Any hope of a speedy check-in faded as she looked around. Something was off about this whole place. The desk was a relic from the eighties—floral pink laminate with dark wood paneling. There were Christmas decorations hanging from the yellowed ceiling tiles over the counter, even though it was April; a thick layer of dust covered every surface. Behind the counter, a cracked glass door opened into what looked like a deserted office.
A hand-scrawled message on a chalkboard behind the desk read:
LEFT FOR FAMILY EMERGENCY—CHECK YOURSELF IN
Ana wondered when the emergency had happened. 1985? There was no way this was still a functioning motel.
“Don’t bother checking in. There’s no one here. It’s like completely deserted.” Jade glanced up at Ana. “We’re obviously in the wrong place. Ellis went to sort it out with the driver.” She sighed, a long, world-weary sigh, and examined her nails. Jade had perfected the art of sounding bored at all times. Enthusiasm was for lesser mortals.
“No service in here either,” Jax muttered, waving his phone at Jade. “This whole place is a total dead zone.”
“Seriously? Can you even call yourself a motel if you don’t have Wi-Fi? Is that legal?” Jade monotoned. She sat up, her perfectly straightened hair swinging behind her in a glorious golden arc. “What is taking Ellis so long? Low-key, I need a shower so badly.”
“Don’t worry, babe.” Jax threw her one of his easy smiles. “Ellis said he’s gonna sort it. I bet we’ll be leaving soon enough.” He cocked his adorable head and grinned at his phone camera. “So, hey, guys, I’m in this creepy, abandoned motel…”
Jade rolled her eyes and looked around for another source of amusement, locking in on Alex.
“I’m so bored. Play something for me, Alex,” she cajoled, flopping forward onto the sofa, draping herself across the length of it.
Ana felt a flash of something uncomfortable. She hated that Alex had crossed to the dark side, that he was one of the popular kids now, invited to all the best parties, sitting with the cool crowd at lunch. It wasn’t the Alex she knew. The kind, gentle boy from the apartment next to hers.
Danny’s best friend.
“If we’re gonna be stuck here, I need cheering up.” Jade peeked at Alex over the back of the sofa, pouting like a toddler in a shopping cart. “Pleeeease.”
Say no, Ana willed him.Tell her you’re carsick. Just tell her no.Shedidn’t want to watch Alex playing for Jade Clark, performing like he was the paid entertainment.
Alex looked miserable, but he reached for his guitar case. His eyes flicked up for the briefest moment, catching Ana’s.
She swallowed and looked away, her cheeks flushing. It felt as though they were still at school; the entire airspace was dominated by the St. Francis royals. They had staked their entitled claim to this trip already—to the bus, to the motel…to Alex, pushing everyone else to the edges. Same old, same old.
“I’m, er…just going to see if there’s a landline…or something…” Ana mumbled to no one in particular, heading for the small office. “In case we need to call someone…about the mix-up…or whatever…”
Anything to get out of there.
***
The office looked just as abandoned as the reception area. Dust motes floated lazily in the stale air, catching strips of evening light through the blinds before settling on the rows of file cabinets that lined the walls.
Ana scanned the room, but there wasn’t much to see. Apart from a boxy, outdated computer on the desk, it was pretty much empty, with a thick layer of dust on every surface. Ana walked over to the desk. If there was ethernet, at least they could email the school. She tapped on the old keyboard, then reached around to switch the monitor on, hoping for signs of life, but nothing happened.
Musical notes drifted through from the reception area. Chords. Alex was tuning up, getting ready to amuse Jade. Ana wished she’d shut the door behind her.
Where the hell is Raya?she thought irritably. There were seven of them on this trip, but Raya Mori was the only one she was remotely closeto. At least, she had been before the fire; they had barely spent any time together this past year—it has just been too messy, too sad. As soon as they’d arrived, Raya had predictably disappeared. No doubt she was smoking weed behind some random building with Caden Loftus, St. Francis High’s resident drug dealer. They were probably making up for lost time and getting their vacation started with a bang. This trip was awkward enough as it was; if her only friend was going to be missing in action the whole time, it was going to suck.
Sighing, Ana turned to leave when she noticed a small pink rectangle on the corner of the desk. She picked it up; it was an envelope addressed toST. FRANCIS HIGH.
So, theywereexpected.
For a moment she was tempted to rip the envelope open, but then thought better of it. She would let Ellis and the others deal with it. They were the ones who had a problem with staying—they could sort it out. All she wanted was to keep her head down and stay under the radar for the next three days. She would give it to them, then go dig out Raya from whichever hole she was hiding in.
As she walked back into the reception area, she was relieved to see that Jade had lost interest in Alex and was staring sadly at her useless phone. Jax was squatting on the vintage linoleum floor, taking artsy photos. Alex glanced over, guitar balanced lightly on his knee.
“I, er…I found this in the office,” Ana said, holding up the envelope. No one responded. “It’s a letter or something, addressed to us. I guess we’re in the right place after all?” This made the others look up.
“Did you open it?” Jade looked mildly interested for the first time. She rolled herself lazily off the sofa and walked over. “So, what does it say?”
“I didn’t open it. I ju—”
