They were the new joinees. Fresh out of small towns' big colleges. Put up at The Grand Opulence, a five star, at the request of their company. They had stayed up at many regular hotels and guest houses, but not at a starred place before. Twinkle was wondering, grammar is asterisked in TOI editorials these days, is the hotel name asterisked in the same sense. The twin sharing standard room was just acceptable. There was hardly any floor space left by the bed and the table and they had to tread carefully to avoid bumping into each other. The balcony ended before starting. There was an extended debate on the utility of the glass wall separating the bathroom. The conclusion was that it allowed one to enjoy the TV and the steaming bathtub simultaneously after a long tiring day.
The only other apparent luxury was the fully loaded mini bar the room boasted of. The elegant baby fridge spread a sumptuous treat for the souls famished from the long journey. There were honey roasted almonds imported from Virginia, Evian natural mineral water sourced from the pristine French Alps and layered Ferrero Rochers clad in inviting golden wrappers apart from the regular juices, wafers and biscuits. Moreover, the imported range of hard drinks was too tempting. Both of them were too tired to go out, they didn't even know of a reasonable place to dine at. Priced at two days' salary, the Opulence dinner was unthinkable of. Twinkle attacked the mini bar at full throttle and convinced Sonnet to follow her. Unsure of the hangover duration, they spared the hard drinks that night.
The delighted ladies now started exploring the room for other hidden treasures. Twinkle found a file inside the digital safe. They wondered if it contained the clues to assist them in their other discoveries. It had a sheet inside titled 'Mini Bar Rate List' and Twinkle's jaws dropped at its sight. The exorbitant three and higher digit numbers mentioned against the savoured goodies punched her real hard in the stomach and out came everything in a highly amalgamated state. It was a classic cultural shock!
The misplaced rate card appeared to be the mischief of the earlier occupant who had similarly burned his fingers. Sonnet was upset but her brain was working fast. She suggested replacement of the mini bar contents. What a superb idea Sirji! They ransacked the dustbins for all the dumped wrappers and packets. Smoothing the crinkled wrappers, they copied the brand names, flavor, size, quantity, date of manufacture, colour, everything except the bar codes on another piece of paper. Twinkle could now empathize with a simple friend who had once mistaken the finger bowl for nimbu paani and was made butt of all jokes thereafter!
Next morning, they left for the office putting on the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on their door. It was tough to focus on the slides while they googled for malls, departmental stores, markets in the city. Twinkle feigned vertigo at noon and Sonnet immediately offered to help her back to the hotel. They gathered almost everything after a search extending over six hours except for a particular sized pack of Ferrero Rochers.
Staying at starred locations has become a routine for them but the ghost of the goodies still haunts them. They do not fail to call up the room service to confirm if the complimentary water and tea/coffee sachets are indeed complimentary. Twinkle barely manages to control her impulse to scribble all over the rooms 'Beware, Nothing In Here Is For Free!'.
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