Hotel Room and the Marcodos Bunz...

She messed around with a payment terminal for a bit, then handed it to me.

Glancing at the terminal, I inserted my card, then my PIN.

Ka-ching!

I removed my card, glaring at the pink-haired lady whose name I never got.

She had a…surprised/amused expression whilst handing me my card aggressively.

Paying no mind to her, I went to an elevator close by, entered it, and checked the card I got.

"Room #457. (Elite Room Card.)" was plastered on it.

{A/N: Missed chance to put Room #420.}

Looking at the elevator's buttons, I clicked the fifth-floor option.

…

Clomp! Clomp! Clomp…

Treading through the narrow hall, I glanced everywhere, searching for my room, until I finally found it; Room #457.

Heading to my room, I smelled my fine, wooden door?!

Looking around myself sneakily, I said goodbye to the well-built hallway and red carpet, then used my card and entered the room I'd be staying in for a while…hopefully.

I was presented with a tidy, huge, white bed with many pillows, the center one being red colored.

Looking around away from the bed, I saw two brown chairs (with cushions on them) and a table in front of them.

Aside from that, I saw a wooden table of visibly great quality and a…comfortable chair.

Then, my eyes turned to the best part; the large windows, unobstructed by the wide-open curtains, showed me a rather special view of the—of my city.

Looking outside the window, a large smile crept up my face as I reveled in my new life and hoped for the best.

…

I was eating some spaghetti in a medium-sized room while sitting on a finally comfortable chair. My hands bathed as spaghetti fell on them when I rotated my fork, eating happily. Soon enough, I got comfortable in the new atmosphere…and happy with the AC. In fact, I was really happy with the AC.

…

After finishing the great food, I went to the bathroom, fully intending to wash my hands until I saw the luxuriousness and decided to shower too (after placing my phone on my bed).

Swoosh!

"F*ck! Too hot!"

…

Coming out of the shower and using my towel in the right places, I immediately used some cream, applying it to…places. Then, I started combing my hair, and before long, I came out of the bathroom, fully dressed in fashionable pajamas, and headed to…my bed!

Smiling once more, I plopped down on my bed, reaching for my phone, gripping it in my hand, and browsing the Internet.

…

I put my phone back on my bed, and then I remembered the fact that there were people in the hotel who quite literally delivered food to you, not to mention the various restaurants surrounding the hotel.

Deciding to try my various options later, I headed to the kitchen where I previously made my aforementioned spaghetti in, poured myself a cup of water, opened the large fridge there, and took some apples.

Digging in and enjoying the somehow exhilarating taste, I finished my food, headed back to my bed, and readied myself for sleep, only to get up again and go brush my teeth.

Coming back to the bed, I took my phone and placed it on the nearby wooden table.

Then, I laid on the comfortable bed and slept on my side.

…

Waking up groggily, I rolled around the bed, stretching my arms and slowly parting from the bed, my body screaming "no!" to me but getting ignored.

I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Sitting down on one of the chairs there, I gulped a good-enough amount of water slowly, in several sips.

Then, after washing my glass and scrubbing it, I exited the kitchen, went to the bathroom, poured water on my face, and brushed my teeth.

After the antecedent events, I headed out of the bathroom, still in pajamas since I hadn't brought any clothes other than the ones that I came with, I'd probably head to get them later anyways, plus, the end of the month is near, I can always vacate the room if everything goes well.

Walking towards my…vibrating phone, I held it, which resulted in the vibrations stopping.

I then turned my phone and used the fingerprint sensor on its side, turning it on and being met with the same glitchy-looking gift icon.

Smiling crazily, excitement rushing through me, I hastily tapped on the gift icon several dozen times in a matter of seconds, breaking my previous record…if I ever even had one.

Then, I was presented with another peculiar notification; far from the usual.

{"Congratulations! You've won a 'Marcodos Bunz,' to redeem, head to… (If ignored, the car will automatically arrive at a parking stall near the Aston Brandon C-1, additionally, there will be some people there to confirm the acquisition of your car.)"}

Glancing at the message, I suppressed my excitement and changed my clothes, deciding to go eat at a restaurant.

…

Clomp! Clomp! Clomp…

I could be seen exiting the hotel in style, walking to a nearby restaurant, one that I had read about while browsing the Internet yesterday.

Then, I entered with confidence in my every step, proving how much I changed in a span of a couple of days.

{A/N: Don't you love using redundant phrases and terms to increase your chapter's word count?}

An employee immediately walked up to me, this time a man. Looks like I don't just attract women…

Glancing at the lean, built, light-brown-haired man with a chiseled face and…soft dark-brown-colored eyes, I stated: "A table for one, please. Ah, and may I have a menu?"

"'f course, follow me!" the man said, his posture well-defined.

Taking several confident strides alongside the man, I arrived at a table, sat down, and thanked him.

"Thank you…"

"It's Conley, sir."

"Thank you very much, Conley."

"It's my pleasure, really! Oh, and here's the menu." he stretched his right hand that was holding the menu to me, and I took the menu from his hand, sending a smile his way in the process.

"You can call me or any other employee if you need anything by raising your hand, enjoy your stay in the 'Gordon Establishment.'"

