[of our own device]

WHO. Christine and Regan
WHERE. Lobby
WHEN. Evening (after Kinley arrives)

Christine had completely copped out of helping the new woman out. Of course, it was mildly exciting that she was skipping out on that last little bit of work to meet one of the guests after the most tame flirting she had ever done. In the '60s she'd been considered more forward, but then, she didn't know what guys wanted these days. That he'd thought she was a virgin was totally laughable, but then, did easy girls carry themselves like complete whores now?

Thinking about Cora and her ball-jointed hips, Christine thought that it might be the case, but hadn't the maid been here forever? She was fairly certain that Michael was fucking Christian, but that was only if Christian could succeed in prying Michael's legs apart long enough to screw her. Christine was certain, though, that it might be impossible because then the rod might fall out of the night-manager's ass.

She had changed into a different dress, one she didn't wear for work, and a pair of higher heels than before. Touching up her makeup, using a little perfume, she headed back down to the lobby, hoping that Jai was done with the woman. She stood back a little, though, avoiding direct line of sight with the desk, and she waited.

She should have gotten a drink first.

Who: Cameron and OPEN.
Where: Cameron’s room / Reception.
When: Mid-morning.

Almost as soon as he’d reached his room last night Cameron had crawled onto the bed that had looked so inviting and drifted off to sleep. Dropped off might have been a more accurate way of describing it, such was his exhaustion, he hadn’t even taken the time to remove his clothes or visit the bathroom. As tired as he’d been he had slept longer than usual, deeper than usual as well, and when he woke up he felt disoriented, confused, not knowing where he was or why. His heart had started beating faster and his fingers had started to tingle as anxiety had settled in, his breathing growing shallow until he sat up and swung his legs off the bed, shaky as they were. That was when he’d seen his bag -- map and all, sitting atop it -- dropped beside the door to what he could only imagine was the bathroom. A hotel bathroom.

His car had broken down. He’d walked for what had felt like hours, found this place, requested a room for the night. Cameron swallowed against the dryness of his throat and lifted his hands to press the heels into his closed eyes to try and rub the sleep from them before rising from the edge of the mattress and moving to the bathroom. Apparently he’d had enough presence of mind to remove his jacket before collapsing on his bed but his shirt hadn’t escaped unscathed and it was easy to see the wrinkles and folds in the fabric where he’d rested his weight on them for long periods of time. Cameron huffed out a sigh, mentally berating himself for the lapse in judgement before looking around for a clock. By the bed, of course, and when he stuck his head out the door to look at it he saw it was gone nine, long past time he checked out and got back on the road by any means necessary. Maybe he could get a tow truck to come and collect his wounded old car, hopefully he could catch a ride to the next pocket of civilisation, find a phone and call ahead to let the college know he was still interested.

There was no time to make himself presentable, he’d slept too long as it was, and as he grabbed up his jacket and bag, draining what little was left in the bottle of water the receptionist had given him last night before heading out the door and back down to the lobby. When he got into the elevator his hands were still shaking, the pins-and-needles of anxiety still present in his fingers, creeping through his hands and towards his wrists. He let out a hurried breath to try and calm himself, a minimal effort that was ultimately wasted, it did nothing to help and when the doors opened and let him out on the ground floor he made a beeline for the reception desk, looking around for the member of staff on duty as he did so. “Hello?” he called out after several seconds in which he saw no sign of movement. There was no bell or buzzer in sight, and even if there had been he might not have pressed one. Cameron had always thought of bells and buzzers and pushy, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

WHO. Finley, Christine, Jai, and Charlie
WHERE. Main Lobby/Front Desk
WHEN. Early Evening

( She was thrilled to know that she was so close to shelter; she wasn't even paying attention to where she was stepping. )

Who: Thomas and Rosalie.
Where: Second Floor.
When: Very early morning.

( Thomas was no stranger to the small hours of the morning. )

Who: Seth and Tamara
When: Early Morning (in the wee AMs)
Where: Second floor

Seth had spent the night having a few quiet drinks at the bar. A few quiet drinks had turned into a steady night of imbibing that had left him fairly drunk. Given that he didn't care about the bill, he hadn't stopped and he'd kept a steady buzz for nearly six hours now. Five am had rolled around and he figured it might be a good idea to go back up to his room. With a bottle of something. Ah, wine. He'd gone from hard liquor to wine. What was the rule on that?

But what the hell. It was time to figure out who his next door neighbor was. If there was anyone. His hand came up as he passed the door and he knocked three times, then leaned against the wall and tilted the bottle he was carrying up. Knocking again, he waited, another drink gone.

"Knock knock, neighbor." He murmured. He didn't think that he was that drunk, just buzzed enough to not give a shit if security decided to escort him away or if he bothered the hell out of his neighbor. He was feeling friendly and who wouldn't want his charming smiling face on the other end of a knock? There was the strange question of why everything seemed mirrored somehow on this side, but how was he to know he was in the wrong wing? It all looked the same to him. Especially since he hadn't been down here yet.

Who: Cora and Jon
When: Evening
Where: Staff Lounge

Cora loved the moments when she got to spend time with men who didn't make moves on her. It took her a while to trust a man's true intentions, and they came truer than Jon. Both had an appreciation for fine wine, smooth jazz music and light talk. She wasn't a gossip, like some, but she did enjoy reminiscing about things. After all, the world outside just passed all of them by, and quite a few of them didn't seem to care.

