Desiree is in her mid-twenties. She is a Singapore citizen who works as a nurse. She has a huge scar on her face, which she successfully covers with a thick layer of make-up. She has huge round blue eyes and long brown curly hair. She is wearing a maroon dress that fits perfectly over her slim body. She used to have a habit of chewing her fingernails. Desiree also has a sweet tooth for all types of candy.

James wanted to visit the stores along the street. As he strolled along the pavement, he spotted a shop that was very much like his own. Unlike this store, James was able to get many people to buy the items he sold. He whistled merrily, thinking of his family back in France as he wandered down the street.

He has worked for most of his life as a hotel receptionist; all the hotel's staff knew and respected him and he was proud of this. Dressed in his crisp white shirt and blazer, Gregory has just reported for his shift that evening, which would extend all the way till eight the next morning. Unexpectedly, the rooms are not fully occupied this weekend. Tonight is going to be an easy one to pass. It ought to get a bit busier tomorrow, though. "Get the doorman to get a cab for Room 205, and make it snappy," Greg mutters to the bellboy in his usual no-nonsense tone, before proceeding to tidy the already neat reception counter.

She had smooth skin, black wavy locks and azure blue glittering eyes. But most importantly, she had talent. Her name was Carrie Lim, a twenty-one-year-old girl that had a dream. Although she came from a humble background, she had a big dream- to be a world-famous artist. As she admired the magnificent sea view in her hotel room for the last time, she prepared to go for her flight to Paris to further her studies. Clutching her bag filled with her art materials, she strolled out of the room saying a silent goodbye to her room.

"Hello? Who is this?" Connie inquired sleepily.  Her short blonde hair flew wildly around her head. I should have put more conditioner last night, she thought wordlessly.

" This is Mr Stevens" The man on the other side of the line boomed. Connie stiffened. It was her boss!

"You have to meet your client at a bakery near your hotel once you get off your plane." "Toot......."

Connie's boss had hung up.It was going to be a long day tomorrow, she sighed as she crawled back into bed.

Feeling much better, Melanie made her way down the stairs to check out of her hotel room. She inhaled the cool air, making her feel more refreshed. "Where was the cab?" she wondered. "It was taking forever to reach the hotel!" Thinking that she still had enough time, she decided to go for a stroll. Melanie stared through the windows of the shops, taking notice of how most of them were empty. She noticed one little boutique like her parents. Her thoughts drifted off into space and she did not notice a man walking towards her.

"Excuse me?" a man in his late forties tapped Melanie on her shoulder. She snapped out of her dreams in an instant and replied,"Yes?"

"I am Smith, James Smith. Could you show me the way to Hotel Hope?"

"Of course! I was just heading back there myself!" Melanie responded with a cheery smile as she shook hands with James. "My name is Melanie."

Remembering she had a flight to catch, she urgently checked the time on her watch. Her grin turned into a frown as she realised she was already late! Hurriedly, Melanie rushed off to the hotel to collect her suitcase which she left in the lobby with a bellman for safekeeping, leaving James to chase after her. The cab was already outside, waiting for her.

She hopped in, waved a small goodbye to the tired James ,who had been chasing her, and rushed of to the airport. Thankfully, she made it in time for her flight. As the plane took off, she muttered a silent goodbye to the city.

As she was heading towards her room, she caught sight the familiar black wavy locks. It was Carrie Lim, from Room 410. As usual she was holding on to her bag containing her art materials.

"Back so soon?" Desiree thought. Quickening her footsteps, she hastened to Room 410 to meet her friend.

"Desiree! Is that really you? You're back...at last!" Carrie's blue eyes lit up at the sight of Desiree. Eager to catch up with each other, both girls sat down on the bed in Carrie's room and started showing each other their photographs, paintings ...

After an hour of chatting, Carrie glanced at her watch. To her astonishment, it was already 6pm! She had to catch the flight at 8.31pm to Paris in order to be in time for her favourite lesson of the day, Art!

