CHAPTER 3
Teagan
The hotel was fantastic.
I sat my suitcase down on the floor beside the large canopy bed and flopped down onto it. I was shocked to see how quickly the bed conformed to my body as I began to sink down into it. The mattress was so comfortable that I debated whether I should even try to get up, even though it was still only about six in the evening Ronovia time. The flight to get here was exhausting.
Just off the south of France, Ronovia was a country a lot of people had never actually heard of, but one that I had always wanted to visit. The place had a fascinating history and rich culture that I was dying to learn about. For our first night in the country, all of the students were being put up in the hotel by the Siri Yoga Intensive, Siri’s company. In addition to teaching yoga, Siri sold yoga products, vitamin water, new age books and videos, did reiki, had his own tarot cards, and so much more. The man had created a business empire. I wanted to be just like him.
As I felt my body sink deeper into the mattress I wanted nothing more at that moment than to just fall asleep and wake up in the morning refreshed and ready to go with the group. The plan was that we would spend the night in the hotel and the next morning, bright and early, we would be taken to the isolated location close to the mountains where we would begin their lessons.
I was so jet lagged that I didn’t know if she could stay awake for several more hours or not. But I knew that if I fell asleep right then, I was going to regret it because I would be wide awake at two in the morning. We were not scheduled to leave until six, and she had no idea how far they would have to travel. The odds were that there was going to be a lot of hiking involved.
I was ok with hiking, I actually loved doing it in my free time. But I had to make sure I was properly rested.
I forced my body to get up out of the comfortable bed and to grab some fresh clothes from my suitcase. She knew that there were some excellent local restaurants and bars nearby the hotel; maybe I would go out and have a few drinks, mingle a bit, or at least just get out of the room, where I would surely be dead asleep in twenty minutes. If I was out and moving then I would be able to keep myself awake.
I wondered if I might run into someone else from the tour while I was out and about. So far, I had yet to meet anyone, having come straight to the hotel from the airport. Just watching the world outside of my window as I was being driven to the hotel was something I would never forget. It was like landing in a whole other world.
The cab driver had kept me fairly entertained during the drive, telling me stories about the country. I hoped that the rest of the people in Ronovia were that friendly. It was kind of scary when you were in a new country surrounded by strangers.
This was my first time ever to leave the United States, and I wanted to experience as much of the country as I could before I had to go back home. I wished I could have been able to extend my trip and actually travel around Europe a bit more, but sadly there were bills to pay back home and they only way those bills got paid were if I was there teaching classes.
When I told Ellie about it the trip, Ellie hadn’t thought I was telling the truth. I had to actually forward the email to her before Ellie would believe me. Then Ellie let out one of her legendary screams right into my ear. After the deafness faded away, Teagan managed to ask Ellie if she would cover for me at the yoga studio for the week I was gone. I agreed to pay Ellie double the normal class rate, but I couldn’t just stop for a week and risk her students finding another class somewhere else. My business was still a bit of a fledgling operation, and I had worked too hard to take that kind of a hit.
But even if Ellie had said she couldn’t cover for her, I would have still gone on the trip. Nothing in the world was going to stop me from pursuing this dream. Studying under Siri Park was a way for me to deepen my practice, create connections, and learn about building an empire of my own.
I left the hotel and walked down the street towards The Canal, an fancy bar that looked like it might be fun. The chilled air on the walk over started to wake my body up. I was feeling a bit less tired by that point, and I hoped that the energizing atmosphere of a bar might just be the thing I needed to carry me over the hump.
When I walked into The Canal, I was happy to see the place looked even nicer than it did outside. The fact that it was probably crazy expensive was something I could worry about later. This was a trip I’d saved up for years. And I was not going to worry about the money. I’d been stashing away money just in case, ever since I decided to apply the first time, confident that one day I would be selected. I took a deep breath trying to take everything in. The fact that I was actually here was still blowing my mind.
I found an empty seat at the bar and ordered a beer. Since the place had a pub like vibe, I figured a beer would be my best choice. Then, a waiter walked out of the kitchen with a plate of the most delicious smelling food ever. My mouth began to water, and my stomach started to pang. I pulled the menu on the bar towards me and started to look it over. I knew I needed some carbs to keep my energy up for the rest of the week.
I placed an order with the bartender and started to look around the bar. The Canal was filled with people from all walks of life. There were younger people, older folks, couples, singles, groups of guys, groups of girls, and all of them seemed to be having a good time. For a second, I felt lonely being there all by myself. I wished that I had some friends or someone there to actually talk to. I took another sip of my beer and focused my eyes on some of the guys around the bar.
Maybe there would be someone to help finally push Theo out of my thoughts.