Chapter Twenty Nine

Ice Cream Trolly

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Hailey tossed and turned on her bed, eyes wide-awake, and cheeks puffed out.

She couldn't sleep, couldn't sleep because she had slept for so long in the car earlier on in the day.

She stopped rolling beneath the covers suddenly, as a long distorted growl erupted in her belly drawing her attention for what must have been the millionth, if not billionth time in the last few minutes.

She was dreadfully hungry and wanted a snack.

She had had a large supper though earlier on, tasty spaghetti with tomato sauce and meat balls with two full glasses of orange juice, and even a bowl of chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles on top of whipped cream for dessert.

But she was still feeling hunger gnaw at her.

She was a growing girl after all like Domino had told her. Or like she had told Ash, 'You'll never understand a girls appetite,' then she had looked to her and said, 'Right sweety?' with a smile much like her mommas.

Hailey rolled once more onto her right side so that her eyes cast over the bedrooms darkness and to the covered lumps on the opposite bed.

Her protector, the man with the black hair, Ash, was fast asleep. In his arms was the mysterious blonde woman who had come to the children home to speak with her, Domino.

Hailey loved them both. Loved them like her momma and papa, maybe even more then her momma and papa actually.

Ash and Domino played with her, held her hand, laughed and smiled with her. Her momma had done that, just not a lot. Her papa had never done that with her. He was always with a news paper in one hand, and his favourite drink in the other, seated in his big chair in front of the TV.

Ash and Domino were always with her, always smiling and laughing.

She loved them and hoped that they loved her back.

They were her momma and papa now, her real ones had gone on a trip- leaving her with the bad man, 'sunova bitch' Ash had called him and then told her never to repeat his words, Zaffre, until they came back for her.

But they hadn't come back, in their place Ash had rescued her from the yucky, wet, and smelly sewers. Rescued her and brought her home to the fort where he and Domino lived. It was always fun there, almost always actually- there were scary people who lived at the fort to, but she liked it there.

And now they were on a vacation, a long road trip where they would go see a bunch of different cities. That, and Ash and Domino had told her that they were going to be playing a long long game of house.

Ash was her papa, and Domino was her momma. And in front of strangers she was supposed to call them so.

She didn't mind, she liked it. It made it seem like they were apart of a big family.

Hailey yawned, heard her stomach rumble once more, and had enough.

Quietly, with the silence only a child could muster when they were trying to be sneaky, she climbed out of her bed and crept along the hotel rooms floor towards her shoes.

Sitting with her haunches on the floor, she slipped them on and sneaked over to the black handbag sitting on the only table in the room. She removed it, putting the shoulder strap over her head, and letting the bag come against her.

She was surprised at how big it was on her, the bag itself hung just off the ground and she realized she would have to be careful not to trip on it.

Now she tip-toed towards the hotel room door, her eyes cast to the sleeping duo like they would spring up from their sleep at any moment and catch her.

But they didn't, and when she reached the door she pulled down on the handle and inched it slowly open, hoping that it didn't creak or groan.

When it was wide enough for her to slip through, she hesitated as a memory struck her.

The memory of when she left the classroom without Ash, Domino or Zo, and wound up being chased by the two bad men who had wanted to play with her.

Suddenly she felt scared of going off alone, scared that something like that could happen again.

Hailey looked back into the room, towards Ash and Domino, and then the foot of their bed where a pair of dark eyes, usually blue, met her own.

"Zo!" She whispered, making a 'come here' wave with her hand.

The little fox slid off of the bed soundless, and over to her. Hailey picked her up in her arms, and left through the door- being extra careful that it did not shut all of the way so that they could get back in later.

Zo was heavy, but not heavy enough that she wouldn't be able to carry her.

Hailey, in her pink pajama top and bottoms, and purple high tops walked down the long hallways with Zo hugged to her chest, and Dominos purse bouncing lightly at her ankles.

They had come up and down the hallway enough times for her to remember where the elevator was, and briefly wondered where she would be able to find herself a snack.

She pressed the lower of the two buttons, with the triangle pointing downwards, and watched the red number above the elevator door count up from the letter 'M' to 1 to 2 and then finally 3. The doors opened, and she stepped inside, doors closing behind her.

She and Zo stared at the different buttons, all numbered, some lettered, and hit the button that had the large 'M' on it.

Ash had told her that the 'M' stood for main floor, the floor which they had entered the building on. Most buildings with a bunch of floors had the same buttons, and if she ever needed to get to the bottom floor, always hit the 'M'.

The elevator rumbled, and she felt her stomach rise strangely into her throat and then settle again as they came to the main floor. She and Zo left, and momentarily she forgot which way the lobby was, "Do you remember Zo?" She asked looking down the hall to left, and then the right.

