Heaven || kh

2 - Lavender Smelling Suits and Motel Rooms

The station I jump off at reads “South Mountain Station, Phoenix, Arizona”, and the platform is crowded, and stinkingly hot.

    I push myself through the crowds, and manage to get off the platform into the main station area, before I’m interrupted by a station guard.

    “You got someone to pick you up?” The middle aged lady asks, with a distinct Texan accent.

    “Yep, I’m meeting my grandparents!” I tell her, without a moment’s pause. I’ve been going over my ‘backstory’ for the past two days on the train.

    “Run along then, don’t keep the old folks waiting,” She tells me, and I quickly lose sight of her as I try to find the station exit.

    That was my first confrontation as Klara Mason, and I think it went pretty well. At least, if you ignored the fact my fingers were drumming on my thigh the whole time, nervous for if she recognised me from somewhere.

    The station goes through strip mall (with some nice clothes, if I may add), and following the signs, I finally manage to spill out onto a main road, piled with cars.

    The whole situation is a bit daunting, as the yellow taxis whizz by, making my head spin.

    But I have to keep moving, and I spot a bus stop, so in my recent habit of split second decision making, I race over, my feet punning on the pavement and my bag against my side, and clamber onto the bus.

    I pay for a ticket, and find the only spare seat left, next to a business man in a black suit, yelling loudly into an ear piece.

    Staying there for about half an hour, I manage to listen in on his half of the conversation, which basically goes:

    “No! I will not have decaf coffee in my office!” Answer. “I refuse! Also, get them to get rid of that horrible jelly-substance in my mini bar!” Reply. “Excuse me? I am your boss, you will do what I say, and I say no apple juice in my office! Do you understand?”

    I struggle not to giggle, and shove my fist into my mouth to stop the laughter escaping as the bus passes more high rise buildings.

    Eventually, the man pushes past me and gets off the bus, while in a heated conversation with his Dry Cleaner about their use of lavender scented cleaner on his tie.

    Honestly, the smell was a bit overwhelming.

    People continue to get on and get off the bus, until I finally see it stop next to a small looking motel named The Small South Mountain Motel. From outside the building looks kind of charming, painted a pale cream, with a grass lawn with chairs and a barbecue, and vines creeping up the walls. And since I’m all for charming, I thank the bus driver (who looks extremely happy to be finally thanked for his work), and jump off.

    As I walk up the paved path to the reception area of the Motel, which can be seen through the sliding glass doors, facing out to the street, I can hardly hear the sounds of the traffic. I must be on the edge of the town.

    It’s still stinking hot, so I audibly moan when I step into the air conditioned foyer. There’s a front desk, currently manned by a middle aged woman (I seem to find quite a lot of them), who looked up as I stepped into the carpeted room.

    “Hello dearie!” She calls over the high desk, of which I can only see the top of her head over.

    “Um, hi,” I say back. Now I’m here, I don’t really know what to do. Will she let me hire a room, even though I am obviously underage?

    “Are you one of the In Town Adventure kids? I heard we might be getting a few of them in,” She stands, and when I walk over, shakes my hand with a firm grip, her brown, shoulder length hair bouncing. In swirling letters, her name tag spells out: Kelly, Manager.
   
    Well, she’s just offered me a alibi, and I throw my made up back story away, and take it.

    “Yeah. I’m not sure if my parents organised it right,” I blurt. Not so cool, Kal. “They didn’t check if they application went through right, and just kinda plonked me on a plane to here,” I do my best to sound kind of anxious (which isn’t that hard, seeing as I am kinda worried right now), and thank my Elementary school principal for making Drama a necessary part of the curriculum.

    “Oh, that’s alright sweetie, we’re used to stuff like this. The In Town Adventure program really needs to do its organising better.”

    “I - I have money, for my stay,” I choke, hoping the amount I nicked over the years is enough, for however long I choose to stay. I’m old enough to get a job, though I never had one at home - Mum thought it was too much pressure for a fifteen year old, so I can earn more to keep paying.

    “Okay kiddo, let’s organise you a room. We often have kids staying by themselves, and we run buffet meals all day, so you’ll be fine until you can sort everything out,”

    “Really?” I can’t keep the surprise out of my tone. “Thank you so much,” I gush, and Kelly runs something through the computer.

    “Now, it’s rather cheap for you, we do special kids rates for the In Town Adventure program-” I was really going to have to search that up, if I wanted to keep faking being on it. “And it’s only twenty dollars a night, which has the buffet meal included,”

    I have no idea whether that’s very cheap or not (other than her word), as I’ve never had to organise stays before. Back in Pittsburgh, my parents did all that for us, and Jax and I never got any say.

    “My parents didn’t give me credit cards or anything-” I start.

    “It’s okay dearie, we’re one of the last few motels around that still takes cash.”

    She insists I pay each night as it comes, so I only hand her the first twenty dollars, and make my way up the stairs behind the desk to my room, 34. I barge open the door once there and collapse onto the double bed, simply out of exhaustion and amazement of what I’ve accomplished these past days.

    Though of course, my parents will be looking for me back in Pittsburgh, and soon the search will spread through out the rest of the country, like it did a few years back when a girl from Marysland disappeared.

    Then, after a few months or years, the’ll call the search off, and announce Kalani Hilliker presumed dead, and my friends will stop searching for me in every face on the street, and my parents will stop desperately struggling to find me (which I’m sure they’re doing right now).

    Is that what you really want? A seed of doubt springs up in my mind, and I quickly shove it back into the deeper layers of my thoughts. This is what I want, and have been wanting for my whole life. To be free.

    I sit up, and glance around the room. It’s carpeted, in the same light beige fabric as the foyer was, and the blankets on the bed are a darker shade of it. A door leads off to what I’m guessing is a small bathroom, and there’s a fridge - not a mini one, an actual size one - a sink, stove, kettle and microwave sitting on and around a little blue counter.

    Two cupboards are placed around the room, and theres a little round table in front of the counter, with knives and forks lain neatly on it.

    The room looks designed for a long stay, which is good. ‘Cause that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

~~~~

okay, longer chapter. I wanted to make it so you meet more main characters, but it was too long. Dedicated to @RowanandSabrina for saying she loves this because that makes me happy um yeah
what do you think of Kalani/Kelly/random business man (don’t worry, he’s not a character i just came up with him while writing)/the motel room?