The Hotel

The Beginning

Chapter 1

T h e B e g i n n i n g

  The tenth grade students stood up from their seats as the school bell rang. The professor handed out their end of school grades as they walked out the door. "What did you get?" Claire asked Ally. She looked up at her and said "I got B's." "Oh nice! I failed every class." Claire laughed and smiled as she said it.

  Claire was always smiling, even if she wasn't happy. She was the most responsible of the group, even though she wasn't all that responsible. She was also the smartest, which is odd considering she failed all her classes.

  "I'm so excited for summer." Julia said dreamily, as she walked up behind them, her footsteps light and gentle. Julia had always sounded as if she was daydreaming, which had sometimes gotten her into trouble because she 'wasn't listening'.

Claire responded, " I know, right? Me too! I wonder what our hotel room will look like!" Of course this is quite a bit of foreshadowing since they had no idea what was yet to come.

The trio walked out the door, with everyone whooping and hollering, as it was the last day of school. Of course, they joined in, for it was a very joyous occasion for all of them, but they needed to get packing right away for their summer girls' trip.

  Their decision to go on vacation as soon as the school year was over was a bit of a spontaneous decision. Claire had brought it up while they were eating lunch the previous week. She'd thought it was a great idea instead of just sitting around in their houses.

  "Eight?" They looked over at Ally who was holding her books to her chest. "You'll pick us up at eight?" Ally was the least social. She never talked to anyone except for Claire and Julia, but even when speaking to them she was still quiet.

  "Yup!" I'll pick up Ally first then Julia." Claire said and then walked away, in the direction of her house. The other girls went home to begin packing as well.

  Claire checked the time then yelled to her older sister "I'll be back in a month or so! Love you and don't contact me!" her sister didn't respond so she left and got in her car. She packed two suitcases. One full of clothes, the other random things she thought would be needed. She started the car and drove to Ally's house.

  Her house was old and victorian. Ally lived there with her older brother, Whitleigh. None of the girls had parents, only older siblings. Claire saw Ally sitting on the porch. Her long, dark brown hair was tied up into a loose ponytail. She was wearing an oversized black hoodie and blue shorts. She walked over to the car with her suitcase and packed it into the trunk.

  "Okay, are you ready?" Claire asked as Ally entered her vehicle. She shut the door and then nodded. Claire drove off to Julia's house.

  Julia's house was a small white house. It had vines starting to grow around it, though that meant it was unkempt, it looked nice. Claire and Ally got out of the car and had to go inside and wander around until they found Julia sitting on her bed scrolling on Pinterest. "Come on idiot," Ally joked. Julia scrambled to her feet as she grabbed her bags in a rush and slipped her phone into her back pocket. She was wearing a green cropped shirt with a floral long sleeve underneath and black dress pants. Her blonde coiled curls fell just above her waist.

  "Sorry, I almost forgot." she said in a gentle tone. "Bye Jordan!" she yelled to her brother who was playing video games in his room. She rushed out to the car.

  As they got into the car, Ally got in the shotgun seat. Julia said " awww, why do I always get the backseat?" Claire responded, " that's what you get for being slow" as she giggled.

Until I found you by Stephen Sanchez turned on. "Now shut up this is my favorite song" she laughed as she turned it up

  As they left New Jersey and drove to Long Beach, California,they sang songs and laughed and told stories. They cheered as they saw the sight that indicated they were in California. Little did they know, there was a horrific thing in their future.