The three cars left Lilly’s house and drove towards the edge of town. The Red Panda Hotel was located in the next town called Arboreal. Jaime Greenwood loved this hotel. Part of its funds went to charity organizations that care for endangered red pandas. The name itself brought publicity to their cause. They didn’t belittle their services either which attracted a lot of customers.
The drive went by smoothly. Surprisingly, there was little traffic to worry about.
Alex pulled out her earphones and plucked them in. Although the hotel was only in a nearby town, the drive would still take about an hour or so. Nothing passed the time quicker than music.
Maybe she could listen to an audiobook too.
If she closed her eyes, it would be like she got transported to another world.
“Hey, Aunt Lilly. Did you ever find out about that folder?” Emily asked just when Alex almost hit the play button. Her thumb hovered over it, waiting for her aunt’s next words.
With the recent Courtney Incident, Emily became more aware of the situations Alex’s secret almost got exposed. Technically, the folder did leak it out but they had been able to contain it. The one with Courtney had been lucky too since Jae took over the circumstances. That sort of luck streak couldn’t last forever.
“Not yet” Lilly sighed, “Work is cramped right now. It sucks. I’ll be meeting him in the coming week though.”
Emily slumped in her seat, “Ugh, I hate this feeling. I feel like any moment something else could happen. Since we still don’t know who it is, the person could make another move.”
“Well, let’s hope nothing will happen before we catch the person.”
She turned her head towards the backseat. Alex sat behind their aunt and had her eyes on her phone. Emily frowned at the sight of it. She grabbed the cushion of the carseat, tossing it towards her cousin.
“Hey!” Alex protested.
“Aren’t you supposed to be more worried about this than the rest of us?” Emily demanded.
Alex rolled her eyes, “It’s not like I don’t think about it but, right now, my priority is making out this weekend alive.”
Lilly chuckled, “It can’t be that bad.”
“Grandma is one thing, Aunt Lilly. Grandpa is another. What do you think he’ll say about our male companions?”
“To not make babies with them,” Emily answered, checking her nails. Lilly had to laugh. It was the most accurate thing she ever heard. Unless a couple was married, her father definitely didn’t approve of any intimate contact.
Alex hung her head. She considered it a good thing that she brought painkillers for the trip. Her parents had booked hotel rooms for them all to stay overnight. The party wasn’t until tomorrow evening. By arriving early, they had more time to prepare for it. They only needed an extra day because she and Emily still had to shop for dresses.
And for some quality time, her mother said.
Soon enough, the car rolled into the entrance of the Red Panda Hotel. The valet quickly assisted them. A bellhop came out with a luggage cart, ready to take their things. He immediately took Alex’s bag before she could put it on.
Lilly walked to her trunk and opened it. After her bags had been placed on the cart, she pointed to the other two cars behind them, “They’re our companions. We don’t have much baggage so you can just add their stuff to this cart.”
“Yes, madam” the bellboy nodded politely with a smile.
“Thank you.”
Then, Lilly walked towards the entrance. Alex took about two steps when she noticed Emily hadn’t moved at all. Her cousin’s eyes stared intensely in one direction. Alex followed her line of sight. They were trained at her bags being taken out of Jae’s car.
Alex shook her head and moved her feet behind Emily. With two hands, she pushed her cousin into the hotel.
The lobby looked as big as a ballroom. The interior had a red, orange and gold theme. On the left, the front desk had been divided into three, depending on a guest’s concerns. The middle one accommodated the check-ins and Lilly already fell in line.
After the front desk was a wide doorway that led to one side of the building while the other was located at the opposite end. The back of the lobby had a lounge for the guests to use as a sitting area either for waiting or for coffee/tea breaks. The furniture were made of gold plates and red velvet cushions.
What made the hotel unique were the red panda figurines situated on several stands. It provided visual for the people who didn’t know what they looked like.
Alex and Emily headed towards their aunt. They shared a room as per Emily’s request and it had been reserved under Emily’s name. It would have been Alex’s name but she’d rather not risk using her real name just yet.
They chattered a bit while waiting for their turn. With one guest left between them and the front desk, Angeline came out of the doorway nearby. She wore a black maxi dress that floated off the ground whenever she walked. Lilly had just messaged her that they arrived and she couldn’t wait to see them.
“Lilly!” She squealed, hugging her sister-in-law, “Oh, I’m so glad to see you! I swear you look younger every time!”
Lilly hugged her back and laughed, “And you still look just as radiant. I take it my brother hasn’t been stressing you?”
Angeline let her go, waving a hand in the air, “He is in one of his baths again.”
Alex squeezed her eyes shut on reflex. She really didn’t want to hear that. It only made her remember her mother’s description about it
“Aunt Angie! Long time, no see!” Emily bounced on her heels excitedly.
Angeline chuckled, “Emily, we just saw each other last night.”
Her niece merely shrugged, “I know. Will you go shopping with us?”
“Is that the plan for today?”
“It most definitely is! Nothing has a better dress selection other than the Greenwood malls.”
“She can’t join you, girls” Lilly cut in, looping an arm around Angeline’s, “We’ll be spending the day in a spa.”
Emily pouted, “I want to go to the spa too.”
“We can’t do everything, Emily” Alex pointed out. If it weren’t for her cousin, she would have spent the rest of the day locked up in their hotel room.
“Angie, lovely to see you again” Logan smiled. He stopped next to Alex, a step behind. He shielded half of her back.
“Pleasure is all mine” Angeline replied, “I’m delighted the two of you could make it.”
“My father would also like to extend his gratitude,” Jae said, though he never did mention anything of the sort, “Maybe next time he could join us.”
Logan nudged his side. The last part was just pushing it. How could a person just invite someone else to an event where they didn’t even know the host?
“I think Jaime is planning a beach theme next year. Your family is more than welcome to join.”
The beach? Logan thought. Would that mean bikinis? A blurry picture of a beach full of people came to his mind. Then, there was one girl who sat on a recliner chair with a book in hand. She wore a vest hoodie and swim shorts.
Yup, the bikinis would probably be for everyone except for Alex.
Angeline clapped her hands. There was a new twinkle in her eyes, “Oh, I have an idea. Why don’t you take the boys with you, Emily?”
Emily’s eyes widened instantly, “Take them shopping?! What 100% heterosexual male with no interests in fashion would go through the torture of shopping?!”
“Ouch” Jae placed a hand on his heart, rubbing an invisible wound, “Way to make assumptions about us.”
Emily merely gave him a deadpanned look, “Like it’s not true.”
“It is.”
She rolled her eyes. The blonde bigfoot just wanted to annoy her, “See? I think they’d rather do something else.”
“Wouldn’t you need a car to go to the mall?” Lilly asked, scrunching her eyebrows together, “And I doubt you’d only buy one thing, Emily. You’ll need the space for your shopping bags.”
“As long as they’re not full of bricks.”
Emily glared at Jae. She marched towards him, tilting her head up. Why did the abominable lemon snowman have to be a head and a neck taller than her?
She mustered every bit of intensity she had in her eyes and pointed a finger at his face, hissing, “Don’t you dare regret your words. If I hear one complaint from you, I’ll break both your legs.”
Alex licked her lips and leaned her head back, “I think my cousin doesn’t like your brother.”
“Well, she’s definitely heading in the right direction” Logan chuckled, his breath brushing her cheeks.
At the side of the scene, Lilly and Angeline high-five subtly. Sometimes Lilly thought they had better mind reading abilities than twins do.
