Sidney sat down in the chair and let out a soft sigh as she looked through her drawer for anything. She found nothing but office supplies that were not editable. "I need something to eat or drink to keep me awake." 

Molly Chicot, her best friend, and co-worker took notice. "You okay, Sid?" She asked softly, walking over and sitting down beside her at her computer. She pushed her golden brown hair to her back, which was in a low ponytail that reached the middle of her back. Her bright ocean-blue eyes softened as she had been studying her friend attentively. She rested her hands on her lap. "Sidney?"

Sidney turned to her after hearing her again, the first one didn't register, but the second one did. "Oh, sorry, what did you say?" She asked softly, rubbing the back of her neck. 

Molly giggled at her friend, leaning forward and resting her elbow on the desk, then rested her chin in her hand. "I asked if you were okay. You seem not entirely there and have your head in the clouds. I was worried about you." She replied, resting her free hand on her friend's arm.

Sidney placed her hand on her friend's on her arm, she forced a smile on her lips. "Don't worry about me, I am fine! I am just a little sleepy. I just wish I could get off early for once and sleep all day." 

Molly giggled at Sidney's words and shook her head. "You know, all us academy age kids who entered the scholarship will leave early to watch to see if we've won." She replied, a stupid grin on her face.

Sidney picked at the skin on her fingers as her hands rested in her lap. "But there's one problem with that: I never entered." She commented, shifting her eyes from the computer screen up to his best friend. 

Molly's mouth dropped to the ground while a few inhumane noises rolled out. "You didn't enter?" She gasped as she looked like a deer in headlights, only blinking a bit. "Out of all the people who entered, I thought you'd be one of them! How could you not? I mean, don't you want a better life for your family?" 

Sidney let out a soft huff of air slouching down in her chair. "I do want to make a better life for my family, but I'm not cut out for that life. I work two jobs, take care of my sick mother, and a disabled father, and make sure Missy gets a good education and not be a school drop-out like me." She shifted her gaze to the floor. "I don't have time."

Molly shrugged her shoulders. "I understand that, but they pay your family a thousand dollars a week for the whole time you are there. It's a perk that scholarship winners get." She explained, making various hand gestures.

Sidney looked over at her and chewed on the inside of her lip. "It's too late to enter, and I'm not cut out for the royal life. Do you know how many mess-ups I would make? It is a blessing that today I haven't gotten anything on my suit." She explained, motioning to her attire.

Molly chewed on her lips, playing with her fingers. "About you not being entered in . . .  you're not gonna like what I'm gonna tell you right now, but just bear with me and promise not to be mad." 

Sidney looked over at her friend, a skeptical look displayed on her face. "What is it? You seem like I am a tiger who's going to bounce on you after not being fed for weeks." It was a perfectly suited metaphor for the way Molly was looking at her.

Molly swallowed harshly and nervously laughed, playing with her hair. "I am truly sorry I went behind your back and did it against your will! I entered you into the scholarship drawing three times a day, for a year." She said in all one rushed breath, squeezing her eyes closed and waiting for her friend to react.

Sidney gasped, eyes wide as she stood up abruptly and crossed her arms over her chest. "You did what! Molly, I will be eaten alive by the royals and nobles!" People started to look at her and she sheepishly smiled sitting back down. 

Molly looked up at her friend, taking her hand in her own while scooting closer. "Sid, I'm sorry. This is the only chance that you will get to help your family out, and they will get provided for while you are there. I can't stand by and watch you wear yourself out doing this every day. I am sorry but I can't." 

Sidney looked at her with a soft look on her face, but her eyes showed something else: upset. "I'm not mad at you. Yes, I am upset you did this behind my back," She sighed, shifting her gaze to the ground. "I still have a good chance I won't win so I shouldn't worry so much about it.  They get millions of entries every year from all over the world, why am I any special?" 

Molly itched the side of her face, placing her hands back in her lap after having let go of Sidney's hand. "If you want to think of a way to help you cope with what I did, sure! But I maximize your chance by entering you three times a day for a whole year! So, your odds of winning are still higher than others." 

Sidney groaned, leaning back in her chair, and closing her eyes. "Molly, you're not helping!" She groaned, tipping her head back and closing her eyes.

Molly put her hands up in front of her in her defense. "Sorry. If it is meant to be, then so be it. Just remember, there are lots of people on your side." She added in a sing/song voice and a small yet weak smile.

Sidney furrowed her eyebrows at what her friend had said. "A lot? Do you mean you and Missy? I doubt my parents are for the Academy, my dad thinks their lifestyle is ridiculous and my mom, well, she never speaks about it." 

Molly rested her hand on her friend's shoulder, her gaze softening more than it had been, a soft small smile also was on her lips. "You know two is better than none. However our boss is rooting for you to get in, I even heard he entered you a few dozen times. I know you may not like the idea - but this could be a good chance for you!" 

