gone to bed, Esther stayed up, writing down the responsibilities Emily would be taking over from her.

The next morning, Emily rose earlier than usual, excited to start the day. She was actually surprised to see Esther already up, having prepared breakfast for them. Over breakfast, Esther laid out Emily’s new responsibilities: cleaning, dusting, making meals and doing dishes, but also checking the pantry, refreshing flower vases,... All things Esther found quite evident but probably needed to be spelled out. Emily felt intimidated yet excited to be given so many tangible responsibilities. She too had a list for Esther. Esther looked over the reading list, recognizing some books by great philosophers and others as must-read classics she never found time to dedicate herself to. After finishing their meals, Esther moved to take the dirty dishes when Emily stopped her, reminding her the dishes were now her concern. Esther rolled her eyes at how eager she was to do dishes but followed Emily’s advise to just relax.

While Esther sought out a book to read in the library, Emily found herself mentally planning out her day. Esther’s list was longer than she had expected, but each task seemed much more appealing than forcing herself to spend another day reading and studying. She figured that she better first cleaned up the kitchen, collecting all plates and cutlery to be washed and put back into their drawers. Once done, she set some tea for Esther. Assam black, her favourite. After serving the tea, she went and collected the laundry and linen. In Esther’s room, she noted one of her uniforms hanging, intriguing her. Emily had dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt to not accidentally soil or damage her good clothes, but found herself feeling awkward and looking much too dowdy. She took the dress and held it in front of her before the mirror. “This would look so much better on me”, she thought, “and the size seems about the same…”. Not wanting to violate her friend’s privacy, she raced over to the mansion’s lounge where Esther was engrossed in “Of men and Mice” to ask for permission to borrow her uniform. Esther, being too focused on the booko fully process the request, told her that was completely fine. In the maid’s room again, Emily quickly slipped out of her sweats and shirt and slid on the black dress and apron. She was surprised at how natural it looked and felt on her. With glee, she opened Esther’s drawers to find a pair of pure white tights, slid them on and put her black mary janes on her feet.

Emily was thrilled by the sight in the mirror. She looked like such a stylish and cute maid. She spun around and giggled at the way the fabric spun. She grabbed the bin to drag it to the laundry room and continued her maidly duties. Emily found the tasks much more enjoyable in the proper attire, feeling dignified and useful. Seeing her own reflection when she cleaned the bathroom mirror sent a shock through her system. She didn't look like her preppy self anymore: she had light stains on her uniform, blushed from exertion, and her hair had been rumpled by the intense labour. Still, she found it much nicer to see herself as a productive woman than the girl being groomed into a scholastic but boring lady. She wondered what her parents would say if they were to find out that she thought that way. Or her friends! Emily shuddered at the ways those haughty girls would mock and ridicule her though at the same time she felt intrigued by the thought. Until now she had kept herself hidden from Esther though not on purpose; she simply had not encountered her since she changed her outfit. Still,... She wanted to be seen and acknowledged by her friend.

Emily had retreated to the kitchen to prepare a surprise lunch for Esther, the perfect introduction to Maid Emily, or Amélie, as she was going to introduce herself. She found a recipe for chicken wraps with blue cheese online which looked both delicious and like something she could make with her limited culinary talent. She had thanked God profusely for the internet with its myriad household related instructional videos. The resulting dish looked just as great as the pinterest post promised, an achievement that filled her with immense pride. She took the dish and walked over to the study where Esther had been spending her day reading. She knocked on the door, put on her best French accent and said "Bonjour mademoiselle, femme de ménage Emily est là avec votre déjeuner.", the best use of those French classes her father insisted she took. Esther responded with a yelp and shouted for her to come in. Carefully Emily opened the door, blushing as her knees became weak in anticipation of how her friend would react to seeing her in her own maid uniform. "J'ai préparé poulet au fromage bleu dans... un pain plat.". She struggled to find the right words while maintaining her professionality. She placed the tray in front of Esther who looked at her dumbfounded.

"Emily, what in God's name are you saying? Did you hit your head or-?". Emily Cut her off: "Non non! Ne m'appelle pas Emily. Je m'appelle Amélia et je suis votre servante, jeune femme.". To her own surprise, she made a curtsey while introducing herself. Esther looked at her confused. "Please, speak English. I can't understand what you're saying. You're acting super strange.". Emily straightened herself and continued with a heavy french accent. "I simply thought you'd like being treated like the lady of the house for once...". She felt very ashamed for imposing her tendencies onto her once more. "It does feel nice not having to work but I'm not going to take advantage of your proposal to 'switch places' for a day or two. You can act normal.", Esther clarified, afraid her stern explanation of the maidly duties she had been given had given off the wrong idea. "Normal? I mean... No, no! You don't take advantage... I mean... I don't mind..." Emily paused, averting her eyes. "I did hope you'd actually... I mean, my parents are gone for two whole weeks and you deserve some vacation..." She couldn't believe what she was thinking.

?
"I'm sorry?". Esther couldn't believe her ears. "Are you saying you'd voluntarily work for two weeks instead of reading some books to give me time off? Is this a prank?". "No, no Miss!", Emily caught herself subconsciously calling her 'Miss', "I just mean, I feel so useful and alive. And this dress is really pretty... Forget I said anything. It was a silly idea anyway. I'll redress in a minute and finish my cleaning rounds..." Emily left the room feeling humiliated and dumb. She returned to the laundry room where she had left her training pants and started to undress when she noticed Esther followed her. "Emily, sorry. I didn't mean to offend. It's a bit strange to offer up your luxurious life like that. You know what? You keep playing my maid for the day and we'll see how you feel tomorrow, is that ok?" Emily nodded and smiled. "Yes, thank you. But please call me 'Amélie'. It sounds more like a classy maid's name~" she joked.

?
The rest of the day was filled with tough work and though the mary janes had block heels which made them easier to walk on than her usual pumps or boots, they may not be the perfect choice for being on your feet all day, a sentiment that Esther confirmed, advising her new maid to take her breaks when needed. Emily didn't mind her feet being somewhat sore; it made her feel like she deserved her rest even more.

?
"So, Em - Amélie? How did you like your day as a maid?", Esther asked over dinner. "Marvelous, Miss! I feel super tired but I did so much! I did laundry, I cooked and I cleaned,...", the tired girl replied. "Does that include the carpets and cleaning the windows too?", Esther asked. "Oh no, but I put them on my todo list for tomorrow. I kind of wanted to study up on the correct techniques before I damage my father's, ummm, your beautiful furniture with my clumsiness.", Emily smiled at how into the role-play she had gotten. "So, I take it you wish to-" "With pleasure!", Emily didn't even let Esther finish her question. She was just so happy that she accepted. With one day of her voluntary servitude passed, both girls looked forward to coming 13 days though they were unsure if the switch back would be smooth.