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Andrea Jenine Banks had been looking forward to this day for nearly a full year and if you knew AJ Banks like most of her closest friends did (like Lia and Cole), then you knew that she had this entire week cleared off her schedule as soon as she knew the exact date. With how she reconnected with Nicole after a few years of sporadic conversations here there (mostly when they each had birthdays or their respective college graduations). She was forever thankful that life gave them a second chance to be in each other’s lives as they were back in their high school days - nay, even better than it was before.
To make it to her flight in time and to be able to have enough time to double check everything, AJ had to wake up bright and early. This wasn’t a problem for her since she always was up at the crack of dawn. Given her job working as a director’s assistant to an upcoming director that Steven Spielberg himself recommended AJ work for until she finishes her year stint with him, she was used to waking up even before the birds themselves were chirp-chirp-chirping away. Even before the clock’s big hand hit the six, she had already made her way out of her apartment with her luggage and carry-on bag in each hand. Within record time, she managed to get down the four flight of stairs without tumbling over all of the luggage she was bringing with her.
Like she usually does, AJ had the good fortune of getting through the front door of her apartment building just as her Uber pulled up. “Andrea Jeni-Jeniene Banks?”
AJ greeted her Uber driver with a big smile. “Just call me AJ. It’s a lot easier,” she giggled.
“Very well, AJ. Allow me!” the Uber said, offering to load up her luggage for her.
What a gentleman he is.
Typically, she was a front seat kind of gal but AJ really didn’t want to be rude, so she parked it in the backseat of her Uber’s 2017 Toyota Highlander. And as she took her seat behind the passenger seat (her preferred seat when sitting in the back seat row), she was absolutely amazed at how roomy it was. She didn’t have a car. Living in New York that wasn’t the suburbs made that completely useless. You could cover more ground by walking or riding a bike, so she didn’t know that these kinds of cars had so much room in the back. It was really amazing, honestly. She was mind blown.
Time would escape AJ’s attention as she, through no fault but her own habit of losing track of time when she’s neck-deep into something that has her complete attention. For this moment in particular, AJ was invested in a conversation via skype texting she was having with her brother, Cam. She was going on about how gracious and nice her Uber was and Cam constantly was teasing how she had a crush on him or something. Flushed with red, she spent the past hour assuring and then reassuring her big brother that it simply was not true. Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Andi!
As she got out of the SUV, she thanked Hank, her uber driver, for driving her all the way to Queens so she could board her plane to Las Vegas. When she glanced at her phone, she realized that she had about an hour to find her terminal, get her ticket and everything else she needed out and ready. Giving Hank a hug, she smiled and waved as he drove off.
And within that hour, AJ got herself a little snack to tide her over for the next five or so hours, which if she did her math right, would put her in Las Vegas by noon, given that it was currently 7:05. Eventually, her flight was ready and she was the first in line. She would have to give her big sis Vio for gifting her with a first class ticket. Truthfully, AJ wasn’t like her mother or sister who fancied themselves the extravagant means of living. She was a simple girl with simple needs, so imagine her surprise when she was brought to her seat.
“Oh my god, is this really how Vio and mom enjoy their flights?!” The floored AJ was actually paralyzed by how stunning the decor was. The seats looked like clouds you just wanted to lay in and never get up from.
“Complimentary champagne, Miss Banks?”
She slowly nodded, taking the glass and, by association, her seat. AJ would get lost in the amazement of the sky and clouds and how all of this seemed so surreal. She half-knew what to expect. She had asked her family about the first class experience. Though they all seemed to have their own opinion about it, they all did agree that when you do experience it for the first time, there wasn’t anything quite like it. While she might not go, first class, every time she needed to take a plane somewhere, AJ’s eyes were wide open to the finer things in life.
But these comfortable chairs, though. Like, oh my god they were probably the best thing about the entire flight. As AJ came off the literal high of first class and the plane arrived at the Las Vegas International Airport, if there was one thing she’d take away from this entire experience, it was that there truly wasn’t anything like it.
AJ took a simple taxi ride from Las Vegas International to the hotel in which she’d be staying at for the duration of the week and the weekend. Along the way, she found the city of Las Vegas captivating. From a filmmaker’s perspective alone, each and every location from the good, the bad, the ugly - everything about it - told a story of people in suffering, a story about people drawn to their own vices, and the rich history that it held had her spinning in ways that she welcomed. As great and historic it all was, AJ found herself absolutely speechless by all of the famous hotels: the Pink Flamingo, Trump, and Hilton, the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace. All of these hotel/casinos that made the strip so famous for both good and bad reasons. The greed and the money wasted; the shootings and violence. Everything intertwined in a circle of sin and death. It painted a flawed, broken picture that, with the right brush and colors, it would be revitalized with life and color and vibrancy of the old.
