Sometimes, things are just too easy. So simple, in fact, that it kind of worries you that you barely made an effort. I was so concerned with how suspicious Adam and CeeCee were going to be…I had even come up with a lame excuse that might have been able to cover my guilty butt. I got lost in the narrow halls and the elevator freaked out on me. Seriously, guys, you had to be there. It stopped on every floor again on the way down and then for some reason went back up to the 8th floor and then down again. I think it's possessed or something…
But after all of that trouble, all I got was "Hey, Suze! Quick! Adam learned how to unwrap a Starburst in his mouth! You know, like in that commercial!"
Actually, it was kind of funny to see Adam's face contorted in concentration as he attempted to try it again. His eyes were squeezed shut, his nose was wrinkled, his eyebrows were knit together, and his cheeks were slightly turning red. Finally, once he was finished, he victoriously slid the candy wrapper from his mouth and presented it to me.
"Nice one, McTavish! You know there's an easier way to do that," I told him as I took a Starburst from him.
"Oh yeah?" Adam asked curiously.
I flashed CeeCee a smile and then unwrapped the candy and popped it into my mouth. CeeCee clapped her hands and giggled as I took a deep bow.
"Hah, very funny, Suze," Adam said as he rolled his eyes expressively. "Why do you always have to ruin my moments of glory?"
"Sounds like Adam's jealous, Suze! He can't bear to stand by while you steal the spotlight away," CeeCee said with a laugh.
"Well! I have a few more tricks up my sleeve that will definitely keep you entertained. Anyone want to volunteer?" Adam asked as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Um…EW!
"Oh, sorry, look at the time! Curfew is in an hour," CeeCee exclaimed as she looked at her watch.
"Oh my, is it really?" I asked, faking my surprise, "My how time flies! Sorry, Adam, but we must get back to the room and unpack!"
Adam smiled and teased, "Well, well! I'm just too much man for you two!"
CeeCee and I looked at each other for a second and then the laughter ripped out of our chest. We could barely contain ourselves. Adam frowned a bit, but then brightened up when I managed to bump into one of the ugly brown couches in the lobby. CeeCee and I gathered whatever was left of our sanity and headed to the elevators.
After the interesting elevator ride, we navigated the halls, looking for our room in silence. Then CeeCee just stopped and grabbed my arm suddenly.
"What?" I asked her worriedly, "What's wrong, CeeCee?"
"Suze," CeeCee breathed, "Whatever you do, don't look down."
"Huh?" I asked as I stupidly looked down on the ground to see this huge roach about the size of my palm crawling toward my shoe.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! GET IT AWAY! I PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR THESE SHOES! OH MY GOD!"
I, Susannah Simon, am not afraid of very many things. Pain, I can deal with. Heights…no problem. I see dead people everyday. Nothing surprises me. But anything that slightly resembles a bug…
"EWWWWWWW! CeeCee, DO SOMETHING!"
CeeCee, not being as afraid of crawling critters, heroically stomped her foot on the disgusting creature until it was, in fact, dead.
"I'll never wear these shoes again," CeeCee said, cringing as she looked at them mournfully.
"Oh my Gosh, CeeCee, thanks so much!" I cried as I squeezed her into a tight hug. "I'll clean them for you. I'll even buy you a new pair, okay?"
"No need, Suze. That's what friends are for, right?" CeeCee choked out, because I was squeezing her so tightly.
You don't understand what a nice gesture that was. CeeCee sacrificed her really cute (and not to mention comfortable) Steve Madden sneakers, that were white with two black stripes on them, for me. Granted, CeeCee didn't really care about fashion and she got a really great deal on them, but still, she really cared. And that is what friendship is all about. Sacrifices, I mean, not shoes.
"Um, Suze…air?" CeeCee pleaded as she released herself from my clenches.
"Sorry, I just can't thank you enough. You know…"
CeeCee interrupted, "…That you are scared to death of bugs. I remember that time my sister tried to show you that beetle she caught. You totally freaked!"
CeeCee and I laughed as we recalled the terrible scene I made. Bugs are creepy, okay? Doesn't that justify me standing up on CeeCee's bed while managing to accidentally hit my head on her ceiling?
Fine, I'm pathetic…you don't have to tell me twice.
We finally reached room 710. CeeCee dug in her pocket for her key and then opened the door to our beautiful suite with the nice décor, dazzling icy blue beds, a glorious view behind those massive curtains, and…complimentary Louis Vuitton luggage bags?
"Oh, hey girls! You must be terribly lost. Your room is next door," Kelly said as she smiled sympathetically.
I was speechless…I really was. Kelly and Debbie had some gall, trying to steal our room like that! But then again, how stupid were we to leave the door to the bathroom unlocked, so they could get in?
