I marched up to the hotel for the fifth time today. As I went to push open the doors, I heard an unfamiliar voice ring out nearby. I looked over to see a teen girl in the hotel uniform, her purple hair draped neatly over her shoulders.
“Huh?” I asked, not hearing what she said. She just smiled.
“I said, I’ll take your keys.” Ah. She was the new valet. I handed her my keys and she just watched me for a moment, locking her eyes with mine. It was weird, but it made me smile. Something I very rarely do.
“I’ll take good care of your vehicle, Sir!” she chirped then skipped to my car.
She was odd but sweet, and no one made me smile except her.
Something was wrong.
I had seen her everyday for a month and we had gotten very close. She would even refer to me by my first name. I asked for hers, but she insisted that I just call her Valet.
I smiled as I walked out of the hotel. She made everyone so happy all the time. Some people’s superstition suggested that she had some kind of curse, but that was silly.
Right?
“Good afternoon, Terrence!” Valet said, as sweet as usual.
“Hi Valet…” I smiled tiredly. She looked at me.
“You look really tired…” she said. “Here, let me drive you home.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Valet.” She just shook her head and took my keys from me.
“Unacceptable,” she said, bouncing with every step. “You’re too tired to drive. If you fall asleep at the wheel, you could get seriously hurt!” She got in the car and waved for me to get in. I just sighed and sat in the passenger seat.
“Thank you, Valet…” I yawned.
“Oh it’s no problem, Terrence!” I told her the directions to my house. We got most of the way there when she missed a turn.
“Um, Valet,” I cut in, “there was a turn back there that you missed…” Her smile sank.
“I know,” she said bluntly. Now, you’d think that I would be terrified. But I wasn’t. I was happy, as I always was when I was around Valet. I looked at her.
“What do you mean?” I asked. She didn’t answer. She only peeled back her hair like a glued on wig, dark brunette hair falling out. Half of her head was cut so short it was as if it was shaved, a glowing multi-coloured heart carved into her scalp. Her eyes began to glow in an identical manner as the heart on her head.
“Happiness is a curse, Terrence,” she snarled through razor-sharp teeth. “It’s my curse. My curse is to make everyone happy all the time.” She smiled. “But I’ll just use it to my ADVANTAGE!!” She screeched before jerking the steering wheel to the side, ramming into a nearby tree.
I blacked out.
I woke up much later and looked around. I was in a hospital, Valet sitting quietly next to the bed. I smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, brushing aside her purple hair. She just looked at me. Her eyes were still glowing, her teeth still sharp enough to fight an alligator.
And win.
She frowned slightly and tilted her head.
“You’re still alive…” She got up and strutted to the window. “That’s a shame…” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and closed the curtains.
“What are you doing?” She walked back over to me.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way, Terrence…” She sat back down in her chair, pulling a large knife out of her pocket, twirling it in her hands, watching what little light there was in the room shine off of the blade. She just smiled. “You should have died in the ‘accident’. Now I have to kill you on my own, with my hands. Yuck.” I just laughed as she stood and raised the knife over her head.
I smiled as I pleaded for my life. Why was I so happy? I couldn’t put my finger on it. She just laughed maniacally. “Happiness is a curse…” She muttered as she brought the knife down on me, and then…
Darkness…