The heartstopper

Chapter 37

A man jumped out of a third-story window. He was rushed to the hospital in critical conditions, but he did survive after landing in a bush below. People just assumed that he wanted to escape the hotel without having to pass the crowds of guests and dealing with the police. It's unsure if he was hiding something from the cops or was just going insane with having to stay in the building. Either way, he's now in a coma and is in the emergency room.

A few members of the hotel staff had disappeared. The manager was awole, she was last seen by one of her coworkers who worked behind the front desk. A member of the cleaning staff was last seen on his way to the top floor to clean a room but never made it to the room.

One of the kitchen staff dropped dead while in the midst of baking pastries, and half of the food in the kitchen had to be tossed because of health risks. The hotel barely had enough food to last another day at this point. The food stalk had to be reordered because of complications and won't be able to deliver until the next set date which is still days away.

There were a total of twenty-two confirmed deaths and it was only one week since the first death occurred. It was day ten of the Paris trip and no one had packed for any more than a week's worth of stay so people were having to make great use of the hotel's complimentary products. The hotel did have combs included in their complimentary toiletries so Nick had gotten a replacement comb for the one he had lost.

Tao and Elle were off together while Tara and Darcy were somewhere else. Nick, Charlie and Isaac were staying together, it may have mostly been because they didn't want Isaac to be left alone, not only being left out but they weren't exactly supposed to be alone, or without their roommates, which they were already not following.

More and more, they were coming up with fewer and fewer things to do. Hotels are a horrible vacation spot unless you're only going to be sleeping there and out all day. They decided to check out a few of the things the hotel had to offer, like the 'teens room' which -according to the flyers- was supposed to be the 'cool' and 'hip' place for teens to 'hang out and socialize'. The person who created those flyers was quite clearly a middle-aged woman, probably blond, who knew nothing about today's teenagers.

The door of the 'teen room' had a sign that clearly stated that there's 'no alcohol allowed' and a list of more rules that most teens wouldn't listen to. In addition, it stated that it was a room strictly for ages 13-18'.

The inside smelt heavily of alcohol, it was a wonder how the police hadn't shut it down as they must have searched the room.

As the hotel wasn't a busy spot for teenagers at the moment, the room was fairly empty, minus the few people from both Higgs and Truham Grammar School and teens who they didn't recognize, but a group of them could be spotted shotgunning cans of beer.

Overall, the room was a dump. It appeared that a group of teens had thrown a party and didn't clean up their mess.

It definitely wasn't a 'hot teen hangout' like the flyers had implied, it was actually just a place where teens hide away from their families. Charlie was the first to say that maybe they should find somewhere else to go, seeing as it wasn't exactly their environment.

"Yeah," Nick agreed.

"I definitely wouldn't miss this place if we were to leave," Isaac replied, signifying that he too, wanted to leave.

As Nick, Charlie and Isaac left the scene of what looked like a room in a frat house, Tao and Elle were sitting on the couch of Elle, Tara and Darcy's room, talking. They'd escaped from the rest of their usual group to spend some one-on-one time, which they hadn't done much of since the hotel went into lockdown.

They'd begun a long conversation about school and the upcoming school year, which then led to talking about their course selection, which Tao said that he'll be taking an art course again, it's that or drama, which Elle made fun of him for. The talk of art class then led to art in general, leading to their current discussion about famous art pieces that could be found right in Paris, that they'd been so close to seeing.

"We're going to have to come back sometime and maybe we can visit the Louvre," Tao offered.

"Although I would rather never visit Paris or anywhere in France again, I think I may be able to make an exception," Elle laughed. She was spread out across the couch, allowing Tao to take up only half of a cushion.

"But we have to visit 'Les Deux Magots'," Tao said in what he tried to make a sound like a fancy French accent.

"Yes! Although I bet it would be so busy," Elle dragged on. Les Deux Magots is a famous cafe located in Paris, it's well known for its role in French literature and welcomed many artists, writers and thinkers during the times of the wars. It's often difficult to find a seat in the cafe, especially on the outside patio when it's a nice day, which is why many people would book a reservation to ensure a table.

"It's also expensive," Tao pointed out.

"Maybe we could stand outside of the cafe and watch as people with money eat," Elle jokingly offered.

"Yes, and then we can be broke, sad and hungry all at the same time," Tao chimed.

"And probably ride in the back of a cop car for being creeps," Elle added.

"I think that would be a great trip for us," Tao said, nodding his head.

"For sure," She agreed.

Tao and Elle spent their day laughing together on the couch. It was enjoyable and they really got to improve their relationship, if that was even possible as they were already really close... as friends, of course.