"Sorry, Kelly, but you must be terribly mistaken. You see, Suze and I were assigned to this room, not you two," CeeCee spoke slowly, making sure they understood the words.
Debbie took a step forward boldly and said, "Well, Kelly and I were, like, thinking…"
"Wow, what a surprise!" CeeCee cut in sardonically.
"Whatever," Debbie brushed CeeCee's verbal punch off, "Like I was saying…Kelly and I were, like, thinking that they probably, like, you know, switched the rooms or something. So we're just, like, saving them some trouble by correcting that problem."
"Why? Do you think you're more deserving of this room than we are?" CeeCee asked as she tightened her fists at her sides.
Man, CeeCee was on fire! But sooner or later those fists would probably leave their position at her side and end up somewhere else…like on Debbie's face. Well, this looks like a job for Suze the Mediator!
Only…I don't think I've ever had to mediate between living people before. It shouldn't be that different, right? I mean, ghosts are people too…I mean, were…I mean…well you know what I mean.
"Guys, let's take a chill pill, okay? We shouldn't get in a row over some room," I said as I stepped in front of CeeCee.
"Suze," CeeCee raised her voice slightly in anger, "Are you really going to let them take our room like this? I've put up with them for 10 years, okay? If we give in now, they're never going to change."
"I'm sure there's some sort of compromise we can work out. You know, without resorting to fisticuffs," I pleaded as I walked in the middle of the room, positioning myself directly in between the two parties. I wasn't going to take any chances. I mean, Kelly looked about ready to gouge CeeCee's eyes out with her sharp, freshly manicured nails.
"The only thing you'll compromise," CeeCee said huffily, "is our rights to a really cool room. How many times have we gotten what we've wanted for a change, huh?"
She had a point. Kelly and Debbie had everything! And if there was something that they wanted, they could get it at the drop of a hat. And poor CeeCee, she's had to deal with these girls…their constant taunting about the fact that she was albino, their silly pranks, and their constant gossip for 10 years. That's a whole decade!
"I see your point CeeCee," I whispered so that Kelly and Debbie couldn't hear me, even though they were craning their necks trying to listen. "There might be a way that we can all get what we want. Just trust me with this, okay?"
CeeCee hesitated for a bit, but then finally gave in with a sigh, "Fine. Since when do you know how to solve every little problem?"
"I guess you could say I've had a lot of experience," I replied with a grin.
CeeCee glanced at me with a puzzled expression, but I quickly turned to Kelly and Debbie who were by then filing their nails impatiently.
"I realize that, in life, one must learn to pick their battles," I started in a business-like manner, "I mean, we can't just go around fighting and being all mad at each other for the simplest things. So I figure that this battle is just worthless. Instead of biting each other's head off, I've come up with a nice proposition, one that should be liked by all."
"A what?" Debbie asked Kelly, the obvious translator in this situation.
"A proposition, Deb. It's, like, a lawyer's term. My daddy uses it all the time. It's, like, a bargain or something."
"Cool, I like bargains!" Debbie squealed, "So what is your prop-a…prop-e…proposition?"
"CeeCee and I get the room," I said as Kelly and Debbie scowled, "BUT, you can keep some of your stuff in here, since you guys said you didn't have any room. Does that sound good to you?"
Kelly thought about it for a bit and then said, "Make it that AND we get first dibs on showers, and you might have yourselves a deal."
I could see Kelly being a great businesswoman…or at least a used car saleswoman.
"Sure, sure," I agreed as I gave a quick glance at CeeCee.
"And we can use your coffee maker, ours is disgusting!" Debbie piped in.
"Okay, deal. We won't use ours anyway, right CeeCee?"
CeeCee shook her head with a look of defeat.
"There are some conditions, however," CeeCee spoke, "Like, you have to knock before you come in to get anything. And we can deny entrance if necessary. And no visitation after curfew unless it's an emergency. And…"
"Whoa, hold it there, tiger," I interrupted, "We have to make this mutually beneficial here. That ought to be enough."
Kelly and Debbie pondered over it for a few minutes. I don't know if that was the process of thinking that took them so long, or if it was just that they were trying to find ways around our setup.
Finally, Kelly and Debbie looked at each other and said in unison, "Deal!"
It was that easy. If only dealing with dead people were easier…
Debbie and Kelly packed up and moved everything out, with the exception of two rather large bags. The chaperones came by to see if we were in the proper room, checking the room suspiciously for any unwanted visitors of the male persuasion. Once everything was cleared, they told us that we were to report to the lobby at 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning for quick breakfast and roll call. Then we'd leave to take a tour of the lovely Mission San Juan Capistrano. Thrilling…
"Hey, Suze," CeeCee said after they left, "I wonder what's in Kelly and Debbie's bags…"
"We can't look through their stuff!" I exclaimed, "That would be wrong!"
