The man walked inside the hotel, the light from outside disappearing behind him as he walked deeper into the darkness of the hotel. Mika couldn't see him at all, until he pulled out torch and tuned it on so the small hotel lobby was lighted up and most of it could be seen. The walls were wooden and had patterns sculpted on them so they looked like posh wardrobe doors. The floor was marble, mostly black and white creating a chess-like pattern. It reflected light perfectly and at the spots where the light from the torch was directly hitting it looked like a mirror. Looking around the room, Mika distinguished a few arm chairs and a dark mahogany table opposite the reception desk. The chairs were crimson-coloured and looked like they were antiques, as did the small table in front of them. To her left, opposite the main entrance was the staircase. It had stairs on both sides that led up to what looked like a lift.
When Mika finished studying the room, she turned to face Trishtan. The first thing she noticed was his blond hair. It was mid length, slightly brushing over his shoulders. On his handsome face there was a blond moustache to match his hair. The most striking feature though, was his eyes. They were big, brown and full of life and energy. They looked like deep pools you could get lost in. In general, he was well-built and looked fairly muscular under his green shirt. Mika realized she was staring and immediately stood up, looking away.
-Hi, so I guess you're….um Trishan Legend?
-Trishtan, whispered the receptionist who was still on the floor picking up the bills.
-Yeah, just call me Trishtan. What would your name be, my fair lady? said Trishtan with a cheesy smile.
Mika felt her cheeks burning up a little and tried not to look directly at the charming grin to prevent a forming blush. A row of bright white teeth that would be blinding if they were seen in the sunlight.
-Mika.
Trishtan's smile only seemed to grow wider.
-What a wonderful name that is!
Mika felt a smile form on her own lips almost automatically. Damn, smiling was indeed contagious!
-Thanks. Yours isn't bad either.
The receptionist who had just got up and was checking the rest of the mail, laughed quietly. Mika heard him and quickly turned around to glare at him. Once she did so, he hushed, only a slight hint of a smirk left on his face.
-Um so, what are we going to do about the electricity?
-Oh, don't worry about that, I'll take care of it. I'll go check the fuse box….
-Actually, we know what the problem is. The bills haven't been paid.
Trishtan looked at Mika puzzled.
-Well if there's no technical problem, why am I here?
-Oh yes, I wanted to ask you that. How did you come here even though we hadn't called you?
The blond man looked at Mika, his eyes smiling.
-Old story that one. When I was a kid, I fell on an electrical fence and got electrocuted. Since then, I can always tell when someone's in need.
The story sounded too –(fill in appropriate word) – to be true, but he had come to them when they were in need, so there was no other choice left other than to believe him. On a second thought however, the problem didn't require a technician, so why did he appear?
-Oh but wait a minute. If that's so, and the problem turned out to be this simple, why did you come?
-Well, I can sense when someone's in need, not whether it's serious or not. Even so, you're still in need. The power isn't back on, is it yet? You need someone to take the bills to the Town's Hall.
-Oh no don't worry about that I can…you have a Town's Hall here?
-Yes? Every self respecting town in the middle of the desert has one. Hand me over those bills, I'll take them there. The power should come back on in a few minutes.
-Thanks very much. Sorry for the trouble.
Trishtan turned around as he was walking towards the exit and gave one of those heart-melting smiles of his.
-Don't worry about it
Mika watched as her "savior" walked out of the door, a subtle smile forming on her lips.
-Well well, look who's in love! said the reception boy with a foxy grin on his face.
-Stop it! It's not like that, I've got a boyfriend!
Mika felt flushed, not only from her embarrassment but from remembering her boyfriend.
-A boyfriend? Then why were you flirting with Trishtan so intensely?
-I wasn't...ok maybe a little. So what, it's not like I cheated, I was just socializing, answered Mika, feeling embarrassed that her connection with Trishtan was so obvious.
Indeed, it was intense. She had been with her boyfriend, Keane for over a year and they were pretty much in love with each other. However, lately she had been having second thoughts about their relationship. They had been together for a long time and it was getting kind of boring. Also Keane was becoming more and more distant, or so it seemed. She still loved him very much, but that was insufficient. She needed something new, something exciting. Trishtan seemed to have all that and also a very warm and loving heart. Was it time for a change?