She felt her heart melting for this city and even more so when she saw the sight of Seara Hotel and Resort. This was her stop, it seemed. Paying attention to the meter, she saw she owed about fifty dollars. Just of the ride and the chance for her to experience the city at eye-level, AJ willingly gave the taxi driver a big tip. In addition to the owed-$50, she threw in an extra fifty that would serve as his tip.
“Have a nice day, Ms. Banks!”
“And you as well, Mr. Cab Driver!”
With the help of a bellhop taking her luggage, she walked alongside them to the front desk. Andi was greeted by the sight of an elder man of Hispanic ethnicity. He had a shaved head and smiled professionally at her. “Hello, may I help you?”
“Good afternoon, Mr...Lopez -- Mr. Lopez, good afternoon. I have a room, I believe.”
“Name?”
“Andrea Banks.”
“One moment,” he said, tapping away at his computer. After about a minute, he alerted AJ with an “A-ha!” He looked at AJ with a smile, “Miss Banks, age 25. Female. You are part of the collective room reservations made by one Nicole Seara.”
“Y-you’re kidding, right?”
The man shook his head, though it didn’t seem AJ was a believer. To prove it to her, he turned the computer screen so she could see it. “It says
Even though she clearly saw and read it, AJ was still in a state of shock. “She really is amazing!” AJ let out a squeal of delight, overcome with love for one of her closest friends. She was so thankful and grateful to have Cole for a friend. She would definitely hug that woman when she saw her.
She wouldn’t waste another second. With the help of the bellhop cart, AJ made her way into the elevator. Riding it until the designated floor, she dragged on the cart with her luggage to her room. As soon as it would open, she stood there in the doorway. Still. She wasn’t moving. Her eyes were wide with wonder and her mouth open as those eyes of hers saw the space in the room. How could Cole afford this? What--wait, Saera… “Of course!” For someone who prided herself in being alert and keen to the most obvious of things, AJ sure took a long time connecting the dots of the hotel with Cole’s surname. It was her family’s hotel. Even after she made that realization, it still didn’t help to quell her astonishment as she looked around. This room was far too big for just one person.
Breathe, Andrea. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay. Just...take a bath and relax. You deserve that much.
Say it to oneself and it shall happen. AJ rendered herself of all physical garments, ran her bath with warm water and bubbles, and she allowed the sounds of the city to fill her up with a gleeful euphoria as she sank into the soapy bubbles.
Letting a breath out, she murmured the following: “I wonder what everyone else is doing?”
To make it to her flight in time and to be able to have enough time to double check everything, AJ had to wake up bright and early. This wasn’t a problem for her since she always was up at the crack of dawn. Given her job working as a director’s assistant to an upcoming director that Steven Spielberg himself recommended AJ work for until she finishes her year stint with him, she was used to waking up even before the birds themselves were chirp-chirp-chirping away. Even before the clock’s big hand hit the six, she had already made her way out of her apartment with her luggage and carry-on bag in each hand. Within record time, she managed to get down the four flight of stairs without tumbling over all of the luggage she was bringing with her.
Like she usually does, AJ had the good fortune of getting through the front door of her apartment building just as her Uber pulled up. “Andrea Jeni-Jeniene Banks?”
AJ greeted her Uber driver with a big smile. “Just call me AJ. It’s a lot easier,” she giggled.
“Very well, AJ. Allow me!” the Uber said, offering to load up her luggage for her.
What a gentleman he is.
Typically, she was a front seat kind of gal but AJ really didn’t want to be rude, so she parked it in the backseat of her Uber’s 2017 Toyota Highlander. And as she took her seat behind the passenger seat (her preferred seat when sitting in the back seat row), she was absolutely amazed at how roomy it was. She didn’t have a car. Living in New York that wasn’t the suburbs made that completely useless. You could cover more ground by walking or riding a bike, so she didn’t know that these kinds of cars had so much room in the back. It was really amazing, honestly. She was mind blown.
Time would escape AJ’s attention as she, through no fault but her own habit of losing track of time when she’s neck-deep into something that has her complete attention. For this moment in particular, AJ was invested in a conversation via skype texting she was having with her brother, Cam. She was going on about how gracious and nice her Uber was and Cam constantly was teasing how she had a crush on him or something. Flushed with red, she spent the past hour assuring and then reassuring her big brother that it simply was not true. Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Andi!
As she got out of the SUV, she thanked Hank, her uber driver, for driving her all the way to Queens so she could board her plane to Las Vegas. When she glanced at her phone, she realized that she had about an hour to find her terminal, get her ticket and everything else she needed out and ready. Giving Hank a hug, she smiled and waved as he drove off.
