Ellis followed Luisa down the hall toward the elevators with bundles of linens in their hands after lunch concluded. They took the opposite corridor, per Lisle’s request, so he could get acquainted with the right-hand side of the hotel that he had yet to see. Ellis was shown the spa next door to the restaurant where a faint smell of essential oils wafted out through the open archway. A small infinity pool rotated slowly beside a jacuzzi on the backside of a small gym.  Luisa noted that Masoud would offer barber services when guests would put in requests, and that the shelves were packed with jars of clay, face masks, and other relaxing necessities.

At the end of the hall sat the entrance to The Pink Hare. It was a quaint bar with expensive liquors lining the shelves. It was dark, modeled after a speakeasy, and looked much too fancy for Ellis’ tastes, but he could see the appeal of it nonetheless.

“This is The Pink Hare! I usually open it up around 2000. Do you have any particular vices? Favorite cocktails?” Luisa asked as they opened the door.

“I haven’t really tried many. I like coffee… not that it’s an alcohol, I just… I’m particular about coffee,” Ellis said quietly.

“You have time to try things if you like, this is a great safe space to do so. I make a lovely Irish cream coffee shake, I’ll make you one some time. Let’s keep going! I want to show you the second floor, the view of the botanical gardens is simply amazing!”

Ellis smiled. Luisa’s energy was contagious and friendly, he appreciated how lively their spirit was. He felt uncomfortable and intimidated by the majority of the staff, but he felt uncomfortable and intimidated by most everyone, if he were honest. He felt as if he could hold himself upright in Luisa’s presence, that he didn’t need to lower himself down, become small and invisible. It was an odd feeling.

They continued down the corridor until they found themselves standing at the lobby entrance. The golden elevator doors were open, so Ellis and Luisa stepped inside. They ascended to the second floor and Ellis looked out across the snowy landscape through the glass windows behind him.

“It’s beautiful,” Ellis whispered.

“It is. All of that sun pelting down on the snow makes it sparkle. It can be a bit harsh on the eyes at first. I prefer the dark seasons, personally, but you can’t beat that view no matter what time of the year it is,” Luisa replied.

Ellis turned his eyes to look at them for a moment before he shifted back to the tundras. He felt as if he had been dropped into a snow globe. Quiet and isolated, cut off from everything in a tiny, peculiar world. A world that was shaken with fervor then abruptly set upright on a shelf to be forgotten about. He felt shaken.

The door behind him opened so he quickly pulled himself from his thoughts. He followed Luisa out into the hall that was much the same as the one below. Navy and gold, glass and iron. He looked down into the sitting area in the massive garden he saw earlier under the domed ceiling.

“That’s a popular spot for couples. It’s quiet and the walking path is great for exercise and conversation,” Luisa noted.

“Is the grass real?” Ellis inquired.

“It is! The underbelly of this beast is basically a big heater so it stays warm enough in there for the grass to be happy. You can’t see it from where we are but there is a piano on the other side of the park, the acoustics are great and Lisle is a masterful musician. There are two entrances; one is in the restaurant, that way Janine can bring out meals to those wishing to sit at the tables under the sun without having to walk a long way, the other is across from The Pink Hare near the foyer.”

“Smart. Everything is so efficient.”

“It has to be. We’re isolated and very few people know we’re here. We need to be as self-sustaining as possible. There are beds of strawberries and a few apple trees in the park, and Ove has a variety of vegetables in the back of the botanical gardens, just in case the weather gets too bad and Roland can’t fly out to get our deliveries to us on time. Lisle likes to keep an excess of everything just in case so, even when the weather gets harsh, we usually don’t even notice.”

Ellis turned his attention to them. “What does happen if there is an emergency like that?”

“We’re in Antarctica, niño, it’s a wild terrain with wild habits. We can’t control the weather, we simply make do with what we can and try to be mindful of the radars. Roland is an exceptional pilot, if he sees trouble brewing he usually comes early and he often stays until things clear. He’s in room five, next door to you, whenever he stays. He’s a good neighbor but he does sing pretty loudly when he gets some liquor in him,” Luisa replied with a hearty chuckle. “I’m in room three, Ove is in four, so we’re close if you need us.”

“And medical emergencies?” Ellis pressed further as he followed them down the hall toward a room with a cleaning cart outside.

Luisa pressed their thumb against the door panel for the first room and watched the panel slide open. They urged him into the suite. 

“Grant is a miracle worker, and he’s thorough. He has enough back stock of necessities to handle most any situation and, in the rare event that we do have a serious emergency that he can’t handle, we’ll call Roland to do a transport to a hospital in Sydney or, if it’s too timely, to one of the research bases nearby.”

“Do they know you’re here?”

“Some of them, yes. You’ll learn all of this as we go, for now, let’s make this bed.”

Ellis looked around the beautiful guest suite. It was stunning, almost blinding as the sunlight hit the polished floors, and looked more like a studio apartment than a hotel room. It had a kitchenette, a desk and arm chair, a sofa with a coffee table, and an oversized bed. A faint, lingering scent hung in the air. Floral and heady. It was an expensive brand of perfume, one that seemed woven into each thread and stitch. 

Luisa set their stack of linens down on the nearby dresser. They pushed their sleeves up and went about pulling the duvet from the bed.

“Always strip the bed fully. Duvet, sheets, pillow covers, all of it. Since The Planet is, at its core, a rehab facility, we need to ensure that everything is sanitized so the next person to use the room can be assured it is free of germs and health risks. Especially for guests like Mrs. Olmsted, she’s in remission for breast cancer so we want to make sure she stays healthy and can enjoy her time without the worry of getting sick,” Luisa explained.

