Matriarch Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Hotel Arrival

The sun was just dipping beneath the distant hills when the tired Metro chugged faintly around the corner into the awaiting car park.
Dan glanced at their destination, the Trenton Hotel. Bland would be the best way to describe the pale structure. Two brick-shaped buildings housed rows of standard rectangular windows. Generic trees lined the edges of the grey tarmac. Dan was under whelmed by its appearance, but reminded himself that this holiday would be fantastic fun no matter where they stayed.
Michael smoothed the car into one of the few remaining spots. One by one, the four friends lazily flopped out of the car doors and edged their way to the large double doors at the front of the hotel.
Two pairs of headlights trailed their steady shuffle.
“I’m knackered!” someone mumbled
“Wait here a sec.” Dan said softly. Tim, Michael and Nicole all slumped down against the bare wall.
The headlights were still-hunting a spare space, so the first four had to wait.
Nicole leant forward slightly and viewed Dan with concern.
“How’s your head Dan?”
Michael snorted. It was his fault that Dan had an aching skull. Due to his height, Dan often found that he knocked rebounded off the bar metal ceiling of the rusting automobile, something which Michael took great delight in exploiting during their journey.
Dan rubbed his scalp where it hurt. It was still sore, but Dan appreciated the thought.
“Better, thanks Nicole” with a smile.
Nicole nodded contentedly and gave Dan a grin.
“You know, I really feel like getting drunk tonight.”
Tim groaned.
“You’ve got to be joking Nicole! I can’t… keep… eyes… open… much longer…”
He followed this up with a theatrical yawn, arms outstretched. Michael laughed out loud.
“Fuck it. Nicole I’m in. Don’t worry Tim, you could sleep through a bloody hurricane if it hit you, so a few harmless drunks should be heaven, ain’t that right Dan?”
Dan sighed, “Well I guess we’ve got cause to celebrate, this is our first holiday together and all. Tim, we’ll stay in another room ok? You wont be bothered.”
“Hey, I don’t want to stop your fun! Just no more midnight slapsies or you’re in for a whoopin’!”
Tim punched the air repeatedly. The movement of his small arms resembled more a poor rendition of the Macarena than a deadly strike. Nicole giggled girlishly and pinched his cheeks.
“He’s so cute!”
They all laughed apart from Tim, who, hand on forehead, fell into a catatonic stupor.
The headlights were nowhere to be seen. Dan’s eyes strained in the oncoming night. Out of the darkness walked the 8 others who had come along on the trip.
John and Butch led the way, their strong physiques visible through tight fitting T-Shirts. John laughed and joked, yet Butch only managed a concerned grimace with his stone-set face and angular features.
Four girls followed behind them. They chattered excitedly, and incessantly, Dan noted with a slight pang of annoyance. From left to right, curly-haired and cheery Joanne, glasses wearing and extremely smart Sophie, beautiful yet bitchy Karen and the loopy but harmless Louise. All were wearing smart T-shirt and skirt combinations, yet by some unspoken rule, Sophie was the one who always went and inch or two longer, while Karen was never seen without a skirt an inch or two shorter than the rest. The journey seemed to have hit Sophie and Louise the hardest, both appeared on the edge of sleep.
In the distance the last two trailed. A bespectacled Kyle and a flumpy Jason were having an in-depth conversation about one earth-shatteringly important subject or another, most likely the relative value of Pokemon cards, or if Donnie Darko was really having a dream after all?
Dan tried his best, but he disliked speaking to either of them for extended periods of time, give either of them 30 seconds and you’ll be debating the speed of your computer processor. Again.
Dan was pulled out of his thoughts as John had jogged up to them.
“Who’s up for a drink then!?”
Two hands shot up beside Dan. He felt compelled to follow their lead. John’s cheery smile gave way to mock concern as he spied Tim struggling to invent a method of hiding in the open.
“Timothy my boy, very disappointed in you, won’t you join us just for a couple?”
