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first?’ I said to Martine and Ronnie.
    ‘Sleep,’ they replied in unison.
    ‘I’m not tired,’ I complained.
    ‘Girlfriend, I wouldn’t be tired either if I’d snored the whole way from Sydney to Los Angeles,’ Martine said.
    ‘I don’t snore.’
    ‘That’s what you say,’ she said, laughing. ‘I’ll ring you when I’m up and about.’
    We wrote down each other’s room numbers, and I noted with amusement that Martine was in between Mum and Trent, and me. ‘Good luck with that,’ I said, smirking.
    I played in my room for a while, checking out the free toiletries and unpacking my clothing into the Egyptian-themed wardrobe. I sat in a chair and stared out the inwardly sloping window before deciding to go out and have a look around.
    I saw the advertisement for Nurture, the hotel spa and salon, while I was waiting for the elevator, and decided to see if they had any tips for fixing my arm. It was too hot to be wearing a sweater.
    A chirpy woman greeted me at the front desk of the salon. ‘Welcome to Nurture, where the treatments are luxurious. Here’s a menu.’ She handed me a card before I could tell her I was only after some advice.
    I glanced down at the menu. Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, the Peppermint Foot and Leg Therapy looked nice until I saw the cost. I managed not to gasp at the $200 price tag. Christ, I was perfectly capable of rubbing some peppermint lotion into my own legs thanks.
    I handed the menu back to her and said, ‘I’m really after some advice.’ I peeled my sweater off and held out my arm. I got the expected reaction.
    ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God,’ she said. ‘I hope they arrested the person who did this to you.’
    ‘It was kind of my own fault,’ I said.
    ‘You were drunk?’
    ‘I didn’t realise I had to let it dry first.’
    She let out a loud peel of laughter. ‘Mel,’ she shrieked, ‘quick you gotta check this out.’
    A large woman with ebony skin appeared from behind a curtain on the other side of the room. ‘What we got ‘ere?’ she said, holding my arm up for a better look. ‘Is it ‘alloween? ‘Cause it looks like ju tried to make yo arm look like a punkin. Why would ju wanna make yo arm look like a punkin?’
    ‘I didn’t,’ I said. ‘It was broken and I tried to tan it but I fell asleep.’
    ‘Ju must’a bin drunk,’ she said.
    ‘A little,’ I conceded. ‘What can I do about it?’
    ‘Well, ju could try hydrogin proxide. Lucy?’
    ‘I’d soak it and exfoliate it first, then peroxide any dark parts left.’ Lucy was staring at my arm, an intent expression on her face.
    ‘Dat sounds like a good ideya,’ Mel said. ‘Ju wanna give it a really good soakin first, den scrub da shit outta dat dere arm.’
    They gave me instructions to a drugstore and told me to come back in for a treatment when I had time. I thanked them and made my way down to the ground floor of The Luxor and out onto Las Vegas Boulevard.
    According to Mel, the CVS Pharmacy was about a mile north of The Luxor. I eventually interpreted that as – turn left onto Las Vegas Boulevard and walk till you get to The Monte Carlo Hotel.
    It only took a few minutes of walking before the sweat started beading on my forehead. I took off the sweater and slung it over my right shoulder in an attempt to partly shield my arm. Finally I passed New York New York and saw the The Monte Carlo ahead of me.
    The air conditioning of the store washed over me in a cool wave as I moved down the aisle. I found the exfoliating gloves quickly and placed one in my basket, but while I was searching for the hydrogen peroxide I saw the price of the stay-on lipsticks. I added five lipsticks in with the glove. Then I grabbed a foundation, mineral powder and mascara, thought about it, and grabbed another one of each.
    I felt guilty about starting my shopping without Martine, but justified it with the knowledge that I was doing market research to help make her choices easier. I added the hydrogen