Heh. Was lazy again. Also didn't have much time to do any updating, what
with going to school at 7 in the morning then coming home at 10 in the
night. Studies. Hate them. Anyway, I'm trying to make my chapters longer,
but bear with me if they get boring.
Disclaimer: K.A. Applegate owns the Animorphs and everything related to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We morphed back into our human bodies, and then we were two teenagers, shivering on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. People were staring at us while they walked by. You see, we hadn't figured out how to morph actual clothing. The only things we could wear while morphing which didn't end up in a thousand worthless pieces were our tightest, most close-fitting clothes. And since this meant spandex and hideous tights, we were wearing spandex and hideous tights. That's why the people were staring.
That's why the manager had kicked us out of the hotel.
"What now?" I asked Tobias.
"If only we knew which room was which. Then we wouldn't have to use the front door." Tobias mused. I watched as the snobbish manager welcomed the equally snobbish grandmothers into the hotel.
"This Katrina Price must be somebody. I mean, to actually stay in this hotel." I watched as a limo pulled up and the doorman went to open the door. "How does someone on the run from the Yeerks pay for all of this?"
"Maybe she doesn't intend to pay." Tobias shrugged. I stared at him. "There must be another door. These hotels. they've got other staff, right?"
"Bell hops, chambermaids, cooks, receptionists, waiters and waitresses, cleaners, laundry maids." I ticked off.
"My point, Rachel, is that the staff must go in through another door." Tobias cut in. He was right. I remembered my mother fuming over the fact that chambermaids were not allowed to be even seen near the front door. Servants were treated like lower class citizens in most hotels.
"There must be a back door." I breathed.
"Yes, Sherlock. Let's go find it." Tobias smiled at me. I smiled back.
The back door was, well, at the back of the hotel, right next to the garbage heap. I held my breath as we crept to the door. Tobias looked around and checked to see that nobody was watching. Then I tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. We quickly escaped inside.
Inside, it was dinghy and dark. The sounds of voices calling out to other people echoed in the narrow corridor we were in. Tobias inched his way forward and I slowly followed behind him, praying no one would come in from outside while we were here. We came to a door in the right side of the yellow-tiled wall. I exchanged looks with Tobias, then pressed my ear to the door, listening for any clue of anyone on the other side of it.
All was quiet.
"I say we go in." I said.
"Too risky." Tobias stopped me. Then came the sound of footsteps, echoing off the walls. I looked at Tobias. He shook his head. The footsteps got louder. I gripped the doorknob. Tobias hesitated. Then he nodded and I flung the door open before pulling him inside with me. I shut the door as quietly as possible, then locked it.
The footsteps came down the corridor.
And stopped in front of the door.
My heart started pounding like drums for a ritual. I held my breath and watched the shadows move under the door. The doorknob jiggled. Somebody cursed. I closed my eyes, hoping against hope that that somebody didn't have a key. I opened my eyes against. The shadow under the door had disappeared, leaving the unbroken dim light creeping into the room.
Tobias flicked the light on. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from shrieking in shock. I turned around to inspect the room. It looked like the girl's locker room at school. Clothes hung off some hooks on the wall. There were lockers, some open, some padlocked.
"Looks like we've got our ticket to the inside." I told Tobias. "Grab that bell hop uniform." I told him, pointing to an open locker. I pulled a dress off one of the hooks. "I shall be a chambermaid."
Minutes later, we emerged from the room, looking somewhat ridiculous. Tobias was trying really hard not to laugh at me. I could tell from the way he refused to look me in the eye. Was it my fault that chambermaids wore aprons and silly bonnet hats? Besides, Tobias looked funny in his red bell hop suit and the cutesy red hat, but was I laughing? Some people.
We made it to the kitchen before we were stopped.
"You!" We froze. "Bell hop!" Tobias and I slowly turned around. A man wearing a black suit was glaring at us. His nametag proclaimed him to be Gerald Lector, assistant manager.
"Yes sir?" Tobias replied, with only a hint of nervousness in his voice. Gerald Lector towered over us like a skyscraper over an ant.