Sidney crossed her arms over her chest, crossing her ankles under the desk. "If I ever make it past the first few days." She grumbled, feeling a bit angry. "Just thinking about it gives my anxiety it's own anxiety." 

"Sidney Barnes!" Molly suddenly exclaimed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "I am not gonna sugarcoat it anymore: for once, try and think optimistically about something." She exclaimed, almost exasperated with her best friend.

Sidney looked down at her fingers and picked the skin off of them. "I am sorry Molly," She apologized, letting her fingers grip the hem of her skirt. "I promise to try and give it a chance."

Molly beamed brighter than she had all day. "Thank you, Sid, I am glad to hear that!" She smiled, glancing over to the clock and frowning. "Ugh, we still have fifteen minutes until we can clock out?" She groaned, earning a laugh from her friend who was beside her. 

Sidney picked up the phone when it rang. "Hello, this is the Cotillion Hotel, Sidney Barnes speaking?" She said, listening to the other voice on the line. "Ah, Mrs. Danbury . . . no this is not the room service desk, this is the front desk . . . yes, I understand. I can patch you through to the room service . . . all right, doing that now." She pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed the button setting the phone back down.

Molly shook her head, taking a sip of her water from her water bottle. "She does that every month she is here, it's getting a little old. You think the CEO of the biggest natural gas company and the monthly customer would remember which one is the room service." 

Sidney gently slapped her arm and shook her head. "Hey, it is confusing. I have had tons of people of all ages ask which one is for room service because the writing on it is either worn off or too small. Boss said he would do something about it but he has yet to do it." She jabbed her finger at her as she spoke.

Molly sighed heavily and turned her attention towards the entryway. "Oh and look, someone is calling me to go help with bags for a family of six. Heaven helps those parents with six brats because I could never!" She groaned, getting to her feet. "See ya Sid, let's take the trolley home together." She got up and walked over to the bellhop who motioned for her to help.

Sidney shook her head just as two newly hired employees and her coworkers rushed up to her looking at her with panic-stricken panicked faces. "Trisha, Kai, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." She asked, worry laced in her voice as the two exchanged looks.

Trisha Matthews didn't hesitate to begin to explain what was going on in a bubbling mess of words. "Oh, Sidney, you have to help us! We've tried everything but nothing is working! We don't know what to do! You have to help us!" She exclaimed, running a hand through her disheveled short brown hair with her brown eyes searching Sidney's face.

Kai Lim nodded his head, his wavy black hair falling into his brown eyes. "If we don't fix it soon I'm afraid the boss will have our heads. I need this job, I gotta fix my car. I can't get fired, I've never been fired, I don't want to be fired. I'd be a disgrace to my family!" He whined, the horror of that happening wasn't something he wanted to experience. 

Sidney put her hands up in front of her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Start at the beginning. What happened?" She asked, hoping that this time they'd be clear about their needs.

Trisha didn't hesitate to rush into the reasons both she and Kai had come to see Sidney. "So, the creators of Lumix are here as guests of the hotel since the boss is installing free wifi courtesy of them. Well, they just hit it big and were partying over their huge win."

Kai butted in and continued to explain their plight. "They ordered the most expensive wine we have, the one for royalty and nobility. Boss only allowed it because of the money, as you know, they could bring in for both parties. And then, they were getting drunk and a little too frisky with the ladies -"

Trisha interrupted Kai before he could finish. "They knocked over the bucket that had the wine in it and all five bottles - of the ten they ordered - crashed onto the carpet! The white carpet!" She exclaimed in a hushed manner, her hands flying up to her cheeks and a horror-filled expression on her face.

Kai shuttered as Trisha told that part, subconsciously flinching. "They told us to clean it up in an hour while they go to the pool but we've tried and nothing is working! We have less than fifteen minutes to fix it or they'll tell Boss it was our fault and get us fired." He frowned, shifting on his feet and playing with his fingers.

Sidney listened to them very carefully, seeing a little bit of her old self in them when she started. "Did you use the shampooer?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest loosely. 

Trisha exchanged looks with Kai, bewilderment written on her face as she tilted her head. "Uh, what's a shampooer? Is that, like, shampoo we use for our hair? Oh, or is that like, uh, a brand of stain remover?" She cluelessly asked, skeptically looking at Sidney.

Sidney frowned, blinking slowly and lightly smacked her hand into her forehead. 'Kids these days,' She thought with an inward sigh. "No, it's like a vacuum but with water and soap, it gets stains out and cleans up carpets," She paused and realized neither of them knew what she was saying. "Follow me, I'll show you so that next time you can handle it on your own."