And within that hour, AJ got herself a little snack to tide her over for the next five or so hours, which if she did her math right, would put her in Las Vegas by noon, given that it was currently 7:05. Eventually, her flight was ready and she was the first in line. She would have to give her big sis Vio for gifting her with a first class ticket. Truthfully, AJ wasn’t like her mother or sister who fancied themselves the extravagant means of living. She was a simple girl with simple needs, so imagine her surprise when she was brought to her seat.
“Oh my god, is this really how Vio and mom enjoy their flights?!” The floored AJ was actually paralyzed by how stunning the decor was. The seats looked like clouds you just wanted to lay in and never get up from.
“Complimentary champagne, Miss Banks?”
She slowly nodded, taking the glass and, by association, her seat. AJ would get lost in the amazement of the sky and clouds and how all of this seemed so surreal. She half-knew what to expect. She had asked her family about the first class experience. Though they all seemed to have their own opinion about it, they all did agree that when you do experience it for the first time, there wasn’t anything quite like it. While she might not go, first class, every time she needed to take a plane somewhere, AJ’s eyes were wide open to the finer things in life.
But these comfortable chairs, though. Like, oh my god they were probably the best thing about the entire flight. As AJ came off the literal high of first class and the plane arrived at the Las Vegas International Airport, if there was one thing she’d take away from this entire experience, it was that there truly wasn’t anything like it.
AJ took a simple taxi ride from Las Vegas International to the hotel in which she’d be staying at for the duration of the week and the weekend. Along the way, she found the city of Las Vegas captivating. From a filmmaker’s perspective alone, each and every location from the good, the bad, the ugly - everything about it - told a story of people in suffering, a story about people drawn to their own vices, and the rich history that it held had her spinning in ways that she welcomed. As great and historic it all was, AJ found herself absolutely speechless by all of the famous hotels: the Pink Flamingo, Trump, and Hilton, the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace. All of these hotel/casinos that made the strip so famous for both good and bad reasons. The greed and the money wasted; the shootings and violence. Everything intertwined in a circle of sin and death. It painted a flawed, broken picture that, with the right brush and colors, it would be revitalized with life and color and vibrancy of the old.
She felt her heart melting for this city and even more so when she saw the sight of Seara Hotel and Resort. This was her stop, it seemed. Paying attention to the meter, she saw she owed about fifty dollars. Just of the ride and the chance for her to experience the city at eye-level, AJ willingly gave the taxi driver a big tip. In addition to the owed-$50, she threw in an extra fifty that would serve as his tip.
“Have a nice day, Ms. Banks!”
“And you as well, Mr. Cab Driver!”
With the help of a bellhop taking her luggage, she walked alongside them to the front desk. Andi was greeted by the sight of an elder man of Hispanic ethnicity. He had a shaved head and smiled professionally at her. “Hello, may I help you?”
“Good afternoon, Mr...Lopez -- Mr. Lopez, good afternoon. I have a room, I believe.”
“Name?”
“Andrea Banks.”
“One moment,” he said, tapping away at his computer. After about a minute, he alerted AJ with an “A-ha!” He looked at AJ with a smile, “Miss Banks, age 25. Female. You are part of the collective room reservations made by one Nicole Seara.”
“Y-you’re kidding, right?”
The man shook his head, though it didn’t seem AJ was a believer. To prove it to her, he turned the computer screen so she could see it. “It says
Reservation of 8 Sake Suites by Nicole Seara.”Even though she clearly saw and read it, AJ was still in a state of shock. “She really is amazing!” AJ let out a squeal of delight, overcome with love for one of her closest friends. She was so thankful and grateful to have Cole for a friend. She would definitely hug that woman when she saw her.
She wouldn’t waste another second. With the help of the bellhop cart, AJ made her way into the elevator. Riding it until the designated floor, she dragged on the cart with her luggage to her room. As soon as it would open, she stood there in the doorway. Still. She wasn’t moving. Her eyes were wide with wonder and her mouth open as those eyes of hers saw the space in the room. How could Cole afford this? What--wait, Saera… “Of course!” For someone who prided herself in being alert and keen to the most obvious of things, AJ sure took a long time connecting the dots of the hotel with Cole’s surname. It was her family’s hotel. Even after she made that realization, it still didn’t help to quell her astonishment as she looked around. This room was far too big for just one person.
Breathe, Andrea. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay. Just...take a bath and relax. You deserve that much.
Say it to oneself and it shall happen. AJ rendered herself of all physical garments, ran her bath with warm water and bubbles, and she allowed the sounds of the city to fill her up with a gleeful euphoria as she sank into the soapy bubbles.
Letting a breath out, she murmured the following: “I wonder what everyone else is doing?”