"Well, the deal didn't say we couldn't," CeeCee pointed out the little hole in their bargain.
"Well…okay," I gave in, "I'm kinda curious myself…"
So with that, we wandered over to the two Louis Vuitton bags and carefully unzipped them, revealing all of Kelly and Debbie's expensive makeup and perfume.
"They each have a bag full of this stuff! Geez, superficial, much?" CeeCee said as she picked up a pair of eyelash-curlers.
"Oh my gosh, it's like they own the whole collection of Maybelline nail polish colors! And Debbie carries more anti-wrinkle cream than my mom!" I exclaimed as I set all of it out to the side.
"I like this color," CeeCee said as she picked up this deep blue-green color creatively called 'Tidal Wave'.
"Whoa," I said as I marveled at the richness of color. It shined a deep blue if the light hit it one way and a deep emerald when the light hit it the other way.
"It would look great on you!" CeeCee exclaimed as she took a long look at my nails.
"Really? You really think so?" I asked as CeeCee took the bottle from me and opened the cap.
I rested my hand on my leg as CeeCee painted my nails. The dark liquid felt cool on my long, unpolished nails.
"So, Suze," CeeCee began conversationally as my nails were drying. "What took you so long?"
"Huh?" I asked, not knowing what she was talking about.
"Earlier, you were supposed to meet us in the lobby. You were MIA for about twenty minutes. What happened?"
"I got lost…in the narrow hallway…and, uh the elevator, like, totally freaked out on me, and uh…"
"You could at least try to make your story convincing, Suze," CeeCee said as she crossed her arms. "You are such a terrible liar."
Why was it getting so hot? My heart was racing. CeeCee had caught me, and there was no way to escape her questions now…
"Yeah, I guess I am," I choked.
I'm such a terrible friend. I couldn't even tell her the whole truth. I couldn't tell her about Jesse, or the fact that Paul is a little more than a mysterious (hot) guy that I met the past summer. I couldn't tell her about my special ability, or even the fact that there might be things I haven't learned yet. Things that could be taught to me…unfortunately only by Paul.
But CeeCee, being the sensitive person that she was, decided not to press on any further with the subject…for now. She saw that it caused me great discomfort, so she dropped it completely. But I knew that sooner or later, she would find out the entire story. She was the editor of the school paper. It was her job.
A/N: I have 4 more finals to go, and then I'm off the hook. Seriously, summer is so close that I can taste it!
Sorry about the boringness of this chapter…I just thought I'd give you a taste of some amount of normalcy in Suze's life. She is, after all, a normal 16-year-old girl. So to make up for my shortcomings, I shall reply to some reviews that you lovelies sent me (I LOVE YOU GUYS)!
Mystique Angelique: Or should I call you Gothic Granny now? Ain't nothing wrong with Weird Al…I've been to two of his concerts. One was actually pretty recently too…November, if I remember correctly. That probably explains my weirdness, yeah? One of my guy friends knows, like every song on Poodle Hat. I'm not that weird! And the correct spelling is Albuquerque if you must know. Don't listen to Lolly, guys, she knows nothing…nothing at all. She's just…uh, really smart is all. And I thought the Paul taking over the world was a but much too, but I'm just telling it like it is. You're so cool to talk to on MSN!
Esodes08: I tried to force feed the book to my friend Beans…he read the part where Paul left Suze and Jesse in Shadowland, and he was like, "Dude, you are just like that chick." Well, that comment was directed at the line where she was all "I want to meet my maker in style." He seemed to think it was too girly for him too. The elevator thing actually happened to me when I was in New Orleans…I was inside the elevator as it rose 2 feet. It was so freaky! Actually, the basic idea of the hotel was taken from N'awlins…the hotel was so cheap. And yes, my roomies and I got the good room (it was so pretty) but these mean seniors kicked us out. They did give us pizza, though. As far as I know, Paul had nothing to do with it…but you never know what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve. I pretty much hated Paul when I first read the books…but it all changed after I read it again a few times. And as for the harassment…big heaping helping coming soon.
Hayley: DUDE! I love your name! I finally downloaded S2BS and it works! Have you gotten it to work yet? I don't write PD fics…you'd be surprised to learn that I haven't even read those books yet. Definitely on my list, though. Do you write for Fan-Fiction? I'd like to read some of your work if you do. Hayley power!
Ghost Magic: Thank you for reading! It's so cool of you to review! Fan-Fiction rocks, as you've probably figured out already!
That's all folks!