Arabella

Chapter 2

The cool New York breeze hit me as I stepped outside the airport doors. I wasn't used to such cold weather, even though it was September. When I was back in Seattle it wasn't as cold.

This was my first time stepping out of airport doors. I had decided to start a new. Turn to a clean page and write a new story. After all that had happened I wanted to forget. I had to forget, get away from it all. The people, the food, and especially my uncle. All he did was yip-yap and a girl gets tired you know?

My teeth started to chatter uncontrollably and so I decided to call out for a taxi.
I didn't have much money, nor a job.
It was just me, myself and I.

"Taxi, Taxi" I yelled and minutes after a golden yellow cab pulled up and I sat in.

"Where to my lady?" The man said with a cocky grin.

I looked up from my phone and gave him a tight smile and nervously spoke,"The nearest hotel please".

"Right away" he exclaimed and sped off up the road.

I sat in silence, watching the city go by. New York was so different from Seattle. Seattle didn't have the bright flashing colours, golden yellow cabs, nor did it have so many people. It was just boring old Seattle.

I jumped as the silence broke and the man spoke,"You're not from around here are you?"

"No, I came from Seattle" I replied quietly.

"Why the sudden change? Why choose to live in such a big city?" He asked curiously. He was trying to make small talk and break the awkward silence in the car.

Sighing I said,"I wanted to find a new job and you know get away from everything back home".

He must've understood what I must be going through because he just mumbled an "oh" and all was silent once again.

A few minutes later, we pulled up and the driver spoke,"that'll be $10. I handed him the money and got out with my luggage. I turned around to say thankyou but he had already sped off down the road.

I stood there in confusion before turning around to golden gleaming doors with the name 'Albergo di oro' engraved. I stood in awe. This place looked EX-PEN-SIVE! How the hell would I pay for this. I don't even have a quarter of the money to stay here? Wtf was this cab driver thinking?!

I strode in through the golden doors feeling like a celebrity but I knew I was far from it from the way I was dressed. Black skinny jeans, black leather jacket and black converse, with a worn out rucksack slung over my shoulder, taking in mind that it was black too. One would think I was a thief ready to rob a bank.

I stopped and looked around like an alien who's never visited Earth before.

There were men wearing full attired suits which looked like they had been ironed 500 times to perfection, their hair slicked back in style. Women wore such elegant dresses, you would kill to wear such a piece of clothing. A chandelier hung from the ceiling like the sun, lighting up the glamorous lobby of the hotel, making me feel small and worthless, like a peasant in a crowd of kings and queens. The ugly duckling.

Walking up to the front desk, I rang the bell and spoke,"Uhm I'm looking for a 1 person room. Is there anything available?"

The man at the desk gave me a funny look and spoke,"Yes ma'am, we do have a room available. For one night the charge is $70 and for a week the charge is $490.

I held back my shock because honestly I felt like punching him in the face. I only had $5,000 (you'd be surprised how fast 5,000 dollars runs out) and I had to survive on that until I actually picked up my lazy ass to find a job.

"Uhm I'll take the week" I spoke with my head held high. I didn't want him to judge me. He looked like a person to judge quickly.

After all the payments, the man handed me the keys while suspiciously eyeing me down and said,"Enjoy your stay at the 'Albergo di oro', we hope you have a wonderful time".

And with that I turned and left, not being able to hold back my anger towards that snobby man anymore.

My thoughts were crowding my head as my body collided with something. This is it, I thought. I'm going to be the laughing stock in front of these top class people, 1..., 2..., 3..., but I didn't collide with the ground, instead I collided into a pair of strong, firm arms.