Page 26 of The Suite Life
I lie back on the bed, wiggling myself into a comfortable spot – not that it takes me more than a few seconds. Glorious doesn’t even begin to describe it. This is a dream, a far cry from the sad single-girl room I was expecting.
Maybe, just maybe, my luck really has changed. I could certainly get used to it.
Yep, this will do. This will definitely do.
15
I saunter into the hotel restaurant fashionably late – except I don’t saunter, I do that awkward fast walk that probably isn’t any speedier than normal walking, and I’m not fashionably late, I’m just late. Oh, but doesn’t the former sound more befitting of someone who is staying in a suite? My beautiful, gorgeous, sexy suite is the reason I’m late, in a roundabout way, because I fell asleep on that bed pretty much instantly and I didn’t wake up again until my mum called me, to make sure I was here. I threw on a dress – a cream sundress, that I was so sure would look good, but in hindsight I am probably too mucky for – a pair of heels and another layer of make-up, to hopefully cancel out the old one that isn’t looking great after hours on planes followed by a nap.
Oh, great, everyone else is here already – well, everyone who is a key part of the wedding party. The handful of others who are making the trip for the wedding are coming later in the week.
Lucy and Rick are sitting at the centre of the table, almost as though they’re rehearsing for the top table on the big day. Then, next to Lucy we have our parents, and then Nina.
On Rick’s side there is his brother, Alfie, who is sadly the only close family member who will be here. I don’t know all the details but his parents were the kind of rich where a private jet was one of their main modes of transportation – one day they went up, but sadly they never landed. It was when Rick and Alfie were kids, and thank God they weren’t on the plane, but I know it’s left them both with a fear of flying, and I’m not surprised – as someone with a fear of heights, I know how terrifying it is, facing your phobias. That’s why it’s such a big deal, that they’re here, in Hawaii, for the wedding. If the two of them are willing to spend all that time on a plane, just to give Lucy the special day she has dreamed of, then I can certainly put up with my ex, and his new girlfriend.
Speaking of the devil, Nathan is sitting next to Alfie, and then finally Sunshine is sitting next to him. There is only one seat left at the table, for me, right opposite Lucy and Rick, but sadly it leaves me sandwiched between Nina and Sunshine. Amazing, my own personal hell.
‘Hey, everyone,’ I announce myself with a smile.
Lucy, Rick, and the others respond with varying degrees of warmth. Obviously my parents look pleased to see me, Nina less so – a combination of the two of us never really getting on and her bitterness around me being chief bridesmaid – and Sunshine is shooting me daggers, just like she always does when she sees me. Honestly, I should be the one who is hostile to her, not the other way round.
‘Oh, that’s okay,’ she says, feigning nonchalance, ‘I can just finish telling my story later.’
‘I didn’t realise you were telling a story,’ I say, reminding myself not to apologise. I’m trying to apologise less because I do it all the time, even when something isn’t my fault. I apologised to a door I walked into the other day.
If this weren’t the only unclaimed seat, I would sit anywhere else.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ I say as I take my seat. ‘I’m not in the main hotel; I’m out in the grounds, so it’s a little trek.’
‘That’s okay. I was just talking about my trip to Paris, doing some promotional photos for my new fashion range,’ Sunshine says, making it all about her again.
Sunshine looks like the ultimate influencer. Every part of her look is meticulously curated to reflect the latest fashion and beauty standards – the good and the bad. Her long brown hair is so sleek and shiny, she keeps a year-round tan, and her make-up is always flawless. Her body is perfect, in every way, some of it natural and some of it not, but all of it together just makes her this girl-next-door type that everyone seems to love. It’s a shame she’s not very nice.
It’s also a shame that she appears to be wearing the same dress as me, except hers looks more expensive, is shorter, and generally shows more skin. It makes mine look like I went to a shop for older ladies, while she picked up hers in the teen section of some designer store. I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now. That’s what I get, for daring to be more bold with my holiday outfits.
Sunshine gets back to her story and, the more she talks, the less I want to hear.
‘So, there I was in this quaint little patisserie in Paris, you know the kind, so charming, with a view that most people only get to see in the movies…’
Sunshine glances around the table, ensuring she still has the undivided attention of everyone here. Everyone seems impressed – or at least they’re pretending to be. Even I do it, when she’s telling a story, but it would be rude not to, surely? Even though she mostly just brags, or mildly rubs in my face that my ex-boyfriend is hers now.
‘I ordered the most stunning dessert – a raspberry rose macaron tower – you can see it on my socials,’ she continues. ‘Anyway, the waiter who brought me it, he was like: you’re never going to eat all that, are you? Obviously he said it way more French. And I said: yeah, of course. And then he told me that I was probably the prettiest girl who had ever eaten there. So, yeah, that’s the story.’
Don’t roll your eyes, don’t roll your eyes, don’t roll your eyes.
‘Oh, wow,’ Lucy says, doing her best to seem interested. She waits a few seconds before turning to me. ‘Did you get here okay, Gi? Nathan said you were on the same flight.’
‘Yeah, it was fine. I was okay,’ I say.
‘Why wouldn’t you be?’ Nina asks curiously, sensing that we’re talking about something she doesn’t know about.
‘Gigi doesn’t like flying,’ Lucy explains, giving me an understanding look. ‘Or heights generally.’
‘Well, that’s just silly,’ Sunshine chimes in, her tone dismissive. ‘What do you think is going to happen? I take flights all the time – sometimes multiple flights per month – do you think I’m going to be in a plane crash?’
No, but I’m not exactly opposed to the idea.
‘Do you remember crying when we went to Switzerland?’ Nathan says, laughing to himself, like he’s recalling a fond memory.
