Chapter 9 : Prisoners don't get ice-cream, mostly.

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I looked around me. My surroundings were pretty nice but, compared to wherever we had visited Apollo, they were kind of plain. I was sitting on a couch, in what looked like the lobby of a hotel. Everything around me was either cream-coloured or brown. There was a counter next to an enourmous doorway and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. For some reason, I had a newspaper in front of me, which seemed pretty useless since I was dyslexic. There were two cups of coffee on a table in front of me and a couple of backpacks at the foot of the couch.

I turned to see Thalia passed out next to me. As if she knew I was waiting for her to wake up, she opened her eyesand looked around drowsily.

"Where are we?" she asked with a yawn.

"No idea, as usual," I replied with a sigh.

Just then, a young clerk came to sit down on the chair opposite to us. She was in a blue and white uniform and a navy blue jacket and had dark brown hair and caramel eyes. Her face was pale and she looked friendly, but scared

"Sir," she said, smiling,"Good to see that you're awake. You must have entered after a heavy day of golfing, seeing as you crashed out in the lobby instead of your room."

"Golfing?" I asked stupidly, not understanding what she meant.

Thalia nudged me hard. That's when I looked down and saw that my golf club was lying near my feet. I also noticed that I was in fresh clothes. A button down shirt and jeans with a scarf and laced-up dress shoes. I really didn't understand how someone could think of me as a golfer when I was dressed like a cross between a waiter and an ice-cream vendor, but I decided to agree with the clerk.

"Um...Yeah,"I said, "I love golf. I've been playing since seven this morning."

"Nice,"she said, fixing her at Thalia and frowning,"And your little friend here is...?"

I felt a sudden urge to behave like I didn't know Thalia. It was almost like she was hypnotizing me to forget about her.

"This is-"

"Before giving out our identities, we would like to know who you are,"Thalia said looking at the clerk with a steely expression. Something was definitely wrong with this clerk. She was looking scared, angry, annoyed and polite, all at the same time.

"I am Tammi, the receptionist of this hotel," she said,"I need to know who you are and what business you have here because I have to assign your rooms accordingly."

"Oh,"Thalia said, looking sheepish and embarrassed for her suspicious behaviour,"In that case I am Th-"

"She is Thesina McCartney and I am Lucas Ames,"I said, interrupting Thalia. I didn't know why, but giving our true names to a stranger felt wrong.

Thalia looked at me in bewilderment but I just gave her my best 'let-me-handle-this' look.

"We were returning from a nearby golf course but it seems like the taxi driver had the wrong address because he brought us here instead of our hotel."

The clerk looked like she didn't believe me. I had a feeling that she knew that I was lying. I decided to let it pass. She focused her gaze at me.

"Which hotel would you be staying at, Sir?" she asked,"Because, I can summon a taxi to take you there."

"Don't bother," I said, hoping to sound like a rich, spoilt brat,"This place looks good enough for us. Is there a comfortable room for us here?"

"Of course," she said, unsmilingly,"Follow me, Sir. The bellboy is busy at the moment,so, you'll have to carry your luggage yourself. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but it can't be helped."

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