This is part 2 to The Fun House!
True to her word, their hostess, Miss Crump, turned the lights back on within a short time.
Kristy and Desiree looked around in relief. Things weren’t quite as scary with the lights on. But they were still quite confused. There also was no sign of Miss Crump anywhere. Where had she gone?
“I don’t know about you, Kristy, but I say that we get ourselves out of here as quickly as possible. It is obvious that Miss Crump has bats in her belfry.”
Desiree headed straight for the door, but she couldn’t turn the knob. They were locked in. Miss Crump hadn’t been joking.
“Ladies, if you would please follow me, I will show you what your first job is.”
Kristy and Desireee hadn’t heard anyone enter the room, but the butler was standing behind them.
“Our first job? Have we been hired?” Kristy asked.
“But what if we don’t want the job anymore?” Desiree muttered under her breath.
Kristy’s sharp look silenced her, and they followed the butler.
He led them up the winding staircase. They gasped in awe when they reached the top of the stairs and saw the hallway. Gorgeous, stained glass windows lined the hallway. Each window depicted an inspiring nature scene. From fiery orange sunrises to colorful sunsets. Single red roses to a field of red poppies and rolling, green hills to the snow covered, majestic Mt Everest.
Kristy wondered what other pieces of beautiful artwork were to be found in this mansion. Being an art major made anticipation rise in her heart about working amidst such beauty. While at the same time uneasy about Miss Crump. What kind of lady was she, really?
The tall butler held himself erect, walking like a soldier. Kristy half expected him to start yelling, “March! Right, Left,Right…”
Stopping in front of a door he opened it and ushered the girls inside. Their faces couldn’t hide their shock.
After seeing such shiny opulence, in the dining room downstairs and the hallway, what was the story of this room? This was the kind of room for Charlie Brown Christmas trees. It had clearly been neglected! Kristy thought she may choke on the dust.
There was only one table in the room, and upon it were two buckets and two sponges.
Desiree’s heart sank, would they have to clean this room? It would take them the rest of the day! But wait, why was a golden key on the table?
Questions filled their eyes as they turned their attention to the butler.
“Two choices lay before you. Both of you can fill the buckets with soapy water and clean this room, making the floors sparkle! Or you both can grab the golden key and leave. It’s totally your choice. But you both have to do the same thing? Which will you choose?
Desiree’s eyes told Kristy exactly what she wanted to do, but Kristy felt led to stay. She was curious.
“Cleaning this room won’t take too long.”
Desiree looked at Kristy as if she was crazy! But she agreed.
When they finally scrubbed the last inch of the floor and the walls, they cheered. Standing back to admire their hard work, they were pleased. Miss Crump should be pleased too.
“What do we do now? Go look for the butler and Miss Cump?” Desiree asked. The butler had taken the golden key, so they still couldn’t leave.
While they were deciding, the butler walked back into the room holding the golden key in his hand.
He looked around the room, not changing his expression much, and said, “Good job.”
“Good job? That’s all you are going to say? My hands and knees are sore and…” He raised his eyebrows at Desiree, and she pinched her lips with a disgruntled sigh.
“You have another choice to make. Would you like the key or another job?”
“When do we meet Miss Crump? We would like to talk to her? Is this all a game to her. We clean every room of her house and then leave without getting paid? Will she hire us?”
“It is the way she conducts her interviews.” The butler replied.
“Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock … Tick Tock goes the clock, what will you decide?” Miss Crumps voice resonated from the speakers in the ceiling.
This was so bizarre! Desiree leaned over, whispering in Kristy’s ear. ‘This lady is a loony bird!”
“What is the next job?”Desiree asked.
“You must agree to do it before deciding.”
Kristy shook her head, “This is crazy! You were right, Desiree. we should have left earlier. Let’s go.”
“No.”
Kristy’s mouth opened in disbelief. “You want to stay?”
“I am up for it if you are. How bad can the next job be?”
Kristy smiled, “You never fail to surprise me, girl!”
“Okay, James, take us to the next job.”
“My name is Walter.” He said, with a stern look. When he turned back around to lead them back down the stairs, their eyes danced with amusement. But the amusement faded quickly when they found themselves in the cellar.
If they thought the upstairs room was bad, this was 10x worse. Damp, and musty and ooh, they better only be cobwebs in the corner. If Kristy saw spiders, she would be back up the stairs in a second.
‘Is this the final chore? Is our interview over after this?”
“I can’t say, no one has ever made it this far before.” Walter replied. He told them they were in charge of cleaning the many shelves. They saw the buckets and sponges. Seeing the grime on the shelves made them wish for gloves, but they didn’t see any.
“Happy cleaning!” Walter said and then walked out of the cellar. The closing of the door echoing behind him.
“I saw a smirk on bis face. I know I did!”
The girls sighed, looking at the shelves. “After this we are finished! I am going to tell Miss Crump exactly what I think of her and this interview process. ”
Kristy had no doubt that Desiree would do exactly that!
They made it. Had scrubbed the last shelf, and thankfully, no spiders were in sight! They didn’t wait for Walter they left the cellar as soon as they were finished and waited for him outside the door. All they wanted was to go home and take a hot shower!
To their surprise, Miss Crump came around the corner with a big smile on her face.
“Hello ladies! I will be right back up.”
She went down into the cellar and quickly returned.Â
“Wonderful job! I am impressed. I know you probably think this was a most strange type of interview. But I like to see what someone is made of, and you two passed the test. The job is yours.”
Desiree thought of all the things she had wanted to say earlier, but once again, Miss Crump reminded her of her sweet grandmother, with her plump, rosy cheeks and warm smile.
Kristy started to speak up, and then Miss Crump interjected with, handing them cash.
“I hope that is enough for your hard work?”
They were speechless!
“Absolutely! Thank you.” They said in unison.Â
“Great! I look forward to seeing you next Saturday and here is a small gift from me for both of you. She handed Desiree a small gift wrapped package. Enjoy your adventure. Too-da-loo girls!”
They looked at each other in wonder as they watched Miss Crump walk away. “Enjoy our adventure?”
“As I said, I think she may be a few fries short of a happy meal, but hey, with this kind of money, I can put up with craziness.”
Kristy agreed!
Desiree unwrapped the gift while walking to Kristy’s car. She grabbed Kristy’s hand,”Why would she give us a silver cowbell??’
“That is one strange gift.” Kristy replied.
They both shook their heads, and Desiree shoved it into the pocket of her jacket as they got into Kristy’s car and drove away. Perhaps they would ask Miss Crump about the cowbell next Saturday.Â
Nuggets of Gold 