Ana could tell people were staring. She tried to keep her eyes forward but she couldn't miss the snickers. She moved as quickly as she could through the pool area and into the hotel. She prayed the elevator would be empty but her bad luck held. Three older teenagers, two boys and a girl, got into the elevator with her. The boys elbowed each other and whispered back and forth while shooting looks over their shoulders at Ana.
Ana felt her face flush. She stared straight ahead and tried not to cry. The other girl in the elevator looked at Ana with cruel humor in her face. She was amused by Ana's discomfort.
Ana pushed past the other teenagers as soon as the doors opened on the third floor. She could no longer hold back the tears and they were streaming down her face by the time she got to room 312. She knocked on the door and called for her brother. "Sam, please open the door!"
Another group of kids, grade school age this time, came down the hall. They all looked embarrassed and amused to see an older girl standing in the hallway crying in a towel. One boy called "Hah hah!" as he walked by.
Sam opened the door and looked out. His eyes grew wide and he threw the door wide and ushered her inside slamming it behind them. "What are you doing?"
Ana sat on her bed and wrapped her bedspread around her, towel and all. She burst into loud sobs. Sam looked like he wanted to hug her but he was torn by a strong aversion to being too near his sister while she was naked. He settled for sitting across from her on his own bed. "Ana, what happened?"
"I was in the shower and someone stole my swimsuit and my clothes were gone! I had to walk all the way up here in just this stupid little towel and there were boys in the elevator and all these little kids in the hall and everyone was laughing at me."
"Ana, I have your clothes. I told you I was going to bring the bag back to the room and asked if you wanted anything." Ana looked surprised. Then she remembered Sam saying something about it. Sam continued, "and I don't think anyone stole your bathing suit either. There were signs all over the dressing rooms saying that the hotel had a bathing suit cleaning service. You leave your suit and they clean it and return it to your room for you."
"Are you kidding me? How could I have missed that? I went through all this crap because I missed some signs?"
Sam shrugged. He got up and grabbed the bag of clothes from the small table. He handed it to Ana. Her face was beet red. She took the bag from him. With as much dignity as she could muster, she pulled the towel around her again and carried the bag of clothes to the bathroom to get dressed.
While she was in the bathroom, Ana heard a knock on the door. She heard Sam answer it and heard a woman's voice. Ana finished getting dressed and opened the door. A middle-aged woman was standing in the doorway and she looked at Ana as she emerged from the bathroom. The woman smiled. "You must be Ana."
Ana nodded and moved to stand next to Sam. The woman smiled sweetly at them both. "My name is Kelly Brook. I am the president of The Traum Women Cultural Society. When we heard that you were arriving on the train all by yourselves, we wanted to make sure you had everything you needed."
Ana looked down at the bag in her hand and realized she'd never paid attention to the logo on the bag. It said "Traum Women's Cultural Society". Ana looked back to Kelly Brook who was still speaking. "We know you are not sure how long you will be in Traum and we want to make sure your time here is comfortable. We'd even like it if you had some fun." She beamed at them. "That's actually why I am here. Today is the opening ceremony for our Annual Festival of Dreams. I want to invite you both to the ceremony and the festival. It is a lot of fun. There will be games and tons of food and crafts and shows. It's a really big deal. You would come as our guests. We'll have a big lunch and then you can come to the opening ceremony. Please say you'll come."
She looked so intent and hopeful that Ana and Sam didn't really have a choice.
"Uh. . . yeah, sure. Thanks," Sam said nodding.
Kelly Brook actually hopped in place and clapped her hands with excitement. "Oh, wonderful. The other ladies will be so excited to hear it. The lunch is at 11:30 so about 11:15 you can head over. It's just in the park across the street from the hotel."
Ana looked at Sam. She didn't want to cause problems but she'd thought of something. "What if Gran arrives while we're gone. Shouldn't we stay at the hotel?"
Kelly Brook laughed. "Don't worry at all, sweetie. Everyone at the hotel, everyone in town actually, will know where you are. If anyone tries to find you they will know just where to go. We won't let you get lost again!"
Ana and Sam looked at each other and shrugged. It seemed to make sense.
"Great," Kelly Brook said. "We'll see you then! In the meantime, let us know if you need anything." She backed out of the hotel room and closed the door behind her.
They waited a beat to be sure she had gone. Sam grinned. "Well, she was. . ."
"A lot?" Ana supplied. Sam nodded and then they both laughed. "At least we know where our next meal is coming from."
"At least there is that," Sam agreed and smiled.
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Vote if you believe everything is on the up and up in Traum.
Vote if you think something is rotten in Traum.
Vote if you want Kelly Brook to be your new mom.
ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
The Dream Train
FantastikFourteen-year-old Ana and her sixteen-year-old brother, Sam, are lost in the woods, cold, tired, and hungry. Their only hope is an old train station in the woods. When a train stops at the station, they are sure they are saved. The train seems fa...
