No Free Rooms This Time

Every year, the week before the statewide college entrance exams, I had my parents empty fifty rooms at our hotel and hold them for my classmates, free of charge. Then the scores came out, and our class president, Natalie Reed, had bombed hers. She led the whole class online and claimed our hotel had run construction in the middle of the night on purpose, just to keep her from getting into college. The post went viral. The hotel was reported until it was shut down. My parents lost every cent they had saved, and their hair went gray overnight. Through all of it, not one of the fifty classmates who had stayed in our hotel spoke up for us. Then I opened my eyes, and it was the week before the exams again. My parents were talking it over at the table. "Sweetheart, the exams are almost here. Should we hold rooms for your classmates?" I set down my fork. "No. Not a single one." They stared at me. "But we're the only hotel around here. Everything else is three miles out..." I smiled. "Perfect."