bringing lucy home

Chapter 22: chaos lands in france

The girls were absolutely buzzing the second they got off the plane and out of the airport. The Parisian hotel was amazing, with posh vibes through the whole place. The ceilings were taller than they ever seen ceilings be and there was a strip of it made of just glass, there was one lift in the whole place and the rest of it was run by enormous winding staircases with golden railings and marble steps. They all stood in awe of the hotel, inside and out.

"Oh my God," Keira gasped quietly in her raspy little voice.

"How come Phil never hooks us up with a place like this when we're travelling," Jordan said.

"He's way too tight," Lucy pointed out. "If he could, he'd probably make us sleep in the coach."

"This place is incredible," Leah said. "Luce, how'd you manage it?"

Lucy shrugged. "I have friends."

In the centre of the hotel lobby was a huge grand piano, and when it caught her eye Leah gasped and ran over to it.

Lucy tried to stop her, knowing the piano was strictly for the hotels resident musician, but it was too late. Leah had sat herself at the big piano, and started to bang on the keys. Leah thought she was a musician, having got a little turntable back in England which she still didn't really know how to use. But it gave her a feeling of musical importance and so she beat on the keys of the piano with chaotic abandon, not having a clue what she was doing.

The awful sound filled the entire hotel lobby and made everyone stop and stare: it was so awful that Jordan ran and tackled Leah, knocking her off the piano bench. At least it stopped the "music."

Lucy guessed it was her fame in the city of Paris which kept them from being kicked out, and they checked into the hotel and went up to their rooms. They had gotten two hotel rooms with an adjoining door which connected them and being used to rooming, they didn't have trouble with the rooms. Infact there was a beautiful balcony view over the City and a little tray with French sweets which was replaced every day with new ones.

"Lets go play some football in one of those pretty parks we passed," Leah suggested.

"We only just got here," Jordan said, her mouth full of the French sweets.

"It's a beautiful day out for it, and we'll be in and out of museums and that for the next few days," Keira pointed out. "Lets go!" She snatched a Nike ball from her bag and the girls ran down the many stairs and out the door, where they enjoyed a lovely walk to one of the beautifull parks of Paris.

The golden light of the fading sun shone across the shimmering grass of the park, touching the many children, dogs, and Parisians who had come to spend their afternoon at the park among the flowers and fountains.

They immediately engaged in a fierce 2 v 2 football match, and when complaints were made that they took over too much of the grass, they did passing drills in a diamond. It was the perfect day. The light breeze through their hair, the sun on their faces, the fresh air in their lungs, the beautiful city surrounding them and the company of each other to brighten their days. They decided to try and reenact each others iconic goals between 2 trees and Jordan wanted to recreate Leahs dramatic retaken penalty. Setting herself up with a look of perfect concentration on her face, Jordan readied herself, got into position, and shot...watching the ball soar past their imaginary goalpoasts and towards the centre of the park, faster and faster in its descent. They all turned away, cringing miserably as the ball travelled down to make its imminent impact.

Crash! The little glass sculpture of a little girl and a dog in one of the parks fountains shattered into dozens of sharp pieces on the grass. Young kids and old people all at once stared. The four bestfriends froze momentarily before making the dash out of the park.