Chapter 5
“And what about you? What’s going on?” Nicola smiled at me, his small eyes glinting with a playful light.
I was a bit surprised. “Why do you ask?”
“I can tell, Nicola said, pretending to calculate with his fingers, speaking seriously. Then, he burst into a laugh. “You didn’t bring any luggage, and you checked in at midnight. Given the season, all the hotels are fully booked. It seems like you’re either running away from a marriage, had a fight, or maybe you lost your job.”
I was suddenly speechless.
Well, while it wasn’t completely accurate, it was close enough.
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Chapter 5
5 Points
Seeing the speechless look on my face, Nicola, who had been joking, suddenly became serious. “I’m sorry if I’ve hit a sore spot. I was just joking.”
“It’s fine,” I said, not really bothered by it, since it was all true. “I’m just surprised how close you were.”
“At your age, most people who stay in hostels are dealing with these kinds of problems. People have an instinct to avoid things, you know? When they have problems, and the people around them can’t be relied upon, they look for someone to talk to or a place to escape for a while. A hostel is often the best choice,” Nicola continued.
Since I didn’t seem too bothered, he relaxed and went on. “Back in the day, I had some family problems and was feeling down. I
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Chapter 5
+ 5 Points
had no one to talk to, so I just packed a few things and went off on a solo backpacking trip. Along the way, I met many interesting people and had new experiences. The more people I met and the more I talked to them, the more I was able to let go and see things from a different perspective.”
“That’s actually part of the reason why I opened this hostel.”
“You don’t look very old, but you seem to have a lot of ideas,” I said seriously.
Nicola laughed heartily, then changed the subject. “So, what about you?”
“Everyone is curious. If you feel like sharing, go ahead. If not, that’s fine too. After all, once you go home, the people and things on this journey will slowly blur and eventually become just a shadow of your life.”
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Chapter &
I clinked my coffee cup with Nicola’s.
“My fiancé cheated on me. My parents took all my money to buy a house for my younger brother. My excellent work performance was overshadowed by someone else.”
“You could become a fortune teller. I’d definitely come to you for advice, Nicola said with a chuckle.
We chatted a bit more, and soon, other people started waking up.
I have to say, Nicola was a really interesting and knowledgeable person, and he had a very open–minded perspective. He was the complete opposite of Lucas.
Lucas was stubborn, with a strong sense of pride. He would go into cold wars over
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the smallest things that hit his sore spots. But Nicola, on the other hand, was funny, interesting, and extremely open–minded. Even if they had different views, he would listen carefully and offer thoughtful
responses.
Ah, why was I thinking about that scumbag again? He was really ruining my mood.
The hostel to get lively. People were boiling water, eating breakfast, and making plans to go out. It felt like I was back in
collegan
surrounded by people again.
The idea of looking for another hotel faded from my mind.
Staying here for ten days or so should give me some energy back.
I made up my mind and went to Nicola to ask
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about extending my stay.
But Nicola seemed a bit troubled.
“Amelia, I’d be happy for you to stay longer, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“But we’re fully booked,” Nicola scratched his head. “And the sofa you’re using has already been booked as well.”
I was stunned. I knew accommodations were hard to come by during this time of year, but I didn’t expect even the hostel would be fully booked.
There were some other places with vacancies, but with my current budget, I couldn’t afford the inflated prices.
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I opened my phone’s app and scrolled through page after page.
Great, the places I could afford didn’t have rooms, and the ones with rooms were way out of my price range.
Looks like my special forces trip is going to fail before I even bought my luggage…
Nicola noticed my growing frustration and suddenly hit the table. “Wait! There’s a place -do you want it?”
“Where?” I thought Nicola was referring me to another hostel he knew and quickly said, “But if it’s too expensive, I can’t afford it.”
“No, no. It’s here. My previous volunteer just messaged me saying he’s got some family matters and won’t be coming back these days. If you don’t mind, you can help me out
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Chapter 5
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for a few days as a volunteer, and you can stay in his room. What do you think?”
Nicola’s eyes lit up as he got more excited about the idea. “And as usual, if you volunteer here, I won’t charge you for the room.”
“What do you think?”
“Volunteer?” I though
back to when I
was in college and learned about hostel volunteering. Many hostels offered volunteer positions, partly to save on costs and partly to help travelers who were struggling.
“But I might want to go out and play, I can’t stay in the hostel all day.”
“It’s fine, Nicola said, taking a sip of water. “Our volunteers don’t need to be here all the time. Mainly, just help tidy up in the
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Chapter 5
45 Points
mornings and evenings, guide guests during check–ins, and sanitize the bedsheets and quilts. You only need to be around in the morning and evening. If you’re free during the day, you can tidy up the common areas. If not, no worries.”
“I’ll be here these few days, so you won’t need to do much.”
At this point, I couldn’t think of any reason to refuse.
I’d have a place to stay, wouldn’t have to pay for it, and could go out to explore.
“Done.”
