Free Blondetourage by Allison Rushby Page B

funny?'
    I snap out of my 'what is it with that Ashleigh
girl?' daze. 'George is just being her usual hilarious
self,' I tell him. 'Aren't you, George?'
    George's cheeks redden slightly with this. 'I've,
um, got to go ask Melinda about something,'
she says and jogs off, leaving me with Rhys and
Toby.
    'Guess I'll talk to her later, huh?' Toby shrugs,
then falls back a few steps again, whips out his
cell and starts texting, oblivious to the gorgeousness of the streets of Paris. Frankly, I'm still a little
bit (okay, majorly) in awe of this place. And since
we've set out today, slowly making our way across
the 15th arrondissement to the Seine, I've had to
play it cool and stop yelping, 'Oh, look!' at even
the most obvious things. 'Oh, look! A lady making
crepes!', 'Oh, look! A fromagerie !', 'Oh, look! A
patisserie!', 'Oh, look! A Starbucks/McDonalds/
KFC/Curves women's gym where you can work
off all the crepes, cheese, croissants, Starbucks,
McDonalds and KFC!'
    'So,' Rhys says, beside me, waking me up from
my 'Wow! I could be fat in Paris!' daydream. 'It
looks like you're enjoying Paris, huh?'
    I smile at him. I'm that transparent, am I? 'It's
nice not to be in Vienna for once,' I tell him. But
then I realise I sound ungrateful. I mean, I'm sure
lots of people would jump at the chance to live in
Vienna. 'Not that Vienna is a bad place, it was just
a bit ... I was a bit ... lonely.' And then I realise I
sound like a Nigel no friends, so I keep right on
blathering. 'Not that I didn't have any friends, it
was just ...' My cell phone starts ringing, thankfully
saving the day. And saving my red cheeks, which are
surely redder than George's were just moments ago.
'Excuse me,' I tell Rhys and juggle Fluffy's leash so
I can grab my cell from my pocket, gripping it for
dear life. It's JJ, according to the screen.
    'Guess what I just did?' she says with a groan,
even before I get to say hello.
    'What?' I ask her warily. I'd been wanting to ask
her how her chat with Romy went last night, but I
hadn't managed to catch up with her this morning.
She'd been busy with breakfast and getting lunches
ready.
    'I just ordered confiture des grosses selles instead of confiture des groseilles .'
    I frown, thinking hard. My French is good, but
it's not that good. 'Hang on ...' I keep on thinking. Des grosses selles. Groseilles. Oh. Oh, wait. I crack up
now. Really crack up and the whole group turns
to look at me. Melinda gives me, and Toby behind
me, the 'put that cell phone away and take in the
beauty of Paris' glare. 'I getcha, but I also gotta go,'
I tell JJ.
    'Thanks for the sympathy,' she groans again.
'Apparently we have a date this afternoon. I'm
taking you out to see the real Paris.'
    'Great!' I tell her. 'I can't wait. A bientôt !'
    'C'est ça ! Au revoir !' JJ chirps.
    I press end and shove my cell back in my pocket.
'Sorry,' I tell everyone, including Fluffy, who's
not enjoying having his leash passed from hand
to hand, and they go back about their walking
business. I turn to Rhys. 'JJ called to tell me she
just ordered confiture des grosses selles instead of confiture des groseilles.'
    'Uh huh,' he gives me a 'what on earth are
you talking about' stare. 'And that's pretty funny
because ...?'
    I laugh again. 'It would have been if they'd had
it. How would you fancy big poo jam instead of red
currant jam on your croissant tomorrow morning?'
    Now it's Rhys who cracks up. 'She didn't really
say that to someone?'
    I nod, still laughing.
    'No way.'
    I nod again.
    'I would have paid a lot of money to see that.'
    'Me too,' I agree, just as we step onto a paved
path and turn right. 'Oh! Oh, look!' I say as I stop,
realising where we are. Ms Super Cool again, that's
me. Because there, right before me, is the Eiffel
Tower. You know, doing its towering thing. And
there, on my left, is the Seine, shimmering slightly
in the sunlight. As I take a tentative step forward
again, I touch the cold metal of the green, ornate
lamppost that Rhys and I pass.