I sat in the back seat of my family's old Ford car, my arm propping my head up, and my elbow resting on my knee. The tape of the oldies songs played over the car speakers, my father was humming along with the tunes in the driver's seat, and I secretly wanted to scream and shout the words out right along with the Temptations. My older sister sat besides my, trying to fix her black hair, staring into her small compact mirror. Oh how I loathed it when she fiddled with her gorgeous hair, she was as perfect as a human could possibly ever want to be, and she knew it.
"We almost there, Ma?" my sister questioned as she continued to look at her reflection in the compact mirror that seemed like it was now securely attached to her hand. I wanted to snatch that thing from her hand and snap it closed in her face, but I was sure that would not be a very good idea.
My mother turned in her chair slightly, and nodded in my sister's general direction. "We'll be there in just a minute, Rory," she said evenly as she turned her head to my father, probably to see if she was actually telling my sister the truth. My mother then proceeded to turn around the rest of the way and faced forward once again, which was probably the smartest thing for her to do at that moment.
She hadn't lied, in fact a minute or so later my father pulled up in front of the main lobby building. We all jumped out of the car, and I saw an older man saunter up to my father, a large smile spread across his face. I knew right away that the man had to be Mr. McMahon, whom my father had done business with a few years back. He owned the hotel, and I was sure that he had given my family a discounted price for everything that my father had done for him.
"Mr. McMahon, very nice to see you again" my father said, shaking the man's hand and smiling slightly. So, I had been right, it was the infamous Mr. McMahon. Well, at least he was famous in our house, my father talked about him constantly to my mother.
Mr. McMahon shook his head slowly, laughing slightly for a moment before saying, "Now Kenny, you know better than that. Call me Vince." My father nodded and turned toward my mother, quickly putting his arm around her waist. "Now, do introduce me to these lovely ladies that you brought with you."
My father pointed to my mother first, "This is my wife, Roxanne," he started, he then proceeded to point to my sister, "this is Rory, my oldest daughter." Finally, he turned to me, smiling slightly, before pointing at me for a second and ending with, "and this is Mari, my youngest daughter." My father continued to smile as my sister and I took our rightful turns at shaking Mr. McMahon's outstretched hand.
"Nice to finally meet you all, I'm sure that everyone here will make you feel at home during your stay with us" Vince said with a nod. He snapped his fingers together, and out of nowhere a bellhop appeared, swiftly taking our bags away to our rooms. "And this is my son, Shane, he's learning the ropes of how to run a hotel," suddenly, I noticed the young man standing next to Mr. McMahon, and I could tell that I wouldn't enjoy his company over the next three and a half weeks. He looked like a he would be a pain, and that he'd most likely be a snob to everyone else around him.
I decided it would probably be best if I tuned out the ongoing conversation between my father and Vince, and that's exactly what I did. I blocked out the bunched up words, and turned around slowly. For such an old hotel, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Green grass covered everything as far as the eye could see, trees dotted the area near the large buildings, and I could see tennis courts and swimming pools. So, maybe this wouldn't be so bad, but who was to say that I would fully enjoy myself here? Definitely not me.
As mom and dad followed Vince toward the dining room, Rory and I grabbed our card keys and raced down the halls of the ultimately huge hotel. I would have never guessed that this place would have been so huge in a million years. Mr. McMahon obviously had money to spend, and it showed everywhere in this place. The walls were decorated with gorgeous paintings, all of the doors were dark cherry wood, and it seemed as if everything someone could want was all supplied. Only the best for the best, right?
Our room was simply amazing. And that was a total understatement, to say the very least. The beds were clad in the softest sheets and pillow cases that I had ever felt, and the comforters were plush and elegant. The view was wonderful, looking over the largest golf field on the property, and there was even a balcony to sit on to watch the sunrise and sunset. Even the bathroom was pretty, with its gold faucets and tiled floor. All in all, Mr. McMahon hadn't lied when he promised that our room would be fit for a king.
