𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥

Chapter 4: Talk

Twelve suites. That was the average daily workload for a member of housekeeping: around forty minutes per room, eight hours a day, an hour for lunch, and ten minutes every hour for a smoke break.

Wren didn't smoke, but Ellen did. Every other hour, the two would take their pilgrimage to the employee parking lot tucked behind the hotel. These moments should've been a reprieve from work, but Ellen's nonstop prying made these breaks somewhat stressful for Wren.

Ellen took a long drag from her last cigarette of the day. She held it in for a moment, then let it out with a sigh. "So, exactly how close were you to Mark? Like, were you guys just friendly, or were you, like, friend friends?"

Wren was too tired for this song and dance, so she answered the only way she knew how; Honestly "I don't know," she sighed. "We hung out every day after work. We joked around. We covered for each other... he's..." Wren caught herself. "He was the closest thing to a best friend I've had in a really long time."

"Hmm?" Ellen took another drag from her cigarette. "He always made it out like you and Miss Colette were close... like, really close."

"We grew up together, but for obvious reasons..." Wren wanted to find the perfect words before she continued. "She's been very busy lately, and we haven't had time to catch up. Wait!" Wren nearly jumped at the realization. "You knew Mark too?!"

Ellen scoffed. "Yeah, of course. He had a bit of a crush on Jo. They would sometimes go to the movies together, and since they were hanging around each other, and Jo hung around me and Meri, we sometimes hung out."

Wren's eyebrows furrowed. "I... uh, how come I was never invited out? I was always free... we were friends... and..."

Ellen put her hand on Wren's shoulder. "Don't take it personally. It's just that we thought you wouldn't be interested."

Wren frowned "Wouldn't be interested? Why wouldn't I be interested?"

Ellen shrugged "Mark always said you were more of a homebody."

Wren was befuddled "A homebody? Mark said that... about me, the person he went drinking with every night after work?"

"Hey, don't ask me, I'm just telling you what Mark told me." Ellen rubbed the cigarette along the cement and flicked the bud onto the pavement "Anyways, its time for you to clean the room. You know, the one I'm not allowed to help you with. The employee room, the-"

"Yeah, I get it." Wren interrupted "Let's just get it over with."

Ellen stretched, reached into her pocket, and handed Wren the skeleton key "Go get 'em, champ."

The two walked back into the building and took the service elevator to the second floor. The air felt stiff, and her limbs felt heavy and sluggish. Her breaths were slow and shallow. Why was this so difficult? She was just cleaning an employee's room, an ex-employee's room, it was just an empty space. There was nothing to be afraid of. But if that were true, why was it so hard for her to move?

Wren could feel her heart sinking ever deeper in her chest as she approached the door. Her hands trembled as she reached for the skeleton key, and when she pressed it against the keypad the card it nearly fell from her grasp. Her hand hovered over the door's handle for a moment. She braced herself, firmly grasped the handle, and quickly pushed the door open. She walked through the entryway only to be met with something she wasn't entirely expecting: an almost pristine-looking room. The bed was made, the side tables were organized, and every surface seemed to be not only be dusted but blemish free. Wren parted the curtains, only to see streak free windows on the other side.

Wren walked into the bathroom and was shocked to see it in a similar state: spotless from floor to ceiling. the mirror was spotless, there wasn't a trace of soap scum in the shower, and the towels were all clean, folded, and placed in their respective places. The toilet was in a similar condition; so clean one could safely eat from it. The only thing that seemed to be out of place was the lid of the toilet's water tank. The front corner seemed to jut out further than the other. When Wren went to adjust it, there seemed to be something caught between the lid and the tank.