by Kitty Parker
Although not entirely sure of the current state of my body and sleeping position, I was vaguely aware that my head was resting on something quite comfortable.
"Mmm," I thought drowsily to myself. "This thing is soft." I snuggled deeper into whatever it was. It snuggled back.
Content with my position, I began to dose off again, relishing in the softness and warmth of my makeshift pillow. The pillow, however, began to stroke my hair. I liked this at first, since it felt quite soothing. However, it eventually occurred to me that in order for my pillow to be stroking my hair, it had to have hands, and therefore had to be a person.
My eyes popped open, and I sprang back up into a sitting position. Kurt, who was evidently my pillow, looked startled. I looked at him with wide eyes for a minute before muttering an embarrassed apology.
"It's alright," he said, grinning. "I actually like you better when you're asleep. You're a lot less argumentative. You should be asleep more often."
I gave him a look, then decided to get out my iPod. I stuck the headphones into my ears, then hit shuffle. "Codo," an Austrian pop song from the 1980's, came on. Pleased with the selection, I placed my iPod on my lap, closed my eyes, and settled back into my seat. I smiled as the familiar chorus filled my ears:
"Und ich düse, düse, düse, düse im Sauseschritt
Und bring' die Liebe mit
Vom meinem Himmelsritt.
Denn die Liebe, Liebe, Liebe, LIEBE, DIE MACHT VIEL SPAß..."
I jumped and yanked the headphones out of my ears as the music suddenly became incredibly loud. Quickly shutting off my iPod, I glared daggers at Kurt, who was laughing his ass off. He had evidently reached over and turned up the volume when I wasn't paying attention.
"Oh man," he laughed. "You should have seen your face. It was priceless!"
I smacked him upside the head. "Jerk," I growled. "Why do you have to torture me all the time?"
"You just make it so easy," he said, beaming. "And I'm not going to deny that it's pretty damn amusing."
"For you, maybe," I muttered.
Kurt leaned back in his seat and stretched his long, toned body to the extent that he was able in such a confined space.
"Anyway, Lotte," he said. "If you didn't hate me so much, maybe I wouldn't have to act like such a jerk."
"I have to hate you," I replied.
"Why's that?"
"Just cause."
"Just cause what?"
"Just cause I always have. And you're a jerk."
"You're stubborn."
"I know. You're persistent."
"I know."
"Ass."
"Bitch."
"Dickwad."
"Tart."
The string of insults kept coming. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 3: Smells Like Teen Spirit
After a long, sleepless night, our plane finally began to descend. Looking over Otto, who was slumped against the back of his seat, fast asleep, I gazed out the window. London stretched out below me like an architect's model, making me feel like some behemoth observing the Earth from far away. The river Thames wound its way through the city like a steely blue ribbon, dotted occasionally with boats and bridges. It really was a beautiful sight.
When the plane landed at last at Heathrow Airport, I was quite anxious to get out and put my feet back on solid ground. Oh yes, and to get away from Kurt. Of course, there was the usual human traffic jam as everyone on the plane blocked the aisles while locating all their belongings in the slowest possible manner. Couldn't they have gotten their things together before we landed? I mean, it wasn't exactly as though they didn't have time to. At any rate, I started to get impatient.
Finally, the man in front of me with the really bad B.O. and the duffel that looked like a body bag (suspicious, much?) began to move. I followed, making my way down the aisle, past the overenthusiastic stewardesses (oh, excuse me, "flight attendants"), and into the airport. Eden and Jane, both of whom had managed to get off the plane before me, were waiting for me at the gate.
"Hey girl, how was your night?" asked Jane delicately, sensing that my answer would not be particularly positive.
"Ugh," I replied simply. "That ass kept me up all night. I barely got any sleep."
"I'm sorry, hun," said Eden sympathetically. "As soon as we see a place, how about we all go for coffee, hm?"
I smiled. "I like the way you think."
