Fear hit me as if it were a passing train, leaving me a wreck as anxiety soaked into my pores. I fluffed my hair, using my reflection in the mirror, letting out a pent-up sigh. I hoped and prayed that I would make a good first impression; I needed that job. My mother had been forcing the idea of employment onto my conscience for months, and I had finally caved in to her growing demands. Smoothing my eyebrows, adjusting my tie into its place, I took a deep, calm breath in.
The floor beneath my feet was tiled, the way I remembered it was when I was little. Nothing had changed about the building, even those golden revolving doors were still in use. Putting on my friendliest smile, I waddled through them, standing silent and still in the lobby. It was empty- which wasn't what I was expecting. Frowning, I span around on my heels, wondering if I was in the right place. Surely the place should have been thriving- the way it used to be when I was little. People flitted in and out of the place constantly; mother would drag me away as the beautiful girls in their beautiful dresses danced their way to the party inside.
A cough snapped my daydream in half, causing my head to turn to the left involuntarily. A woman sat at the reception desk, the word painted above it in fresh gold paint. The woman was old, but not old enough for it to be truly noticeable. Her hair was platinum blonde, purely by choice. Her frown lines were prominent, enough for me to understand that every one of them had a deeper meaning. I smiled again, slowly walking over to the desk. "New boy?" She called, I nodded slowly. She sighed loudly, pulling out a long cigarette holder from behind the book she had in front of her. "It was my mother's. She worked here in the fifties-until she died, of course. Cancer's a killer baby." She chuckled, lighting the cigarette with a match, shaking the flame out with her manicured hand.
After blowing smoke into my face, me holding my breath until the mist left my vicinity, she opened her mouth once again. "So, what's your name then, new boy?" She asked, tapping the hot ash from her cigarette onto the desk.
"My name is Jacob Hill." I said confidently, as a manicured hand made its way over the desk for me to gingerly shake. She smiled- forced of course- her teeth unnaturally white. "How come there's nobody around here. I swear I used to see so many people coming in and out of here when I was younger." I asked, tapping the desk with my fingers. How I wished to have long nails like hers, I was sick of how unhappy my appearance made me. I wasn't ugly, but I wasn't comfortable in the suits and the ties.
"They come at night; like moths to a flame. Like little animals in their party dresses. The floor is usually covered in glitter, and the 'special' cleaning crew have to come out every night to clean the shit from the ground. Not that Thaddeus cares." She rolled her eyes with a huge sigh.
"Thaddeus?"
"The owner. Heaven forbid he catches a glimpse of you. He'll snap you up in a heartbeat." She rolled her eyes again, tapping the ash once more. I bit my lip nervously, as she began to laugh.
After her laughing fit, she invited me behind the desk. She dumped my coat into a cluttered room behind us, returning to her creaking chair. She flipped open the book, dust particles dancing in the air. I batted them away, trying hard not to cough- to me that would've been impolite. Her red nails scraped against the paper, sending shivers along my spine. I shook my head, grinding my teeth. "I assume that you'll be here until late." She said, not bothering to make any eye contact.
"Sure." I said simply, not planning on attending dinner with my family anyway. In my parents' eyes, my older siblings were perfect. Especially Megan, my sister- with her perfect little family- child, husband, dog and all. I hissed at the thought of sitting with them at another meal, answering questions with lies that I had rehearsed for hours before.
"Good. You'll meet the night staff. They're a delight," She chuckled, putting her cigarette out using the desk, "They'll probably get you drunk within an hour of you meeting them." She chuckled, leaning back in her chair. I drew a deep breath in, holding it for a few moments, before releasing it. Working with her would be harder than I had originally thought. I knew nothing about her- name, age, interests- but I had already decided that I didn't want to get too close to her. There was an air to her that wasn't pleasant, but I supposed that that could have been the cancer fog from her cigarettes.
"What's your name?" I found myself asking, instantly beating myself up about it afterwards. She paused, turning to me with a glistening smile.
"I'm Penelope Gold. I used to be somewhat famous about these parts- however fame does lessen like sand in an hourglass." She raised an eyebrow, leading my mind astray. I'll be sure to research you whenever I have the free time, I said to myself. Yet, it wasn't her that I was awfully intrigued about. It was the 'Thaddeus' aspect of the job that did. I wanted to know who he was, and more importantly I wanted to see who he was. "Honey, you'll see him alright. He's probably already lurking around here, knowing that there's fresh meat." She winked at me, returning to the book in front of her.
After a silent moment or two, she opened her mouth again, "Go and have a wander around. You might want to get familiar with the place, seeing as you'll be doing most of the dirty work." She said with a snigger, never lifting her head from the book. So I left the front desk, digging my hands into my pockets, heels clicked against the marble floor as my eyes wandered around the lobby. They rested on an old, golden elevator towards the back of the lobby, with stained-glass windows that added some kind of charm. Sighing, I headed towards them.
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Song Of The Chapter- Come Together by The Beatles
A.N
I'm so sorry that I haven't updated anything as of late, I was going through some tricky mental stuff. As well as that, I'm in the middle of doing NCS ( an optional thing for kids in the UK) and I absolutely adore it. It actually rekindled my love of the outdoors, and I'm considering doing something like that for a year after I do my degree :3
Anyway, don't forget to comment and vote, it really helps me out.
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Teen FictionJacob Hill is a quiet young man. He's caught up in his own world, as he battles to figure out who he is. In a last ditch attempt to get a glimpse of the people he admired as a child, he goes to work at The Westward Hotel- a place well-known for its...
