Sarah grumbled under her breath in a mixture of Spanish and English as she sat down in the McMillan parlor for the meeting Ms. Fine wanted to have with her and Ada. When she walked in, Ada was already sitting listening to the cleaner while they shared a cup of tea. If they had a live-in maid and were having Ms. Fine come in for regular cleaning sessions, why was she the one who always ended up picking up after everyone?
"So glad you could join us, Sarah. You're looking lovely today" Ms Fine greeted her. Sarah preened a little at the comment, she always wanted to look her best. Today she was wearing a cute pink frilled off the shoulder top with her favorite skinny jeans and a pair of wedged sandals. "Gracias, Ms. Fine."
The cleaner hummed slightly to herself as she poured Sarah a cup of tea before answering. "But it's a little impractical, no?"
"Impractical?" Sarah asked as she sipped her tea.
Ms. Fine smiled at her, "Well I've noticed you've been helping out around the house with the cleaning. Surely you don't want to get such a nice outfit all dusty?"
Sarah nodded slowly, that made sense she supposed.
Ms. Fine continued, "maybe you should wear something more durable, like Ada's uniform." Ms. Fine gestured to the Polish woman sitting beside her. Sarah's nose scrunched in involuntary disgust as she considered the drab blue maid's outfit Ada was wearing. "Ugh, seriously?"
Ms. Fine nodded, "Yes, I really think you ought to give it a try, you might like it. Actually, why don't you switch clothes now, I'm sure Ada won't mind."
"Yeah, it's totes cool or whatever," Ada chimed in absently, her Polish accent much less pronounced than it had been at the start of the week.
Sarah wanted to protest, but ultimately decided it couldn't hurt just to try, right? "Uh, I guess so..." Sarah reluctantly stripped her clothes off and handed them over to the maid, receiving the dull blue housekeeping dress from Ada in return. Moments later the two were sat back down, only now Sarah was sat somewhat nervously on the couch in Ada's uniform. In the maid's clothes she felt less confident, less at home than she had moments earlier, like she didn't entirely belong there. Which was ridiculous, it was her house! Conversely Ada looked more relaxed before when she sat next to her in Sarah's clothing. The maid smiled down as she picked at the top she was now wearing, and it suddenly struck Sarah that the immigrant woman wasn't that much older than her. In fact, wearing Sarah's clothes, the Polish 19 year old could pass for one of the cheer leaders at Lakeview.
Well, maybe from a distance Sarah snarked internally, Her makeup and hair are a total desarte.
"There, don't you think that's better?" Ms. Fine asked.
"I don't know if-" Sarah began before Ms. Fine interrupted her.
"I thought you were the sort of person who wanted to be the best, Sarah?"
Sarah huffed indignantly, "I do!"
"Then shouldn't you wear the best clothes for the job when you're cleaning? After all, flats and a uniform are much more suitable for tidying up than your usual wardrobe. Think about it like your cheer uniform, it's something you should wear around the house."
Sarah reluctantly nodded along, "I guess I can change into this when I'm not at school. It's not like anyone would see me anyway..."
"Excellent," Ms. Fine agreed, "I'm sure Ada will be happy to let you keep borrowing them, and she can wear whatever your outfit for the day was so it doesn't go to waste. Maybe Ada could even keep notes on it to help her develop her own sense of style?
