.:Guys&Dolls:. - .:Aces in the Sky:. [Pt. 1]

The cab car gradually came to a halt. The driver parked along side of the street in front of a large lightly colored building, with such an amazing height, it looked as if it were touching the sky. Alice merely stared outside the taxi window- which wasn't all that clear in the first place. This puzzled the driver, forcing him to turn around, facing Alice. The cigar was still plastered on his bottom lip, black smoke rising up from the tip. Impatiently, he knocked his knuckles on the gear shift and growled, "'Ere we are, 481 Eighth Avenue." He paused and coughed, giving Alice a fright. "The New Yawker."

She grinned unsteadily, nodding her head. She pulled out her wallet from her pants pocket and paid the exact amount of change, no tip. But as she handed the money over, instantly she began to regret it, only imagining what sort of thing a guy like him would do to a girl like her without a tip. Alice measured him to be a short tempered man, short on dough, because of the brand of cigar drooping from his mouth. So, calculated all of this in her head in a matter of seconds, she quickly escaped the cab car, suit case in hand.

The taxi zoomed away in a flash.

Alice stood on the sidewalk, alone.

Although, saying she was alone is completely wrong, physically. People, New Yorker people (or rather, New Yawker people) were plowing down the concrete aisle as if a raging stampede. Every single one of them, looking forward, almost robotic or mechanically, staring straight ahead with determination like horses concentrating on a track. But it wasn't only their expressionless expressions that caught her attention, it was the style. Their clothing- it amazed her. Such a variety of color and frill. True, at the airport there were some people drafted in clothing such as this- but this was the heart of it all! Where it all came from.

Alice felt as though she was standing out now, even when guys and girls alike kept bumping into her as if she wasn't there. So, she took a deep breath and walked up to the revolving doors of the hotel.

Inside, Alice went up to the front desk and got herself registered and situated, and almost felt superior that the employee there addressed her as "Miss Alexander". Just with that clue, she understood that this hotel was very formal, and the looks of it the place was, how did Adelaide put it? "Art Deco"? Something of the sort. She remembered how Adelaide kept droning on about the style of the architecture and the general design of it all. It was all very new to the city, they had their Grand Opening just last January.


"Here you are, Miss Alexander. Your key to your suite," said the woman employee behind the front desk, in a very high pitched voice, passing over a small square envelope towards Alice. Alice could only imagine her as a clean preppy princess by day, but a foul prostitute after hours. It was just the way her make-up was painted on her face; especially the eyes that gave her this intention.


Alice nodded to the woman, keeping her opinions to herself, and looked down at the room number that was scribbled on the envelope that enclosed her key. Room 721. Seventeenth floor. She trotted away from the desk and found her way to a staircase leading up.


As fit as Alice was for her age, keeping a steady pace going up the stairs was a rather difficult challenge for her. Between floors four and five was when she was starting to lose strength, and the fact that she was hauling an abnormally large suit case behind her was no help either. In an instant, the uproar of exciting New York, New York came to a down fall, as Alice kept pushing up the stairs to floor seventeen. At around floor thirteen, she actually came to a complete stop, throwing her head back, sighing. Although with this act taking place, she dropped her suitcase down three floors. She almost considered leaving it down there, forgetting about it, but saw how foolish it was, so she ran back down to retrieve it, then ran back up three extra flights, and finally to her destination.


Without too much trouble, Alice spotted her room, golden numbers carved on the door reading 721. The thought of having her own room made her smirk. It was definitely a change from the rented houseshe shared with a charity English girl, Sarah. She was nice enough, but too kind. Full of the Bible and all that.


"I knew she said suite, but this is amazing!" gasped Alice, advancing into the room.


All so clean,including abalcony, too. The main room was quite spacey, with a king sized bed, a desk, couple of chairs, a classy radio, and a dresser. Dropping her suitcase right where she was standing, Alice, without thinking, literally leaped up on the bed, spreading her arms and legs over the comforter, grinning. Adelaide couldn't be more amazing to provide a room such as this!