The three of us followed the other members of our group down to the baggage claim area. It was one of those carousel things that rotates around in a circle until everyone finds their luggage. Of course, there's always the one bag that no one claims that just keeps going around and around…
We staked out an open spot along the edge of the carousel and set our things down. I noted with interest that the boy in the tenor section who had been watching Eden the day before picked out a spot quite near us, along with a dark-haired friend, who I knew to be called Elliot.
With a sigh, Eden slumped down and sat on the metal edge of the baggage carousel.
"Eden, that's probably not the best idea…" I began.
"Why?" she asked.
A buzzer sounded. The carousel started to go around. As the metal pieces that made up the conveyor belt moved by where Eden was sitting, one of them caught on the back pocket of her jeans.
RRRRIIIIP!
"That's why," I said, using every ounce of willpower that I had not to burst out laughing.
Eden stood up to assess the damage. There was an enormous hole in the back of her pants, exposing quite a bit of her butt. Seeing as how she wasn't an exhibitionist, Eden was quite embarrassed and immediately looked for something to cover herself with.
Seeing the problem (and an opportunity to play the hero in front of a girl that he evidently admired), the tenor immediately rushed over.
"Are you alright?" he asked Eden.
She looked up and met his eyes. I could see the sparks flying, and I grinned.
"I'm fine, thanks," she said, maintaining relative composure. "My jeans just got ripped, that's all."
"Here," he said, taking off his black sweatshirt. "You can tie that around your waist so no one will notice."
Eden gratefully took the sweatshirt and did as he suggested.
"I'm Matt, by the way," he said, sticking out his hand.
"Eden," she said, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you."
"Same," he replied, his smile widening.
They stayed like that for a minute, hands clasped, smiling, just staring into each other's eyes. It was such a Kodak moment that I really wished I had my camera out. I had unfortunately packed it in one of the bags that I'd checked.
Jane, slightly less of a romantic than Eden or I, cleared her throat gently.
Snapping back to reality, Eden and Matt dropped their hands and looked sheepishly at the ground. It was a bit of an awkward moment. Luckily, it didn't last too long.
"Matt!" shouted Elliot from their spot by the carousel. "I see your bag coming!"
Muttering a quick apology, Matt dashed over to his friend to grab his things. I immediately went over to Eden, a knowing grin on my face.
"Don't even," she started. She knew that look on my face all too well.
"But you were so adorable!" I cooed.
"So what?" she asked. "I probably won't ever talk to him again."
She was wrong on that account. We saw a lot more of Matt during the rest of our time in the airport…and on the bus ride to the hotel…and while we were putting our things away.
He knocked on the door to the room that Eden, Jane, and I were sharing with a freshman named Brigid, who we had more or less "adopted," merely five minutes after we had all checked in. I went to answer the door.
"Hi," he said bashfully. "Is Eden there?"
I grinned. "Sure. Come on in." I held the door wide for him, and he slowly entered.
"Er, nice room," he said.
"Yeah. Probably looks just like yours," said Jane, finding humor in
his awkward comment.
Eden came bustling out of the bathroom, where she had been busy putting her various toiletries away. "Hi, Matt!" she said enthusiastically.
"Hi," he returned, brightening up quite a bit.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Not that much," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that you can keep the sweatshirt for as long as you need it."
"Aw, that's so sweet of you. Thanks," cooed Eden. No joke, she really did coo.
"You're welcome," he replied, beaming. "Oh yes, and the guys in my room sent me to tell you all that we're supposed to be downstairs in fifteen minutes to go on a tour of something or other. I didn't catch the name."
"Who are you rooming with?" asked Brigid curiously, looking up from unpacking her suitcase.
"Elliot Trenton, Adam Evers, and Kurt Matthews," he answered.
"My sympathies," I said. Eden gave me a look.
"What for?" He looked fairly confused.
"I'd pity anyone who has to share a room with Kurt for a week," I answered. "I'd go crazy."
"Why? Kurt's a great guy. You really shouldn't be so hard on him."
I just rolled my eyes and continued unpacking. "He's hard on me, so why shouldn't I be hard on him?"
