A Princess in Paris

Chapter Two

Claude's POV

When Maria sat next to me at the dinner table today, she greeted everybody except me. I looked at her once from the corner of my eye. Her eyes were very red. I could tell that she had been crying. And for some reason, I blamed myself. It was true that I ignored her at school today. She tripped and fell but I didn’t help her. I didn’t even ask her to eat lunch with me. But I couldn’t bring myself to. She looked completely different than yesterday. Last night, she only looked like a maid. But today, she looked, well I don’t really know how to describe it, but she looked a little prettier. But that wasn’t the only reason why I didn’t jump up to help her. It was because I still wasn’t too comfortable with the fact that a complete stranger came to live with us so suddenly.

That night, she went straight to the kitchen after dinner. I didn’t see her after that. She didn’t wish me good night. She only talked to Jacques, Charlotte and Georgette, and mom. When I asked Gérard about her, he told me that she left the kitchen and went to sleep early because she wasn’t feeling very well. I headed over to her room, but when I knocked, she didn’t open. I liked to convince myself that she was asleep and didn’t hear my knocks.

The next day, I woke up really early. It was just one of those days that you wake up early without knowing the reason why. I washed my face, brushed my hair, and wore my uniform. When I was done, I looked in the mirror. I realized that Maria had been right. My tie was crooked, but I could only notice it when I looked closely. I sighed. When I was done, it was about 6 o’clock. School didn’t start till 8: 30.

I didn’t know what to do. Charlotte and Georgette were surely still asleep. Jacques was definitely still snoring because he didn’t come home until 1 in the morning. He was out partying again. I really wanted to apologize to Maria for not treating her well but it was still too early in the morning and she was definitely still asleep.

I couldn’t find the courage to write a note, so I convinced myself that talking to her in person would be more effective. I looked in the mirror again and made sure that my tie was still crooked.

I waited for breakfast. Mom came into the dining room with the phone in her hand. Jacques was wearing his pajamas and robe. His hair was a mess, but it wasn’t the first time I’d seen him like that. Charlotte and Georgette were in their uniforms and they were wearing matching pink bows in their hair. They said it was Maria’s idea. And I had to admit that their hairstyle fit them perfectly.

“Where’s Maria anyway?” I asked them.

“We only saw her when she helped us wear our clothes and fixed our hair. It was a pretty long time ago, though,” they said in unison. I asked Gérard if he had seen her, but he said that she left for school already. I looked outside the window and saw the limousine in front of the house.

“How did she go to school when the limousine is still outside? Surely she didn’t walk!” I started but I saw Gérard shake his head.

“Oh, so she did walk.” It wasn’t a short distance to school, but she was a country girl anyway. Walking shouldn’t be a hard process. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that she went to school walking in order to avoid me. Apologizing to her wasn’t going to be very easy.

            I headed to school earlier than usual. Before I left the house, I looked in the mirror one more time. I made sure that my tie was absolutely messed up. Mom asked why, so I told her that I had my reasons. She just smiled at me and wished me good luck. Before I could wonder how much she knew, she was pushing me into the limousine. I sighed and prayed that this wasn’t going to be too difficult.

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Maria's POV

his walk to school was making me feel so much better. I had been feeling very miserable since yesterday morning, but now, I think that I feel a little better. There was nothing better than a nice morning walk. That’s what grandma always used to say. I was starting to get tears in my eyes. But I wasn’t going to let myself cry again. After all, I had the feeling that today was going to be a good day. In my hand, I held a basket. In this basket, there were 30 mille feuilles and 32 chocolate chip cookies. I was planning on giving them to my new classmates in hopes that it could help me get a fresh start.