Tim creases up his little face in apology.
“Sorry John, I’m too knackered for words”
“Oh boo!” He exclaimed, and turned around to gauge the opinion of the remainder of the group. Several hands were in the air. Joanne had 2.
John shouted “I make that 7. Boo to the rest of you!”
A few laughs accompanied a number of counter-boos.
John leant casually against the wall. Dan noticed a sly wink at Nicole, which may or may not have been returned. His head began to ache again, this time violently.
“So” John stated “Where’s the booze?”
“Dumbass, there’s a supermarket across the road!”
“Alright alright son, only asking! Still love you!” with this he made a mock kissing motion in the air, and laughed.
Dan raised his arms apologetically.
“Sorry mate, these cheeky bastards here have been giving me grief ever since we left North Town.” He turned to his car-mates and growled
“My head hurts! Love you too by the way.” And laughed.
Nicole leant over and ruffled his spiky hair.
“Well ya know, they say alcohol numbs the pain.”
“I’d better get absolutely wasted then!”
Butch finally arrived at the wall.
“OK retards! Who’s walking down the shop with me? Booze calls!”
Dan hated the way Butch always took over situations like these. He thought himself the Alpha-male of the group; his heavy-set appearance certainly put him in that place, were it not offset by common sense of a lobotomy. Everyone had grouped into a circle by now, except Kyle and Jason who were analysing the multitude of possible meanings of the latest Matrix film.
Butch was red faced “Would you two shut up? Now are you drinking with us or not?”
Jason shook his head meekly and quickly brought his eyes to bear on the pavement.
Kyle paused for a moment and then spoke.
“Fuck it, I’m in.”
Butch burst out into peals of laughter. Michael saw an opportunity not to be missed.
“Oh shit Kyle said a bad word! Should I spank him?”
He emulated a slapping motion with his hands. Everyone giggled silently, with varying degrees of success.
After adjusting his rectangular frames, Kyle shrugged and joined Jason in out-staring an errant splodge of chewing gum. With no retort forthcoming, the others took turns in stating their plans.
Joanne got in there first. She proudly displayed a toothy smile and clinked her heels together.
“I’m coming!”
Dan couldn’t help but smile when Joanne spoke, cheerful as she was.
Karen arched her back like a feline, accentuating her shapely chest. She smiled softly as her actions took visible effect on the male portion of the group.
“I’ll come along.”
Even Dan was dumbstruck for a second. But he knew that messing with a girl like that was bad news, especially with a guy like Butch after her.
Nicole piped up in the silence.
“Me, Michael and Dan are coming too.”
A few seconds silence.
Butch was still staring at Karen. When he finally sensed the break in discussion, the General Ironside impression resumed.
“OK umm… Well Sophie, Tim, Louise and Jason, check in for us. You might want to stay in a room away from the rest of us because we’re not gonna stop having fun on your account.” The four named visibly recoiled “I’ll visit you in about 40 minutes for the keys, OK?”
Dan spotted the flirtatious grin that Karen gifted to Butch, making him puff out his chest even more than it did normally. With four of his tired friends beginning to make a move, Dan felt compelled to speak.
“Have a good nights sleep guys, we’ll try not to bother you.”
Sophie yawned “Thanks, see you tommorow” and turned to go, dragging a zombie-like Louise by the hand.
Tim stood up and made his way through the crowd. A few patted him on the back as he passed.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day, night guys!” before he left he nodded briskly to them all.
“Night Noddy!” Michael joked, garnering a few chuckles.
Jason had already shuffled halfway to the door before anyone had noticed he had gone.
Dan cupped his hands and called out to his retreating back
“Night Jas!”
He may have mumbled something in return, but Dan didn’t hear it. Jason was already at the door, and soon the four sleepers were out of sight. His mind returned to the matter at hand.

The others had already started walking. Dan played catch-up and fell in alongside Kyle. (MORE WILL COME!!!)