Snowed In

Day Three

It was clear that the tenants in the hotel were becoming more antsy by the minute. Snacks were dwindling in the vending machines, and guests were suspicious of the hotel's kitchen running out of food, though the hotel staff constantly assured people they were prepared for this storm.

"What if we starve to death?" Lauren thought out loud, laying on her back on the bed, staring at the white ceiling. "Could we sue the hotel? Or could they just blame it on the storm?"

"We could totally sue," Normani argued. "They're telling us over and over that they're prepared. If they end up not being prepared..."

"That's definitely murder," Lauren finished.

"No one is dying of hunger," Ally put in, making Lauren jeer.

"You're no fun with hypotheticals."

"Sorry, Lo."

Dinah then came out of the bathroom with a distraught look on her face.

"What's wrong, Dinah?" Ally asked her.

"Friends... I think... I'm bored," she confessed dramatically, making Normani laugh.

"Welcome to the club," the darker girl told her friend.

"Seriously, guys. I'm gonna lose my mind if I have to watch one more episode of SVU."

"You could go to the gym," Lauren suggested.

"Or read," Ally offered.

"Or make prank phone calls on our room phone," Normani tempted.

"Yep, Mani wins." Dinah jumped onto her bed and grabbed the phone excitedly. "Who should we call?"  Lauren grinned and gave Dinah her brother's number. The taller girl chuckled and called him.

"Chris? Is this Chris? Yeah, Chris I got a problem. The thing is, whenever I close my eyes, I can't see. Do you think I should consult a doctor?"

The rest of the girls tried their best not to laugh, and hearing Chris's confused "What the hell?" on the other line made it even tougher.

"So... you're telling me that's normal?" Dinah continued. "So either I'm perfectly healthy or we both need a doctor."

Chris hung up after that, and Dinah finally cracked, rolling around the bed in a fit of laughter.

"Brilliant," Lauren laughed, imagining her brother's face. "Let's call my mom. Tell her I got arrested."

"No, that's too believable. Call my dad and tell him that," Ally suggested.

"How about I call them both."

The Polynesian's boredom wasn't cured for long, though. The group soon ran out of numbers to call and people to prank, and Dinah was back to square one.

"This sucks," she complained. "Is it still snowing?"

Normani opened the blinds to see it was snowing harder than ever. "Yeah, still going. Gotta be at least four feet of snow out there."

Lauren groaned. "We're never gonna get out of here."

Ally stood and pulled Lauren off of the bed. "I think we all need a calming cup of coffee. Anyone wanna join me?"

"I'm in," Dinah replied a bit too quickly, but no one could tell if it was because she was so bored or she had a thing for Ally. Either way, the two blondes linked arms and made their way to the lobby, leaving Lauren and Normani alone in the messy hotel room.

"How long do you think this will last?" Lauren asked in a low voice, laying back down.

"I don't know, but it's not looking good."

"Yeah. I've never seen this much snow in my life."

"I don't think any of us have."

"No, I mean," Lauren rolled over onto her stomach. "This is the first time I've seen snow."

"No way." Normani sat down on the desk chair and fiddled with the cover of one of Dinah's books. "This is Dinah's first snow too."

"Really? Where's she from?"

"Southern California. I'm from Orange County like her, but I've seen snow on family vacations to Colorado."

"I'm from Miami. Ally is from San Antonio."

"Miami and San Antonio," Normani repeated. "How'd you end up together? And in New York?"

"Well, we met this past year at college. We're roommates and now best friends. I wanted to take her to see Niagara Falls before she ditches me."

"Ditches you?"

"Yeah." She fiddled with her shirt hem. "Going to England to study abroad. Drink tea and watch Downton Abbey and shit."

"Damn. So this is like your last hurrah?"

"Pretty much. And we're snowbound in a hotel." The green eyed girl sighed heavily. "What about you, Normani? What's your story?"

"My story? Well, Dinah is my best friend from childhood, and she convinced me to take this cross country road trip with her before we 'throw our lives away' at college."

Lauren laughed humorlessly. "Throw your lives away, huh? Like me and Ally have?"

"That's how Dinah sees it."

"Maybe she's wrong."