Until We Break (Formerly Wicked, Wild, Wonderful)

Original Edition: Chapter Twenty-Nine

THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE MORE OR LESS OF THE SAME. Running around the most boring places of Riverside and turning them into their own little animal kingdom where the strongest primal forces were laughter and confrontation. On bicycles, they'd speed through Riverside's black and white landscape and add colour the only way the knew how: tagging buildings with quotes and hashtags and shouting random things at strangers like, "Now, kiss!", and Naomi's favourite: "Impeach Trump and you'll never see us ever again!". It sort of reminded her of the world she and Ben had created in the equipment store when sadness swelled and desperation dripped, except, with the Guise those things didn't exist. Pride flourished and ecstasy exploded. A bad thought could not exist without being immediately outed like a candle fire being drowned by a tsunami.

And, truthfully, Naomi didn't think she had been happier.

Tonight for example, under the twinkling light of a defective lamp post, the Guise were outside Mission Inn Hotel picking the back-door as if they simply forgot their key.

It was only a few minutes before the thing clicked open at the Bull's will and let all their rushing bodies inside.

But they were only privy to a few steps before pausing to inhale the glimpse of heaven that was The Mission Hill Hotel. The Monkey sucked in a sharp breath.

The Lioness decided against telling them that she had actually been here before. A few times actually. Her father sometimes got free weekends for his entire family, a benefit from his dentistry. Much like her however, the Tiger didn't seem fazed. He was busy scanning the huge lobby, making quick decisions and calculations before he said, "Masks off. Hoods up. Look casual and follow me."

Swiftly, they did just that, huddling forward and avoiding eye contact with the actual hotel residents. But, since the fall of his mask, Sully eye's were still wide with magic. He only barely drifted along with the rest of them, his real intention being to spin and spin until he had taken in every intricate quality of the hotel lobby. His open mouth finally uttered words."This place is beautiful!"

Chyna shushed him. "Shut up!" she hissed.

"What? It is!"

Sully wasn't wrong. The Mission Inn Hotel was luxury at its finest. The expanse of the imitated marble floor reflected the chandelier lights like glass but the refraction was immediately hushed quiet by the blood-red, cotton-stuffed corduroy sofas and ottomans. The sparse lobby also held four swivelling golden columns stretching for the high ceiling making everyone look that much smaller, especially the lone group of teenagers concealing their masks and skipping toward the elevator.

As they moved, Saint caught the strange glare from the single lady at the front desk. He flashed teeth and waved harmlessly. She smiled back, but it hardly ever reached her cheeks. Her shoulders stiffened and her eyes narrowed. She was on to them.

Cairo suddenly feigned a recollection of some distant memory. Following Saint's narrative, he jogged over to the lady at the front desk, just close enough so she could hear him but certainly not within the periphery of the surveillance camera hovering on the wall behind her. "Hi, I just remembered," his voice was higher a few pitches and his expression was immediately relaxed, "can we actually have some towels brought up to room one-o-seven, please? My dad took his to the pool by accident yesterday and lost it and now we're kind of out." This time, the lady eased and uttered a kind word before quickly picking up her phone.

Saint hit the elevator button just as Cairo re-joined them.

"I almost didn't recognise you," Naomi told him.

Cairo shrugged. "I wasn't always the way I am now." He didn't look at her but his voice had sunken back into the low grovel she was used to. "These people have no idea how privileged they are."