The bushy black tail flicked once, and then Zo pointed her nose to the left, "Gotta remember that," She said quietly starting that way. The hotel was big and fancy, with long wooden floors, clean white walls, and large pictures of various flowers all around.

Domino had told her that this hotel was not the best one they were going to be staying at, she found that hard to believe. They were on their way to a giant boat, a cruise ship, which would take them to Hoenn where they were going to stay for a couple of days before taking a jet plane to Kalos.

She was excited. She had never been on a plane before, and the only time she had been on a boat was when she had been kept in the bottom levels, where she had heard the waves lapping loudly against the side of the boat.

The boat had been leaving Orre and taking her to Kanto. To the sewers where she had met Ash.

She pushed the bad thought out of her mind and came to the lobby, where behind the front desk a woman with glasses sat reading a book, and the fountain in the center of the room splashed quietly.

Domino had given her a quarter to toss into it along with all of the other change which had sunken to it's bottom. She hadn't understood the purpose of it, asking her what it was for.

Domino had told her that if she threw it in and made a wish, there was a chance that her wish would come true.

She wished that they would be together forever.

Her, Ash, Domino, and Zo.

Hailey walked on, past the front desk- the receptionist to absorbed in her novel 'Fifty Shades of Grey' to take notice of the little girl and her Pokemon- towards the hallway opposite of her. They had come down that way earlier on for dinner in the hall instead of more fast-food like Ash had proposed.

Hailey firmly believed that his favorite food was hamburgers from WcDonalds.

Domino had shot him down immediately, saying that they would only eat fast food while on the road.

Outside of Haileys knowledge, Domino had held a fairly lengthy discussion with Ash in regards to his thought process on just how much take out that they should be sure to reinforce that she and Hailey were not like him in the sense that they could eat grease filled burgers, fries, and soft drinks for a month straight.

He had argued back that it wasn't such a bad lifestyle to live, and asked her to look at where he was now after living off the stuff for a large portion of his life.

Domino had told him that they were going to start eating better or else he'd be sleeping on the floor that night, and any night he tried to get them to eat take-out when there was a healthier alternative within range.

Their roles as a married couple were accelerating far faster then they realized. They were both so absorbed in the idea of playing the role, that they failed to realize that they seemed like any other parents out there.

Hailey realized this, saw how much they acted like a real momma and papa, and had often wondered just why they weren't. Wondered why they slept in other rooms at the fort instead of with each other, or wondered why only now that they had gotten their wedding rings.

This all confused her greatly, but she never asked because she believed that they would explain it to her when they were ready.

Hailey and Zo turned a corner to the kitchen hall, or at least to where she had believed the kitchen to be.

There was nothing but another hall, and a man, a bell hop Ash had called him, pushing a luggage trolly towards her.

She watched him, in his fancy vest and shoes as he rolled the empty cart towards her with a curious look on his face.

He stopped next to her and stared at her, she stared back like he was some kind of mystical creature who had appeared out from the wall.

The bell hop smiled, "Out for a late night stroll?" He asked pleasantly, and when Hailey didn't respond he tacked on, "or are you lost maybe? Get separated from you're parents?"

Now Hailey shook her head, holding Zo a little tighter against her chest.

She wasn't good with strangers, but since joining Ash and Domino she had gotten a tad better, "N-No..." Her voice was soft, painfully quiet that the bell hop strained to hear it, "I-I'm... I'm looking for the... Kitchen,"

His eyebrow raised, and with one hand he scratched the back of his neck, "I'm afraid the kitchens are closed for the night," he said apologetically, and then noticing the black purse hanging from her shoulder he understood, "lemme' guess, you want a late night snack?"

She nodded, and he pursed his lips thoughtfully.

After a moment he glanced over his shoulder as if suspecting to get caught, and then looked back to Hailey, "Well, I can't let you into the kitchen. But I think I know a place I can get you some ice cream. Whadda ya think?"

Despite having had ice cream earlier on, she liked the sound of the idea.

She made a small grunt, and nodded.

The bell hop grinned and tilted his head at the empty trolly, "Hop on then little lady, we'll make this trip fast so that ya can get back to your parents quick enough that they don't worry.

Hailey stared at the trolly in confusion, but then after a moment she set Zo down onto it and stepped onto it herself, "Hold on now," and she did, taking hold of one of the golden bars which arched over head, and steadied herself.

Then they were off, the bell hop pushing behind her so that they sped down the hallways. She found it fascinating how they turned corners at such a speed without tipping the trolly over. And when they entered the lobby the bell hop pushed a little extra and hopped on the back himself so that they glided through into the hallway she had originally come from after leaving the elevator.

Behind her the receptionist had looked up from her novel at the noise, and Hailey followed the bell hops action of waving to her as they disappeared from her sight.