"We have a baggage pile up in the lobby! Get to it!" He bellowed. Tobias threw me a look, then ran out of the door Gerald Lector was pointing at. Gerald Lector rounded in on me. I gulped. "And you get to work on cleaning the rooms. We'll need all the help we can get to clean the banquet hall once the wedding is out of it." I nodded quickly. "GO!!!" He screeched. I dashed out of the same door and crashed into Tobias.
"Now what?" I whispered to Tobias.
"Just a minute!" I winced inwardly as I heard the door swing open and the assistant manager come out. "You forgot to collect the skeleton key from me, young lady." I turned around. Gerald Lector was swinging a set of keys. I went up and took it, trying not to look too bewildered or relieved. "And you, boy, what are you still doing here?" Tobias looked guilt-stricken. "I better supervise you while you do your work. Come on!" He dragged Tobias off into the lobby.
I had to do this alone.
Taking a deep breath, I marched to the lift and got in. I slipped the skeleton keys into my pocket and patted them. I pressed the button for the third floor and got out. The doors were numbered by gold plated numbers. I counted the doors slowly until I reached the door numbered '0313'. I pressed my ear to the door again. No one was in. I quickly tried all the keys until I found the right one, then I unlocked the door and slipped into the room.
It was in a mess. The bed sheets were thrown about the floor. The clothes in the closet were crumpled and piled in a heap. Packets of empty Chinese take outs littered the floor, just like in the house that we had visited. I contemplated searching the room for clues, or even waiting here for Katrina Price to come back.
"Don't do anything at all." Jake's niggling voice echoed in my ear. I scowled at no one in particular and stopped myself just as I was reaching for the pile of clothes in the wardrobe. I hesitated for a moment. Who knew when we could come back here? What if Katrina Price decided to change rooms while we discussed what to do?
"I mean it, Rachel." Jake again. Shaking my head, I went over to the balcony door. It was shut, and the handle was rusty, so I guessed that no one had visited this balcony for a while. It took me my entire strength to wrench the door open. I figured that it'd be safe to leave a sign in the balcony, just a small one that no one would find unusual. I went back into the room and looked around for anything I could use that no one would miss. My eyes fell on a small white towel with the hotel's logo emblazoned on it.
"This could be useful." I muttered and picked it up off the floor. I went back to the balcony and tied it to one of the railing's lower rungs. Then I turned and shoved the door back in its place and left it unlocked.
I walked out of the lift minutes later. Tobias was in the lobby, hauling some bags for a little old lady. I grinned. "Hey, Tobias." I went up to him after checking that Mr. Assistant Manager was no where in sight.
"Hey Rachel. A little help here would be nice." He grunted. I laughed. "Come on, I've marked the room. We can go."
"You can't leave, young man. You must put the bags in my room!" I watched the old lady persuade Tobias to stay with a thwack of her walking stick. Her huge gold watch glittered in the light. I squinted at it.
"Tobias, we've got about two more minutes before you can say goodbye to the thermals." I hissed. Tobias dropped the bags and sprinted out of the front doors. I tore off my apron and my bonnet and ran after him. The manager at the front door tried to stop me.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"I'm leaving." I replied, glaring at him.
"Then you leave by the back door." He ordered, gripping my arm. I twisted my arm and pulled it out of his grasp, then punched him in the gut. He doubled over in pain.
"That's for all the people you've ill-treated!" I yelled at him while I quickly ran away. The two security guards were on my tail. I couldn't see any hiding places to morph in. My breath came out in ragged pants. What I wouldn't give for my elephant morph right not.
TSEEEER!!!
Tobias dived down from the sky, right at one guard. The guard shrieked in terror and fell face down on the ground, covering his head. Tobias screeched and attacked the other guard, flapping his huge wings in his face. The other guard tripped and fell backwards, yelling that the birds were attacking him. I snorted in laughter and hid behind a parked limo to morph.
Thanks, Tobias. I said as we soared back up into the sky.
