Author's Note: I want to thank Boundwriter for editing this story with me
Hi guys, this is the second chapter of the Lab Research Chapter that I wrote a while ago. If you have any comments or ideas, please leave them in the comment section below. Thankssssssssssss
~ Writer254
"We're gonna be late!"
Joanna screeched as both of us darted through the human traffic at the Tokyo International Airport, earning us looks of disdain from those around us. My coat was slung over one arm while the other pulled along a small suitcase. My messenger bag dangled over my shoulder, bouncing against my side with every step that I took. Joanna had also taken out her brown coat from her bag and rolled along a wheeled backpack.
Robert, the Director of Operations at our research institute had conveniently forgotten to mention that the estimated arrival time of our flight was a mere 3 hours before the start of the conference - the same conference that we would be speaking at. Additionally, a heavier-than-usual snow condition had appeared out of nowhere and delayed our flight for several hours, leaving us with little over an hour to get to the conference.
"We'll just have to head to the conference venue directly, can't risk being late,"
I muttered under my breath.
We followed the signs detailing directions placed at regular intervals in the airport. We rushed to the taxi stand and thanked heavens that it was still operating, even in this heavier-than-usual snow. We quickly hailed a taxi and fumbled into the back of the vehicle. As soon as we closed the door, the heater in the taxi began to work its magic My fingertips, numb from the brief exposure to cold air outside, began to thaw and regain feeling and colour. I took out my phone and hesitantly read out the name of the conference venue that we had been sent.
"Tokyo Kokusai Foramu"
I instructed the driver, hoping that the driver would overlook my poor pronunciation and would not strand us far away from our destination.
As the driver gave me a thumbs up and started heading that way, I pulled out my laptop from my messenger bag and started scrolling through the slides we were due to present in less than an hour. I glanced at Joanna who was absent-mindedly looking out of the window in a daze as the snow-covered features of Tokyo's streets whizzed past the taxi window.
"Anata wa koko - you here,"
the driver corrected himself as he slowed to a stop at the drop-off point in front of a grand building. Fronting the building was a huge wall of glass which showed the warm interior of the imposing building. As I counted the number of notes to pay him, Joanna exited the taxi and stretched a little. After thanking the driver who helped us unload our luggage, we started towards the building, the orangy glow of the foyer welcoming us to a warmer location. As we headed to the foyer, a man in a suit came over.
"Dr Joshua and Ms Joanna?"
the man who I assumed was part of the organising team asked. As both of us nodded, he ushered us into the foyer and subsequently into the preparation area. Both of us went to the nearby toilets to change into our clothes and prepare for our presentation.
As we exited the toilet, surprisingly at more or less the same time, Joanna was wearing a dark blue blouse with no accessories while I wore a smart charcoal blazer covering a plain white dress shirt.
"You look smart,"
Joanna remarked as she leaned in to adjust my collar.
"You're not too bad yourself,"
I complimented her as I buttoned up my blazer.
"Dr Joshua and Ms Joanna? This way please."
The same man ushered us once again to the preparation area to get ready for our presentation.
The presentation was an absolute success. After the conference, many respected scientists and researchers came up to meet Joanna and me, congratulating us on our research and presentation. I was elated that my research was so well received and no doubt Joanna was equally content. Praises slowly died down as the attendees started to make their way home in preparation for the next day of the conference. The number of event attendees dwindled down as the caterers for the buffet dinner started their teardown.
It was around 9pm local time and Joanna and I were both exhausted. We hadn't had any rest since our flight had touched down. We picked up our bags from the preparation area only to come to a shocking realization. In our haste to get to the conference location, we had forgotten to inform our hotel that we were not going to drop off at our hotel first. We jumped into the back of one of the many taxis waiting to take conference attendees back to their hotels and rushed to our hotel.
"Gomenasai, we don't have two separate rooms available for the next 3 days. All of them are booked by our patrons. Especially since you came late, we tried to call you but your number wasn't accepting."
The hotel receptionist apologized as she referred to the hotel's booking list. The hotel lobby was filled with many researchers who milled around and presumably had a room there.
"But if you don't mind, we still have the family suites available. We can upgrade you, no extra cost, to the family suites -- only if you are okay with that."
The receptionist looked back down at the bookings list which indeed confirmed that the hotel was more or less fully booked.
I stole a quick glance at Joanna whose eyes were slowly shutting. I decided to take the room. How else were we going to find a room at this time of the night? The receptionist printed out a receipt and I signed it before she handed me the key card to the room. I gently nudged the almost-asleep Joanna towards the elevator and we made our way to our room.
The room was huge. It was more of an apartment. I'm sure that if we hadn't been upgraded for free, we wouldn't have been able to afford it. It had 3 separate rooms, the living room, bedroom and a toilet. The living room had a sliding door which partitioned it from the balcony. The balcony held a sizable open-air hot spring which was steaming in the cold weather. The entire apartment was furnished grandly but still had a cozy feeling to it.
Without saying anything, Joanna dragged herself to the master bedroom, threw herself onto the bed and was sound asleep within seconds. The bed - wait, there was only one king-sized bed in the centre of the bedroom. I thought about making a call to the front desk but decided against it. They were probably swamped by the number of guests arriving anyway. I gently rolled Joanna to one side of the bed before I slowly crawled in on the other side. Within seconds of my head touching the pillow, I was dead asleep.
And I woke up around 2 hours later to the sound of water flowing from the bathroom. Joanna must have woken up earlier and was showering.