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you," said Eden. "It's in the book of Luke."
Sometimes I felt that Eden's name was all too appropriate.
"Yeah, Lotte," said Jane, laughing. "Don't you remember the 'Golden Rule'? 'Treat others as you would like to be treated?' You must have failed kindergarten."
"If this is turning into a bash-Lotte's-morals party, I'm leaving," I said indignantly.
"You're a Christian?" asked Matt, still completely focused on Eden.
Eden nodded.
Matt's face brightened even more. "So am I," he said.
Eden beamed. When she was happy, she really did look like an angel.
Looking between the two of them, I grinned. They were just too perfect for each other. I had to find some way to get them together.
----------------
Fifteen minutes later, the entire group had assembled in the hotel lobby. We all milled about for a while, talking excitedly amongst ourselves, until Mr. Faulkner clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. He had donned a tie with a gigantic Union Jack on it, and it looked completely ridiculous.
"Alright, everyone," he said loudly. "We're going to have a tour of the Tower of London, and then you're going to have some time to yourselves. Would you all get onto the busses, please?"
We began to shuffle outside. Clambering onto the first of the two busses, I took a seat next to Jane. Eden, who was still talking animatedly with Matt, sat with him across the aisle from us.
"What are the odds on them going out before we get to Paris?" asked a male voice from the seat behind me. Jane and I turned around to see who was speaking to us. It was Matt's friend, Elliot, his dark brown eyes glinting maliciously.
I grinned. "I'd say they're pretty good. I'd make a wager on it, but it would be kind of rude to bet on my friend's love life."
Elliot chuckled. "Yeah, I get what you mean," he said. There was a noise from the seat next to him. Looking over, I noted that Kurt, the occupant of said seat, was glaring at Elliot with a rather unpleasant yet somewhat comical look on his face.
"Kurt, you look constipated," I said.
"Shut up," he growled. Good old Kurt!
As the bus started moving, Jane and I turned back around. I curiously watched the London scenery fly by the window, but she was more interested in what Eden and Matt were up to.
"Lotte!" she whispered after a minute or two, poking my arm. I turned around. "I think he's getting her cell number!"
Sure enough, Eden was writing something down on Matt's hand with a pen she had found in her purse. She smiled as she wrote, and he looked completely infatuated.
"Aw, they're so cute!" I said softly, squeezing Jane's arm.
She raised an eyebrow at me. "Yeah, they are," she said, laughing. "But dude, don't turn into a complete puddle of goo on me, ok?"
"Oh, you know me, Jane," I said. "Stuff like that always turns me into mush. It can't be helped."
"Oh well," she said. "It's an endearing trait, anyhow."
"I've always thought so," said a smug voice from the seat behind me. I could practically hear Kurt smirking, and I seriously considered pulling a Helga from "Hey Arnold" and just punching him without even looking back.
"Stop eavesdropping, you jerk!" I said angrily, turning to glare at him.
"I wasn't eavesdropping," he replied defensively. "You were talking fairly loudly."
Unable to think of a good response to that, I flipped him off. He grinned, knowing he had just won the fight and relishing it.
The bus pulled to a stop in front of the enormous Tower of London. It was a very intimidating complex, and I could well understand the terror that prisoners must have felt when brought there in the medieval days.
Our group entered through the Traitor's Gate, through which so many hapless people had passed, never to go out again. The thought made me shiver. We found ourselves on The Green, where we met up with our tour guide.
"Hello," he said in a friendly British accent. (Well, what did you expect in London? Swedish accents?) "Welcome to the Tower of London. My name is Bill and I'll be your guide today. This here that you're standing on is The Green. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the spot where the scaffold used to be set up in the days of beheadings."
We all followed him to a spot in the middle of the lawn, where he stopped and began to babble about the history of capital punishment at the Tower. I wasn't really listening.
"How about that, Lotte?" whispered Kurt in my ear, lightly touching my waist and making me shiver. "The head stays alive for a few seconds after it's cut off. Isn't that fascinating?"
