NORTHERN MARKETS
Episode 40 + The Bath House

That night, after Almony ordered Azure to be taken away, she was kept in a small guest room for an hour, until she was put to work by the staff people working. From 10pm to 2am, Azure was running around delivering supplies, food and tools to workers and the rich, high level privileged guests. She had to clean out the giant grimy bowl shaped tub, then placed the herb tag into the machine that poured the hot water in. She and the lady working with her had it cleaned and filled just in time for this big fat sumo business man from Zipangu. the guy was so big when he sat, the water over flowed, spilling all over the floor. Azure almost got slapped by the bathhouse vice master when she accidentally said that guys should lose some weight.
At two in the morning, Azure was taken with all the Northern kids who could only speak Singlish and tasked with kitchen duty. Even though it was half cleaned it took at least 90 minutes to fully clean the whole kitchen.

The kids went into the staff sleeping room on the top floor. Tired as hell, Azure flopped down onto the futon mattress
next to the girl she worked the tub with. The girl was already passed out but earlier Azure asked for a sleeping place and the girl said she could share her bed with her. Azure found that to be weird at first, but right now she was too tired to care.
“The work so hard lah!”
“We take rest liao!”
“Mii so tired!”
“I go steal food and we take night lunch!” one boy said.
“Yah lah!”
“Blue hair! Lai!” one kid said to Azure.
“What?” she asked blankly.
“Xiao eh! Wan go kope food? We take night lunch!”
Azure looked at the kid blankly. What the hell was he saying?
“Lai! Lai!” the boy beckoned, swinging his hand for her to follow.
“Mai siao lah! Baka fat ass qia zha bo walk around, she wan sit on your face!” a girl laughed (1)
“Blue hair! Lai lai lai! Food not so ulu!”
“Oh for f*** sakes!” Azure cussed throwing the blanket off and standing up. Her feet were sore as hell.
The sleeping girl groaned and pulled the blanket back over her.
“Chico!” the boy called. “Lai with mi! I nid help!”
“Qu nide!” Chico yelled back. “Qu ni nainaide!” (2)
The kid got pissed and gave him the finger.
“Guys! Lai! we go to kitchen and take night lunch!”
“Oi! Thiam lah! I’m trying to sleep!”
“Rex, you toot hor?”
“Yar, you wish!” Rex called back as he pulled Azure by the hand with him.
“Hey!”

The team of 7 kids crept quietly through the hallways and down the stairwells taking great care to not make noise.
They snuck into the food storage rooms and made off with several platters of seafood, cookies, cakes and Asian style pizza.
On their way back up, Azure was carrying two big pizza boxes. She still had no idea what the hell they were talking about. As she came around the corner, the fat qia-zha-bo or fierce arrogant night patrol lady stomped out of the shared bathrooms.
Azure almost had a heart attack and stood frozen staring at the big woman’s back. She was big, fat and already mean looking. Just as Azure gathered up the brains to step back behind the corner, the others saw her.
“Wah piang!”
“O sh**!”
“AH!” they screamed.
The fat lady turned around and the kids booked it. Azure tripped as she stumbled, dropping the pizza boxes. They landed at her feet with a loud thump.
“Aye! Why you stealing lah!? You wan paddle!?” the lady screamed at her. “I beat you and make you cry like baby!”
Before Azure could scramble to her feet and run, the woman grabbed her by the hair and dragged her along.
“How many times I teach you sibeh baiichi wenshens not to steal honored guests food leh!”
“Let go, you’re hurting me!” Azure cried. “Please stop! They made me do it!”
“Thiam lah! You baiichi white trash South Maplers so selfish and greedy! I teach you dirty wenshen not to make trouble!”
The fat lady dragged Azure down the stairs for at lest 6 floors then threw her into a pitch black closet.
Azure went flying in the dark and crash landed into a pile of dust covered brooms, mops, garbage picking tools and a garbage can.
“You sleep here, fei ren wenshen!” the woman shouted slamming the wooden closet door and latching it from the outside. Azure jumped up and banged on the door.
“Hey! Let me out! LEt me out you fuqking fat sow! I hope you get shot and raped by a hacker and catch his disease and get shot by a GM!” Azure screamed.
A pack of Swifter sheets fell off the shelf and popped Azure in the head. She grabbed the box and threw it hard at the slits of dim light coming through the door. She wished Owl was here. This was going to be a long piss ass night.

The next morning, at around 10 or so, Azure was let out by a startled Victorian janitor.
“OMG!” the guy said as Azure came out like she was a ghost. She coughed out dust and shook herself off.
“How the hell did you end up in there?” the old guy asked.
“Some fat lady threw me in,” Azure muttered. “I hope she dies! And somebody has to clean that closet! it’s a crap hole!”
“Ah, yes, I, uhh mistook it for the other one I usually use. This one they throw kids in if they’re screwing around.”
“Yeah I noticed the slave labor in this place!” Azure spat. She horked up a loogey- a big one- and spat it into the closet.
“Actually those kids get paid pretty well, but their wages go to their families or their families’ stay here or they go to pay for other things. They get fed well, but they work like hell.”
“Then why do they steal food at night?”
“They get pretty hungry so they try to have a night lunch of leftovers whenever they can.”
“Oh,”
“They try to get parents in Kerning to send their kids to help out and give them volunteer hours but because of cultures and language barriers only Northerners work here, then there’s your random Victorian person here,”
“Who runs this place?” Azure asked.
“The Permanoobs. This is one of their business and ties to groups in the SEA Lands.”
“Ah,” Azure said. She just wanted to sneak out and call Owl on a payphone. Surprisingly she still had a few dimes in her pocket.
“Well, you best be getting up to the top and get cleaned up.”

“Wo K**!” the kids shouted when Azure; still covered in dust, walked back into the big sleeping room. Two of the kids were up.
“Oi! she no dun kill you! Jyjy!” that kid who took her to the food storage shouted.
“Fuqk you!” Azure snapped. “f***king idiots! That fat bich didnt even see us then you have to shout and scream like a bunch of morons!” she shouted at them.
“Thiam! she scary!”
“blue hair! Lai! You go clean!” the girl called throwing Azure a soap bar and a towel.

Azure sat in the waiting room outside Almony’s office, dressed in shirt and pants and apron worn by the workers in the bath-house. Her still wet blue hair was tied back.
“Sorry about the, uh service work they had you on, kid, anyways that’s being attached to your community hours record,” Green suit said. “Maybe you got better btains nto to screw with the noob boss eh?”
“Whatever,” Azure muttered. “Where’s Owl?”
“Oh, she’s in the auto shop downtown, she’s working on a car or something to get you two North. Anyways, you got the day off, Come back for your other clothes later, now go down and PQ or something,”
“What? you want me to go dressed like this?” Azure said.
“Who cares? Our workers do it all the time!” Green suit said. “Fat Lan’s making her morning rounds, so you better make yourself scarce before she finds you again!”
+++++++++++++++++

Not much point to this chapter, just some scene that came up. I wanted to fill in the time for the day
About the Chinese words or Snglish- I found stuff on Singlish on Wiki or Google. it might be wrong, but for the story, I though what the hell
Enjoy

++Wolfy