Chapter 11 - Sorting Hat

If I end up falling from a balcony or even drowning in a toilet, it’s all gonna be Rhonda’s fault for making me work the whole night. I haven’t slept at all, nor even a second whilst all the other guests had their night to get rest and recover from the ball. I spent the whole night cleaning, fixing things, so everything would be back to normal for when they’d wake up. Let me tell you, it wasn’t fun. Charlie and Liv helped me but I couldn’t let them lose sleep as well, so around five in the morning I refused to let them help me any longer. The only way to convince them was to threaten them to tell Rhonda that I went to the ball. If I put myself in risk they would step back, nothing else worked.

Most of the guests are up and back to their normal relaxing activities while I keep cleaning toilets and tidying up rooms. I reckon I’m slower than usual and every room is taking me twice as long to fix, but I’m on it and I haven’t died so far. Five points for Gryffindor for surviving this day!

I’m so knackered that I don’t even realise I’m on the floor where all the rooms for the boys of One Direction are. I normally avoid this floor because they are too messy and I normally tend to run into them, so I let Cami do it. She’s a nice girl, my same age, working here during summer to pay for Uni. She understands what’s to clean celebrities’ rooms. But today I find myself in one of the rooms of the boys of the band, I can’t remember which one. My brain is not actually working today.

I am in automatic pilot, just moving around, doing what I’m supposed to do and then leaving. If I keep acting like this I could totally go to the casting for The Walking Dead. I have a natural talent to be a zombie.

I’m making the bed when I notice the shower is on and I curse internally because, again, I have a bad timing. But I don’t leave, I’m already here and I have to finish so I hurry up with the bed and picking up the clothes: the suit and even the mask. There are no women’s clothes, so I assume this is Harry’s room, as he’s the only one who didn’t bring a girlfriend for the Summer Ball. I groan internally again when I put the pieces together right when the shower goes off.

Yay, me! Not.

I’m just finishing with folding the clothes when the bathroom door opens and he steps outside, with just a towel wrapping his hips. Just like the first time this happened, all his curls are soaking wet and little drops are making their way down his body. I notice the moth tattoo but I’m so tired that I can’t even laugh this time.

“Oh hi, Ella! We meet again,” he says, his cheeky smile and the set of dimples showing off.

“We do,” is my answer, cold and well, just dead.

He frowns and takes a step closer, and I don’t even move. “You okay?” Harry asks next and I nod yes. “You don’t look okay.”

“Five points for Huffelpuff  for being so perceptive,” I snarl and he raises his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m sorry,” I apologise immediately, closing my eyes for three seconds. “It’s just been a long night.”

“Too much fun at the ball?” He inquires with a smile again and I sigh.

I did have fun at the ball… so much fun, but it only lasted a little while. Then I had to go back to reality. “Too much fun cleaning after you all.”

I don't know what my tone is or what my face looks like, but he seems concerned and takes a step closer. I don’t move again, just because I don’t have the energy to do so.

“Have you slept at all?” He inquires and I don’t bother to lie, I just shake my head. “That’s not okay. Why? You need to sleep.”

“I can’t,” is my answer and he frowns. “It’s part of my job and I really need to carry on unless I want to skip this night, too.”

I do a courtesy and try to walk past him, but Harry grabs my arm and I sigh. Seriously, I don’t have the strength to fight him. “You know why I like to flirt with you?” I blink in surprise when I hear him. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. “Because you’re always so blunt at rejecting me and it’s funny. I’m nothing special to you and you are not afraid to let me know you don’t like me. Don’t think you’re hurting me or something, I don’t fancy you, but it’s fun so I like teasing you, just to get you to give me one of your comebacks.” He looks at me and this time it’s not a flirty smile, it’s just a sweet one. “You’re cute, but not my type. No offence.”

“None taken,” I reply because I’m really relieved that he said that.

“The point is that it’s only fun when you react… when you’re awake.” I chuckle because I’m kinda asleep. At least eighty per cent of my brain is asleep. “You need to take a break.”

“So I can amuse you with my witty comebacks? Last time I checked I was the cleaning lady, not your buffoon. If so, I’m not getting paid enough,” I retort and this time he chuckles.

“See? These are the kinds of comebacks I mean. It’s fun to get on your nerves.” He is smiling as if he were proud of himself.

“Charlie says the same. Are you two teamed or something?” I ask and he laughs.

“I have no idea who Charlie is, but he’s a clever fella.” I sigh again. “Take a break, Ella.”

I wish I could follow his advice and just go and take a nap, but Rhonda would kill me and I’m not in the mood to put up with her crap. So I better work and tonight I’ll get some sleep. It won’t be enough, but it’ll be something.

“Will do,” I lie, but something tells me he notices that because he shakes his head.

“If you don’t sleep, who’s gonna laugh at my tattoo?” He pouts and I chuckle, I can’t help it.

“You can always try self-bullying, you know?” I suggest and he keeps pouting.

“It’s not the same,” is his reply and I shrug. “C’mon, one little nap.”

