Exhausted, she repositioned herself to face the front, slumped forward onto my back, and hugged me from behind as she leaned the side of her helmet on my back.
“Haaaaah. I’m tired, I just want today to hurry up and be over,” she complained.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. As you said, something like this was inevitable the instant I became acquainted with Malory. It was just a matter of whether it happened sooner rather than later. It might be best that it happened now when I still had a chance to escape. If it was later, I might have been put into a position where escape was impossible.”
We continued to chat as we circled the block going up and down a few streets parallel to one another and kept an eye out for a hotel.
When I was starting to lose hope Yuna suddenly cried out from behind, “Stop!”
Startled by her outburst I immediately braked and came to an abrupt stop and asked, “What is it?”
“Back there. Behind us. We just passed it. The lights on the sign were out, but I’m sure I saw the word motel on it.”
“Motel? Huh? Let me check online really quickly.”
I searched for motels on my phone, but the only results that appeared on the map were for hotels. They all showed their prices for a single night on the map too, but there weren't any tags on the map with a price listed around here. What the hell?
“There’s nothing on the map showing a motel around here. You sure you’re not just seeing things?”
“Would you like to make a bet?”
“What sort of bet?”
“If it’s there you have to pay for me.”
“No way.”
“How about half?”
“Not happening.”
“Come on, don’t be so stingy.”
“If I’m paying for anything I expect to get something out of it.”
“Then how about this, you cover the security deposit if I win. You’ll get your money back that way.”
“Hmm, sure, that’s at least acceptable.”
“Now what do I get if I win?”
“If you win… how about I give you a kiss on the cheek?”
“Why is my reward for winning a punishment?”
“Shut up, that’s the best I can offer.”
“Haaaah. If I win, how about you tell me the name of the author you like?”
“Oh! That’s a pretty good deal. Good thing I didn’t tell you before and saved that card.”
“Then it’s a bet. If I win, you tell me the name of the author you like. If you win, I will pay for the security deposit on the room which I get back.”
“Deal. Now hurry up and go back. I’m sure I saw correctly.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going, I’m going.”
I popped a U-turn and headed back a short distance until Yuna said, “Right here. Turn in here.”
“Sure.”
“See, I was right. The sign does say motel.”
I looked up to our right and she was correct. It wasn’t lit up, but it definitely did say it was a motel. Why wasn’t it on the map though?
I checked my phone again and confirmed our location on the map was correct. Only when I zoomed in and inspected it a bit closer did I realize there was a dot the same color as the price tags for the hotels. When I tapped on the small dot, I facepalmed. It’d been there the entire time.
“I’m seriously blind. It was... on the map. It just didn’t list the price like all the other hotels and only had a small dot you’d never notice.”
“Hahaha, looks like it’s my win and the security deposit is on you. Too bad for you, looks like I get to keep my card a secret still.”
“Looks like it.”
I parked up beside the small building next to the entrance which seemed to be where the front desk would be. The motel consisted of three separate buildings to our left, right, and front when we turned into the parking lot at the center of all three.
We kept our helmets on and entered a small building directly to our side.
Nobody was around when we entered, but there was a bell on the counter. I rang the bell on the front counter and a woman called out from the back, “One sec, be right there.”
When the last opened the door behind the counter, she appeared with a lit cigarette sticking out the corner of her mouth. She raised her arm and plucked it out between two fingers and asked, “Ye here to book a room?”
“Yes, I’m looking for the cheapest room available for the night,” Yuna responded back to the woman.
“Oh? For the two of yuh?”
“No, it’s just for me. One bed.”
“Alright, can I see your ID?”
“Is a university student ID good enough?”
“Yeah, is fine.”
Yuna handed over her card and the lady confirmed her age.
“The cheapest one bedroom we have is $50 a night. Is dat fine?”
“Yes. How much is the security deposit?”
“$100.”
Yuna glanced at me. A loss was a loss. I headed over to the ATM at the corner of the room and withdrew it in cash.
When she realized I wasn’t paying the deposit directly with my card Yuna asked, “Is it fine to pay for the room with my card and the deposit by cash?”
“Yea that’s fine. Mr. Boyfriend over there’s payin the deposit for ye?”
“B-Boyfriend? Uh… haha… yeah.”
“Is he goin home after the two of yuh do it or sometin? A secret affair at night from the missus?”
“No! Not at all! Nothing of the sort!” Yuna shook her hands from side to side vehemently refuting her.
“Well, none of ma business what the two of yuh gettin up to. Just try not to make too much of a mess. At least don’t get any on the ceiling.”
“The… ceiling?”
“Yea, is a pain in de ass to clean it up dere. Sometimes the crusty flakes gets in yuh eyes.”
My entire body shivered. What sort of shit hole did we stumble upon exactly? I couldn’t help but wonder.