Trisha grabbed Sidney's arm and hugged it tightly. "Oh thank you so much! We knew we could count on you, honestly, everyone speaks so highly of you that I just didn't believe it until now!" She cried out in utter joy, dragging Sidney along. 

Kai mirrored what Trisha did, wrapping his arms around Sidney's arm. "What can we ever do to repay you for your help?" He asked, his tone leaning a bit towards the rhetorical side.

Sidney threw them both a look while shaking her head. "I'm just doing my job as your co-worker and helping out newbies, such as yourself. I was in your shoes once, so I understand how it is and wouldn't be where I am today without the people who helped me."

Trisha exchanged a pleasing look with Kai as they followed Sidney up to the floor. He walked down the long hallway and stopped at the supply closet. 

Sidney unlocked the door with her key and pulled it open the door. She grabbed out a chunky-looking vacuum and a bottle of carpet soap. "This is a shampooer." She explained, closing the door and rolling it out. "Kai, Trisha, show me where the room is?"

Kai nodded, giving her a quiet solute while Trisha simply nodded. "Of course, follow us." He said, leading Sidney down the hall and around the corner to the room. He unlocked the door with his card and pushed the door open. 

Sidney pushed the shampooer into the room and froze. "Are you sure they spilled five bottles?" She asked, looking at the massive stain on the carpet not to mention the nauseating and intoxicating smell of the wine. "Nevermind, Kai opened a few windows. Trisha fills this container with water and adds in the soap." She intruded on the two teens as they did what she said.

She unraveled the cord and plugged it into the wall closest to her. "Why did Boss have to choose white carpet," She mumbled under her breath, walking back over to the vacuum. "Please let this stain come out," She was slightly worried it wouldn't come out as she hoped.

She knelt and used a roll of paper towels to clean up the excess wine that was still soaking into the carpet. "Kai and Trisha," She spoke loudly, enough for Trista, who was in the bathroom to hear. "Next time, soak up the extra liquid, don't rub it or scrub it, it will only make it worse."

Trisha hurried over to Sidney with the container filled with water and soap as Kai walked back over after opening the window. "Okay, I will remember that!" She said passively. "Here, do your thing, we'll watch!" She cried, shivering it into Sidney's hands, gently of course.

Sidney thanked her and put the container into the shampooer and turned it on. Flipping the switches she began to use the shampooer like a vacuum cleaner, going over the stained area a few times. 

So far, it seemed to be coming out. That made Sidney happy, but there was a slight problem. After using a shampooer, you were supposed to let the carpet dry, but they didn't have the time to do that. Plus, for this stain, Sidney knew no other option would work. 

She turned off the shampooer and looked down at where the stain used to be. "And there you go. Just make sure to tell them that the carpet right here is wet." She explained, unplugging it from the wall.

Trisha was beaming, her eyes sparkling as she hastily hugged Sidney. "Thank you! You're a lifesaver!" She pulled away and put her hands behind her back.

Kai stepped beside Trisha and smiled, giving his head a quick nod. "We appreciate it, Sidney. We owe you one." He meant it, without her help they'd probably be fired or cursed out by the Lumix creators. 

Sidney wrapped the cord around the shampooer while looking up and smiling. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just happy things worked out, now, I'll leave you to dry the carpet and I'll return this to the supply closet." She said, pushing the shampooer out the door that Kai had opened and into the hall.

'By the time I get to the boss' office I will be able to clock out and go take a long nap until supper.' She thought, but was hardly prepared for what would await her when she arrived home.

〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰

A/N:
So, as you can see, this is a major revamp. This used to be part of chapter one. But, since I have some new inspiration, things will be majorly different. I'm keeping all the old versions for my personal use, but since I've been reading way too many manhwas that have royals in academies, I have been learning from that on how to improve. Also, this will be slightly more organized and less clustered.

Chapter Talk: 
I wanted to expand more on Sidney's work life, since that is a major part of her life. I also wanted to include some other staff members besides Molly. I figured it is a good idea to lay the groundwork for Sidney, and there will be more chapters about Thea too, since she is also the other focus of this book.

I'm also figuring on showing more of Duchess Katherine, since she's been acting as regent since the death of her brother. That isn't really a shock or any surprise, but I will add some chapters of her dealing with the kingdom and other nobles while teaching at the academy.

Molly used to be named Hilary but I decided to change her name a bit since I just wasn't digging Hilary for her character. You will see her later in the book, she may be a minor character but she did play a huge part in Sidney's life. She was her only friend, the only supportive non-family member that she knew she had.

The next chapter will be changed over to Sidney's family to see what they were doing on this particular day while Sidney was working. She barely sees them since she is always working, but she does see them enough to make small memories, talk and laugh, during supper of course. At least she gets off and doesn't have to work at supper time.

Thanks for reading!