Perhaps it was that Jon's calm demeanor reminded her of a doctor she had once known. A doctor who hadn't cared for the archaic ways of the institution yet hadn't been capable of making things any better for her. The capabilities just weren't there, not like they were now. The safeties to ensure that people weren't mistreated.

She'd showered, changed from her uniform, and dressed in a nice dress, carrying a bottle of wine with her that she'd retrieved from the bar with a promise of favors later. She could hear the music playing from the lounge and she smiled.

"Evening, Jon. Eventful day?"

Who: Lina and open!
When: Mid-late morning
Where: Outside, near the boundary

Despite indeed drinking herself stupid the previous night and waking up with a hangover from hell, Lina actually felt steadier. Thinking about her situation still occasionally brought up bouts of nausea, but they were short-lived and easily ignored next to the hangover itself. And now that she felt she could start to deal with whatever the hell was going on, she was determined to do exactly that, no matter how crappy she felt. At least the effects of last night's drinking were a familiar sort of discomfort.

Feeling it was the best place to start, Lina went investigating outside. She'd asked someone - a maintenance worker, she thought - how to know when she was getting close to the 'danger zone.' He had laughed and told her she'd feel it long before she got there, but to look for white rocks and flowers. Sure enough, if she walked out far enough, eventually Lina came to brief patches where desert sands gave way to bits of green, and flowers she had no name for. She would occasionally walk too close and feel waves of dizziness, or a general heavy sensation. Heavy eyes, heavy limbs, heavy heart... heavy everything. In those times she would scramble back, drink from her bottle of water, and wait for it to all pass. As long as she didn't press it and try to cross that invisible line, she could keep going.

The idea that there was a weak point in it somewhere was honestly laughable. If such a thing existed, someone would have found it by now. But Lina didn't have any other ideas, so she set out circling the hotel, testing the force every step of the way. She was halfway done when it all became too much, and she had to back off and plunk down on her butt in the grass. Lina breathed deeply and waited for it to pass again. Well, shit, she thought. She took another sip of water, already thinking she should have gone for a beer instead.

Who: Christian and Michael
When: Early morning
Where: Morning Star

Michael had been eating her meals in reverse for longer than she could remember. She supposed it wasn't particularly surprising - she'd been at the hotel for a long time, and most of that time she had been on a night shift. Oh sure, back in her front desk days she'd done filler shifts at all hours, but now she was a nocturnal animal. She'd wake up early in the evening and eventually have dinner before starting her shift, and after her shift she'd get breakfast and usually go crash. It was a good system. When she'd first started working night hours exclusively she'd tried eating breakfast at night and dinner in the morning, but eventually dismissed the idea entirely. She liked it better this way, and it was less work for the staff.

Maybe once a week Christian would join her for breakfast, and she was expecting him today. They'd had five check-ins in two days, and while it certainly wasn't a record, it was a lot. The last thing she'd done before signing off to the day manager was check her briefs, but she still had no warning of any new guests coming. That didn't mean there wouldn't be another check-in - stranger things had happened. Some people spent weeks or months leading up to their stay, but she had met those that seemed to have come in mere hours after their final turning point in the outside world. Those were always very interesting cases to Michael.

With a smile and a wave to those working in the restaurant, Michael breezed past them all and headed to her usual table. If they weren't busy she saw no reason to trouble whoever was playing host or hostess, and her table was free. Not that she particularly expected anyone to correct her, but it would have been amusing to see someone try. She smoothed the skirt of her simple black dress as she seated herself, and waited to see if Chrissy would show.

Who: Nisha and Jai
When: Afternoon
Where: Outside, near one of the pools

When Jai had come to the hotel, he had not come alone. He had brought his dog, Nan, with him, and she was perhaps a saving grace. The copper colored husky had adjusted quickly to their new life, and had adjusted to the heat with her summer coat coming in even lighter than usual. She didn't much like being left at the apartment on his shifts (in New York, she'd always gone to the park with him), but she got by, and Jai was good with her. First thing before and after every shift, he always took her out for a long walk so she could get her exercise. Jai was happy to say he no longer felt like he'd been punched in the face whenever he walked outside into the heat, but it was still a bit much for his liking. How Nan would cope with it had been one of his biggest concerns, and he saw now that it had been completely unnecessary. She was thriving.

He had left Nan a long lead on her leash as they started, but now as they began to skirt one of the pools he reigned her in slightly. Nan, as it turned out, enjoyed swimming, and she had not been even a little bit hesitant about jumping right into the water on one of their first days here. This wasn't so much a problem for Jai, but it seemed like the sort of thing certain members of staff would take issue with. Nan eyed the water and tugged slightly, bouncing in place as she barked up at Jai. It was as if she was saying, Come on, buddy, I won't tell if you don't.

July 2^nd, 2013.
Tuesday.

Weather Report: No changes. It's summer in the desert, what do you expect?

Staff Briefings: None.

Daily Events: Apparently the activities director from hell survived yesterday, because ballroom dancing lessons are going on in the grand ballroom shortly after lunch. Otherwise, things are quiet - and perhaps that's a good thing. With so many check-ins over the last 48 hours, things are bound to be a little chaotic.