No problem. Tobias replied. We flew in silence for a while. Hey, let's not go back yet.
What? I asked.
Let's ride the thermals.
Sure!
Disclaimer: K.A. Applegate owns the Animorphs and everything related to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We morphed back into our human bodies, and then we were two teenagers, shivering on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. People were staring at us while they walked by. You see, we hadn't figured out how to morph actual clothing. The only things we could wear while morphing which didn't end up in a thousand worthless pieces were our tightest, most close-fitting clothes. And since this meant spandex and hideous tights, we were wearing spandex and hideous tights. That's why the people were staring.
That's why the manager had kicked us out of the hotel.
"What now?" I asked Tobias.
"If only we knew which room was which. Then we wouldn't have to use the front door." Tobias mused. I watched as the snobbish manager welcomed the equally snobbish grandmothers into the hotel.
"This Katrina Price must be somebody. I mean, to actually stay in this hotel." I watched as a limo pulled up and the doorman went to open the door. "How does someone on the run from the Yeerks pay for all of this?"
"Maybe she doesn't intend to pay." Tobias shrugged. I stared at him. "There must be another door. These hotels. they've got other staff, right?"
"Bell hops, chambermaids, cooks, receptionists, waiters and waitresses, cleaners, laundry maids." I ticked off.
"My point, Rachel, is that the staff must go in through another door." Tobias cut in. He was right. I remembered my mother fuming over the fact that chambermaids were not allowed to be even seen near the front door. Servants were treated like lower class citizens in most hotels.
"There must be a back door." I breathed.
"Yes, Sherlock. Let's go find it." Tobias smiled at me. I smiled back.
The back door was, well, at the back of the hotel, right next to the garbage heap. I held my breath as we crept to the door. Tobias looked around and checked to see that nobody was watching. Then I tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. We quickly escaped inside.
Inside, it was dinghy and dark. The sounds of voices calling out to other people echoed in the narrow corridor we were in. Tobias inched his way forward and I slowly followed behind him, praying no one would come in from outside while we were here. We came to a door in the right side of the yellow-tiled wall. I exchanged looks with Tobias, then pressed my ear to the door, listening for any clue of anyone on the other side of it.
All was quiet.
"I say we go in." I said.
"Too risky." Tobias stopped me. Then came the sound of footsteps, echoing off the walls. I looked at Tobias. He shook his head. The footsteps got louder. I gripped the doorknob. Tobias hesitated. Then he nodded and I flung the door open before pulling him inside with me. I shut the door as quietly as possible, then locked it.
The footsteps came down the corridor.
And stopped in front of the door.
My heart started pounding like drums for a ritual. I held my breath and watched the shadows move under the door. The doorknob jiggled. Somebody cursed. I closed my eyes, hoping against hope that that somebody didn't have a key. I opened my eyes against. The shadow under the door had disappeared, leaving the unbroken dim light creeping into the room.
Tobias flicked the light on. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from shrieking in shock. I turned around to inspect the room. It looked like the girl's locker room at school. Clothes hung off some hooks on the wall. There were lockers, some open, some padlocked.
"Looks like we've got our ticket to the inside." I told Tobias. "Grab that bell hop uniform." I told him, pointing to an open locker. I pulled a dress off one of the hooks. "I shall be a chambermaid."
Minutes later, we emerged from the room, looking somewhat ridiculous. Tobias was trying really hard not to laugh at me. I could tell from the way he refused to look me in the eye. Was it my fault that chambermaids wore aprons and silly bonnet hats? Besides, Tobias looked funny in his red bell hop suit and the cutesy red hat, but was I laughing? Some people.
We made it to the kitchen before we were stopped.
"You!" We froze. "Bell hop!" Tobias and I slowly turned around. A man wearing a black suit was glaring at us. His nametag proclaimed him to be Gerald Lector, assistant manager.
"Yes sir?" Tobias replied, with only a hint of nervousness in his voice. Gerald Lector towered over us like a skyscraper over an ant.