'Quite a well-spoken guy, isn't he?' I said, my mood raised by the man—Connor—who acted so carefree, polite, and happy all at the same time. I'd probably never know if he was acting or just like that, though, not that I even meant that he was in the first place. The mind is a wonderful and frightening place.

Checking the menu in my hand, I browsed several sections until I found what I was looking for; the "Gordon-Special Gumbo."

After deciding what I'd eat, I browsed the Drinks Section and internally chose regular, plain water.

{A/N: Nothin' better than water.}

Then, I raised my hand, only to lower it after seeing Conley heading to me.

"You've already chosen?!" he said with surprise tinged in his voice.

"Indeed. Could I have the 'Gordon-Special Gumbo,' please?"

"Of course! I'll relay your order, Mister..." he paused.

"Jonathon."

"I'll relay your order to the chefs, Mr. Jonathon," he stated, walking away.

…

Several minutes later, Conley came back, slowly placing the gumbo on the table.

"There you go! Apologies for the wait."

"No worries," I replied, thinking of handing him a tip when leaving.

Gazing at the rightfully glorified gumbo, I sniffed it and immediately dug in, using the foodware provided to almost every table.

I moaned, my tongue begging me to ingurgitate the food in front of me, and so, I did, I enjoyed the supplementary flavors, the juicy shrimp, the thick broth, and so much more…

…

…

After finishing the gumbo, I delightfully patted my tummy.

Then, I stood up groggily and headed toward the only cash register in sight.

Arriving at the said register, I looked at the employee (cashier) in front of me and told him my name and order and how I wanted to pay.

He suddenly took out a stack of organized papers and then turned to me and said: "Of course, Mr. Jackson. Over here, if you may." Heeding his words, I followed him as he asked another question.

"Cash or credit?"

"Can I pay using my debit card?"

"Ah! Yes, my apologies, not many pay using debit cards nowadays."

"No worries," I said once more, handing him my card.

He inserted it into the machine after setting everything up and handed the said machine (payment terminal) to me.

I inserted my PIN into the payment terminal as he did something at the cash register.

He walked back to me, seeing that everything worked out. I then took my card back, eyeing the man in front of me who had blond-colored hair like me, brown eyes, and nothing else noteworthy, crazy how much your perception changes when you actually pay attention, especially your perception of people.

Then, I snapped out from my pondering as he handed me a receipt that I gladly took, not forgetting to thank him before heading to where I last saw Conley.

…

Walking with slow, steady steps, I arrived at where I had been, seeing Conley in front of me.

"Need anything, Mr. Jonathon?"

"No, not really," I said, stuffing $100 in his hand while talking.

His eyes widened, his facial features crumbling as a distorted smile appeared on his face for a second before disappearing.

"I… I really can't accept this."

"I won't be taking it back. It's either you keep it or hand it to someone else," I stated, my tone firm.

Realizing I wouldn't budge, a single tear traveled from Conley's face to the floor as he thanked me repeatedly.

My ego got boosted.

Ironic how the "carefree" guy was in the end, the most appreciative guy. Might be in trouble, but he works in a high-rated restaurant, and, in the end, I shouldn't pry into his life, at least my little donation helped him a bit and made him regain some hope; some motivation. I don't know why…but, I can somehow relate.

…

In the parking lot, my eyes kept slowly moving, looking around everywhere until they sighted a similar, glossy, dark-silver-colored Marcodos car with another car and uniformed, armed, vigilant, varying men surrounding it, seemingly unbothered by the glistening sun and the extreme heat.

Glancing toward the car once more, I saw how its features were mostly covered by the aforementioned men.

So, despite no one daring to go up to them, I moved in several large strides until I arrived at their location and stated only one thing as they stared me down: "Is that the Marcodos Bunz I bought? Name's Jonathon F. Peter," I said confidently, taking out my shoddy wallet and grabbing my ID in a position where they could all see it.

Then, the leanest man of the bunch, not as muscular and large as his acquaintances, moved up to me, surprisingly matching my height.

The man's acquaintances marched behind him, their weapons lowered, of course.

I averted my eyes to the rather large ones, they had varying features, though most of them did have a common feature; the shape of their face, the lean man however, had visible muscles even under his clothes, which was a good sign and a bad sign at the same time, black-colored hair, and a once again, chiseled, handsome face with a deadpan expression, hazy green eyes, and a stubble.

"Hello, Sir Jonathon. May I have a closer look at your ID?"

"Of course," I said, handing him my ID.

He took some time looking over my card carefully, seemingly not thinking of verifying my identity/ID in any other method. I wondered if he had any doubt in the first place.

Then, he suddenly handed me my card, flashed a smile at me, and gave me a few papers and two sales receipts, which I signed after carefully reading.

"Would you like digital copies to be sent to your number?" the man said.

"Yes, I'd love that."

Taking the papers and one sale receipt back after I stretched my arms out to him, he and his acquaintances walked away to their rather large SUV.

…

{A/N: Like this novel? Yes?! Then stop sending these Stones! I'm a lazy, busy guy…}

{Word count: 2,081 (including all the notes).}

{Image of the Elite Room.}

{Image of the Marcodos Bunz.}