Rory claimed the bed toward the door as her own as she had thrown her purse onto it within moments of arriving in the room. But, I was glad that she hadn't taken the one next the balcony as her own, I wanted that one for myself. I smiled as I dropped my purse onto the pillow and sat on the end of the bed slowly, trying not to mess up the blankets and sheets as they looked like the maid had just recently made the bed.
"It's a nice place," Rory said, her eyes scanning the room for anything that she could complain about. But, it seemed like she hadn't found anything that she would have changed, because her eyes soon settled on me, "what do you think of it?" she asked with a smirk.
I shrugged, "it seems alright, I like it" I replied as I kicked off my shoes and brought my legs up onto the bed, soon resting my head on the soft pillows. I watched as Rory stood up and walked toward the door, "Where are you going?"
Rory turned, the card key in her hand, "I want to look at the rest of place, you're welcome to come or you can just sit up here for the rest of the day" she said as she motioned to the door with her hand. I stood, quickly slid my feet into my sneakers and rushed over to her, nearly tripping and falling flat on my face in the process. But, I caught myself in time and opened the door quickly, Rory shook her head and walked out first, then I followed.
As soon as we got out of the room, Rory seemed to want to get rid of me, so I didn't even bother trying to keep up with my older sister. She could probably outrun me if she really wanted to anyway, so I picked my own pace and took the time to see the sights properly. I stopped by the pools, all three of the indoor ones and one of the outdoor ones, and took a peek at two of the tennis courts. Everything was orderly, tidy, and perfectly kept. Did anything around here have a flaw?
When I went to walk passed the now closed dining room, I heard Mr. McMahon's voice booming from inside. His words that I overheard were stern, and I figured that there wouldn't be any harm in peeking into the room. Besides, the door was open a crack, and I could easily see in, and it wouldn't be hurting anyone in the long run.
So, I slipped toward the door, making sure that there wasn't anyone else in the hallway in the process, and focused in on the people in the room. Mr. McMahon had everyone's attention, or at least somewhat, and I could see Shane nodding at his words beside him. There were a few other young men in there as well, all seemed pretty well kept, but definitely not related to the McMahons. I could tell that they weren't related to Vince because they looked so much different than he did, and they had more of a punk-rebel look to them.
One of them had hair that nearly reached his shoulders, and it was even dyed to some extent, the color seemed purple. He stood at least six feet tall, if not more, and was lean yet seemed very fit. What could he possibly have to do with this place? He took off his black sunglasses, a smirk on his face, as he turned his head toward Mr. McMahon.
"Listen boys, you got your own rules this time. Dance with the daughters, teach them the mambo, the cha-cha, anything that they pay for. And that's it, that's where it ends. No funny business, no conversations, and keep your hands off" Mr. McMahon said, pointing his index finger right in the young man's face.
Shane piped up right after his father was done talking, "You think you can remember what you can and can't touch, Hardy?" he questioned with a small smile spreading over his face when Vince nodded toward him then began walking off slowly.
The purple haired one, who I guessed had to be Jeff, nodded, his smirk never fading from his face. "Sure thing, Mr. McMahon. Oh, and Shane, you just stay in college and leave the hard stuff to me" he replied, adjusting his black leather jacket and walking out of the dining room, followed by the other young men that had been next to him. I watched as he left through the side door, which connected the dining room to the outside world, and I quickly let out my breath.
That Jeff character must have been one of the dancers; he didn't seem the type though. I'd be sure to find out more about him as the weeks went on, if I was lucky. I couldn't understand why Vince had threatened the entertainers so much in the dining room, but he'd mentioned something about dance lessons and doing things that were not appropriate, and definitely not paid for.
I decided that I didn't have anything else to do, so I shoved my hands in my pockets and figured it would probably be best if I just headed back to the room. But, then I remembered that Rory had taken her key with her when we split up, and I had left mine back in the room. "Damn" I mumbled as I walked turned on my heel and began to make my way toward the front desk, maybe they could help me get back into my room where I could relax until dinner.