I, Immortal

Chapter Two

The door opened wide and my suitcase slipped from my fingers and fell with a bang to the floor.

The hotel room was massive! Floor-to-ceiling windows framed a spectacular view of New York. A black futon and chairs with fluffy red pillows stood around the living area. Woven rugs lay across the shiny hardwood. Scroll-like paintings spanned the reddish-brown wood walls, and lanterns concealed the light fixtures. Shoji doors separated the bedroom from the living area. The whole flat seemed like a place plucked straight from Japan.

In my stupor, I just barely heard the bellhop wish me a good day as he closed the door behind me.

"Thanks." I murmured dumbly, still staring around the lavish room. When Mr. Lund had said all-expenses-paid, I would have been content with a motel with a tv and continental breakfast. But this...this was a million times better than any motel I'd ever stayed at.

I spent a good part of the afternoon exploring every detail of my flat. No doubt everything there had cost a chunk of change. While I explored, I nibbled on a cheese plate from the breakfast bar that held an assortment of snacks and finger foods I could never afford otherwise.The bedroom followed the Oriental theme with a red-and-gold platform bed hemmed in by two bamboo end-tables; an enormous paper fan hung on the wall above it. The bathroom, which was drenched in the scent of vanilla, was half as big as the bedroom and still the largest bathroom I have ever seen. A jet tub took up most of the room, and a vase full of huge pink flowers and we hope you enjoy your stay note from a maid named Caitrine were situated on the long marbled counter. I made a mental note to use that jet tub every day.

*

That evening, Cy sent me a few texts. One was a video tour of his own hotel room - not quite as grand as mine, but I did envy his hot tub on the enclosed balcony - another congratulated me on "joining the superhuman club," and one more warned me he was coming to see my room, which was followed by a series of lols.

Cy rang the doorbell at just past six, and I nearly pulled the door handle off due to my habit of wrenching open my door back home. I swung the door wide. Cy absentmindedly nodded his hello, walked past me, stared around my flat with the same awe I had felt that same afternoon.

"This place is crazy!" He exclaimed, rushing around. He disappeared into the bathroom. "What? You have a jet tub!"

He poked his head out, a smirk playing across his face. "I have a hot tub."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

Having lost his interest in my flat, he plunked himself onto the futon and stared up at the lanterns on the ceiling, tapping his foot to some song in his head.

"You shoulda invited Lulu. She'd love this place."

"I don't think I could afford to."

I laughed, but I had to agree with him. My little sister was a lover of expensive and lavish things. The last time I'd visited my family...almost three years ago...her bedroom had been heavily decorated with trinkets and exotic collectibles from her wealthy friends. She had an eye for pretty things that cost an arm and a leg, but she also had a knack for coaxing people into giving her those things for nothing.

I pushed aside my thoughts when I noticed Cy's mouth twisted in a cheesy grin, the one he always used whenever he had a secret to share.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?" He chuckled innocently.

"Tell me."

"Well, if you really want to know...Mr. Lund told me -"

"You talked to Lund?" I blurted.

"Yes. I did. Anyway -"

"Is he just as rich and smart as everybody says?" I interrupted again, suddenly feeling more curious about the Protonet president than whatever secret Cy had.

"Yeah," Cy rolled his eyes, displaying his annoyance at my curiosity, "He's cool. Anyway, I was talking with him, and he said all the participants get an allowance during our stay."

"Allowance?"

"Now you're interested." He chuckled.

"Go on." I pressed.

"We get an allowance. To spend on anything we want. Anything at all."

"How much?"

Cy opened his mouth to answer, but the ringing of my phone interrupted. He relaxed against the futon pillows again as I shrugged and checked my phone.

"Speak of the -" I cut myself off and put the phone to my ear, "Lulu! What's up?"

My sister's teasing voice replied, "The sky. How's New York?"

"Great. It's great. I'm hanging out with Cy right now."

"Cy's there? Tell him hi!"

"She says hi." I murmured. Cut to the chase. You never just call me.

"Invite her." Cy mouthed.

I shook my head and shrugged to say I can't. "He says hi."

An awkward pause ensued, then Lulu sighed. "Mom still isn't happy about this whole thing."

There's the chase.

"I know. We've been over this. This isn't about what she wants."

"I'm not sure about it either."

Any response I might have had suddenly disappeared right then. Lulu was the only one in my family I actually cared to listen to. She had had me around her finger the day she was born. I was just three then, but I had felt it was my solemn duty to be her buddy. Her opinions mattered to me. When we were kids, we used to sit in the downtown ice cream shoppe and talk about what we'd do when we grew up. She'd travel the world; I'd be rich and famous. No, she had argued, you be yourself. And so I followed her advice and became a poor and disinterested me. Until now. Now I could actually be someone important.

"Just think about it, okay?" Her voice cut through my thoughts.

"Okay."

"I love you, big bro."

Throughout our conversation, Cy had flailed his arms like a dying octopus, muttering, "Invite her. Invite her."

"Hold on a sec." I held the phone to my chest. "What do you want, man!"

Cy grinned, waiting for me to ask the right question. I thought a moment.

"How much?"

"10,000 dollars." I raised an eyebrow at the number.

I put the phone to my ear. "Hey, sis," I began, trying out my best "cool" voice, "How'd you like to visit New York?"