She snapped out of her thoughts when the lights suddenly came on. That was when she got a good look of the room and gasped. Most of the floor was covered with piles of dust and the only furniture that was in the room looked like it was eaten by moths. The source of the light, a crystal chandelier, if you could call it that since most of the crystals were missing, had spider webs hanging from it. In other words, the place was a dump. Jebediah was right. Speak of the devil, said man appeared, next to him a taller man with dark skin and hair wearing a formal red suit.
-At last some light in this place! And how long has it been since it was last cleaned?
Loud snoring was heard from the reception desk. Everyone turned to see. Obviously the reception boy was overwhelmed by all that work after so much time of doing nothing and had nodded off again. Next, everyone turned to look at Mika.
-Who is this lady? asked the darker man in the suit.
-I dunno, some kid that had a car crash and had to stay here till the car is fixed. Oh, by the way, I had a look at your car kid, and it's not looking good. I'm afraid you're gonna have to stay here longer.
Immediately, she felt her eyes welling up and blinked to hold back the tears. She was never going to get to Pleasantview in time. She had to forget it and move on. Maybe she could take part in the next big project.
-What is your name, miss? asked the younger man of the two.
-Mika. Mika Ishida.
The man held his hand out to shake hands with her.
-I'm Honest Jackson, mayor of Strangetown. Nice to meet you!
-Nice to meet you too, I think I'll go to my room now, it's been a long day.
Mika picked up her stuff and headed upstairs, when the mayor started talking to her.
-The manager of this hotel has passed away, right? And you are going to be here for a long time. So how about you become the new manager of the hotel?
She immediately froze in her footsteps and her mind started racing, trying to understand what she had just heard. Become manager of hotel in the middle of nowhere. Ok. That much she got. Slowly she turned around to face the two men who both seemed to like that idea.
-What?
-Yes, it would be perfect! We need someone to take over the hotel, but no one is available and now since you are going to be here for a while, you could fill in the position!
-He's right kid. It'd be better than sitting around and waiting, plus you'd get paid for it. Just staying here would cost you but as manager, you get the manager's suite which is free and get paid. All you have to do is take care of things around the hotel which is easy since no one ever comes. What do you say?
Becoming manager of some old hotel which no one visits was not in her immediate plans, but they did have a point. Once her car was ready, she could just leave and never come back.
-I'm not sure but I could like take a 3-day trial to see how I cope and then decide…
-Great! We've got a new manager! The receptionist will give you the keys to everything and you are ready to go! If you need anything repairing, call Trishtan and he should be there in an instant. Any questions?
-No, but…
-Great! That's settled! exclaimed the mayor happily.
-WAIT! shouted Mika out loud, furious with the situation.
Although it seemed like a good idea, temporarily of course, the certainty of the mayor and the old man was frightening. She had not fully agreed and they were already talking as if they had found a permanent manager, which was clearly not the case.
-I didn't even agree completely and you're acting as if you've solved all the problems! Keep looking; I'm not staying here for long!
The two men looked apologetic, especially mayor Jackson who spoke first.
-My apologies miss. We didn't mean to sound so eager. It's just that it's been a huge loss for everyone, personal and it's been very bad for the business. This hotel was the main source of income, if not the only. Now, we are lost. As it is known, we aren't the wealthiest town and people only come here to look for aliens and ghosts.
Something in her head told her to run away, miles away.
-Aliens? Ghosts?
The mayor seemed to understand her concern.
-Oh, I didn't mean to make it sound that bad! You know the things they say about Strangetown, the mysteries, the aliens. All that stuff. It's probably why it isn't like Pleasantview here. That and the fact that the town is located in the desert!
-Well, why is it located in the desert?
The old farmer, who had been quiet for a while, finally spoke.
-No one knows how old our town is, only that it has a long history. No one knows who founded it or why, only that this is where it has always been.
