Sterek Stories - A Collection - II

The time of your life - 2. Watermelon

The next morning Scott convinces Stiles to go on the hike with him. Stiles should have built up a better defense against his friend's puppy dog eyes by now, yet he still trudges through the forest behind his friend. Whatever, it's not like he has anything better to do, having to go without the distraction of social media and video games and all. And, yes, it really is beautiful around here, he has to admit. He just wishes he didn't have to get up so early to enjoy it. Or ruin his sneakers with mud, because of course Allison takes them off track.

When they finally get back after a good hour or two they walk on a path that takes them by a row of stacked apartments, propped up against the hillside. It reminds him a bit of a roadside motel, but with a forest lodge vibe. There's laundry hanging from the windows and people are lounging on the steps, paying no interest to the group of hikers that passes. A quick question confirms that these are staff residences.
"The entertainment and cleaning staff," Allison clarifies. "The in-house staff has lodgings closer to the main building."
Stiles thinks it a bit odd to separate the entertainers and cleaners from regular staff, yet Scott is already trying to figure out where exactly Allison is staying. The answer, her parents' home a little way down the mountain, makes his face fall comically.

Back at the cabin Stiles crashes on his bed and sleeps a good part of the day away. Again: there's nothing better to do if the place doesn't provide quality online entertainment. He wakes up in an empty cabin, finding a note on the table that says the others will see him at the main lodge for the big welcome dinner.

With some time to spare Stiles wanders around the grounds. There are people playing tennis, there's group lessons in the dancing studios and the restaurant patio is crowded with people who are enjoying a drink in the sun.
Because there's only so much Candy Crush he can play on his phone Stiles decides to go look for the library. At first, he ends up at the spa, where an attractive redhead tries to convince him to get a deep clean facial, whatever that means. "It does wonders for teenagers with skin issues," she says, tossing her hair over her shoulder. It leaves Stiles wondering if he's being insulted or flirted with.

In the end he finds a thumbed copy of a science fiction novel that sparks his interest and a quiet place in the far corner of the dining room. There's a bay window with a wide sill that fits him just right. He's mostly hidden by a wicker room divider and his spot catches the last of the afternoon sun perfectly; he's content to wait here and read until dinner starts.

Some time later noise makes him look up from his book and it's not the guests who are arriving. It's the staff, all dressed in prim black and white clothes. They gather at the other end of the room, talking quietly amongst themselves. They haven't seen him, so Stiles just shrugs and turns back to his book. If he's in the way somebody will surely tell him.

When an older man arrives and addresses the room at large, Stiles learns that this is supposed to be some kind of peptalk. The grating, raspy voice of the older man makes it impossible to concentrate on his book, so he listens to the man instead. He aggressively presses the point of Resort Argent being an upscale getaway for the upper classes and how the staff, apparently all Ivy League students, are supposed to match that. Stiles suddenly feels even better about his dad not having to pay for this stuck up place.

It gets even worse when the old man jumps from entitled crap to speciesist bullshit. Werewolves getting mistreated just for carrying the lycanthrope genes is unfortunately nothing new and it brings out anger in Stiles every time he encounters it. Funnily enough, Scott - the actual werewolf of them two - doesn't get bothered by it as much as Stiles. As the only known werewolf in their tiny town Scott kind of hides in plain sight, especially because his family is his pack and Scott is basically the most reluctant were to ever wolf. He simply doesn't stand out. Stiles researched the crap out of it when his best friend got bitten by a rogue Alpha a few years back. He helped Scott find his anchor and things have been fairly calm since then. It helps that Scott is a pretty chill dude by nature; he only tried to kill Stiles during his first full moon and the sheriff chained him to the radiator for that.