"Ew!" I said, shoving Kurt off of me. "That's gross!" I was rather squeamish, and Kurt knew it. He enjoyed taking advantage of the fact, just to hear me squeal.
We followed Bill throughout the various rooms in the complex, each one being pointed out to us in turn: the room in which Sir Thomas More was kept, the room in which Mary Queen of Scots was kept, the rooms in which Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Howard were kept after Henry the eighth decided he didn't want them anymore… Basically, it was like we were touring Alcatraz, but instead of Al Capone and the Bird Man, the prisoners were a bunch of royal people who had gotten on the wrong side of whoever was in power at the time.
We eventually came to the room in which the royal jewels were kept. This held a particular fascination for Georgiana and her best friend Alicia, both of whom were notoriously materialistic. They "oohed" and "ahhed" at everything, gazing at the precious jewels like children eyeing the sweets beneath the glass counter in a candy store.
"Ooo," said Alicia, eyeing a tiara that had belonged to Queen Victoria. "Now that's the kind of thing that I want for a headdress when I get married."
"I feel bad for your future husband," muttered Jane. I snickered. The guy, whoever he turned out to be, would have to be completely loaded.
After the jewel room, our group emerged into the bright sunshine on The Green. Saying goodbye and thank you to Bill, we climbed back onto the busses.
We were all dropped off at Trafalgar Square and told that we had free time until six, when we were expected to meet back there to go to dinner. As the busses drove off, my friends and I gathered to discuss where we should go in the four hours of time that we had. I had initially wanted to go to Piccadilly Circus, expecting to see lots of interesting street performers and such. Then Elliot informed me, much to my dismay, that "circus" referred to a traffic circle and had nothing to do with jugglers and guys on stilts. Eden wanted to see the Portobello Road Market, famous for it's antiques and for all the crazy and random things you could buy there, but it was nowhere near where we were. Brigid wanted to go to Buckingham Palace to
see if Prince William was around (like any of us had a shot), but all the males in our group vehemently protested the motion. We eventually settled on hopping on the subway - or rather, the "tube" - to go check out Hyde Park.
Our group more or less consisted of the girls in my room, the boys in Matt's room (including, to my great annoyance, Kurt), Luke Warren, and Bryce Yates. I was very pleased that Bryce had come along. He was a huge linebacker, the only member of the football team in our choir, but he was more or less a big teddy bear. I considered him to be among my closest male friends.
"Hey Lotte, how's it going?" he asked as we descended into the "tube" station. "Having fun?"
"Aside from Kurt pissing me off, yeah," I answered.
"Aw, Lotte," he said, giving me a big bear-hug. "Don't let him bother you so much. He's really not that bad."
I snorted.
"Besides," Bryce continued. "If he ever does anything really bad to you, I'll break him. How's that?"
I saw laughter in his eyes. I knew that off the gridiron, Bryce would never hurt a fly. Still, I had to chuckle. "Sound's good," I said as we went through the turnstiles and onto the waiting train.
Entering the subway car, our group spread out to find empty seats among the passengers. Jane, Eden, and I found three together and sat. The train jolted into motion, rattling out of the station and under the streets of London.
"Hey guys," whispered Jane as inconspicuously as she could. "Check out that guy with the newspaper. His mustache is completely ridiculous."
Eden and I looked at the man she referred to. He was fairly pudgy, balding, and wearing a business suit that looked as though it was too tight for him. Why anyone would wear a business suit on a Saturday, I didn't know. His mustache was one of those handle-bar deals, big and black.
"Definitely a fake mustache," I said. "Probably thinks it makes him look sophisticated or something."
"Dumbshit," said Jane, rolling her eyes.
Eden snorted.
The train pulled to a stop beneath Hyde Park Corner, and we exited onto the platform, climbing the stairs and emerging into the daylight. We crossed the busy street and entered Hyde Park, admiring the aesthetic beauty of our surroundings. A big park was a nice thing to have in a city, I decided. I was quite looking forward to exploring it.