After two more turns, he slowed the cart to a stop outside of a door that read the word 'Staff'. The bell hop slid one of the plastic card keys into the lock on the door and it flashed green, "In here little lady," he said holding it open.

She picked Zo back up and entered the room. It wasn't very big, two dark leather couches against the wall, a table with a few odd numbered chairs, a sink and fridge with a couple of cupboards.

The bell hop opened the top door of the fridge, and looked inside. After a couple of seconds Hailey watched as he pulled out a blue container with a picture of white ice cream on the side.

"Is vanilla okay?" He asked as he then opened the larger door on the fridge.

Hailey nodded in confirmation and took a seat at the table, setting Zo on the chair next to her.

She heard him hum, and then he asked, "Do ya want a float instead of just a bowl? We got root beer,"

She stared at him, "F-Float?" she didn't know what he meant, "What's a float?"

He looked away from the inside of the fridge in shock, "You've never heard of a float?" She nodded, "well," he said, "you're in for a treat then."

The bell hop removed a can of root beer from the fridge and went to work, explaining in the process what a root beer float was, and how once she had one it would surely become one of her favorite drinks.

He poured a little root beer into a cup, followed by two scoops of vanilla ice cream, which he then poured more root beer over top.

The fizz from the root beer didn't go down she realized as the drink was set in front of her with a spoon, it just sat there on top of the ice cream.

"Eat the fluff and a bit of the ice cream at the same time," he instructed taking the remaining root beer in the can and taking a drink of it, "it's magical."

She did, with Zo watching interestedly as she stuck the spoon into the cup taking the fluff and a small bit of ice cream.

When she ate it, her eyes widened in surprise at the taste.

It tasted like vanilla, but was much creamier and softer, with the light taste of root beer just noticeable behind it.

It was delicious, and quickly she began devouring it, spoonful after spoonful.

She gave herself a reminder to tell both Ash and Domino that they needed to try one of these.

When the ice cream was gone, and all that remained was a little bit of soda, she took the glass into her hands and gulped it down wholeheartedly.

She sighed contently when it was gone, licking her lips, and then taking the napkin which was held out to her to clean her mouth. "Was it good?" She nodded immediately, and realized that she now had a new favorite drink which replaced Sunny D. He grinned, "Good, now how bout we get you back to you're parents. They must be wondering where you ran off to, we don't want them thinking you got lost."

They were still fast asleep, but he didn't know that.

But she nodded anyways and slid down from her chair, taking Zo once more into her arms.

As the bell hop set the cup into the sink, he looked to his side as he felt a light tug on his pants. Hailey was looking up to him, and quietly she muttered, "T-Thank you," and then looked away to the ground shyly, her dark bangs shielding her amber eyes from sight.

He grinned, "No problem little lady," he said waving her words away like the were unnecessary, "now lets get going."

She rode the trolly the short distance to the elevator, and as she waited for it to reach the main floor she realized she had forgotten something important.

Hailey looked to her side, and moved the purse so that it hung in front of her. She opened the top and looked through all of the odd belongings until she saw what she was looking for.

She reached in, grabbed the tiny zipper and pulled it to the side. The bell hop watched interestedly as she turned to him and held out a tiny fist. Eyebrow raised, he placed an open hand beneath it and watched the circular piece of metal fall into it.

"A-A tip," Hailey said, delighted smile on her face as the elevator door rolled open. Ash had told her that it was always polite and good mannered to tip the bell hops, or room service delivery people who help them in some way.

She and Zo entered the elevator, and she hit the third floor button.

"B-Bye," She said, her soft voice reaching the bell hop as she raised a single hand in farewell as the elevators doors began to shut.

The bell hop was grinning, and raised his own hand, "Take it easy little lady," He said, "and thank you for the tip," he added on holding up the quarter she had given him.

Hailey smiled to herself as they rode the elevator up to the third floor, and then yawned, feeling herself worn out after wandering the hotel.

She thought soda was supposed to keep you awake.

Little did she know was that the root beer had been caffeine free.

She and Zo left the elevator, going towards their room where the door remained cracked open. Hailey sneaked into the room closing the door behind her, setting down Zo, and pulling her shoes off beside the door as quietly as she could.

After tip toeing over to the table and setting Dominos purse back on top, Hailey climbed back into her bed beneath the thick covers. Zo walked over to her, and curled up on the extra pillow beside her.

Closing her eyes with a tiny yawn, Hailey readjusted her position, and sighed contently.

Seconds later sleep claimed her, and dreams of root beer floats ran through her mind.


Not a serious chapter, just a fun something I'd been thinking about for awhile now.

So what d'ya think? Please leave you're thoughts in a review to let me know!

Thanks all for reading, and I'll see you all soon!