The door to Ruan's VVIP room suddenly opened as her mother went in while panting. Ruan immediately turned the tv off to avoid her disappointment in him and threw the remote to Luke, who caught it with his face.
Her face had a hint of red hue as her walk wobbled. She reached out for the sofa before sitting on top and looked at the ceiling as if she found heaven.
Ruan gulped and ignored Luke's nose that was bleeding nonstop. He was looking at the condition on his mother and her red cheeks. He was about to ask what happened but he remembered the words his father said before he left. He decided that it would be best not to ask instead.
"Oh, honey, you have woken up? I'm glad," said the mother while she was regaining her breath.
Ruan nodded, "Y-yes, mom."
"Haiz, you won't believe what just happened," said his mother as if she forgot that the wounds on Ruan's body were fatal enough for him to depart to the afterlife.
Ruan closed his eyes (Oh god, please don't).
"So there I was, your mom, happily strolling toward the receptionist on the ground level," said Ruan's mother as she opened up a box of biscuits. She didn't even offer her son and his friend before munching the soft biscuit. The crunching noise filled the room as she didn't stop her story.
(Thank God!) thought Ruan.
"Where was I?"
Ruan's eyebrows and Luke's nose twitched before they replied, "Receptionist."
"Oh right, so there was I, your mom, happily strolling toward the receptionist desk," said his mother.
(No, you clearly were stressed about it, stop lying, mom) thought Ruan.
-------------
About thirty minutes ago at the receptionist desk.
"Hah, what a tough day," said a nurse to her co-worker. Since there were two people handling the receptionist, it didn't take them that much stress to work in the first place. However, every worker would feel like it's a tough day regardless if they did nothing but sit around all day.
"If only there is something interesting happening today," continued the nurse.
"Hey don't jinx it, or else, your ex might suddenly show up," jokingly said her co-worker.
*ding
The elevator opened and revealed a beautiful middle-aged woman that was holding her head as she walked toward them.
The two nurses immediately stood up as they ask what's wrong with her, "Miss, are you alright? Do you want me to call a doctor?"
Ruan's mother shook her head, "No, no, this headache can only be cured by the answer you will give me."
"Huh?" the nurse looked at her dumbfoundedly before she took a glance at her co-worker who got the same expression as her.
"What is the price for the VVIP room here for a night?" asked Ruan's mother with her eyes half-opened.
"Ah, that would be about five hundred thousand rials a night," said the nurse before she could see the flash on the beautiful woman's eyes.
The nurse shrieked before her collar was grabbed with one hand and dragged down until Ruan's mother's elbow's hit the desk with a thud.
"I wonder if you could check it again for me," said Ruan's mother with a smile of a devil.
Her co-worker immediately sat down and check through the computer. She was clicking the right options without a single mistake and one hundred percent efficiencies before the result what she was looking for popped up.
"Yes, it's right here miss!" said the nurse as she showed her monitor.
When Ruan's mother saw the number was correct she let out a sigh as she let go of her strong grip. The nurse slightly bounced back and fell on her seat but she won't dare to disrespect the customer since she was asking about the VVIP room. Only distinguishable guests could afford the room and not just anyone would be allowed to even step on the corridor. Though she looked like an ordinary housewife, her status must be astonishing.
With a slightly twitching eyebrow, the nurse asked, "Miss, may I know what room is the patient currently in?"
(This way I can identify your status, hehe, after all the VVIP room is clearly divided by the room they were in, the smaller the number the higher your status is and there are only one hundred rooms of VVIP) thought
Ruan's mother's face was facing down against the receptionist's desk as she lazily answered, "I forgot."
The nurse slightly twitched her mouth before one of them said with a smile, "How about the name of the patient?"
"Ruan Tey, the sweetest boy on earth!" said Ruan's mother with a smile of an angel. There was a hint of drool on the desk that made their eyebrows twitched.
"Ruan.. Tey," said one of the nurses as she typed in the monitor.
She read the number under the 'Room no' column on the local software the hospital used developed. Her eyes slowly opened wider and wider as the result came out in front of the screen. She rubbed her eyes a couple of times but the result was the same.
"It's...."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked the nurse who maintained her smile toward Ruan's mother.
"Room, 001."
Her smile gradually turned into an 'O' as she heard what the co-worker said.
Ruan's mother let out a sigh, "Honestly, they should name it room 100 since it's all the way up there. Besides, what's with the design of this hospital, is this a rundown hotel being transformed or something?"
The nurse made a fake laugh as she wiped the drool on the desk without her noticing.
"So, did the price change?" asked Ruan's mother full of hope.
"A-ah, yes, yes of course," said the nurse as she tugged her co-worker to check on the price column only to see a dash as the content.
"Oh a dash, so that means it's free right?" chuckled Ruan's mother to the nurses' confusion. There was nothing like a dash on the manual that was given to them under the price column.
*ding
The elevator opened to which Ruan's mother instinctively took a glance at who it was before her eyes instantly turned into rage. She knew that wheelchair more than the toilet seat in her house.
*pop
The canned beer in Ruan's father's hand suddenly opened and a fume came out.
"Uwah... that's amazing," smiled Ruan's father before he looked at the front.
Their eyes met one another like lovers, no, of course not. Their eyes met one another like a mother who just saw an 'F' on her child's test that was hidden under the desk.
Ruan's father immediately glanced at the close door button and hit it repeatedly before Ruan's mother left the receptionist desk and chased him. The elevator started to close and victory seemed to favor the father's side before just as it was about to shut down completely.
*pak
A sandal went through the door vertically and accurately hit his forehead before the elevator went up. Ruan's mother then opened the emergency exit and raced the elevator toward the top of the building.
-------------
"And that's why your mother is tired, Zzzz."
Ruan and Luke had blacklines over their head as they heard the story.
(So, in the end, we don't know how much this room costs, huh) thought Ruan.
(Your mother has crazy stamina...) thought Luke.