Good morning. I hope everyone’s week is going well thus far. Last night I had dreams of scissors. People made of scissors with great long blades for arms and legs. when people talked the words would come out in long streams of words and other people would literally cut them off with a snip of their fingers. Then the words would fall yo the ground and shatter like glass. It was very strange. And I will be thinking about it for the rest of the day. But for now, let’s get on with our morning writing prompt. Hopefully it will help me leave the scissor people behind.
Okay I really like this one. This story may actually kick the scissor people out of my brain. It seems like it might be fun to play around with.
Wednesday, February 2nd: They all started talking at once.
They all started talking at once. It was chaos. There was no way all of them could be heard. At this rate she couldn’t hear even one of them properly. The only thing that came through was that they were all upset. She took a deep breath.
“One at a time,” she yelled quieting for a second. Before they could collectively gather their breaths and all assume they had to be the first in the one at a time, she pointed to the man standing nearest her. “You, name and room number.”
The others were quiet as he recited his name and room number and began his tirade of wrongs. She nodded and clicked the keys on the keyboard eyes mostly focused on the computer screen. It took less than a minute for his issue to be resolved and sent on his way. She took the next person in line and the process began again.
Seeing that something was actually being done about their problems, the crowd quieted, content to wait their turns now that it looked like help was on the way. Sandy worked through the waiting patrons with speed and efficiency. This may have been her last night at the Hotel Clarion but she was determined to do her part. Inadequate rooms were switched for the correct rooms and amenities were dispensed where appropriate.
As she worked she wondered how the system could have gotten so muddled in the first place. It seemed that no one had the right room. Half of the people were missing their luggage and many of the keys that had been issued for the right rooms simply weren’t working. She recoded keys, phoned the shuttle service and had bags delivered and guests sent along with their now working keys.
Eventually the desk area cleared out and Sandy was left alone. She had a crick in her neck and a headache forming between her eyes. She looked around. There was no one there. She chewed on her lip and leaned against the counter, hands to either side of the keyboard.
Technically speaking, she wasn’t supposed to be working the front desk today. She was here to finish her paperwork, run through her list of duties with the new owner and gather her things from her locker. Hotel Clarion had been sold to an owner with big ideas and big plans for the boutique hotel. To hear him talk, it would become a shining star in the world of hospitality.
One of the things that would make it a shining star was the all new staff he was bringing in. The newcomers would be trained in the kind of services the guest the new Hotel Clarion would attract. None of the old staff, Sandy included, were being kept. Most of the old staff were gone now. She was in fact the last to leave. She looked around. The new staff seemed to have taken cover.
Reminding herself that the Hotel was no longer her concern, Sandy walked away from the counter. In her meeting with the new manager earlier, she relayed the duties of her position. The new manager barely paid any attention to her words, nodding absently as she spoke. Occasionally he would comment about having a new system. It made her feel like she was wasting time for both of them but she got through it. Her paperwork had then been completed and filed just as the mob formed at the front desk.
‘Which means all I have to do is empty my locker,’ Sandy thought. While she would miss the hotel, she suspected that what she would miss was already gone. ‘And I have a new job waiting for me.’ She reminded herself, pushing away nostalgic thoughts as she walked into the break room. She opened her locker and took out her bag. It was time to go and leave the Hotel Clarion to its new regime.
Ten til Midnight 