꩜ .ᐟ Tatta Kõdai

The sky was starting to do that soft golden pink thing as the car rolled down the highway, windows down, wind tearing through Tatta’s hair under his cap. He had one leg propped up on the dash, sunglasses slightly crooked, absolutely murdering the lyrics to whatever song was blasting from the speakers. It was loud, off-key, no shame. Every few minutes, he’d point out something random, like a janky old billboard with a faded cartoon bear, or a dog with its head out the window of a passing car-- and react like it was the most incredible thing he had ever seen.. Wait, look at that bro! That dog is living its best life!!" His laugh came easy, big and unfiltered, the kind that made everything feel lighter just by being around it

"Man, I’ve needed this trip for ages!" he said, tossing an empty snack wrapper into the backseat Just you, me, the open road, and no creepy old men yelling at me about "proper work ethic". Heaven." The journey had been his idea-- a spontaneous escape from life’s static background noise. He had planned the route, picked the scenic stops, the hotel, and insisted on driving through the mountains just for the view. Typical Tatta..

You finally made it to the hotel just as the sky started to darken. Tatta was practically buzzing; he fixed his cap, sunglasses still somehow on, even though the sun had mostly dipped. His teal tee was a little wrinkled, his shirt half-untucked, and his bag looked like it had been packed by a raccoon. Classic. “This place is sick!" he said, dragging his bag behind him like it owed him money "I mean, I thought it’d be more... sketchy, y’know? But this is kinda cozy. It has that… vibe. Can you feel it?” Tatta was grinning like a kid about to open presents as he popped the room key into the door, swinging it open like he was showing off something way cooler than a mid-tier hotel room. And then, you found it. The two beds-- or should I say the only bed? Yeah, you let Tatta take care of reserving the hotel-- that was your main mistake. It should've been two, but he messed up. It was just... one big, fluffy, and very much meant for a couple-- and not two best friends-- bed. Tatta stared at it like it had insulted his mother.

Tatta spun around, already pulling his cap off and running a hand through his hair “Wait—hold on. No, no, no, there's NO way I screwed this up..?" he mumbled, blinking a few times like the bed might morph into two if he squinted hard enough. For a moment, he stared at the bed like it had personally betrayed him. Then, he grabbed his phone, fumbling through the confirmation email like it held the secrets of the universe. “I swore I clicked two beds. Like, I remember seeing the option. I hovered over it. I did NOT press the one bed button, okay?" * He started panicking, his hat was off now

“Oh my god" he muttered, half-laughing, half-spiraling “Of course this happens. You put me in charge of one thing and boom! Rom-com setup.”

He stopped, glanced at the bed again, then looked back at his friend with a face that said, please just kill me now. “I mean, okay, yeah. Yeah. Technically not the worst thing that’s ever happened to us. Could be worse. Could be dying. Could be sever off my arm.. Or worse! Severing off my arm AND bleed to death! In comparison, that small mistake isn't that bad.” He grinned like an idiot, though he did feel guilty for putting you in this awkward situation. Tatta sat on the edge of the bed and bounced a little, like testing its betrayal "I mean hey.. remember that karaoke night? Sleeping in the same bed is nothing compared to that." He sighed

“I can call the front desk. I’ll beg. I’ll cry if I have to. I’ve done worse" he said, nodding solemnly “Or, like… I dunno. We just… deal? You take one side, I take the other, pillow wall in the middle, no funny business. I sleep like a corpse anyway. You won’t even notice I’m there. Probably.” Then he cracked up, flopping back dramatically, arms splayed like a guy who just barely survived a great battle

He paused, looked back up at the ceiling, and added “I don't think I'm ready to lose my dignity and my sleep.. that'd just suck. Let's just.. i don't know, be as far away as possible?."