The Bad Girl
Chapter 1 : New Girl in Town
Madame Rosmerta wiped her arm across her forehead, leaving a soapy mark. She’d been doing dishes for at least an hour after she closed up. People had been telling her to use magic, as it was much quicker, but she always insisted that she felt they were cleaner if she did them herself!
Suddenly, she heard an urgent knocking at the door. She frowned. I wasn’t expecting visitors, she thought to herself. Wiping her hands on her favourite blue apron, she went to open it.
When she saw who was standing there, she gasped and stopped in her tracks. She was only able to stare for a while at the girl standing outside her door.
“Hey, Mum, are you okay?” the girl asked, raising one sculpted eyebrow.
“A “ Alanna?” Madame Rosmerta whispered in disbelief. “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” said Alanna cheerily. “Just popped in for a visit!” She looked around her mother at the warm, familiar kitchen.
“Alanna, what are you doing?” her mother asked, lowering her voice warningly.
Alanna flipped her long blonde hair over one shoulder and sighed dramatically. “Mum, could I just come in? It is chilly out here, you know!”
Madame Rosmerta moved aside reluctantly, her mind still reeling over this appearance of her long-lost daughter.
“Aren’t you happy to see me? I am your daughter, after all!” the girl said, a hurt expression appearing on her face.
“Alanna, you ran away 2 years ago,” Madame Rosmerta said, not at all fooled by her daughter’s tricks. “What are you doing back? You said you would never come back after you got expelled.”
The girl’s face tightened. “Let’s not talk about that, shall we?” she asked through gritted teeth. “I came back because… well, because I got kicked out of the boarding house I was living in.”
Rosmerta dropped her head into her hands. “What did you do?”
Alanna smiled wanly. “I couldn’t pay the rent.”
Rosmerta sighed. At least it wasn’t a huge crime. “So you came back here. What are you going to do?”
The girl smiled hopefully, and her mother’s mouth dropped open.
“Oh, no. You want a job here, don’t you?”
Alanna nodded and smiled sweetly. “Pretty, pretty please?” she asked.
“I am still very angry with you,” her mother said through gritted teeth also. “But I will allow you to stay here “ but you will have to pay room and board “ and no flirting with the customers!”
Alanna squealed and threw her arms around her mother. Her mother stiffened slightly then relaxed and smiled. Perhaps this could work to both our advantages after all, she thought.
The next morning...
“All right, Alanna,” Rosmerta said sternly as she handed her daughter a drying cloth and set a message pad beside her. “At first, you’ll be drying glasses and other dishes. But if you see a customer come in and sit down without ordering at the bar, you will go and see to them. But under no circumstances are you to bring the food “ only I do that. Do you understand?”
Alanna nodded, and began drying glasses, rolling her eyes. She thinks I’m still this silly 14 year old, she thought. Her mother sighed and shook her head. “At least I have the help,” she muttered to herself.
Just then, she remembered tomorrow was the day the Hogwarts students had their Hogsmeade weekend. She turned to tell Alanna, but saw her dealing with a customer. She watched for a few minutes, but Alanna was very polite.
Alanna worked all day, drying glasses and occasionally taking an order when her mother was too busy. Near the end of the day, she almost lost her temper with a customer who was being very rude. But a sharp glance from her mother made her rein in her feelings, and smile politely and nod as the customer told her off.
Finally the day was over. Alanna dropped into a chair beside her mother, exhausted. Her mother smiled slightly, then said, “Now, pick up a wet washcloth and start wiping down tables. I’ll do the mopping as a special treat tonight, but after this, you’re on your own. All right?”
Alanna nodded, happy to be able to lean on the table as she washed it.
Finally, these chores too were done. Her mother sent her up to one of the spare rooms they kept above the bar for overnight customers.
“I’ll get your first payment of rent from you this weekend. Oh, by the way, it’s a Hogsmeade weekend this week.” Alanna nodded wearily “ she’d learned about the visits before she’d been expelled “ she’d just never been on one. “I’m warning you “ I will officially disown you if you flirt with any of the students!” Madame Rosmerta glared down at her daughter, quite serious. Alanna nodded again, more alert now “ she’d forgotten about the students!
“Now, go to bed,” her mother continued. “And don’t forget to clean your teeth!” she called as Alanna trudged up the stairs. “And don’t stay up late!”
Alanna sighed. It was nice to be home again “ even if it wasn’t really her original home. Maybe I never should have run away…?
A.N.: I know this isn’t really a romance story yet, but as soon as I get the next chapter up, things should start to heat up! Stay posted! “ Daniela