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It’s a Sunday afternoon in March. The sun is warm, spring is in the air. Life is slowly waking up after the cold winter.

“Maybe life isn’t so bad after all” Hege thinks to himself as he walks down the busy road.

He turns a corner and there it is.

The Hegilton

Everything he never had but always dreamed of. A world of luxury and class, of adventures and excitement.

And who knows? Maybe even romance.

“This will be the start of something new, I can feel it in my spikes”

The young hedgehog thinks to himself as he steps up the entrance and into the hotel lobby.

Ever since that school trip before Christmas, it’s been a rough time for Hege.

He thought he finally connected with Hegena. But then she drifted away again, leaving him sad and confused.

Today though, he doesn’t think about that.

He’s mostly nervous. And a little bit excited, too.

“I’m here for my new job” he says to the young man behind the desk, trying his best to sound confident.

“Mhm. Fourth door on the right” the man distractedly replies, not looking up from his screen.

Counting the doors, Hege finds his way to number four.

“STAFF ONLY” it says, printed in red block letters.

“This must be it”

Hege draws a deep breath to steady himself. Then he knocks three times.

...

There is no answer...

Unsure what to do next, Hege just stands there waiting.

He knocks again.

Still no answer...

“You look lost.”

A voice behind him suddenly cuts through the silence.

“No. I... Just...” Hege stammers as he spins around.

The voice belongs to a fox. She’s around his age and there’s something about her that makes Hege feel safe. He relaxes a little.

“Yea... I guess I am lost huh. It’s my first shift at the restaurant today” he admits.

“Then what are you doing here knocking on the cleaning room door, silly?” The fox laughs.

Hege turns to look at the door again. Now he sees the sign above it — “HOUSEKEEPING”. Big black letters.

He doesn’t know what to say.

This is not going according to plan...

He feels his heart racing and heat is rising on his cheeks.

But the fox is already off walking, back towards the lobby.

“What are you waiting for? Come with me!” she calls over her shoulder.

It takes a second or two for Hege to compose himself. Then he hurries to catch up with her.

She’s walking almost as fast as she’s talking.

“It’s so good to have you here! You know it’s been chaos ever since Kyle and Katie quit last week and just between you and me honestly the new manager is a little bit of a dick. But don’t worry I’ll show you around and help you get started.”

Hege relaxes a little more.

Maybe this isn’t going so bad after all...