Joe and Murr tucked their heads back in, Sal needed a sit down after that scare of them going overboard- or, well, over the railings. We went inside and tested the bed- not in that way. It was the most comfortable thing I ever felt. I flung the pillows across the room, leaving the last one to slap Sal with, to which he replied a hurt expression and I apologised profusely. We explored the TV channels, flicking through things we would never normally watch: gardening programs, information on New York, children's TV. We just laid there joking about each show that came on. Would've been amazing if Impractical Jokers was showing.
"It's 4 o'clock now," he said, laying on his side and facing me, "having dinner at 6. If you want to explore?"
"Explore..."
"The hotel."
"Ok."
We jumped up like school kids and chased around the halls, trying to reverse the peep-holes, no luck, and Sal occasionally doing some knock and runs. Mainly to Q's room.
"Watch this," he giggled. I hid behind the corner as Sal yet again targeted Q's room. He darted over, knocking hard on the door, then running back giggling and hiding. Q opened the door with an exasperated expression, a look of 'it gets less funny each time.' But with Sal, the more times he did it, the funnier it got. We tested Rachel's room, Ryan's room, Casey's room, and some other crew members but no response. Which only put a downer on the whole experience.
"I have an idea," I said, "let's go down to reception and sign in with fake names." His eyes lit up, and we hit the 7 floors of steps, enthusiastically running down them. The windows began to show us getting closer and closer to the traffic. We dodged the front desk to make it appear we were just arriving- despite having no luggage. We made our way over.
"My name is E. Jack Ulate, and this is my wife..."
"Clee Torres," I filled in. "We have a reservation."
The receptionist hit us with a confused face, but began awkwardly typing in the fake names we had. He was a better actor than I was, I struggled to keep it together.
"I'm sorry Mr... sir, but I can't find your reservation."
"That's crazy, I booked it 7 minutes ago."
"That's the quickest he's ever been," I added. Raising my eyes at him to try and show it was a sexual joke.
Sal spoke again, "maybe you have it under my friends name... Dick Long?" She shook her head. "Ben Dover? Ben N. Sider?"
"Oh wait! We do have a... Mr Long, in room 779, but he's already signed in."
We burst out laughing. That was Joe's name as he signed in. He certainly thought a lot of himself. We ran back up the stairs, aiming for Joe's room.
"Mr Long?" Sal said in a high pitched voice, "hello Mr Long."
I could hear Joe fumbling around near the door, then opening it to reveal himself in a bath robe and eating a packet of nuts. Murr laying down on the bed, robe on, with a face mask on.
"You like?" Joe asked.
"What was Murr?" Sal asked.
"Maya Nus," Murr replied, shovelling some food into his mouth.
Classic. I had no clue how they could think of these things on the spot. It was their job, I guess.
"I'm gonna get ready to eat," Sal said, and went off next door- to his room- and I slid into my own room.
I closed the door and just beamed. This was amazing. Was there a way to pause time? I never wanted it to end. Stupid adult problems weren't a thing, I could mess around and play and have the most amazing time here. I changed clothes into my nice burgandy dress, and sat out on the balcony, the wind flapping my hair across my face. The view was phenomenal- all your worries felt so small and insignificant, and the world so vast and bustling. People crawled like ants across the pavements, weaving through cars and crowds. I got up closer to the rails, watching the people below my feet, imagining where they were going, who they were.
Far to my right, 3 rooms down, I saw Q doing the same thing, leaning over and just watching. A very calming image, he gazed at each building, and stood in thought. He gave me a smile and took a picture of the view. Then Sal's head came into view, 2 rooms down, as he watched the landscape, not knowing we were watching him. Q spoke up and they began in conversation, I slipped away, and lay on the bed. Sometimes, you need a moment to reflect. And think, 'holy sh— this is real'.