hello
it's me.
clever-ish & I are friendship goals.
enjoyyyyy.
p.s. lots of texting in this chapter.
—❀—
S E V E N
[ m a y a ]
AFTER WE FINISHED UP OUR FOOD, LUCAS PAID THE BILL AND I COVERED THE TIP.
Technically, the school paid for all of it since we used the money provided to us by Mr. Matthews, but those were just technicalities.
We walked out of the diner side by side, not really saying anything as we headed for his truck. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time—7:15 am. As the two of us climbed into his 'vehicle', I decided to text Riley and see how she and Farkle were doing.
me: Hello!
Riley: It's me.
me: I officially love you even more than I already did.
Riley: YAAAAAAAAAAY!
me: It wasn't much of a struggle to read that in your voice, Honey.
Riley: I figured :)
me: So, how's it going with Minkus?
Riley: Pretty good. Buffalo's about a six and a half hour drive from Greenwich though so we've been occupying ourselves with the license plate game!
me: So it's going good then? *wiggles eyebrows*
Riley: omg, please shut up!
me: Nah, I'm good.
Riley: How's it going with you and he-who-shall-not-be-named?
me: I wasn't aware Voldemort was on this trip.
Riley: I wasn't aware that you knew anything about Harry Potter.
me: Touché. It's going fine with Huckleberry. We just finished eating & now we're on our way to Manhattan.
Riley: Take a picture in front of the Statue of Liberty for me!
me: Will do :)
Riley: ugh, I gotta go. Daddy's calling me. Ttyl Peaches!
me: Hasta luego, Honey.
I locked my phone, slipping it back into my pocket and watching through the window at the buildings that buzzed by in a blur. Sighing softly, I leaned my head back against the headrest and decided to take a little nap. Matthews did make me wake up at five, after all.
∆ ∇ ∆
"Pancakes!"
I was shaken out of my sleep—literally—by Lucas. Opening my eye, I blinked to adjust to the light and looked around. The truck was parked in front of a building that stood at about fifteen stories high. I figured we must've been in Manhattan, and that we had finally arrived at whichever hotel Lucas had chosen for us to stay at. I'd told him that I didn't care where we stayed, so I let him pick.
"We're here?" I mumbled, my voice sounding groggy due to my sleepy state.
He glanced at the building for a moment before averting his gaze back to me. Then, "Yep. Let's get going."
"But I'm tired," I complained, closing my eyes again. "I don't feel like walking."
"We gotta go in, Maya," he laughed.
I shook my head. "Too tired, Ranger Rick."
He released a sigh, letting a silence engulf us for a moment before finally saying, "Fine, lazy, just get on my back."
I smiled in satisfaction, unbuckling my seatbelt and climbing out of the truck. "Thanks, Sundance!" I shouted before lunging onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
He chuckled, shaking his head a bit and pushing the passenger side door closed. I leaned my head against the back of his and closed my eyes, wishing that I was at home in my bed, wrapped up in my blankets and resting on my feather pillow. It would've been lovely if we went somewhere farther than the main part of Manhattan, actually, because then I would've had more time to nap in the car.
I heard the sound of the door opening, so I let my eyes flick open and found that we were standing outside of the back passenger door. With me still on his back, he hauled our suitcases out of the car, pushing the door closed behind him. He pulled the luggage along with us as we trudged towards the hotel, me attached to his back like the lazy sloth I was.
We approached the entrance to the hotel, but I didn't bother getting off of Lucas's back. He pushed the door open with his foot, and I smiled, glad he wasn't asking me to get down and help him. I was pretty sure he'd been quite aware of how lazy I was, at least since I fell asleep on his hand in science class in eighth grade.
"You could assist me here," he muttered, hauling the suitcases into the hotel lobby whilst still somehow managing to support me on his back.
"I know," I chuckled, placing my chin on his shoulder. "But I'm actually pretty comfy, Ranger Rick."
He sighed, but a small smile was still evident on his lips. I noticed the person behind the counter giving us a weird look as we walked up to check in, but even so, I stayed right where I was—nobody was going to force me off of his back from death glares. This was America, and we had freedom.
"Hello," Lucas said casually to the woman at the desk, sending her a smile and finally releasing his grip on the suitcases to place his hands under my thighs in order to keep me steady on his back. He knew that if I fell off, I'd definitely drag him down with me.
"Err..." The woman trailed off, looking at me like I was the strangest thing in the world. "Hi..."
"We'd like a room, Lady!" I shouted.
Lucas cringed, turning his head back to look at me. "That was my ear."
"You'll get over it." I tapped his cheek sarcastically before averting my gaze back to the woman.
She cleared her throat. "How many nights, what type of room, under what name?"
"Seven nights—we're leaving next Saturday morning," I started. "We need a room with two beds."
"And it's under the name of Lucas Friar," Lucas finished. "We don't have a reservation."
She cleared her throat, typing something in on the computer. A few moments later, she nodded, averting her gaze back to Lucas and I. She still looked pretty uncomfortable with the fact that he was carrying me on his back, but I didn't see why—we were at 'The Allen Inn'. It wasn't a fancy hotel.
"We have a room with two beds available on the eleventh floor," she informed, fumbling with stuff down underneath the counter. A few seconds later, she pulled out a plastic keycard and placed it on the surface. "I just need you to fill out a couple forms, provide the payment, and then you can head up to your room."
Lucas peeked behind at me. "You wanna hop off my back so I can fill out this form?"
"No thanks."
∆ ∇ ∆
About thirty minutes later, we climbed off of the elevator and trudged down the hall until we found room 15-C. Lucas told me that it would've taken less time to fill out the forms if I wasn't on his back, but I think he was just whining. About five minutes before we got on the elevator, though, I'd gotten off of his back because he was complaining too much.
Slouching, I watched in boredom as he entered the keycard into the door, and it flashed a green light. He pushed the handle down and shoved the door open, a wave of relief to finally be getting to an actual bed flooding through me. I didn't hesitate to run into the room, dragging my suitcase behind me.
It was a pretty nice room. The walls were a light lavender color, and the carpet was beige. There were two queen sized beds on the wall opposite the door, a small bedside table separating them. Two doors were on the wall with the dresser—which was one of the side walls—and I think they led to the closet and bathroom. A flatscreen TV sat on the chest of drawers facing the two beds.
I could get used to this.
"Sleep!" I shouted, charging towards the bed and belly flopping quite dramatically onto it. I sprawled out across it like a starfish, burying my face in the pillow and smiling.
"You seem happy," Lucas chuckled, and I looked up to find him shutting the door and slinging his suitcase onto the bed I wasn't on. He continued with, "But you're forgetting that we've gotta get ready and go out to explore the city."
I rolled over on my back, letting out a loud groan. "But Huckleberry! I woke up super early this morning, okay? You've gotta let me sleep some!"
"Maya, I–"
"I need a nap!" I complained, slapping a hand onto my forehead. "Please?"
He sighed, nodding slowly. "Okay, fine. I'll wake you up in two hours, but then we've gotta get ready!"
"Yay!" I cheered, kicking off my shoes and crawling under the covers. "You're the bestest!"
"I know," he agreed.
"Maybe having you as a partner won't be so bad after all."
—❀—
much LUCAYA!
so who's watching the super bowl? I am! am I the only one? im the only one aren't I? oh whale.
so within the next couple chapters, stuff starts to get INTERESTING!
also, TYSM FOR 1K ASDFGHJKL HOLY LIMA BEANS (aka Quinn's catch phrase from my book 'Feels Like Home' which I'm pretty sure only Jaxxie reads. That being said, hi Jaxxie!)
— Jenna
[ unedited ]