Chilled Butler
Lara was sitting on the couch by her fireplace. She was just so bored. What is a 7 year old to do while her parents are so busy? Her father was in the library, reading up on some boring guy who died over a hundred years ago. Her mother was in the dining room with her friends. Winston was presumably tending to the guests. Lara then went upstairs to the library; surely her dad could spare some time to talk to her.
As Lara entered she saw her dad Richard Croft, with his face buried in a book and a pile of books to the left of him. "Father?" Lara said, trying to get his attention, he didn't answer. "Father?" She repeated. "Not now Lara I'm busy." Richard said coldly. "But father, I'm so bored. There's nothing to do in this house." Lara whined. "Okay so Smith was with Taylor in the winter but then he disappeared by spring." Richard mumbled. "Father!" Lara raised her voice, but then Richard got angry. "Damn it Lara I'm busy! I don't have time to entertain you! Play outside or read a book! Go bother your bloody mother!" Richard shouted. Lara walked out slowly.
She then went downstairs and to the dining room. She saw her Mother Amelia gossiping with her friends. When they spotted Lara the room went silent as Lara walked up to her mother. "Mother I'm bored." Lara moaned. "So go and do your homework." Amelia said. "I've already done it mother, please can we do something." Lara asked. "Lara can't you see I have guests round? Go bother your father." Amelia said. "But mother his busy doing work, he got angry when I spoke to him." Lara said. Amelia sighed "Fine you can sit with us." That wasn't what Lara had in mind but there were guests there.
Lara sat at the table while the women continued gossiping. "So Bradford and I went to the Ritz Carlton in Boston, I ordered some caviar and it was too salty. I shouted at the waiter for giving me bad caviar, we then spoke to the manager and got half off our stay." Elizabeth said. "Well that's brilliant, was the caviar really that bad?" asked Penelope. "No it was standard, but I wanted to see what compensation I could get from the manager." Elizabeth replied as all the women laughed. This whole thing sickened Lara. She hated the other aristocrats. They were all snobby selfish women. Lara hated to be considered one of them.
"So you cheated this hotel and shouted at an innocent man doing his job?" Lara asked sarcastically. "I didn't cheat anyone; they had the honor of meeting the Wellingtons of Bolsover. So we deserve half off." Elizabeth said coldly. "No, you stole from a hotel, and you're rich. What you did was worse than a man who steals to feed his family." Lara said. "How dare you compare me to filthy scum off the streets!" Elizabeth shouted. "Lara didn't mean that. Say you're sorry Lara." Amelia said trying not to anger her friend further. "Of course I meant it. And I won't apologize to this pompous old woman who thinks its okay to steal. And you're all horrible for finding it funny." Lara said. Then Amelia's face turned crimson. "Lara go to your room! I will not have you being so rude to our guests! You will be given a full punishment later!" Amelia shouted. Lara stormed out as she heard Elizabeth shouting. "Amelia you need to get that little brat under control!"
As Lara was heading for the stairs Winston came to comfort her. "Lady Croft wait." Lara looked at Winston with a sad face. "What Winston? Have you come to shout at me too?" Lara said fighting back tears. "I understand that to you this place is boring, but if you like you can come in the kitchen with me. I have to prepare tea and hor d'oeuvres for the guests you see." Winston said. "Okay Winston, but what if mother hears me?" Lara asked. "I don't think that'll be a problem, not over their shrill chatting. But you must promise me one thing Lara. No touching the food or drinks." "But Winston" Lara moaned. "If you do I'll tell your mother you snuck out of your room." Winston said. "Fine." Lara sighed.
After several minutes Lara was bored again. What had seemed like an hour was only ten minutes. She looked out the kitchen window staring off into space. Winston took no notice of her. Lara then saw Winston enter the walk in freezer. This then gave Lara an idea that she would never forget. She pushed the button closing the freezing door with Winston inside. She then heard knocking on the door. "Lara you closed the freezer. Can you open it please?" Lara said nothing as a smile crept up on her face. Winston then began to get angry. "Lara open this bloody door!" Winston shouted knocking harder. Lara then burst into laughter. After half an hour of manic laughing Lara had the dining room door open. "Oh no." Lara said as she got a fright. She went through the other kitchen door and ran straight to her room.
