The next few days for Vlad was a dizzying cycle. He would try every morning, afternoon and night saying hello to Daniel at the front desk. Sometimes in Russian, sometimes in his god-awful English. Either way, it made the boy smile at him and greet him back. It was so hard to keep his mind on work when he would travel to the buildings of the grand businesses he works for.
He wished he was here on vacation instead of work. Coming back to a lonely hotel room with the radio on while doing paperwork wasn't so much fun. At least coming down to the lobby to get coffee was a great excuse to see Daniel.
Just seeing him from afar though. Vlad was a little nervous about trying to talk to the boy in his poor English. He wished Daniel could speak Russian, just to make his life more easier. He would watch Daniel type away on the computer, pick up the phone and talking into it, have small chats with the bellhops or maids, and occasionally sneaking a candy bar to snack on while he worked on the computer.
Vlad sighed, staring down at his coffee. There has to be some faster way to learn English. His book wasn't much help. Vlad rubbed his beard, thinking. Maybe one of those lesson audiotapes...Those could work. He quickly got up and rushed back to his hotel room to grab his coat and wallet.
He went back down to the lobby, rushing past the front desk. Danny perked up from his computer and waved. "Have a nice day, Mr. Masters!"
Vlad stopped and turned, waving. ["Thank you!"] Vlad turned back and almost crashed to the door. He muttered as he pushed his way out and into the streets.
Danny covered his mouth, chuckling. He really liked it when Mr. Masters spoke Russian. He hardly gets to hear foreign language like that. But it was also cute when Mr. Masters would try to speak in English too. His accent was a bit adorable. He doesn't see Mr. Masters try his English on anyone else but him.
Later in the day, Vlad came back to the hotel with a CD player, a pair of headphones and CDs of learning how to speak the English language. It took him quite some time to find one for "Russian to English", which was between "Japanese to English" and "Mandarin to English". Making sure his door was locked, Vlad relaxed on his bed as he pop in the first CD into the player and slipped on his headphones.
All night, he repeated the phrases as best as he could. He ended up dozing off in a middle of one of his lessons, the fourth CD going to a stop once it was done. When it was morning, Vlad jolted awake. He yawned, taking off the headphones as he headed to the bathroom.
Looking at the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he decided to continue practicing. "The weather is nice today." He said as toothpaste dripped from his mouth.
"I do not like the fish." He said as he turned on the shower.
"The bus is late." He said as he washed his hair.
"It is pleasing to meet you." He said as he dried himself.
"My favorite music is the rock and roll." He said as he shaved himself.
"Would you be liking to have coffee?" He said as he dressed himself.
He smiled at his reflection, looking good and feeling good. Thank God he doesn't have any paperwork to do. This could be a perfect chance to ask Daniel to have breakfast with him.
["You're already sounding American."] He complimented himself.
He made his way to the lobby, still smiling. He walked up to the front desk, ready to show Daniel his better-sounding English. Only to see someone else behind the desk. Vlad frowned to see a brown-skinned girl behind the desk instead of his little badger.
The girl glanced up at him, noisily chewing gum. "Can I help you?" She asked.
Vlad got nervous and all the English went out of his brain. He stammered a bit, trying to find the right words. The girl raised a brow at him, frowning.
"Do you need something, sir?" She asked.
["Where is Daniel?"] Vlad asked. The girl stared at him, blinking. Vlad muttered, trying to find the words.
"Ah...Daniel, please?" He asked.
"You mean Danny?" The girl said. Vlad nodded, smiling a little. The girl rolled her eyes. "He's off today. He'll be back tomorrow."
Vlad frowned. "Ah...no Daniel...?" He asked.
The girl gave him an impatient and nasty look. "He, is off, today." She said again, slowly to him. "He'll, be back, tomorrow."
Vlad glared at the girl. He huffed and walked away. He went to get his usual coffee and he sat down, staring down at the black liquid. He sighed. Well, on the bright side, this gives him more time to practice his English. He glanced back at the front desk. It didn't feel the same without Daniel being the one behind it. He sighed, dumping his coffee out and headed back to his room.
Vlad laid on his bed, with his headphones on as he continued listening to his lessons. He couldn't really pay attention for he was too upset. He closed his eyes, sighing.
"That concludes CD 6. Please place in CD 7 to continue lessons."
Vlad shut off his CD player and placed them on his night table. He curled up on his bed and sighed again. He fell asleep.