Page 242 of As The Shifter World Turns

“Shit, it was the cooking right?” He had a small burner set up with a pot on top containing what appeared to be soup. “That’s what gave me away.”

“Are you living here?” I asked.

He didn’t meet my gaze, studying his feet instead. “I was behind on my rent and my landlord kicked me out. I was on the streets for a few nights and then came back here. Sorry. I’ll pack up and get out.”

“No,” I told him. His head jerked up. “Micah, can I have a word?”

My friend headed for the door and I followed but not before telling Rodney to stay where he was. First thing I did was order take out for him. The soup was a big gooey mess. Ewww!

“What are we going to do?” Micah asked. “We can’t throw him out.”

“Nope.” Poor kid. I tried to recall how old he was. About twenty if I remembered correctly. “Based on our calculations, this reality series is going to bring in a heap of money.”

“Let's hope so after all the hassle.”

“What if we didn’t have a round two or a round 3 before selling the motel.”

“What? No one’s gonna buy it with no beds plus spikes on the walls. And the wall of hair.” He shivered.

That wasn’t strictly true. They would buy the place but for much lower than we wanted. “What I’m saying is we make the ten rooms habitable and then donate it to a homeless shelter. We’d still make money from streaming the show.”

“But what about the sponsors? They’re throwing money at us on the basis that we do another motel renovation show.”

“In that case, we better find another motel before the premiere tomorrow night.”

We told Rodney to gather his things, clean up, and move into one of the original rooms that hadn’t been redecorated. After the big night, we’d fix the ten fucked up ‘reality show’ rooms so they’d each have twin beds, a functioning bathroom, and a small kitchenette. We’d add a kitchenette to the original rooms too. And hand the motel over to a homeless organization.

Micah and I sat up all night scouring real estate sites and getting hold of our contacts. The next morning we inspected three possible places and right before the red carpet, we agreed to buy the most promising one.

“Are we crazy?” Micah asked. “Are we really going to do another reality show?”

“Come on. You love it. Think of that wall of hair.”

“Gods, no!”

108

PARTY TIME

Martin

“Dad, are we going to really be on TV or is it like where you just share your videos with your friends and stuff like Lila does with her singing.” Lila was a girl in Toby’s class who was confident she was going to be a huge star one day, and her parents indulged her with the best in-home recording studio they could afford. The girl might grow up to be famous, but I’d bet money it wasn’t going to be her singing that gets her the fame she desires.

I’d been home for what felt like five minutes. Managed a quick shower and threw on my clothes for the opening. This was my first job in a while and I had to give it 110 percent.

“It’s not like Lila,” I explained. He wasn’t being fresh. Just curious. “Her videos are uploaded in the hope of going viral and someone important in the industry seeing her and wanting to help her career.” At least I assumed that was the goal. “Micah and Daire’s show is for people who will pay to watch it. They’re looking for customers, I guess, is the best way to put it.”

“So it’s a real show.”

“It is. And the party for the premiere is about to start, so go get ready.” They went all out for the party, going so far as to rent a red carpet. I worried that it was going to be a bit stressful for Neil, but he assured me that after a brief appearance, he and Charlie would head to the designated motel room and probably stay there with the kids for the rest of the night.

“I need to call Dan first. He said it wasn’t a real show.” That explained my son’s sudden curiosity on the technicalities of it all.

“Dan can wait until school to hear all about the party and show. Get ready.”

“Yes, Dad.” He let out a sigh that I imagined would become a staple in the house as he approached his teen years.

The bathroom door opened, steam bellowing out. “Sorry I took so long.” Out padded Neil with a towel wrapped around him. “I’m just tired and the hot water felt so good.”

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