Gate 24

Chapter Twelve

Other than awkward eye contact between Orion, Frankie and I, absolutely nothing happens for the next couple of days. Now, it’s a Tuesday and I’ve officially been working for a week. It’s also Lisa’s day off today, so I’m going to see her when I have the chance. Over the last few days, we’ve really began to hit it off; she stayed in my apartment on Sunday night because she couldn’t be bothered to go to her own apartment at two in the morning. We had stayed up and watched a film on TV with a large bowl of crisps and a bottle of coke each.

Currently, I’m the only one awake and Frankie’s due to meet me in a few minutes. Frankie and I are the early birds of the hotel, no doubt about that. Barlow and Osmond often arrive as late as possible. Hugh wakes up early, but he doesn’t really get involved until later on; the same applies for Lisa, who wakes up at the crack of dawn and spends three hours doing nothing before she even thinks about making her way down to the pool.

Frankie walks through the door of the hut and smiles at me; I grin back her and watch her yank the free seat from under the desk. She places it next to me and sits down and yawns. We may both be the early birds of the hotel, but we’re still always tired. It doesn’t help that we go to bed at stupid times in the morning. “Hey dude,” she smiles, eyeing the music controls in front of me. The tension between us has gone now that Frankie’s got nothing to hide, but I can tell that they’ll always be awkward moments where the scene will replay in our heads and we’ll cringe at each other – and ourselves.

Sighing, I flick the switch for the microphone and the music; the silence is filled with the generic pop music that’s brainwashed me over the past week. Unlike the residents, I can’t walk around with my headphones in and ignore all of the music. “Hey,” I smile back, not really knowing what to do with my arms or anything. “I’m super tired, but I’m good, thanks. How are you?” I love it when people take time out of their day to ask how someone is.

“I’m brilliant, thanks,” Frankie replies, sipping the water from the bottle she probably just picked up from the bar. Suddenly, this extremely pretty female appears in the doorway of the hut and looks at us in confusion. Both of us stare like hungry predators, wanting to catch ourselves some prey. “Is there something we can do for you?” Frankie asks, trying not to stare at the obvious cleavage of the woman.

“Hello, yes, there is,” the woman replies, sounding slightly panicked. “One of our towel cards has fallen into the pool and I’m a little unsure of what to do.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Frankie’s face fall as the word “our” hangs in the air. “Is there any way you can get it out for us?”

Frankie looks at me and rolls her eyes ever so slightly; she can get it herself, it’s only in the pool. “Ray, should I get it or do you want to go for a dip?” Frankie smiles and looks out of the window for a brief second. “I mean, you are already wet from jumping in earlier.” Without answering back, I beckon the woman to lead me to where she’s dropped the card. Really though, it’s pathetic that she can’t jump in and get it herself. It may ruin her make up; I’m guessing that’s why she doesn’t want to be near a pool.

Frankie watches out of the window as I jump in. As I hit the water, I know that I’ve splashed the woman. Coming up for air, I see Frankie giggling to herself through the window as I turn around to see the eyebrows of the woman; they drip down her face in fragments. Trying not to snort with laughter, I take in a breath and descend under the water to grab the card that she can’t touch. The last thing I see above the water is Frankie’s face, laughing and staring at the girl. I think Frankie’s opinion of this girl has changed pretty fast.

Reaching for the key card is easy enough; I decide to show off and do a handstand. Flipping upside down, I press my hands flat against the bottom of the pool and let my feet stick out of the water. I bet that Frankie is giggling like mad and that the other woman is most displeased with my behaviour. Finally picking up the card, I swim to the surface and let my lungs fill with oxygen again.