"Bernard!"
The cynical Irishman could only groan from his desk chair as his assistant lumbered into the shop, tripping over mounds of trash and books that littered the floor. Tripping over a random copy of Dickens, the man fell forward at the foot of his desk. Taking another swig of wine, he leered over at him, a scowl etched on his face.
"What is it, Manny," he all but growled. Manny shot up from the floor and gave him an exasperated look.
"Look, this place can't stay clean for more than one day. Maybe it's time we hired another hand around here."
"No, no, no," he said immediately,"I don't need another person mucking about my shop. Going through my things. Tidying. Completely out of the question."
"Bernard, there are badgers living behind the bookshelves. Mollusks in the pipes. It's gotten too out of hand. Besides...I've already put out fliers around town."
"You what," he deadpanned.
"I've...put out...fliers," Manny stuttered. He knew that Bernard would object to the idea. But with the state of the shop, something had to be done. Bernard took a long drag from his cigarette. He leaned forward, motioning Manny to do the same. A bit nervously, Manny did so, only to smacked hard in the face. Bernard threw himself back into his chair, his scowl deepening even further.
"They're your problem," he said. And that was that. Honestly, Manny expected it to turn out worse. Seconds later the shop door opened and a woman walked through clutching a piece of paper that Manny recognized as one of his fliers. She stared at the inside of the shop with a look of morbid curiosity. A badger scampered past her legs. She didn't flinch, but she watched it scuttle across the room into a dark corner. Shuddering slightly, she spotted the two men before walking over.
"Um, hello. I'm here about the job offer? For a maid," she asked. Bernard was displeased to find that her voice was ear-gratingly American. He poured more wine into an empty glass...before drinking straight from the bottle. Manny was at her side in an instant with a smile.
"Ah, yes. I'm Manny and this is Bernard," he said. The latter barely gave her any acknowledgement aside from a lazy glance, which she raised an eyebrow at. Manny chuckled nervously.
"Right, don't mind him. Anyways, about the job," Manny went into a long winded spiel about work. When he was sure she wasn't looking, Bernard stared at her with heavily lidded eyes. She wasn't half bad to look at, he begrudgingly admitted to himself. Dark skin, thick black curls, and large brown eyes. She had curves. Not overweight, but not skinny either. She dressed rather casually. Band t-shirt, shorts, converse. She caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye, to which he made a show of looking the other way.
"So, what do you think," Manny asked, hoping she'd accept. She took another look around the shop before turning towards Manny with a grin.
"I think you've got yourself a maid."
Bernard thought it was the perfect time to take another swig of wine.
To be quite honest, I find fanfiction to be a great way to practice writing stories. That's honestly how I use them nowdays. I have about 7 fanfics I have started but never published. And a Holes one that, honestly, I'll probably never finish unless inspiration strikes. Go figure.
On that note, tell me what you think of this? I know it's awfully short. I'm just spitting out short bits to get a feel of writing before I venture off onto writing my own original piece of fiction. Criticism and tips are absolutely welcome, if not craved.