Inside the room, following the theme of the Hotel, everything was at an angle. In order to keep the furniture from flying off, the legs had been nailed to the floor. This also included the cups, plates and cutlery, which would make eating difficult. She looked at the soaps and towels - yup, they too were attached by a strong thin piece of wire. This certainly helped cut down on hotel theft, but also made comfortable living more difficult.
Getting acclimated to her new surroundings, she started off by taking her sopping wet clothes off. There wasn’t a drain, so she wrung her clothes out the window. Due to the angle of the Hotel, the excess water dripped and ran along the outside wall. Having wrenched as much liquid as she could, she hung the clothes over the railing to dry.
Getting prepared for her shower, she took some cleaning supplies out of her bag, then decided better on it, and decided to take her bag with her. But first, she lightened her load by removing the heaviest item currently taking up too much space. She unpacked the pod she hadn’t time to eat this morning. Given all the excitement, she almost forgot about it. She set the pod against the table, where it promptly rolled off. She caught it before it hit the ground, and decided to prop it against the tight space between the chair and table, where it nested comfortably.
Now clad in her personal towel, she went outside the room, intent on making her way back to the Washroom, and took a few steps forward, when she heard the unmistakable sound of someone screaming in the distance. She turned, and saw the Manager who’d popped out of nowhere with an icy expression on his face.
“I thought I expressly forbade you to have more than one person in your residence.” he said, looking extremely displeased.
“I didn’t - ”
“Don’t lie. I gave you every opportunity to fess up, and you explicitly ignored my warnings.”
Despite his tone, the Girl felt positively indignant. Who was he, to call her a liar, what with all the evasive stuff he’d said?
“From the very moment you stepped in, I could tell you were carrying another life with you. Your room just confirmed it.”
Her indignation turned to confusion. “My - ?”
“I looked inside, and saw someone sitting at your table, and had them summarily evicted.”
It took her awhile to understand what just happened, and when she did, she was righteously upset. “You threw my lunch out?!”
The Manager’s expression suddenly changed. “That... you were going to eat that?”
“I haven’t eaten all day! How are you going to make up for - ”
The Manager’s demeanor abruptly went into damage recovery mode. “My sincerest apologies. I had you categorized all wrong. I thought you were a person. Clearly, your association puts you closer to being a Vegetable.”
He showed no remorse in throwing any overdue residents out, but was greatly regretful for tossing a plant. It seemed that objects had more rights and value than people.
“I strongly insist that you stay at the suite, free of charge.”
He led the Girl down the stairs, which were sturdier than the ones she’d climbed earlier, down several floors to the 2nd floor, where he unlocked the door there.
At first glance, the room didn’t look that much different from the one she was in. It looked a little bigger, the surface was made of wood, there was an extra closet door, and the sheets were fancier, but that was it. Then she realized what set this room off from the others - the floor was balanced. Where everywhere else was at an angle, this room was lopsided already, and by fortunate coincidence, was awkwardly angled just enough to be evenly level.
The dishes were still nailed down, though.
The Manager conspiracilly (confidentially) whispered to the Girl, “Let’s keep this little incident between the two of us.”
As far as bribery attempts went, she was expecting something a little more extravagant. To twist the knife of Guilt in further, the Girl remarked, “By the way, I left some clothes drying out the window.”
The Manager thumbed to a sign on the wall, and said, “Management is not responsible for lost or stolen items.”
Apparently, there was a hierarchy for items, and clothes didn’t make the cut. “So, how long can I stay here for?”
“This room is free for the next ten hours. Make sure you’re out before then.”
“Don’t worry. I’m a light sleeper.”
“To make up for my negligence earlier, there’s food in the fridge there to nourish you.” And then the Manager left for the Girl to enjoy the comforts of the suite. She was looking forward to this. This would make a welcome change from consuming raw foliage these past few weeks. She swung open the fridge door.
A cupboard of leafy greens stared back at her.
As helpful as this was, she was hoping for something slightly less healthy. She decided she could go hungry a little while longer.
Opening the closet door, she was pleasantly surprised to see it was a bathroom instead. This would be a welcome relief from having to trek up the dangerous path to the rough Washroom. She opened the tap, and let the water fill the basin until it was nearly full. Then she added some bath soaps and oils to make it more comforting. Then, still sopping wet, she unfurled her towel and got inside. This was much more relaxing than having water forced upon her form. It was just a small thing, but she hadn’t realized just how much she missed the semblance of normalcy, after being away from it for so long.
After taking her time rubbing rubbing dirt off and soaking long enough for her skin to become pruney, she drained the water and dried herself off. Exiting the bathroom, she saw the bed with its silken sheets across the room, standing there, tempting her, luring her with promises of comfortable sleep. She felt tired after everything she’d gone through, but didn’t want to rest for too long, lest she get chucked out prematurely. She figured she would just lie down for a moment and get a little shut
By the time she woke up, it wasn’t because she’d gotten some well-deserved sleep, or the internal warning system from her sleep cycle, but due to the unwelcome smell that was waffling throughout the room. It was the same fishy smell she thought had been taken care of. Apparently, the Florist hadn’t gotten rid of her smell - just her perception of it. The Florist only altered her sense of smell, not taken care of the pregnant smell itself. She still smelled flowers, but her body continued to exude an unbearable fishy stench. And there was only so much the Florist’s cursed filters could block. The aroma lingered over the whole room, and cast a funky aura that warped some of the panelling and wallpaper.
She would’ve liked to have stayed at the Hotel, but wanted to work somewhere closer to the Café, so she could pay off her exorbitant overdue bill. The sooner that nasty bit of business was taken care of, the better. Besides, she didn’t want to get caught with leaving a stinky room behind. She figured now was a good time to leave before the Management noticed.
She only took a few steps outside when the Manager showed up again. How did these people know just when to pop up out of nowhere? “Did you rest well?”
“Oh, yes. Are you sure you can’t use some help?”, she asked, trying to distract him.
“Absolutely. Besides, you can’t even access half the rooms in this Hotel.”, the Manager pointed out. “By the way, I should mention that there’s a price for sampling the Salad Bar.”
“Really? Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t eat anything from there, then.” In truth, she already had something else to eat earlier. The Pod that had been chucked outside was only the top half - the bottom half was still left in her bag, and it was this that she ate in its absence. It was easier to eat something out of spite that she was used to than try something new she might not like.
The Manager looked slightly surprised at this piece of news. “You didn’t? Well, there’s a surcharge for using our scented soaps.”
“I used my personal stock, since I’m allergic to mass-produced brands.”
“Sleeping in bed and ruffling the sheets has a cost!”
“Slept on the floor.” This part was actually partially untrue, as she only slept on top of the sheets. She was starting to get used to the theme of the City at this point.
“Repay me for my generosity!” the Manager said, racing towards her at a rapid sprint.
She backed away, not wanting to justify the exuberant costs just breathing the air in a lavish room would ensue. It was only when she reached the doorway to the entrance that the Manager stopped his rapid pursuit. The Girl turned around, waiting for the Manager to catch up to her, and turned around to see him standing trapped at the entrance fuming in impotent rage.
As she left, she waved behind, saying, “Wish - ”
“Good luck!” the Manager snarled, then made his way back to his twitchy position behind the counter again.
She’d certainly need it. Considering the variable values of objects and people, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to live up to the job interview.
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