The girl had no intension of learning the history of the place nor was interested in doing so. All she wanted was to get out of there as soon as possible. It was a fact that Strangetown was an extremely remote town, which was maybe one of the reasons it was in such a mess. That and the really bad economic situation, the natural disasters and unbearable weather conditions, made it a place where only the really brave would want to live. And even they were a danger. Mad scientists, crazy truth seekers, ghost busters and most of all, curious people who did more than just wonder whether there's life beyond Earth. The place screamed DANGER and anyone with a brain in their heads would stay as further away as they could. But not Mika. She kept cursing herself mentally for getting into such trouble and proving herself that she really was what many people thought:
Stupid.
-So miss Ishida, I've got to go now, you are welcome to stay in Strangetown as long as you like as hotel manager. Charles will show you the manager's suite. Have a nice stay! CHARLES!
She almost dropped her luggage from the surprise, when the mayor shouted at the reception desk behind her. She quickly turned around to see a very anxious and slightly shocked from the unexpected awakening receptionist, who was obviously named Charles. The mayor and the farmer were already gone.
-Oh! Oh….yes! Um...welcome to….ah it's still you!
-Yes, Mr. Jackson told me that you'd show me the manager's suite.
-Sure, come with me.
The blond man stood up from the desk, obviously dopy from sleeping and a bit annoyed from the rude awakening. He went towards the stairs, Mika following, but suddenly made a right turn to what seemed to be a small corridor, at the end of which was a big, wooden door. Charles stopped in front of it, pulled out a set of keys and handed it over to her.
-The silver rusty ones with the tag are for this room here. As you may have guessed, this is the manager's suite. Have a nice stay! Should you need anything, I'll be at the desk.
Charles turned away to leave, but after only a few steps he stopped to say something.
-Also, feel free to visit the saloon opposite the hotel. We do have a bar here, but….well, let's just say it's not up to much.
And with that, he went back to the desk "to take another nap", thought Mika. She unlocked the door and walked into the manager's suite and thought that she should have asked if the suicide had taken place in there. The door creaked as it opened, revealing a quite spacious but badly decorated room. The furniture was similar to that of the lobby, old and dark-coloured. The walls were covered with tacky and dated wallpaper, which was ripped at some points. There was also a noticeable amount of dust on every surface. The whole room was dark, the only light, hanging from the ceiling, being very dim. At the left of the room, behind the seemingly flimsy bed, there were huge windows as big as doors, but unfortunately they were all sealed with wood and curtains hid any possible view. The previous manager must have highly appreciated privacy. And darkness.
"If this is the manager's room, I surely don't want to know what the other rooms are like!"
She threw her stuff on the floor close to the door and went towards the bathroom. It looked more like a cubicle, not only size wise, but generally, the state of it. It included a plain sink which looked broken, no cabinet, a pretty disgusting toilet and a shower that looked more like a glass box, definitely not for claustrophobics. There was a small mirror on the old tiled wall above the sink. She stepped in front of it and stared blankly at her reflection. The most striking feature of hers was her hair. It was dyed a vibrant shade of blue. Yes, blue. She didn't know why, but she always seemed to like anything different. It was maybe her rebellious nature that pushed her to be different from the rest. Not that it was difficult to her. She was one of the few Asian students at her college and now one of the few Asians in Riverview. She was proud of her Japanese heritage and the unique features she had because of it. Her eyes were bigger and slightly more slanted than most people, her nose small and in perfect proportion with the rest of her face. Her lips were thin, thinner that she would like them to be. All in all, her face was pretty, but her hair drew all the attention from it. Probably the reason she chose that colour. She was considered beautiful and blue hair wasn't something a beautiful person normally had. That colour was her message to society. It said "I don't need to have normal-coloured hair to be pretty. I'm pretty in my own way". While looking in the mirror, she inspected her hair closer. Her roots were black. It needed dying.
-Yes, cause blue dye is everywhere in this town, she said with a sigh. Just another thing to worry about.
She then opened her suitcase and pulled out her nightwear to get ready to go to bed. Sleep was absolutely necessary at this point.