“R-Right…”
Once the paperwork was completed, Yuna paid the $50 with her card before she handed over the $100 I withdrew. We received the keys and headed for the exit.
“Try not to be too loud when you’re fuckin your girlfriend’s brains out Mr. Boyfriend, kay?”
I nearly tripped on the door frame and fell face flat on the way out of the building when she said that. What a vulgar woman. No wonder this place was in the ghetto.
After the door shut, Yuna joked, “Please be gentle, okay?”
“Don’t go along with it!”
“Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You’ve got Rosa after all. I really shouldn’t even entertain that sort of vulgar joke. I’d be an awful person if I let something like that really happen when you have that pretty girlfriend you’re so madly in love with.”
“Let’s take a look at the room and record a video so they can claim we damaged it in any way to try and con us out of the security deposit.”
“Good idea.”
I took out my phone and started recording as we made our way up the stairs to the second floor of the building across from the building with the front desk.
Four rooms down we came to a stop.
There was a scantily clad woman with a lascivious appearance smoking a cigarette outside the room next to ours. When she noticed us, she winked and licked her lips as she blew out a long trail of smoke our way before she asked suggestively, “Need a third?”
“N-No.”
“If you change your mind, jus knock on the wall three times and I’ll come right over. I’m pretty cheap, $30 for head, $60 for down below.”
What the hell is wrong with this place?
With a shaky, unsteady hand, Yuna inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. The two of us entered awkwardly under the gaze of the prostitute one room over.
“This place is like a foreign land to me,” Yuna said exasperatedly.
“Yeah. It’s definitely… something alright.”
I immediately got to work and recorded the entire room as soon as we entered. I absolutely wouldn’t risk getting scammed out of my security deposit because of carelessness.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the room. It definitely wasn’t anything spectacular, but it wasn’t awful and unlovable. It was just really small and cramped. It was decided into three sections. Immediately upon entry to our right was a small bed, a cabinet on the ground beside the bed, a television in front of the bed, and a one-seater couch beside it. To our left, there was a small offshoot kitchen with a sink, fridge, microwave oven, and a small round table. Toward the back, there was a bathroom with a working toilet, sink, and shower.
“It’s really small, but at least it has all the essentials,” Yuna praised. “For $50 a night, it’d only be a bit more expensive than my apartment for a month. But… even then… from what I’ve seen so far from this place, I don’t think I’d even be able to last a month here.”
“Yeah.”
Exhausted, she repositioned herself to face the front, slumped forward onto my back, and hugged me from behind as she leaned the side of her helmet on my back.
“Haaaaah. I’m tired, I just want today to hurry up and be over,” she complained.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. As you said, something like this was inevitable the instant I became acquainted with Malory. It was just a matter of whether it happened sooner rather than later. It might be best that it happened now when I still had a chance to escape. If it was later, I might have been put into a position where escape was impossible.”
We continued to chat as we circled the block going up and down a few streets parallel to one another and kept an eye out for a hotel.
When I was starting to lose hope Yuna suddenly cried out from behind, “Stop!”
Startled by her outburst I immediately braked and came to an abrupt stop and asked, “What is it?”
“Back there. Behind us. We just passed it. The lights on the sign were out, but I’m sure I saw the word motel on it.”
“Motel? Huh? Let me check online really quickly.”
I searched for motels on my phone, but the only results that appeared on the map were for hotels. They all showed their prices for a single night on the map too, but there weren't any tags on the map with a price listed around here. What the hell?
“There’s nothing on the map showing a motel around here. You sure you’re not just seeing things?”
“Would you like to make a bet?”
“What sort of bet?”
“If it’s there you have to pay for me.”
“No way.”
“How about half?”
“Not happening.”
“Come on, don’t be so stingy.”
“If I’m paying for anything I expect to get something out of it.”
“Then how about this, you cover the security deposit if I win. You’ll get your money back that way.”
“Hmm, sure, that’s at least acceptable.”
“Now what do I get if I win?”
“If you win… how about I give you a kiss on the cheek?”
“Why is my reward for winning a punishment?”
“Shut up, that’s the best I can offer.”
“Haaaah. If I win, how about you tell me the name of the author you like?”
“Oh! That’s a pretty good deal. Good thing I didn’t tell you before and saved that card.”
“Then it’s a bet. If I win, you tell me the name of the author you like. If you win, I will pay for the security deposit on the room which I get back.”
“Deal. Now hurry up and go back. I’m sure I saw correctly.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going, I’m going.”
I popped a U-turn and headed back a short distance until Yuna said, “Right here. Turn in here.”
“Sure.”
“See, I was right. The sign does say motel.”
I looked up to our right and she was correct. It wasn’t lit up, but it definitely did say it was a motel. Why wasn’t it on the map though?
