We drove for about 20 minutes and finally saw the ‘Welcome to Dixie’ sign. We, then, looked for the nearest hotel. When we found one, Jake pulled into the parking lot, and we all walked inside the main doors. We were greeted right away by a short, blonde-haired and petite woman, with a really cute blouse and dress pants, who had a big grin painted across her face, showing dimples and little freckles.
“Hello, welcome to Hampton Hotel. My name is Stacey. How can I be at your service today?” she said.
“Hi, we would like to know your rates per night.” Jake replied.
“Well, it depends on what kind of room you want. A king-sized with no bath tub runs at $100 per night but if you want a room with a bath, it is $50 extra.
“No bath is fine,” I said. Stacey pressed some buttons on her touch-screen computer and asked “Okay, how many nights are you staying?”
“Um, three.” Mel chimed in. “That’ll give us enough time to find a small apartment.” She directed at us.
“Sounds good.” Jake said.
“If you stay four, you get a 25% discount,” Stacey said. “So it’ll be like getting a night for free.”
“That’s great” Aide said.
“I think that will work.” Mel replied.
“So four nights, king-sized room, no bath, comes to $300.” Stacey calculated.
“Do you take visa?” I asked.
“Yes, we take any bank card.” I handed her my Visa card and she slid it through the card reader. Then she handed me the number pad, and I typed in my 4-digit code. When she handed me my card back, she also handed me a key and said, “You are in room 207. Go straight down that hallway,” she pointed down the hallway to our left, “And go right. Keep to that hallway until you come to the restrooms. Then turn right again, and it’s the first door on the left. If you need any help, just come find me. Have a nice day.” She smiled. We followed her directions and found it on the first try.
The first thing I saw when I walked into the hotel room was the large sofa that sat in the middle of the room, on a thick, gray carpet. It smelled of Windex cleaner and fresh flowers. I saw a laptop laying on the bedside table next to the sofa, and a flat-screen TV sat across from the sofa on a small entertainment center, which sat against the wall exactly to my right. There was a shelf in the entertainment center under the television that contained two remotes and a game controller, but I couldn’t tell what the controller belonged to. On the other side of the TV was a doorway I’m assuming led to the bedroom. Behind the sofa was a giant window, whose curtains were tied back so we could see outside, and led to the balcony. To my left was another doorway, which led to the bathroom. Two more couches sat at both sides of the bathroom door.
“I call dibs on the bedroom,” Mel said. Aide rolled her eyes playfully.
“Of course you would,” she said.
“I guess the three of us get the couches,” Jake said toward the rest of us.
“Actually, I think Casey should get the bedroom,” Aide said. “She won’t be out in the open.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Mel replied. Then she turned to me. “You can have the room.”
“Are you sure?” She nodded her head in reply. “Thanks.” I said, as I began to walk towards the bedroom.
“I’m gonna try to search for apartments for sale on the laptop,” Aide said. “Hopefully we won’t need any more than three days in here.”
“Yeah, hopefully. Hey, I’m gonna go get a quick shower if you guys don’t mind.” Mel said.
“No, it’s fine. Go ahead.” I answered for everybody, and with that, Mel went into the bathroom, Aide turned on the laptop, and I headed toward the bedroom while Jake sat on the couch.
As I sat down on the bed, I reached for my phone. As I flipped it open, I realized that I had a voice message from my mother. I was too busy thinking about the hotel room and the apartments that I didn’t hear my phone ringing, I thought. My heart began to race as I thought of all the things she would say in the message, but I was too chicken to actually listen to it without everybody else. Yes, I wanted to know what really was going on, but I was also scared that something was seriously wrong and that I wouldn’t be able to take the news. As if somebody read my thoughts, I heard a knock at the door. I looked up to find Jake standing in the doorway.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet.” I replied and then added, “I have a voice mail from my mom but I’m too nervous to actually listen to it.
“Do you want me to go get the girls?”
“No, it’s fine. I should just stop being a chicken and just listen to it.” I said, as I sat back against the headboard.
“Hey,” he said as he slid back to sit beside me. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” He smiled, and with that, I pressed the ‘okay’ button on my phone to listen to the message.