"Desiree, I'm going to miss my flight if I don't hurry! I need to fly back to Paris for my lesson!" Carrie shrieked.

As fast as lightning, Carrie picked up her half-packed luggage and started throwing her things in at top speed, messing up her whole room. Within minutes, she was done. Grabbing a muesli bar and a packet drink for her dinner, she made a beeline for the door and slammed it shut behind her, praying fervently thet she would reach the airport in time to catch the flight. In her haste, she had locked Desiree into her room. 

      Candra gazed at her notebook, brown eyes scanning each page.  The rather tattered notebook was her only form of communication, other than the small chart that had pictures of sign language on it.  Leafing through the many pages of the book, she decided it was no use to look at it .  She had to learn sign language, the thing she had been avoiding for what was one quarter of her life. She had depended on her notebook those 5 long silent  years.  She had to learn sign language. She had to.  Those cherry lips could barely make her understood. How was she to communicate in her university in Germany  without learning the chart? The thought of  the trip made her queasy.  Obviously, this trip to collect her nerves had helped only a little.  Hopefully, she would make some friends in Germany.

"Sigh... maybe I should head down to the café downstairs and have a quick snack," Rebecca mumbled under her breath. She quickly grabbed her azure blue purse and pushing open the door, she skipped down to the café.

"Help! Is anybody out there? I'm locked in the room! Please help!" a voice called in the distance, and it seemed to come from far away. Rebecca listened and kept still.

"I must be dreaming. Who would be locked in a room when they have their own card key to get out of the room?" Rebecca mumbled to herself once the shouting stopped. However, it began again. Rebecca hastily followed the noise and it led her to room 410.

"Is anybody inside?" Rebecca shouted as she knocked on the door.

"Yes, yes! I am locked in the room. Will you please help me to get out?" Desiree pleaded for help from inside the room. Her head was pounding from all the non-stop shouting. Rebecca replied," Wait a minute!" as she thought in silence," How do I get her out of the room?"

After wrecking her brain, she finally thought of a good idea. "Wait here while I go down to the reception!" she shouted to Desiree and jogged down to the lobby.

After getting the card key from the receptionist, she took the lift up to level 4 to help Desiree. She inserted the card key into the slot and burst open the door.

"Finally! I get some fresh air! It was so hot and stuffy inside!" Desiree heaved a sigh of relief as she scrambled out of the room. "Thanks so much for helping me to get out of the room!" she added, giving Rebecca a huge smile as she shook her hand.

"You want to join me at the café? I'm going to get a snack before checking out to go to Sydney." Rebecca suggested as she and Desiree walked to the lift together.

"Why not? Sure!" Desiree agreed as she thought about the variety of delicious candies at the café. Rebecca and Desiree then headed down to the café for a snack together.

"Sir...sir... may I ask if your stay in this hotel has been an pleasant experience? Would you stay with us again if you visit our town? Is there anything we can do to make your stay a more pleasant one?" Gregory, the receptionist enquired politely. He was a well-trained man who was drilled constantly by the hotel manager to conduct surveys on all the guests who were about to check out of the hotel. So used to the procedure, Gregory had fired the questions without even listening to the guest's request!

"I ask for a taxi! I am in a hurry! Why do you ask me these useless questions?" Mr Twiggles hollered into the phone, he was as angry as a raging bull. One could almost see steam pouring out of his ears. Gregory was deaf to these comments as he continued spewing question after question. He mustn't give his manager any chance to sack him. The hotel had not been doing well in this economic downturn and the hotel owners threatened to remove anyone who wasn't doing a good job.

Bang! Mr Twiggles slammed down the phone in annoyance as he muttered under his breath. Stupid man! He charged out of his room and left the hotel in a huff. Gregory stared at the phone in horror. He lifted his head just in time to see a man dressed in khaki shirt and black pants rushing out of the hotel and waving his hands frantically for a taxi.