Eventually, Gary reached Cipen. The district was filled with paved walkways, nice restaurants, and all types of shops selling everything from general appliances, over fancy clothes, to the latest generations of electronic gimmicks. On top of that, there were some of the top hotels and apartments in the area.
Following the directions on his phone, the teenager finally reached what looked like the outside of a hotel lobby.
‘This place looks like a castle compared to our old place. At the start of the year I would have never thought to live in a place like this, much less to own it. Well, I guess it's not completely right to say ‘we’ are living in a place like this since, seeing as I haven't actually been inside yet.’ Gary thought.
A man opened the door for him, and bowed, welcoming him inside.
“Welcome…Sir.” The man greeted Gary once he raised his head. There was some slight hesitation in his voice for some reason. Unsure whether he had the right place or not, the teenager continued to walk on the pale marble flooring, until he reached the front reception desk. Once again, those behind the counter exchanged looks, before they spoke to the new arrival.
“Is there anything we can help you with, Sir?” The man in the suit asked with the name tag ‘Stin’.
“Um yes, I'm actually looking for apartment 2306. It’s supposed to be located in this hotel.” Gary stated. Personally, he found it a bit strange that there were apartments in hotel lobbies, but he had been told by Kai that it was actually quite common with large buildings.
“Ah, yes we do have that apartment number here, but are you sure you are at the right place? There are plenty of other places that perhaps have the same room number. If you need any help we could direct you.” The man offered with a smile.
Gary looked at his phone,with the texted address from Kai. It said the Biltop Hotel, and judging by the giant sign behind the receptionist, this was without a doubt the Biltop Hotel.
“No, I’m pretty sue that this is the right hotel. Could you tell me how I can get to that apartment room?” Gary asked again, politely.
“Sir, is there any reason for you to go to the apartment room? Could you share your reason for visiting today? We haven’t been informed about any visits, and our rules state that we do have to contact the owner in question in these kinds of situations, to make sure that we don’t bring someone over by mistake.” The man explained.
Gary was starting to find the whole conversation frustrating, but he felt like this level of security for the apartment rooms was quite nice. If it took this much for someone to see his sister then they were at least doing their job.
“I mean you can do that, but… that would be a little weird.” Gary scratched his cheek. “I’m actually the owner of that apartment. It's just my first time actually coming here, so I really don’t know the way.”
The man looked stunned as he heard those words, and looked to his colleague once more. In fact there was even a small chuckle.
“I see now. I hope you have enjoyed your little joke. Now, if you don’t mind, we adults have to work. If you wish to exit the building, the exit is that way.” The man gestured.
Now Gary was the one raising an eyebrow. ‘Why is everyone treating me so weirdly.’
“Did I mess up my words? Can you just tell me how to get to apartment 2306?” Gary asked again, getting slightly annoyed in his voice.
“Sir, if you do not leave, we will have to call security.”
“Call them!” Gary shouted back. “Maybe they can freaking show me, where room 2306 is!”
Now causing a scene in the hotel reception, there were many that were looking Gary’s way. The security looked like they were ready to move as well, until.
“Gary!” A voice called out.
Turning around, a pale faint skinned woman could be seen walking up, and there was only one person that Gary knew was like this.
“White?” Gary replied. “It's a good thing that you are here, maybe you can help me up to the room.”
The man behind the desk looked nervous as White and him crossed eyes at each other.
‘Miss White… she seems to actually know the boy.’ The man realised in shock. His manager had warned them to treat Miss White and Miss Amy with the utmost respect, fulfilling their every wish. Apparently, one of the two was related to their latest investor who now owned 10% of their entire hotel.
“I'm sorry!” The receptionist immediately apologised. “We had no clue this boy was a guest of yours. We promise if we see him again we will treat him with the same respect as you! I apologise for my negligence, Sir!”
White didn't really say anything, and instead just waved the man off as she dragged Gary towards the side. She pressed on the button and the elevator doors opened up. It was an express elevator that went directly to the 20th floor.
As the two of them got on the elevator and the doors closed, White finally let out a sigh. “Have you figured out why they treated you like that? No? It’s because you look like a homeless person who has just gotten off the street.” White stated since Gary only gave her a confused look. “Since you were coming over to visit your sister, couldn’t you have at least worn something nice for her?”
Gary then looked down at himself. Admittedly, his current outfit was a far cry from fancy, but calling him a homeless person seemed like a stretch. He was wearing his comfy clothes, a shirt and jeans, though they had been scrunched up, a button had been ripped off and there was even a bit of blood on his shirt.
All of this was due to the fight that Gary had gotten in a little while ago.
“At a place as fancy as this, of course they are going to try and stop you if you come in dressed like that. Although they are undoubtedly snobs I think they had a reason to act like that this time.” White stated.
All Gary could do was pull an awkward smile, next time he would have to dress up a bit , but if he had fought in an expensive suit, it would cause other problems.
Either way, he could ignore everything that happened, because he was ready to see his sister’s smile.
The door to the apartment room was opened, and immediately Gary was greeted with a sight he could only imagine in his dreams. There was a glass window that overlooked the entire town from here.
Top of the end wooden flooring, and a nice sofa set that looked out to a TvV There were a total of four toilets in the apartment room, and a nice kitchen with an island with all the cooking equipment you could need.
However, Gary didn’t care about any of that, instead he immediately ran over as he could see a certain someone sitting on the sofa, and gave her a big hug from behind.
“Hey what are you doing holding me so tightly, White?!” Amy complained, startled by this sudden attack, only to realise that the forearms were far too muscular to be a girl.
“I used to look forward to having a room of my own, but honestly I never thought I would miss you so much.” Gary said.
Immediately, Amy recognised who it was and stood up. Tears started to flow from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.
“You…you big green idiot! Why didn't you tell me you were coming!” Amy complained as she jumped at Gary, who held her closely in his arms.
“Family.” White mumbled as she watched the reunion with a smile. “It's…a good thing to have.”
“When did you get back? What are you doing here? How long will you stay? How was the academy?” Amy had a number of questions for her brother, since the two of them had a lot to talk about together, a lot to catch up about in person.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay here long enough to answer your question, but I want to ask you some of my own, like how are you doing in the new school? Did you manage to make some friends already? There is a lot for us to talk about, but why don't we talk while we head to the hospital. I planned to see Mum here together, and see how she's doing.”
When this one question was asked, the smile had surprisingly dropped from Amy’s face. Gary didn't quite understand why, he thought it would be good to have the family back together.,
Sure seeing their mother was always upsetting but it had been a while now since she had been hospitalised, and at least her condition has not worsened. They had visited her together a few times before Gary had left.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to act all weird,” Amy said. “I think catching up and heading to her is a great idea. It's just… I think there is something else I need to show you, before we head to see Mum.”
Amy quickly rushed off into her room, and a few moments later brought with her a letter.
“Shortly after I moved here, it showed up on the doorstep. I haven’t looked inside yet, but the sender is… Dad.”
*****
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