New maid in town

 Josh staggered back, his hands trembling.

— Dude, why? — he stammered, desperation breaking through. — Please, just put everything back the way it was! I'm not this... I'm not your maid! I'm Josh, your classmate, remember?

Samuel smiled, but there was no warmth in it — only something cold, sharp, and merciless.

— Classmate? — he echoed, savoring the word like it was poison. — Since grade school, you did nothing but make my life hell. Year after year... your jokes about my weight, my looks, the way I dressed. I thought maybe, one day, you'd forget. Grow up. Move on. But no... it was like your life's mission was to make sure I never had a single moment of peace.

Josh stumbled, words caught in his throat, as if Samuel’s accusations were strangling him.

— But... that doesn't give you the right to do this! — he shouted, gesturing wildly at the frilly dress and apron now mocking him with every breath. — I don't even know how you did it! I tried calling my parents... — his voice cracked — ...and they said they don't even know anyone named Josh!

Samuel stepped closer, his shadow swallowing the space between them.

— Oh, Matilda... — he said slowly, each syllable a nail in the coffin — that's your name now. That’s who you are.

He laughed — a twisted, broken sound that felt like it belonged to something long dead.

Josh felt something shatter inside him. The reality he clung to was slipping through his fingers like ash.

— But relax — Samuel said, in a mockingly gentle tone. — I’ll explain everything. You deserve at least that much.

Josh swallowed hard, heart pounding against his ribs. Whatever sick power Samuel had over him, he needed to understand it if he had any chance of surviving it.

Samuel sat down leisurely, as if preparing to read a bedtime story.

— I’ve always been addicted to garage sales — he began, almost dreamily. — Loved hunting for old video games, rare trading cards, little treasures no one else saw the value in. But one Saturday... I found something different. A wooden box, dark as midnight, covered in strange carvings that seemed to move if you stared too long. Sitting next to it... was a book. I thought it was just some old board game manual.

He chuckled, a sound as dry as cracking bones.

— Ten bucks. That’s all the lady wanted for it. So I bought it, thinking I'd scored some rare, vintage nerd treasure. But when I got home and opened it... it wasn’t a game. It was a ritual. A gateway to something that should have stayed buried.

Josh’s mouth went dry.

— I spent hours reading the "manual." It taught how to communicate with an entity trapped inside the box. Something vicious. Cunning. Feeding off hatred and revenge. And it doesn't act unless the desire is pure. Real.

Samuel's eyes gleamed with a feverish light.

— I didn’t want to hurt you physically — that would've been too easy, too boring. No, I wanted something deeper. I wanted you to feel it. To live it.

He stood slowly, towering over Matilda.

— And so, you were erased. Your name, your history... even your blood doesn't remember you now. All that's left is Matilda — a maid. Meant to serve.

Josh — no, Matilda — collapsed to her knees, clutching the apron like a lifeline. His — her — chest heaved with silent sobs. Every second hammered home the awful truth:
This wasn't just some prank.
This was a new reality.

And he was trapped inside it.

Samuel watched for a long moment, then let out a soft, almost pitying sigh.

— Oh, and one more thing — he said, voice dropping to a deadly whisper. — Don't even think about trying anything clever.

Matilda froze, dread crawling up her spine.

— From what I can tell, you still have full control over this new body — Samuel said, circling her like a shark. — Your mind, your will, they're still yours... for now.

He leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath.

— But if you try anything that displeases me — he said, his smile growing colder — I’ll just have another little "chat" with the entity.

He paused, savoring the fear he saw taking root.

— Imagine being nothing but a passenger inside your own mind. Watching helplessly while someone else controls your body, speaks with your voice, lives your life.

Matilda flinched, her stomach twisting with nausea.

— Of course — Samuel mused — for me, that wouldn’t be half as much fun. The real joy... is knowing that you, Josh, are still in there. Still aware. Still remembering exactly who you used to be.

His grin widened, grotesque and triumphant.

Matilda’s vision blurred as terror pressed down on her chest. There were no options left. No one to call. No one who even remembered she existed.

Samuel knelt down in front of her, forcing their eyes to meet.

— So behave yourself, Matilda — he whispered sweetly. — After all... you wouldn't want to find out what losing even that tiny scrap of control feels like, would you?

Matilda, broken and trembling, bowed her head, swallowing back a sob.

The game was over.
And she had lost.