Tales from Merimore Trail

21. Woody Sandalwood

A/N: This chapter has the first POV switch. Remember: it doesn't change until I say it changes.

●◉◎◈◎◉●

After shopping for enough clothes to last an entire month (I lost track of time, okay?), I catch up with Camille, who has enough clothes to last a year, and we head up the shiny elevators to the fourth floor.

            Like the lobby of the hotel, the floor is immaculate. The carpets and walls are clean with intricate designs lacing them and the halls give off the smell of citrus and patchouli. As we're walking down the hall, there's no noise and the door numbers are clearly marked.

            Camille and I's rooms are right next to each other, and I estimate that all six of us are in the same vicinity. After getting inside the room, I quickly survey it. Through a door on my right, there's a huge, queen sized bed with tightly fitted sheets fixed onto it. Across from the bed is a flat screen TV playing soft music. In the corner is a cream colored loveseat with an end table holding one of the most expensive lamps I've ever seen.

            Closest to me on my left is a small kitchenette with a microwave, a two-burner stove, a mini-fridge, and a counter separating the kitchenette from the living space. And the living space in itself is impressive, with a huge sofa, ottomans, and a TV larger than the one in the bedroom. And the whole wall facing out are just windows from ceiling to floor and a white, thick curtain covering them.

            I could sit down and really have an existential crisis about how I went from sleeping on a deflating air mattress and bathing in a dirty pond to sleeping in a hotel room with a clear door shower. But it's almost five and I need to get ready for this meeting in Camille's room.

            I'm not going to lie... it feels so good to actually be clean. They skimped a little on the hotel body wash and shampoo, but it's worlds better than what I had to deal with before, so I keep my complaints to myself. With some hair tools I found in a boutique, I spend the tedious time detangling my hair and blow-drying it into something presentable.

            Do I need to do all of this? No. But it's self-care and it feels nice, damn it.

            Well, nice, until I pass the comb through part of my hair and I can feel the ripping sensation. This is going to be a great time...

●◉◎◈◎◉●

~Camille's POV~

            Leave it to me to know that with how little the guys actually think about their appearances, they'd completely forget to do some shopping for themselves. And even if they did, it wouldn't be nearly enough for how long we might be staying here and taking advantage of resources. So I took it upon myself to organize some... gifts, if you will.

            I deduced that we all had to be staying in the same hall since our hall only had six rooms and Yesi was right next to me. And my suspicions were right when I started knocking on doors and seeing faces I've spent these last few months with. Bach and Cal accepted their clothes with as much gratitude as I expected, and Mason (just waking up from a four hour nap—sleep, honestly) offered nothing but annoying comments and an overdramatic 'thank you'.

            This time, I didn't mind it as much, especially since my final stop is Ari, and comparatively, it's like walking out of a house into a thunderstorm.

            I knock gently on the door, shifting my weight between feet. A few seconds go by before I hear the sliding lock click and the door open. It looks like Ari hasn't slept a wink, even though I heard that's what he was going to do.