Seven Stories Up Read Online Free

Though, now that I looked, I didn’t see the suitcase. From my tangle of sheets and blankets I could only spot the black sleeping mask, which had fallen with me. I sat up and rubbed my bruised knee.
    The girl was peering over the edge of the mattress. Her ringlets clustered and hung, framing her narrow face. “I
am
sorry,” she said. She shook her head, and her curls trembled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    “O-okay,” I said. “I guess. But what’d you do with my suitcase?”
    The girl looked puzzled. She tilted her head. “What suitcase?”
    “The one that was right here!” I thumped the floor beside me.
    “I didn’t see a suitcase,” she said. “Why would you bring a suitcase?”
    “I’m—I just—” I looked around, baffled. “I went to sleep. That’s all I did.” Maybe I was
still
asleep and dreaming. Was that possible? Everything from the day before felt hazy. “I
think
I went to sleep here.” That had to be right. I recognized the big bed, its high canopy. “How did
you
get in?”
    “This is my room, silly,” said the girl, sitting back on her feet. “I’m always here.” Her brow creased. “Maybe the door was open, and you sleepwalked?”
    Her
room? From my spot on the floor, I tried to figure out what was going on. The bed looked the same, but maybe the girl was right—maybe this
wasn’t
the room I’d fallen asleep in. Maybe all the rooms in the hotel had beds like that. Now that I thought about it, the striped bedspread did seem different.
    But propped beside the lamp on the bedside table was a black-and-white picture I thought I’d seen before. OrI’d seen something like it anyway. A photo of a couple, dressed in old-fashioned clothes. I had a flash of memory. I whirled around to look for the other pictures on the wall behind me. There was only a large painting of a small fat dog sitting on a small fat pillow.
    This wasn’t the same room!
Had
I sleepwalked? Either way, what was this girl doing in the deserted hotel?
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I thought this was the room I went to sleep in.”
    “
Freak
me out.” The girl repeated my words slowly. She burst out laughing. “I don’t know what those words mean, but you’re funny. You should stay for breakfast.”
    “Thanks,” I said. “I guess.”
    As I stood up, I noticed that the canopy on this bed was a pure, fresh white. A breeze from the open window beside me ruffled the crisp curtains. I could hear bird sounds from beyond. The rain was gone.
    “You really should,” said the girl. “Nora will be here shortly with my tray, and Cook bakes delicious muffins. Will you join me?” She paused for my answer.
    Nora? Who was Nora? And Cook? Everything was making less sense by the minute. This couldn’t be a deserted hotel if someone was going to be stopping by with room service. I stared out the window at an unfamiliar skyline.
    Was it possible that this was some kind of … 
magic
? An alternate universe? A
Star Trek
wormhole? Had I made a wish without realizing it? I remembered the shimmer when I first set foot in the hotel. I remembered the thunder, the static in the air before I fell asleep. If magic existed anywhere, it probably belonged in a place like this. But
still …
    When I didn’t respond right away, the girl turned from me sharply. “Never mind,” she said. “You don’t have to stay for breakfast if you don’t want to. I don’t care. I’ll eat the muffins myself.”
    “Wait, what?” I said. “Hold the phone! I’m hardly awake over here. Of course I want muffins. Who doesn’t like muffins?”
    Then the girl’s face lit up again. It was like watching a campfire catch. Her smile was quick. Her eyes sparkled. I’d never met anyone who changed moods so quickly.
    “Oh,
good
,” she said, bouncing on her knees on the bed. “That’s settled! Though you might want to put on something more … suitable.” She waved a hand at my bare legs. “For Nora’s