Sinister Sands Hotel

Chapter 4 (Draft)

"I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you're still alive..." the angel with rainbow-coloured hair chuckles. "Come on, dude. You're squish-squashing my friend, Bob, there."

I take her hand, and she pulls me to my feet with surprising strength.

We stare at each other for what seems like an eternity until she breaks the awkward silence.

"Hi, I'm Claire." She shakes my hand.

"Wow, just Claire. Here I was thinking Ariana, the Queen of hot fairies."

Claire has an amused look on her face, and I realise that I said all that out loud instead of introducing myself.

"I, Kevin, saying out loud thing, I'm sorry." What the heck is wrong with me?

She crinkles her nose, and it's the cutest thing I have ever seen.

"Hm. So, that's a mouth full. Can I just call you Kevin, and you call me Claire because Ariana, the Queen of Hot Fairies, is what my friends call me, and I don't know you yet," she's smiling and hasn't kicked me in the no-kicking zone yet. Massive win for Kevin.

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts when she graces me with her beautiful voice again.

"So, dude... Are you lost or... need the restroom?"

Okay, breathe... She already probably thinks you're a Neanderthal.

She looks at me expectantly, and I get lost in her eyes for a second.

"No, I'm supposed to be here. Actually, I'm supposed to have an interview for a job at Sinister Sands Hotel." I'm so proud of myself; I actually said something that made sense.

Claire raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, you're that guy?" she asks.

"Yes, I think," I reply nervously.

"Well, let me take you over to Lucia right after I tell Jeb, okay?" she winks and walks away before I can answer.

I can hear her talking to someone in the shop's backroom, and after a minute or two, she returns.

"Right. Let's go see Lucia." She takes my hand, and my knees go all wobbly.

"Can... Can I get my cat out of the car first?" I nearly forgot about Judgy-Cat. He must be so ticked off by now.

"Sure, we can," she nods as she nearly drags me out of the store.

"Ah, fresh air. You know, I love working here, but sometimes it becomes a bit boring, you know?" Claire lets go of my hand, and I feel like crying.

She does a twirl and laughs sweetly, but then she stops when she sees Judgy-Cat sitting on the hood of my crappy car.

"Wait... That's your cat?" She points at the furry animal who is in the process of casually grooming himself.

"Well... Kind of, I think. I mean, he wasn't, but then-" I trail off because I'm not sure whether I actually own the cat or not.

She walks to the cat and waves at it.

"Hi. Did you pick up a stray?" she says in greeting.

Huh?!

I'm not sure who she's talking to, so I answer anyway.

"Yeah, I think he's a stray. He looks well taken care of, but he was in an alley... Oh, crap. What if I stole someone's cat?"

Claire turns around and blinks then she lets out a snort.

"I was talking to the cat," she giggles, "and he's not a stray. Not really."

I am so confused.

"He's a Traveler, actually?" she explains. 

Yup, I'm still confused.

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