"We have a baggage pile up in the lobby! Get to it!" He bellowed. Tobias threw me a look, then ran out of the door Gerald Lector was pointing at. Gerald Lector rounded in on me. I gulped. "And you get to work on cleaning the rooms. We'll need all the help we can get to clean the banquet hall once the wedding is out of it." I nodded quickly. "GO!!!" He screeched. I dashed out of the same door and crashed into Tobias.
"Now what?" I whispered to Tobias.
"Just a minute!" I winced inwardly as I heard the door swing open and the assistant manager come out. "You forgot to collect the skeleton key from me, young lady." I turned around. Gerald Lector was swinging a set of keys. I went up and took it, trying not to look too bewildered or relieved. "And you, boy, what are you still doing here?" Tobias looked guilt-stricken. "I better supervise you while you do your work. Come on!" He dragged Tobias off into the lobby.
I had to do this alone.
Taking a deep breath, I marched to the lift and got in. I slipped the skeleton keys into my pocket and patted them. I pressed the button for the third floor and got out. The doors were numbered by gold plated numbers. I counted the doors slowly until I reached the door numbered '0313'. I pressed my ear to the door again. No one was in. I quickly tried all the keys until I found the right one, then I unlocked the door and slipped into the room.
It was in a mess. The bed sheets were thrown about the floor. The clothes in the closet were crumpled and piled in a heap. Packets of empty Chinese take outs littered the floor, just like in the house that we had visited. I contemplated searching the room for clues, or even waiting here for Katrina Price to come back.
"Don't do anything at all." Jake's niggling voice echoed in my ear. I scowled at no one in particular and stopped myself just as I was reaching for the pile of clothes in the wardrobe. I hesitated for a moment. Who knew when we could come back here? What if Katrina Price decided to change rooms while we discussed what to do?
"I mean it, Rachel." Jake again. Shaking my head, I went over to the balcony door. It was shut, and the handle was rusty, so I guessed that no one had visited this balcony for a while. It took me my entire strength to wrench the door open. I figured that it'd be safe to leave a sign in the balcony, just a small one that no one would find unusual. I went back into the room and looked around for anything I could use that no one would miss. My eyes fell on a small white towel with the hotel's logo emblazoned on it.
"This could be useful." I muttered and picked it up off the floor. I went back to the balcony and tied it to one of the railing's lower rungs. Then I turned and shoved the door back in its place and left it unlocked.
I walked out of the lift minutes later. Tobias was in the lobby, hauling some bags for a little old lady. I grinned. "Hey, Tobias." I went up to him after checking that Mr. Assistant Manager was no where in sight.
"Hey Rachel. A little help here would be nice." He grunted. I laughed. "Come on, I've marked the room. We can go."
"You can't leave, young man. You must put the bags in my room!" I watched the old lady persuade Tobias to stay with a thwack of her walking stick. Her huge gold watch glittered in the light. I squinted at it.
"Tobias, we've got about two more minutes before you can say goodbye to the thermals." I hissed. Tobias dropped the bags and sprinted out of the front doors. I tore off my apron and my bonnet and ran after him. The manager at the front door tried to stop me.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"I'm leaving." I replied, glaring at him.
"Then you leave by the back door." He ordered, gripping my arm. I twisted my arm and pulled it out of his grasp, then punched him in the gut. He doubled over in pain.
"That's for all the people you've ill-treated!" I yelled at him while I quickly ran away. The two security guards were on my tail. I couldn't see any hiding places to morph in. My breath came out in ragged pants. What I wouldn't give for my elephant morph right not.
TSEEEER!!!
Tobias dived down from the sky, right at one guard. The guard shrieked in terror and fell face down on the ground, covering his head. Tobias screeched and attacked the other guard, flapping his huge wings in his face. The other guard tripped and fell backwards, yelling that the birds were attacking him. I snorted in laughter and hid behind a parked limo to morph.
Thanks, Tobias. I said as we soared back up into the sky.
No problem. Tobias replied. We flew in silence for a while. Hey, let's not go back yet.
What? I asked.
Let's ride the thermals.
Sure!