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Tour Group - Chapter 8
🕑 Added 2020-09-20 11:30:14 +0000 UTC
Ava sat on the edge of her side of the bed while her mother showered. Having washed up first, she was already in her PJs and thus allowed to sit on the bed. On the bedside table were her brother and father, having already bathed in one of the hotel tea cups with Lynn supervising. Aiden seemed to be fine, already half asleep on the makeshift bed Lyn had constructed from a folded up towel. The room was quiet, but for the gentle beating of the fan above them and Ava was busy reading her book, but her mind was elsewhere. She knew that her mother and father had talked on the drive but she hadn’t been scolded for her mishap with Aiden yet. The anticipation only made it worse. She was so ensnared by these worries that she didn’t notice her father walking along the bedsheet towards her.
John Pearce made the trek quickly enough, struggling a little with the soft bedding, but eventually managing to reach his colossal daughter. He stopped some distance away from her, as her weight caused the bedding to dip into a steep decline that lead to her butt. He often marvelled at the resemblance Ava bore to him, the same sharp nose and high cheek bones. Yet at the same time, she was so much bigger than him. In truth he was about the size of one of her painted fingernails. Her dirty blonde hair was hanging loose down her back, like a trail leading to her head.
“Ava,” John tried, but his voice didn’t reach her ears, drowned out by the fan and the distant should of Lynn’s shower. So he tried again, raising his voice. By the fourth time he was almost yelling, but his tiny, high-pitched squeak finally managed to get Ava’s attention. She turned to look down at him, her shift in weight caused the mattress to move and John feel himself slipping forwards as the ground tilted down towards his daughter.
As he started to lose his balance, Ava luckily caught sight of him, her enormous fingers plucking him up off the bed before he rolled too far. She was gentle, and with practiced care she raised him up and placed him onto her palm, bringing him to face her. John had taught her how to handle tiny people, in particular for when she was young and playing with her brother. Ava held him to the left of her face, making sure to keep him out of the line of her nose and mouth, and close enough that his voice would carry to her ear. It was also less confusing for tiny people if they only had one of her giant eyes to look at. She closed the other eyes so that she could focus on him and set down her book.
“Yeah dad?” Ava asked gently, making sure to not drown him with her breath.
“How are you doing kiddo?” he asked.
“I’m alright. Excited for tomorrow I guess,” Ava replied.
“Want to talk about the airport?” he tried. He felt her hand tense, and then tremble slightly. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell mom,” he reassured her, which instantly caused her to relax a little.
“And I’m not going to tell her,” John continued, “Aiden’s fine and I think she’s better off without the guilt. It seemed like Lynn wasn’t totally innocent in the whole thing either, but you know how she is …”
“Thanks dad,” Ava replied slowly, “I … I promise I’ll be more careful.”
“Honey, you don’t need to worry,” John cut in, “This is your vacation as much as any of ours and you’re just a kid. You don’t need to be taking care of Aiden all the time. I’ll … I’ll have a word with Lynn. But I’ll keep you out of it.”
***
“I’m not being unreasonable right? Tell me I’m not crazy!” Donald shouted, pacing back and forth on the still made bed. The overly friendly driver had left them on the bed in their room and disappeared, tossing their bags at the foot of the bed. Donald had tried to reach the side table to get to the phone, but even having gotten to it, the old phone was impossible to dial without picking up the receiver. Mr. Davidson had tried with all his might but was barely able to shift the colossal plastic monstrosity, and had given up, only hoping that someone would come by in the morning to help them get around. He and Allison were furious, having been forced to tell their children to go to bed without showers, as they couldn’t get to water.
“What kind of tour for shrunken people puts us in these stupid rooms?” Allison demanded.
“It’s all that bitch from the company’s fault!” Donald roared, just before he was told to keep quiet and not wake the children, happily asleep on the pillows at the top of the bed.
“We need to get out of this trip!” Allison choked back a sob, “I can’t go through another day like today Donald. I can’t!”
“Calm down Allison,” Donald shot back, “We cannot just leave. We need to get our money back from these scam artists.”
“I don’t care about the money Donald. I care about the safety of our kids,” Allison shouted, “We have enough money."
“It’s not about the damn money Allison! It’s a bout the principle,” Donald retorted, shouting too.
“Oh, so it’s just about you,” Allison surmised, “Why can’t you care about us for once? Why are you so damn stingy?”
“Stingy? You don’t seem to complain when my pay check comes in to your account, do you?” Donald spat.
“Fuck you, Donald,” Allison’s words dripped with icy venom, “Just … fuck you.”
Donald watched her walk off in silence, not even finding any humour in the way she struggled across the shifting sheets. He didn’t understand why his wife wasn’t seeing eye to eye with him, but he knew what he had to do. He reached into his pocket and felt the comfortable shape of his phone. He had a plan, and this entire tour company was going to pay. He was going to expose the entire operation. He opened it up and started to take photos. The bare bed with no feasible access to water or a lavatory, the huge room with no exit that the tiny family could reach safely. He was going to get in touch with his lawyers and be even richer for the ordeal.
By the time he was done, he could spy Allison already asleep on the pillow with her children. He was about to type his messages when he realised that he had no signal. He raised the phone, the tiny device rising almost a full centimetre, but there was no change. Crap, he thought. He managed to convince himself that it would be okay. He was going to find signal tomorrow, and then they would all pay. Even Allison would have to admit that he had done the right thing when they were flying back on free, first-class seats. With that certainty in his mind, Donald Davidson went to sleep.