Several years had passed since that day; things hadn't been the same since Lara's Mother disappeared. Richard was away on business. It was the summer holidays and all of Lara's friends were abroad. Lara was alone in the manor with Winston. Lara was only 14 and there was nothing within walking distance. Winston was always busy with housework so he didn't have time to take her anywhere. There was nothing else to do but watch TV. She was channel surfing but everything on she'd either seen or was complete rubbish. Lara sighed and turned off the TV.
"Is everything okay lady croft?" Winston asked, Lara hadn't noticed him come in. "Just bored Winston." Lara replied. "Well be careful how you deal with your boredom. Last time I saw you this bored you got yourself into quite a bit of trouble." Winston said. A smile crept upon Lara's face thinking of that day. "Don't even think about it." Winston replied hastily noticing Lara's grin. He then walked into the kitchen and Lara followed swiftly. "What's for dinner Winston?" Lara asked. "What would you like?" "Hmm, I think I fancy some beef stew." Lara said, knowing that the beef was at the back of the walk in freezer. "Okay then, but I've got my eyes on you." Winston said gesturing to his eyes. He opened the freezer then walked in; right as he got to the back Lara closed the door.
"Damn it Lara open this bloody door! I'm telling your father about this as soon as he returns! Lara!" Winston kept shouting, but Lara just went into hysterical laughter. Lara laughed until she got a stomach ache, then she opened the door to see a very angry Winston. "Young Lady you are grounded!" Winston shouted. "Well it's not like I have friends to see." Lara replied. "Go to your room, and don't come out until tomorrow!" Winston shouted. "Sending me to bed without supper are we? Are you going to take off a gold star too?" Lara asked cheekily. But Winston's face only went redder.
Lara then walked to her room. She didn't really care; all her friends were away so grounding her made no difference. Lara could always sneak downstairs after to grab some food, the old fart always fell asleep early.
Many years had passed and Lara was now a grown woman. It was the anniversary of her father's disappearance. Lara always felt depressed on this day, more so than on the disappearance of her mother. This was mainly due to the fact that on this day she had no family left. Lara had currently been researching a platinum amulet belonging to an ancient South American ruler. Lara was sitting in the library trying to read some dusty old book, but she just couldn't concentrate. She kept staring at the family portrait on the wall. She started crying, Lara then wiped her eyes. "Come on Lara snap out of it." Lara said to herself.
Winston then came in with a tray of tea and biscuits. "Thank you Winston." Lara said trying to hide any emotion. Winston smiled at her as he put the try on the desk. He could see the sadness in her eyes. He knew how emotional she got on this day and always left Lara in peace. "Lady Croft, sorry to disturb you but there's a frozen piece of meat stuck in the freezer. Would you mind assisting me to remove it?" Winston asked. "Sure Winston, I could use something to distract myself.
They entered the kitchen and Winston opened the freezer door. He always made Lara go first after she locked him in the freezer for the second time. While she was an adult now, Winston wasn't taking any chances. "See that brown piece of meat there, it's stuck and won't budge." Winston explained. Lara decided to use a move she learnt from a self defense class she took in university. She did a swinging kick breaking the meat free from the floor. "Nice kick Lara, I knew those gymnastics and self defense classes would come in handy." An idea then came into Lara's head.
Lara vaulted over Winston then sprinted out of the freezer she then quickly pressed the close button locking Winston inside. Winston was still registering what had just happened. After five minutes Winston began banging on the door. "Damn it Lara you're a thirty year old woman! Open this bloody door! You're not a bloody eight year old!" Winston began shouting while laughter exploded from Lara's lungs. It didn't matter how old Lara got, she would always have hysterical laughter when locking Winston in the freezer.
-Fin