Thief: The Scarab Beetle Series: #1 (The Academy) Read Online Free Page B

“Your brother told me you haven’t made rent.”
    “It’ll be here tomorrow,” I said. I bit my tongue to the fact that if he didn't require me to be here when he was awake, I could probably get a better job and make enough for a better place.
    “It better be. How am I supposed to teach you responsibility at your age?"
    "By setting a good example and getting a job, yourself?"
    "Don't you start that snippy attitude with me." He shoved the bathroom door open. "Now go clean up the room before I get out."
    I moved slowly until he grunted and shoved me aside. When he was behind the bathroom door, I made a face to mock him. Not that there was a point, but at least it made me feel better. A little.
    I got to work changing the bed sheets and getting fresh ones from the dresser.
    Wil got up from his reading. He picked up one of the pillows and changed the cover.
    “You should study,” I said.
    “I have time to help you change the sheets.”
    Since we lived in a hotel, technically we could have had a maid come in. Jack had already irritated the maids enough that I’d promised them I’d clean the room and change the sheets regularly if they’d leave what we needed outside the door. They were more than happy to leave it to us, since they knew they’d never get a tip anyway. I ran a powerless sweeper over the thin carpet and Wil replaced the bed’s blanket. The worst part was the mess Jack made: collections of bottles, crumpled Kleenex tissues and occasionally a pair of ladies’ underwear of unknown origin.
    Jack slept for most of the day. I was convinced he only woke up and worked just hard enough to be presentable so they’d let him into the bar. I checked my stash of money, counting to make sure he didn’t take any. I don’t know where he got money if he didn’t get it from me, but I thought he might have made a few friends at the bar who occasionally gave him the fifty-cent shot specials.
    The phone rang on the nightstand between the two beds. Wil and I both stared at it, silently urging the other to answer and deal with it.
    “I’ve got homework,” he said, crawling back onto the bed and snagging his textbook.
    I sighed, and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
    A woman’s voice replied. I recognized her as being the front desk attendant though I forgot her name. “This is Kayli Winchester, right? Do you have a minute to come down to the front desk, please?”
    “I’ll be there in a second.” I slid an evil eye at Wil, who wriggled his eyebrows at me and grinned. I was stuck facing off the questions of if we would be staying another week.
    I was hoping they’d believe my lie. I wasn’t sure if we’d make it.
    ♠♠♠♠♠
    I walked barefoot down the steps and toward the hotel lobby. The maroon walls and the brown and black striped carpet irritated my eyes, not to mention made the hotel lobby look like it catered to hookers. The front desk was empty. I didn’t want to wait and knew what this was about anyway, so I found the short hallway on the other side that lead to the manager’s office.
    Colby was inside. Colby was a black lump with legs and a shiny bald head and wrinkled neck. If he wanted to, he could look mean, and often needed to because of people the hotel usually catered to. The rest of the time, though, he was just a lump.
    His feet were up on the shaky oak desk. He stared at the large screen TV hanging on the opposite wall that had the football game playing. When whatever play was finished, his dull eyes broke from the screen and focused on me. “Oh, hi Kayli.”
    “Did you need something?” I asked. “I was called ...”
    “Margaret wasn’t at her desk?”
    “Nope.”
    He frowned. “I just wanted to see if you’ll be staying another week.”
    “I’ve told you ...”
    He held up his hands. “Sorry. We have to ask. The higher ups have us do this thing, you know?”
    “And it’s due tomorrow,” I said. “I know that.”
    “It’s not just that. We’ve had