I checked my phone again and confirmed our location on the map was correct. Only when I zoomed in and inspected it a bit closer did I realize there was a dot the same color as the price tags for the hotels. When I tapped on the small dot, I facepalmed. It’d been there the entire time.
“I’m seriously blind. It was... on the map. It just didn’t list the price like all the other hotels and only had a small dot you’d never notice.”
“Hahaha, looks like it’s my win and the security deposit is on you. Too bad for you, looks like I get to keep my card a secret still.”
“Looks like it.”
I parked up beside the small building next to the entrance which seemed to be where the front desk would be. The motel consisted of three separate buildings to our left, right, and front when we turned into the parking lot at the center of all three.
We kept our helmets on and entered a small building directly to our side.
Nobody was around when we entered, but there was a bell on the counter. I rang the bell on the front counter and a woman called out from the back, “One sec, be right there.”
When the last opened the door behind the counter, she appeared with a lit cigarette sticking out the corner of her mouth. She raised her arm and plucked it out between two fingers and asked, “Ye here to book a room?”
“Yes, I’m looking for the cheapest room available for the night,” Yuna responded back to the woman.
“Oh? For the two of yuh?”
“No, it’s just for me. One bed.”
“Alright, can I see your ID?”
“Is a university student ID good enough?”
“Yeah, is fine.”
Yuna handed over her card and the lady confirmed her age.
“The cheapest one bedroom we have is $50 a night. Is dat fine?”
“Yes. How much is the security deposit?”
“$100.”
Yuna glanced at me. A loss was a loss. I headed over to the ATM at the corner of the room and withdrew it in cash.
When she realized I wasn’t paying the deposit directly with my card Yuna asked, “Is it fine to pay for the room with my card and the deposit by cash?”
“Yea that’s fine. Mr. Boyfriend over there’s payin the deposit for ye?”
“B-Boyfriend? Uh… haha… yeah.”
“Is he goin home after the two of yuh do it or sometin? A secret affair at night from the missus?”
“No! Not at all! Nothing of the sort!” Yuna shook her hands from side to side vehemently refuting her.
“Well, none of ma business what the two of yuh gettin up to. Just try not to make too much of a mess. At least don’t get any on the ceiling.”
“The… ceiling?”
“Yea, is a pain in de ass to clean it up dere. Sometimes the crusty flakes gets in yuh eyes.”
My entire body shivered. What sort of shit hole did we stumble upon exactly? I couldn’t help but wonder.
“R-Right…”
Once the paperwork was completed, Yuna paid the $50 with her card before she handed over the $100 I withdrew. We received the keys and headed for the exit.
“Try not to be too loud when you’re fuckin your girlfriend’s brains out Mr. Boyfriend, kay?”
I nearly tripped on the door frame and fell face flat on the way out of the building when she said that. What a vulgar woman. No wonder this place was in the ghetto.
After the door shut, Yuna joked, “Please be gentle, okay?”
“Don’t go along with it!”
“Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You’ve got Rosa after all. I really shouldn’t even entertain that sort of vulgar joke. I’d be an awful person if I let something like that really happen when you have that pretty girlfriend you’re so madly in love with.”
“Let’s take a look at the room and record a video so they can claim we damaged it in any way to try and con us out of the security deposit.”
“Good idea.”
I took out my phone and started recording as we made our way up the stairs to the second floor of the building across from the building with the front desk.
Four rooms down we came to a stop.
There was a scantily clad woman with a lascivious appearance smoking a cigarette outside the room next to ours. When she noticed us, she winked and licked her lips as she blew out a long trail of smoke our way before she asked suggestively, “Need a third?”
“N-No.”
“If you change your mind, jus knock on the wall three times and I’ll come right over. I’m pretty cheap, $30 for head, $60 for down below.”
What the hell is wrong with this place?
With a shaky, unsteady hand, Yuna inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. The two of us entered awkwardly under the gaze of the prostitute one room over.
“This place is like a foreign land to me,” Yuna said exasperatedly.
“Yeah. It’s definitely… something alright.”
I immediately got to work and recorded the entire room as soon as we entered. I absolutely wouldn’t risk getting scammed out of my security deposit because of carelessness.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the room. It definitely wasn’t anything spectacular, but it wasn’t awful and unlovable. It was just really small and cramped. It was decided into three sections. Immediately upon entry to our right was a small bed, a cabinet on the ground beside the bed, a television in front of the bed, and a one-seater couch beside it. To our left, there was a small offshoot kitchen with a sink, fridge, microwave oven, and a small round table. Toward the back, there was a bathroom with a working toilet, sink, and shower.
“It’s really small, but at least it has all the essentials,” Yuna praised. “For $50 a night, it’d only be a bit more expensive than my apartment for a month. But… even then… from what I’ve seen so far from this place, I don’t think I’d even be able to last a month here.”
“Yeah.”