“That makes sense,” Ellis replied as he removed the slips from the pillows.

They stripped the bed. Luisa deposited the pile of linens into a bin that was placed in the hall outside and dusted their hands with a large grin on their face. Ellis looked at the stack of bedding on the dresser and watched as Luisa grabbed the crisply folded sheet. They handed it to him, he took it with a bit of hesitation.

“Do you have any experience working in hotels, Ellis?” Luisa inquired.

“No,” Ellis replied quietly.

“Neither did I when I first started. I got so fed up trying to get these damn sheets on properly that I decided to cheat a bit,” Luisa said with a cheeky grin and a wink.

They unfolded the sheet and searched the edges for a moment before they pinched a small section of the cloth between their fingers.

“I sewed a little golden line into the upper-left corner of the sheet. If you have this line in your left hand and face the bed, you can snap it on no problem!” they explained.

Ellis’ face lit up. “That’s so smart!”

“Our little secret, okay? Lisle would lose his mind if he knew I messed with his sheets.”

“Is he fickle about those things?”

“Everything about Carlisle Hawthorne is fickle. He’s a bit high-strung when it comes to the hotel, he takes a lot of pride in his work and the appearance of the rooms. He’s simply passionate but he can overwhelm himself with the small details so we try to minimize them in whatever way we can so that they go unnoticed. He doesn’t need the stress.”

Luisa handed the linen to Ellis. He carefully took it and lined up the small golden thread with the appropriate corner of the mattress. He timidly made the bed, taking care to ensure the lines were crisp and even. Luisa showed him how to tuck the edges properly and let him know their hard-learned tricks from years of doing this.

Within a few minutes the bed was made, the pillows were fluffed, and the duo moved onto the bathroom. They collected the towels and emptied the trash, wiped down the countertops and filled the shower with a powerful cleaner to sanitize the walls.

Ellis took notes about every detail Luisa mentioned, big or small, and they took notice. They could tell he was an intense and thoughtful person by how he pursed his lips and furrowed his brows when he wrote in his notebook. He held an intensity in his gaze that was much older and wiser than his young age would have led one to believe. He was astute and tried his hardest to do things properly.

“How often do we flip the rooms?” Ellis asked as he watched Luisa pick up a large container of soap to refill the dispenser.

“It depends on the guest. Some of them like it done daily, while they’re at breakfast or in the gym, others opt for every few days, and some get so engrossed in their relaxation that we need to remind them we exist. You’ll get to know them over time and, since two of our arrivals tomorrow are regulars, they know what they like and let you know,” Luisa replied as they unscrewed the cap of the ornate looking bottle with a golden pump. “You needn’t be afraid to ask them, either. I’ve been here for a long time and only had one truly cranky guest.”

“How long have you been here?” Ellis inquired as he handed them a container of hand soap.

“Seven years.”

“And you’ve… been here that long?”

“Are you asking if I’ve ever left The Planet?”

“Y-yes.”

“A few times. I like it here, there’s no real reason to leave so I tend to just enjoy my time. I did take a season off a few years ago for my 40th birthday. I spent a few months in Europe sightseeing. We tend to find our solace here, Ellis. There have only been a handful of employees who have left since I started and Lisle is incredibly particular about who he hires.”

Ellis contemplated the information he received. The fact that no one seemed to want to leave left him uncomfortable in some ways. It bordered on cultish, but he could also see a genuine enjoyment in the work and environment and ascertained that he was probably overthinking things. The hotel was lovely, the employees wanted for nothing, and the comforts seemed endless. Everyone at The Planet had to be running away from something to upend their whole lives as such, however. It wasn’t normal.

He wasn’t normal, either. Even still, it felt odd. The remoteness of it all, the sterility that was overshadowed by the beauty, the quiet.

“What else do we need to do? Anything else I should know?” Ellis asked.

“We water the plants in the rooms on Mondays, all of the trash is burned in our incinerator and we have specialty tools to clean the windows since they’re so large so please don’t feel like you have to try and do it all with a rag. Between seasons, like today, we also wash the curtains to keep dust to a minimum. Oh, and if you see an oversized white cat roaming around, that’s Biscuit. She belongs to Lisle, she’s the real one in charge here,” Luisa explained.

“Should we… take down the curtains, then?”

“Yes, that’s next on the agenda. I’ll show you where the laundry room is, too. We’ll only do the ones for the booked rooms today since the rest of them aren’t as of a high priority right now and the laundry room can get toasty if we run too many machines at once.”

Luisa grabbed the cleaning cart and pulled it close to the tall windows. They grabbed a long hook to help undo the rings of the curtain. Ellis watched with a sternness in his gaze. Despite their strong build, they moved with grace and agility. The navy curtains came down with a slow, unfurling motion. Ellis took the far end of the curtain and began folding it as they released it from each hook, ensuring it was handled with care and easily fit into the already full laundry bin.

The duo ensured the room was as clean as possible and turned the lights down. Luisa pushed the cart into the hallway and pointed to the elevator.

“I’ll double check the rest of the rooms on my own, I’ll show you to the laundry before I send you on your way to Grant. You always want to be at least five minutes earlier than he tells you, he’ll take notice of that and you’ll earn his respect right quick,” Luisa explained.

“He’s… scary,” Ellis whispered, not meaning to say it aloud.

“He’s all bark, but he is easily irritable so just make sure you’re prompt and truthful. Now, c’mon, let’s do some laundry.”