Chapter 26 What A Day

• Walking into the hotel lobby felt like stepping onto a completely different planet. It was sleek, spotless, and reeked of luxury—everything we absolutely were not at that moment. The polished marble floors gleamed under the overhead chandeliers, and the air smelled faintly of lavender and money. Meanwhile, Mr. Thorne and I looked like we had been plucked straight out of a “Lost in the Wilderness” reality show.
• Our clothes were still damp from the rain, smeared with dirt and god-knows-what from that cave adventure. My hair was a tangled mess, sticking to my face and shoulders like a clingy toddler, and Mr. Thorne—well, he didn’t look much better, though his perpetual scowl made it difficult to tell if he was annoyed about the rain or just existing in general.
• The moment we stepped inside, heads turned.