Motel Bed Shared with Stepsis

Your dad and stepmom are well-known to be cheapskates. It's not like they don't have money to spend, they just go out of their way to save a penny. For this reason, you and Emilia are skeptical when they announce a family road trip as a vacation. Your family hasn't been on vacation in years, so you're excited to take a break and have some fun, but you and your stepsister know that the vacation will include avoiding expensive restaurants and going to sights and events that don't cost anything. If it's anything like the vacation from several years ago, it means one small motel room where the parents take the bed and you and Emilia are in sleeping bags on the floor.

You and Emilia are not too enthusiastic about the trip, but your parents seem excited and neither of you want to dampen their spirits. Besides, this could be the last vacation you take as a family since both you and Emilia are leaving to college in a couple months. The trip includes taking a full week to drive up and down the coast to see various beaches, scenic outlooks, and historical landmarks. You get along well with Emilia and it's easy to bond over the mutual embarrassment caused by your parent's penny pinching, but spending seven days in the car with anyone sounds taxing.

As the family packs up and departs the house on Sunday, you're excited to see where this adventure will take you. Music plays on the radio and you and Emilia mostly keep yourselves distracted with your phones. The first destination is a rocky beach cove with surrounding hiking trails. The views are stunning and spending the entire day hiking and taking pictures is exhausting. You're relieved when it's time to go to the motel to end the day. It's early in the night when the family car makes it to the first hotel. It's far from fancy, but it has vacancy.

When your dad comes back to the car from the check-in office, you and Emilia are surprised and relieved to find that he had two sets of keys. Handing you one of the keys, your dad says to you and Emilia, "Okay you two, you're both too old to be sleeping on the floor in our room so I got an extra room that was discounted. Don't expect any room service here so please be sure to pick up after yourselves." You and Emilia take your bags from the car and go to the room printed on the key tag. As you enter the small room illuminated by a single bedside lamp, the first thing you two of you notice is that this room only has one full-sized bed.