Nari drove until the sun had fully set and the stars when blinking into existence one by one. She was starting to get out into the country, so it took a while for her to find a hotel. However, she did mange to find one (though rather beaten up looking) after an hour or so. 

Parking her car in a free spot in the parking lot, Nari got out an locked her car. It was in the edge of a suburb and Nari wasn’t getting any bed vibes, but it was always good just to be safe. 

When Nari entered the building, it was practically empty.The lobby had a news show going on two TVs but there no one was watching and the bias reports went unheard. The worn seats in the lobby were stained so many different colors that Nari didn’t want to even touch them. The only other person in the lobby than her was a teenage girl manning the front desk. It had obviously been a slow night since she hadn’t even glanced up from the video she was watching while idly doodling on a hotel notepad.

Nari walked over and stood in front of the desk. “Hey, do you have any free rooms?”

The girl snapped her neck up, yanked her earbuds out (wincing slightly as she did it too roughly), and shoved her phone underneath the desk. When she saw Nari smiling at her, she relaxed slightly.

“Yeah, we have some on the second floor. Will that be okay for you?” The girl woke up the computer and started typing away.

“Sounds good. I’ll honestly take whatever I can get I’ve had a rough day.” The girl made a sympathetic noise while she filled out some paper on the computer for Nari’s room. “I take it it’s been pretty slow for you.”

“Oh my god!” She threw her hands up in the air. “You’re literally the first person to come in all day. I feel like I’m going to go stir crazy!”

“Ugh,” Nari wrinkled her nose. “Slow nights are the worst. I mean it’s nice that you don’t have to work; But they go by so slow.”

“Right?” The girl glanced up from the computer and gave Nari the most exasperated look. “Heck, I’ve run out of homework to do!”

“Oh dang, it really has been slow.” Nari had not forgotten her years as a high schooler. If this girl was so bored that she actually did her homework instead of putting it off until the last minute, then she really was suffering.

The girl grunted and printed out a paper. She handed it to Nari as well as a pen. As Nari filled it out with her information, the girl spoke up. 

“By the way, the water heater on the 2nd floor is broken. I’m really sorry about putting you up there, but those are the only rooms we have left. Someone is coming to fix it first thing in the morning though! Maybe you can wait to take a shower then.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Nari finished signing the last sheet and handed it to the girl. “I’ve had my fair share of cold showers. I’m not afraid of taking a few more. And hey, I hope things pick up for you soon.”

Right as she said that, the entrance opened and a gust of hot air swirled around the lobby, making the papers flutter at the front desk. Nari turned around, about to make a joke about perfect timing, but she froze when she saw who was walking into the hotel with an expensive looking suitcase.

It was the ing from the diner. 

He froze when he saw Nari glaring at him. The poor teenage girl as the desk tensed, not quite sure what had just shifted the atmosphere and not quite sure she wanted to know. Nari turned back to the girl and took her key from her.

“Thank you so much for your help, I hope you have a good evening.” Nari waved to the girl before turning and pointedly avoiding eye contact with the diner boy. She bumped into his shoulder as she past him and exited the hotel.

Was it petty to be passive aggressive to a boy who was like 3 years younger than her?

Probably.

But man, did it feel good to let out her anger. 

Nari walked to her truck and unlocked it. All her clothes fit in her backpack from high school and the only other thing that looked like it could have value was the duffle bag Dijonae had given her. Her stomach growled at the thought of the food in the bag so after she put her backpack on, she slung the duffle bag over her shoulder. After locking her truck back up, Nari shuffled back over to the hotel.

The diner boy was still filling out some paper work with the girl at the front desk. Every once in a while, he would ask her a question in a low voice and Nari swore she could see hearts in the teenage girl’s eyes. 

Poor girl had no idea how terrible the pretty boys really were.

***

Today was just determined to .

That was the conclusion Nari had come to when she sold her key card into the door and it rejected it.

She had just spent a lot of money on a hotel room she was never going to enjoy and she was just going to spend her whole life rotting in the hotel hallway.

Sure she could go talk to the girl at the front desk about it, but then she’d have to risk running into the diner .

Admitting defeat, Nari tried sliding her card a few more time, even jiggling the handle a bit and it still wasn’t letting her in. This wasn’t even a lock she could pick easily.

Nari groaned and slumped against the door to her room, hitting her head against it in frustration. 

Now what?

Just then, the elevator chimed and it’s door opened.

Nari looked up curiously, hoping that who ever it was could help her with her predicament. There was a shuffle as they moved something around and then a trolley filled with moving boxes and luggage was pushed out. Then the person emerged and Nari wanted to flip off whatever god was ing with her.

It was the diner .

Nari let out a low swear and quickly pulled out her phone to try to cover that she was locked out of her room. As she scrolled through the app that had been already open, Nari glanced around her peripherals to see what he was doing. He shuffled around the trolley, muttering his room number under his breath while glancing at the numbers on the rooms nearby. Then he made his way down the hall a a brisk pace right toward her.

Nari stopped looking at him at the point and had her eyes glued on her cracked phone screen, practically praying that his room isn’t near hers and that he would just politely ignore her in favor of getting to his room to get some rest after traveling all day.

Unfortunatly, life never went Nari’s way and the diner boy walked right on up to her.

“You’re locked out of your room aren’t you?” He asked.

Nari’s head snapped up and she glared at him. “No, I’m not! I’m just checking a message I got!”

“Then why is the key in the door and the light’s red?”

She avoided his eyes and made a face at the ground.

The diner boy took the key card, looked at it for a moment before putting it back in the card reader. It took a moment to read it before the light turned green and their was a click as the door unlock and the boy pushed it open for her.

“You were sliding it in the wrong way.” He informed her with a smug smile on his face.

Nari snatched her card out of his hand and shoved it in her pocket with her phone. 

“Thanks.” She said curtly, not meeting his eyes, before going into her room and slamming the door behind her.

She dropped her stuff on the ground and collapsed onto the bed.

Maybe now she could relax and destress after such a y day.

A/N: Wow this was actually a really boring chapter to write. There’s not a lot going on here, but it’s all setting up for the next chapter so I can do it!! *makes struggling noises*