“Maybe later,” I try this time and he smiles radiantly, knowing that this time I mean it. “Now let me do my job, Moth Guy.”

Without losing his smile, he lets go of my arm and steps back. “Go and tell that toilet who’s the boss here!” I laugh at his cheers for me. “And Ella,” he calls me right when I’m grabbing my cart to head to the toilet. “Friends?”

There’s something in his eyes when he asks that, like he really wants to be friends with me. No, there’s nothing romantic there, I can see the difference. The way he is looking at me is not even flirty, it doesn’t have longing or anything, it’s just honest. The kind of look you’d see in a kid at the playground right before you two become best friends. The kind of look Charlie gave me when we were little kids. The kind of look of someone who really wants to be your friend gives you.

“I’m sorry,” I say with a sad smile because even if he is a nice guy, he is a celebrity. A mega famous celebrity. “I can’t be friends with the guests.”

And I turn around, right to the bathroom. Harry doesn’t call my name again and I guess he realises it is pointless. Maybe if he weren’t a celebrity we could be friends. Charlie, Harry, Liv and I. It would be fun, he kind of fits in our group. But he is a celebrity and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but he is the kind of person Rhonda loves the most. I can’t make friends with his kind.

I hate Rhonda so much that being close to the things she loves makes me feel like I’m doing what she’d like to do. Doing something she loves is something I can’t afford myself to do. I just— I just can’t. I know it doesn’t make much sense, even Liv has pointed that out, but I can’t make myself forget that. It’s like when I think ‘hey, this celebrity is not that bad’, then I see Rhonda’s face in my head, smiling at me, proud.

This is the same reason —well, one of the reasons— why I left the mystery guy last night at the ball. Because even if I could forget he is a celebrity for a while, that’s something which won’t change. I know we had a connection last night, that something happened between us and even if he didn’t get back together with his girlfriend by now, I can’t allow myself to fancy a celebrity.

This is like a phobia, it’s completely irrational and I can’t control it. It’s been a part of me for so many years that I don’t even question it anymore. Until now, when I think of my mystery guy. I try not to think of him, though, but it’s hard. Especially when my brain is not working at its fullest.

I shake my head and focus on cleaning this bathroom. It’s pointless to keep thinking of this. I know some celebrities are great people, but I can’t look over the fact that they are celebrities. I know it’s wrong of me and this is probably one of my biggest flaws. One of the many I have. But I can’t help it and I don’t even wanna fight it. Two more months and I’ll be out of this place, away from Rhonda and I’ll never have to worry about being nice or not to celebrities, whether I’m doing something wrong or not.

Just two more months. All this will be over in two months. I won’t have to face Rhonda, I won’t have to lose sleep because she orders me to work all night long. I won’t have to think who my mystery guy is, I won’t have to clean toilets for a living. I’ll be free, I’ll be doing what I love and what I’ve always dreamt of. I’ll be free.

By when I finally finish with the bathroom, I’m ready to go to the next room, hoping I won’t find a boybander there again; but I find the same one as before, this time fully dressed.

“You still here?” I ask and he smiles brightly.

“I dressed up while you were cleaning,” he replies and I shake my head. I didn’t need that information. “I just wanted to tell you that you’re missing a great friend.”

“And a humble one,” I say folding my arms and he laughs.

“I knew you were gonna say that. Anyways, what I really wanted to ask is…” he is actually making a dramatic pause. That little piece of shit. And for some reason, that makes me smile. “Why do you think I’m Hufflepuff?”

I blink in surprise as I take notice of what he really has asked me, and then I burst out laughing. He can’t be seriously asking me that!

“Are you for real?” I blurt out, still chuckling and he is smiling proud of himself.

“Yes. What makes you think I’m in that house? I could totally be in Slytherin,” he says and I laugh again, even harder. Like when I saw his moth tattoo.

“You wouldn’t be in that house. Come on! My inner sorting hat is screaming you are a Hufflepuff.”

“Then you see? I’m a good friend, loyal. And I’m good at finding things. Why wouldn’t you want to be my friend? Is it because we’re not in the same house?” I can’t stop smiling at this conversation. He’s sat on his bed, smiling at me.

“We are in different houses but that’s not all.” He raises his eyebrows, asking me to carry on. “But the real reason why we can’t be friends shall remain secret forever. Farewell, Harold!” And I chuckle when I just pick up that his name is Harry and we’ve just been talking about Harry Potter. “It’s a pity you are not in Gryffindor. It would’ve been a great pun.”

He laughs and doesn’t add anything else, so I finally leave the room. I’m still smiling and I thank him mentally for lifting my mood a little bit. I only feel half dead now.

“Thank you, Harry,” I whisper as I keep pushing my cart. I still have work to do.

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Dedication to Nessa! (@BloodyNess) because I love you with all my heart, and you made me laugh so much. You clearly would've killed everyone if you were Ella. And the reference to Stand Up was the best. Hahahaha.

Bel, xx