Chapter 7: Friends Forever
That night, when Mariam came back to the dormitory, Hilary was waiting for her. There was an awkward silence between them.
"Ho-how's your day?" Hilary ventured
Mariam hesitated before answering.
"Okay, I suppose. I mean, No! Of course not. You know, it's awful us not speaking…"
She stopped when she saw Hilary smiling at her.
"Friends?" Mariam asked hesitantly, holding out her little finger.
"Friends," Hilary agreed, joining her little finger with Mariam.
The two girls broke out laughing and crying at the same time. They hugged each other tightly.
"Look, I know I've been a fool, trying to sneak in other people's secrets and everything," Hilary started but Mariam interrupted her.
"It's okay. I guess I would have done the same," she said. "To make it up, I'll tell you something."
Hilary's heart stopped beating. She tended her ear to what Mariam was going to say.
"I've learnt from one of the girls that the dress up theme is Egyptian! We're going to be dressed up as Egyptians!"
Hilary fended to scream with joy along with Mariam, but inside she felt down. It wasn't the kind of secret she was expecting.
"You can never believe how Enrique's birthday parties are smashing!" Mariam said, her eyes dazzling, "Even for us servants! First, we get to dress up. Second, we get free food. Thirdly, the villa is magnificent! You just wait! And all those amazing people coming to the party. We, servants, can dance too. Not with them of course but among ourselves. It's great fun, I'm telling you."
"I can't wait," Hilary faked being excited but looking on the bright side it didn't sound bad. "I'm glad we've made up, the party won't be fun without you."
"Aww, that's cute. Thanks, Hil," Mariam said, giving her a quick hug then she left for the bathroom without a word about the fact why she was in a ninja costume in the middle of the night. Hilary signed. Maybe it wasn't her business after all.
She laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling as the water dripped in the bathroom. What does this villa hide? What does Mariam have to do with it? Is Tyson's hypothesis right? Does master Giovanni really steal? And what for? Why did he give her that look on the first day? All these questions buzzed inside Hilary's head. How will I ever get the answers to these questions? She asked herself.
The next day started the party preparation. The work was harder than she thought. It wasn't the normal dusting-sweeping-and-hovering routine: all the statues must be cleaned with this special substance, the wooden floor needed polishing, curtains were to be washed, etc… But the hardest work was for Mrs. Marple. She had to think recipes respecting all the guests' fuss which was written neatly for her on a piece of paper. As days went by, the kitchen was a total chaos of smoke and noise of boiling water or Mrs. Marple shouting hysterically at her helpers. Hilary and some other maids were sometimes summoned to help her with tasks like peeling the potatoes. To keep their minds off things, the radio was on. The music was suddenly interrupted by a report: "… Mr. Boris Balkov, Head of the Republican Eagle Party answered composedly to the accusation bought by Mr. Dickenson, the current President of the US, against him: "I assume that, according to Degree 35 of Human Rights, I did nothing wrong in donating 50 million dollars to the St Bernard Orphanage. My reasons are as clear as my , I work for the sake of children, for the sake progress. America has seen flourishing times that have unfortunately fallen since the corruption of our own politicians. Money has been the problem. But were we using money in the right way? I guess not. Money must not be used for self satisfactory but in order to build a bright future, for us all, and for the generations behind us. Where did I found so much money for the Orphanage? On the contrary to Mr. Dickenson's unjust attack, I raised that money with my proper hands. How much sweat did I lost in working, in hope of making those orphans smile-"
Mrs. Marple turned the radio off.
"Listening to that rubbish makes you grow deaf," she sniffed.
Hilary just recalled something: this year she had the right to vote. The news wasn't big deal. She didn't care much for politics so maybe she'd vote for the current President, Mr. Dickenson. He's not that bad, she guesses.
"Hilary! Concentrate on your work!" Mrs. Marple shouted, shaking Hilary from her daydream.
As the decorations were arriving and the birthday cake was being prepared, Hilary and Mariam received their costumes. Mariam who was serving in the dinner hall had a turquoise dress in an Egyptian style with a silver belt and matching silver necklace, bangles and a small tiara. She also had a skirt of different shades of blue beads to go over her waist. As for Hilary, she has a cream tank top with a golden half circle decorated with colorful patterns. For the bottom, she had a deep cut short and a long skirt with hide her backside. She had a golden serpent to put on her arm and a golden bangle for her legs.
"These are rather sexy," Hilary mumbled.
Before Mariam could say anything, Salima stormed in.
"Look at my costume!" she screamed.
It was a peacock outfit, with real peacock tails and a golden beak.
"Can you imagine me wearing this!" Salima wailed.
Hilary and Mariam tried to suppress their laughter.
"Come on, Salima, it can't be that bad,' Hilary comforted her.
"Not that bad! Are you kidding? I have to play the animal whereas you play the princesses!"
"At least you're not alone," Mariam added.
Finally they succeeded in calming Salima and she left for her room.
"Well, that's an unlucky one," Mariam said as she looked at her costume. "And you know what? There'll be a stylist to do our hair and faces before the party."
Hilary sat up.
"They're really affording all this for just a party?" she goggled at Mariam.
"Oh that's just 2 of their wealth," she replied.
"How rich are they?" Hilary was amazed.
"Rich enough to get themselves robbed," Mariam said grimly
Hilary stared at her but she didn't say anything else.
