ROSE

Chapter Seven - The Resort

"Beep! Beep!" sounded the alarm clock in the morning. Kimberly didn't hear it because she was in a deep sleep. A few moments later, Mrs. Williams walked into Kimberly's room to snooze the irritating beeping of the alarm clock.

Pulling the blanket from Kimberly's face, Mrs. Williams said, "Time to wake up, dear..."

Kimberly pulled the blanket up to her face, "But it's Sunday. Can't I get another 1 hour of sleep?"

"Wow!" Exclaimed Mrs. Williams, "You really should become a business lady. Since you are trading your holiday trip with 1 hour of sleep. By the time you wake up, you would have surely missed the bus."

Suddenly, Kimberly jumped out of the bed like a monkey. "Oh My Goodness!" exclaimed Kimberly as she rushed into the bathroom. She yelled, "Mother, can you please help me pack my clothes? I would do it myself, but I would miss the bus."

"Are you going to pay me?"

"Mother!"

"Alright," replied Mrs. Williams. She rolled out a purple suitcase beside the bed. She neatly folded Kimberly's clothes and packed them in the suitcase. Furthermore, she also packed: shoes and cosmetics.

Mr. Williams was patiently waiting inside the car. Kimberly struggled to roll the suitcase to the car. She was assisted by her father.

Kimberly waved at her mother as the car raved and drove away to the bus station.

Mr. Williams was able to catch the bus before it drove away. He had to stop in front of the bus, allowing Kimberly to enter the bus.

Several hours later, the bus reached its first destination - Bratnom Hill Station. Kimberly carried her suitcase.

"There is Kimberly!" said Lucy.

Thomas rushed to her aid. The suitcase was placed gently in the trunk. The three girls sat in the back seats, while the boys sat in the front seats.

As the car was accelerating at 80 km/h, so was the evening sun. One minute after the other, the sun was moving down and sinking deeper into the horizon. It was getting darker by the minute. George thought it would be a short drive, but was puzzled by how far it was. They had been driving for nearly 6 hours.

The streetlights made the path more clear than before. The journey was so long, they got tired and decided to rest by taking a quick nap.

At 8:30 pm, the car stopped at the entrance of Green Forest Resorts. There was a gigantic sign that read: "Welcome to Green Forest Resorts."

George honked the car horn several times such that the ladies woke up. The quietness at the resort puzzled George and his friends. It was so quiet you could hear the crickets chirping and the owls hooting.

"Fear not," said George, "I will open the gate!" He stepped out of the car. With difficulty, he managed to open the gate widely.

No sooner did they drive past the entrance than a calm breeze blew. An owl glared at Kimberly before it flew away to another branch.

"Wow! This is a big hotel," said Thomas.

Indeed, it was a big hotel with fluorescent bulbs nailed to the walls. It had big doors and big windows. Ahead of them was the family pool. However, it wasn't exactly as they expected. It was old and rusty.

Everyone, except George, were greatly disappointed because the hotel was not as they expected.

Kimberly wondered aloud, "Why does this place look this dirty? This is not what I saw on the flyer." She paused and demanded, "George, Where are we?"