So... I haven't exactly updated in a few days. Weeks. Months? Hehe. Sorry about that. I was feeling very uninspired. Anyways, I will try to update more often. Read zuzuzoo11's A Tournament in Arendelle! Then read whalefairyfandom12's Treading the Labyrinth! Then... I don't know. Find some other story. Enjoy! -EmuFrost

"Dustless trainees, this is your one and only chance to be accepted into Dustless. The following simulations will put you in situations of extreme dirtiness. You will be armed with the necessary equipment to clean, but I'll warn you. It's quite difficult." Floor said, "We'll start at the bottom of the rankings, that means Tide, come with me." I sighed. Last place on the ranking list, just great. There were 10 possible slots to be accepted into Dustless and somehow I managed to be in the 20th slot. I followed Floor into a separate room. It was similar to the room where aptitude tests were taken. Dark, small, with one chair and a complicated computer screen. Floor turned to me as I got seated in the chair.

"This is where I got my name," he said "Floor, it was the only challenge I couldn't face. I did everything else perfectly, but I could never clean the floor, that's where I got my nickname." I was surprised. The perfect Floor finally admits he can't do something!

"What's your real name?" I asked. He was clearly embarrassed.

"Don't ask," he said.

"Oh, come on!" I said playfully. I stopped suddenly realizing how much it sounded like I was flirting. I hated Floor. No flirting. He smiled and handed me the vial of liquid that would put me into the simulation. I drank it in one gulp. The room started to fade from my vision, Floor's face was a blur of colors, as the dizzy sensation took over. Right before I was fully in the simulation I heard Floor's voice. It sounded quite distant, but I knew it was his.

"Tubias, that was my name."

•••

The dark room had dissolved into an even smaller room. The ceiling was lower than usual, I could stand on my tiptoes and touch it easily. In my hand was an old duster. The walls were clean, there was nothing really too clean. Then I saw the corners. Cobwebs galore! I stepped towards one corner, hearing a splash as my foot hit the ground. Water. It was rising fast, almost above my ankles. I had a time limit to complete the corners. I worked fast, making sure to get every last speck of dust. The water was around my knees and only one corner had been completed. I turned to the next, dusting faster, and maybe sloppier, but it was done. The water had reached my waist with still two corners to go. My dusting job on the third corner was terrible, but I had to deal with it, the water had rose to just below my shoulders. I moved the duster with incredible speed on the last corner. The water had covered my chin almost submerging me completely. With one final swipe, I cleared the corner, but the water didn't stop.

"Stop it!" I yelled. As if the water would hear me! I closed my eyes and cleared my head.

"Stop it Tide, stop the water" I said slowly. The water had already drowned me, but I wasn't dead. The scene had changed.

I was transported into another room. The walls were no taller than about 6 feet, but the whole ceiling was covered in a layer of dust and grime. I timidly reached up to dust it off when a sudden cawing noise filled the room. A crow was at my feet. He pecked at my shoes. I kicked him off and dusted more of the ceiling. There was another cawing noise, I looked down. At least 20 crows were crammed around my feet. I shrieked and dusted as fast as I could, but the more I dusted, the more crows appeared. The crows attacked my whole body, pecking at my arms, feet, legs, I had to cover my face to avoid loosing an eye. The caws echoed in the tight space. I screamed as the crows swarmed around me. There was nothing else to do, but dust. I swiped at the ceiling furiously trying to shake of some crows, but they were persistent. Hundreds of tiny beaks flew at me trying to penetrate my skin. I screamed again, but it was no use. I couldn't even see what I was doing. Dust and crows were everywhere. I stopped dusting and stood still, letting the crows attack.

"Tide," I said "Just dust." I reached for the ceiling, and with one heroic swipe, I knocked the rest of the dust down. The cawing stopped. There were no crows. I was in a larger room. I surveyed the ceiling and the corners. Both were exceptionally clean. I tried to step forward and gain my balance, but I realized my foot was covered in dust. The whole floor was submerged in at least a foot of pure dust. The floor, I realized. This is where Floor messed up. I tried to sweep up the dust with my duster, but no matter how hard I tried, it would just fall back onto the floor. I dusted fiercely, but the dust would just fall back into it's place. I yelled in frustration. I threw down my duster and laid in the dust. It was surprisingly comfortable.

I took a deep breath, full of dust, and cleared my mind.

"This is a simulation. Not reality," my head was spinning trying to think of a solution to get out of the simulation. Suddenly I realized, it was in my head, I could control it. It was up to me to get out. I took another dusty breath and said in an even tone.

"This isn't real. Let me out." The simulation obeyed.

•••

I opened my eyes suddenly to see a very concerned Floor staring at me.

"What?" I said, "Was I really that bad?" He shook his head and continued to stare.

"Floor, what is it?" I asked. He was starting to look a little scary. With a shaky breath he managed to say the three worst words in the world. The three words I never wanted any one to say to me, but he did.

"Tide, you're detergent."