School Trip With The Bad Boy

Chapter six

*Jenn*

I woke up pressed against something warm.

*Tom*

I woke up with something warm pressed against me. I subconsciously reached around it and pulled the warmth closer. The warm thing wrapped itself around me in response. My eyes were still closed, trying to keep the feeling of sleep as long as possible but suddenly the warm thing ripped away from me.

I opened my eyes slowly and was almost blinded by that disgusting wallpaper. I turned my head to the right and saw Jenn curled at the very edge of the bed staring at me with wide eyes.

Oh...

She broke the silence and said, "I'm going to have a shower." And I secretly watched as she climbed out of the bed, realised she was only wearing her underwear and pulled down her t-shirt to cover herself as best as she could. I could see the blush starting at her neck and I smirked. She disappeared into the bathroom at a considerable speed.

I grabbed my shirt from the floor and tugged it over my head as I heard the shower start. I noticed a few coffee packets on the small table on the far side of the room along with a slightly crappy looking kettle. I walked over it just as I started to hear Jenn singing.

She really was incredible. She was singing a song I didn't recognise but I heard every lyric.

"Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music do ya?

"Well it goes like this,
The forth, the fifth,
The minor fall and the major lift,
The baffled king composing hallelujah,

"Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah."

It was slow and beautiful and enticing. I could sit and listen to her for hours, I could sit and listen to her forever.

"Well your faith was strong
But you needed proof,
You saw her bathing on the roof,
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya.

"Well she tied you to her kitchen chair,
She broke your throne
And she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the hallelujah.

"Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah."

Her voice was soft; not shouty like some pop singers or the kids in the school productions. No, it was soft and comforting, like she was singing a baby to sleep.

"Well baby I've been here before,
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor.
You know,
I used to live here long before I knew ya.

"And I've seen your flag on the Marble Arch,
And love is not a victory march.
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."

Her voice grew towards the end of the verse and something moved inside me before she whispered out;

"Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah."

I snapped out of my trance and finished making my coffee.

***

*Jenn*

My hair was still wet by the time we began retracing our steps from last night back to Central Park. We walked up the street running next to the field we were in yesterday until we found a small, cosy-looking cafe, to have breakfast.

Once we were seated in a little, two-person booth, I said, "So what now?"

"I'm not quite sure, honestly. I guess we just need to wait until we're found."

"What about where we're staying? Even in that crappy hotel, New York is never cheap."

"No..." He looked, rather confused and concentrated, at the mug on the table, then his eyes lit up and he practically shouted, "Wait!" then looked around at the waiting staff, "Sorry... But anyway," he said in a lower tone, "My father often comes here on business trips and I tend to go with him and we always stay with this family."

I started to catch on.

"We could stay with them for free. Aren't I a genius?" He asked, chuckling.

"I don't know if I would go as far as to say genius..." I replied laughing. "So when should we find them? Probably sooner rather than later, right?"

"Yeah. After this?" He asked gesturing at the tray of pastries in front of us.

I nodded.

***

*Tom*

We ran back to the hotel, me getting a rather bad stitch on the way, due to the recent food. And by the time we crashed, rather unceremoniously, through the doors  we were both considerably out of breath. The receptionist looked up, surprised, then grinned and went back to her crossword on the desk.

The only thing in the room was Jenn's guitar, so she quickly went to grab it while I talked about prices.

"So, how much is one night?"

"Huh, English," she said under her breath before saying, "that will be 200 dollars, sir"

I sighed while pulling out my wallet. Jenn was right, nothing is cheap in New York. But i guess this was as good as it was going to get.

"Couple's holiday? How long have you guy's been together?"

"Oh, we're not... I mean no... I don't like her like that..."

The receptionist smirked, "Oh, right, of course."

Just then Jenn burst into the lobby. "Ready?"
She asked panting a bit.

I looked at her for a second then grinned, "Yup!"