The Hotel

Caspet hotel

Chapter 2

C a s p e t  h o t e l

  As Claire's car pulled into the driveway, their eyes set on a huge, old run- down building with a sign that was supposed to say Caspet hotel: the beach palace, but due to weathering, some of the letters fell off so it just looked like Captoe: teb place.

  Ally questioned, " Are you sure this is the right place?" Claire responded, " Yes, the address is right, but boy, what is that smell?" "Do we have to stay here? I mean I'm sure there are other hotels around here". Ally replied " I already made a reservation and paid. and plus, you can never judge a book by its cover, I'm sure it looks wonderful on the inside!"

  As they walked in, the floorboards, which had multiple rusty nails on each board, creaked as they walked. The wallpaper was peeling, and the whole room had the illusion that it was tilting. The lobby had lots of lights, but the majority of them were broken, and the few that worked gave off dim and eerie lighting.

   It took them a while to notice the boy with a name tag that read "charles" at the front desk who was looking at them awkwardly as they stared at the room. He was a teen, about 16, had freckles and a tan. His hair was curly and he had a shell necklace. He seemed like a pretty normal "surfer dude".

   They walked up to the counter as Claire said to him "we um- made a reservation. Room for three? Under the name of Julia?" The boy had just noticed that he was staring straight at Julia, and she knew. He scrambled through his notes and gave Claire a key as he said "room 204, floor 3." He was obviously trying to make his voice deep and manly, but it didn't do what he thought it did. Creeped out, Claire snatched the key out of his hands and the three girls started up the breaking stairs.

  When they were out of  Charles' earshot, Julia reassured her friends, "See? It isn't that bad! Plus we're gonna spend most of our time here on the beach,in shops and restaurants! I heard they have great food here!" Ally replied sarcastically, "Yep dim lighting and peeling wallpaper just scream quality," Claire sarcastically replied.

  "Well the guy at the front desk seemed fairly nice. And cute! Did you see how he was staring at me? I wonder what he's like." Julia added.

  Ally argued, " Are you kidding me? He was so creepy! And you have to admit even if he doesn't send chills down your spine, he looks like a basic white boy! You can totally do better. I mean wake up gir-" she stopped as she saw the door. "Well this is the room! It certainly looks joyful!" Julia said sarcastically. The door was dark oak wood with a rusty handle. It looked like someone had clawed at the wood, and the numbers were just as rusty as the handle.

   As Claire opened the door, the hinges squeaked. "On the bright side, at least we'll know if someone comes in!" Julia said optimistically.

  They walked in and noticed that the room wasn't much better than the lobby. It had crusty, peeling wallpaper, and carpets that looked like there was 100 years of mold growing on it. The beds had unidentifiable stains on the sheets, and the bed frames looked like termites were an ongoing problem. It had one bathroom, but they might as well have gone in the bushes, since those looked cleaner than the toilet. Ally tried to turn on the faucet, but the little water that came out was a greenish-brown color. Ally grabbed the key as she stomped out of the room. "Where are you going?" Claire asked. Ally responded angrily, "I'm going to get our money back. I am not sleeping here." As she went down the stairs, Claire and Aliya sighed and followed her.

  When they got down to the lobby, Ally slammed the key on the front desk. "You can't possibly tell me to sleep on those disgusting beds! I'll sleep outside before I sleep there! I demand a refund!" Her face was bright red and she looked like she was about to murder the poor boy. He was rightfully scared as he said in a shaky voice, "I was told there aren't any refunds." He gulped as Ally stared at him for a second and then snatched the key and mumbled "What kind of hotel doesn't give refunds!?" As she stomped up the stairs. Claire and Julia apologized quickly and followed Ally yet again.

   When they went back to the room, they saw Ally on the stiff mattress with her head in her hands. "I just wanted a perfect vacation with my best friends!" She cried. Julia and Claire sat next to her and tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, we'll have lots of fun at the beach!" They assured her. But the state of the hotel would soon be the least of their problems.