Chapter 11
"One room please," Madeline stood in front of the counter. The man behind behind the counter smiled, put in some numbers, then handed the blonde girl a room card. Thankful, Maddie picked up her duffel bag from off the floor, then weaved her way through the crowd to the elevator. When she got to her room, she flopped forward onto the bed ,not caring about taking off her shoes or glasses first. The past few days had become so stressful, so quickly. From finishing her transcript, to the wedding, Maddie had had enough; she just wanted to go home. It had been three days since she'd gone to the church, and not only was she still feeling empty from it, she also had gotten news back from her publicist. Her transcript was good but was lacking something, however the company was going to go ahead and publish the final copy anyway; Maddie just had to hand it in. And then when she went to book her flight back home, the only flights available from Paris to New York were booked two weeks out. So instead, she had to catch a flight to London, spend the night there, then the following night she'd catch the red eye flight from London to New York, where her publicist would be picking her up. The whole thing was much more stressful than the amount of energy Maddie had to cope with.
She took a deep, shaky breath; her eyes began to water. Sitting up, she blinked away the tears that were forming. Francis… Madeline couldn't figure out why, even though she had decided it was over, she still couldn't bring herself to get over him. Her chest hurt, yet she felt drained. It was as though someone had flipped a switch on her emotions, leaving her numb and empty. She just couldn't seem to care about anything. Her phone buzzed to life; 27 missed calls from Julchen. Madeline knew the albino meant well, since they did part on unspoken terms, but she just couldn't bring herself to answer. As she went to turn the phone off, Alfred's name began to flash on the screen. Maddie was surprised, she hadn't expected him to call her. "He-hello?" she spoke timidly.
"Yo, sis, why didn't you tell me you were flying to New York?" Alfred loud voice made Maddie's head hurt.
"I didn't realize I had to check in, désolé," Madeline's voice had a sharp bite to it. Her eyes widened; she hadn't meant to snap at her brother, after all he was only concerned.
"Um, Maddie? Everything ok?" Alfred asked after a few moments of silence. Hearing that dreaded question brought new life to her dead emotions. Everything she had subconsciously been holding back, came out in tears. She began to sob horribly, "Non, non, Alfred, tout n'est pas d'accord*!"
"Woah, man, Maddie you seriously need to calm down. You know I don't understand French. I want to help but if I don't know what happened I can't, you know?" Alfred panicked.
Madeline sniffled, Stop thinking about him, you need to move on! "No," she calmed down almost instantly, the emotionless void taking her once again.
"Everything's fine. I just figured it was time for me to go home," speaking barely above a whisper, she smiled faintly - though she knew no one was able to see.
"Um, hey Alfred, I'd love to chat but I'm just too tired, eh. I just want to get some sleep," with that she hung up, not giving her twin a chance to even say his farewell. Madeline wasn't entirely lying when she said she was tired; she hadn't exactly gotten the best of sleep the previous month. She looked at the clock; her flight was at two o'clock, and it was an hour and a half flight - plus the twenty minutes it took her cab driver to get from the airport to a decent hotel. All Maddie wanted to do was sleep, but it was only 4 o'clock. Sighing, she gave in and decided it wouldn't hurt to go to bed early. Madeline didn't even bother changing out of her street clothes, she just flopped on the bed, dust floating up around her. She was too exhausted to even bother fanning the dirt and debris away. As she lay staring at the ceiling, her mind bubbled over: What am I going to do now? Closing her eyes, she quietly slipped into a long and much needed slumber.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-
Madeline's eyes shot wide open, fully awakened from her deep sleep by her alarm on her phone. She sat up in terror, expecting to see that she had slept in and missed her flight. Instead she was greeted by a text message from the air service: her flight from London to New York was cancelled and the next earliest was at midnight, tonight. She quickly corresponded, yes, and was forwarded a copy of her receipt - to show to the attendant at the airport's customer service desk in order for her to be able to pick up the official ticket. She sighed, it was only eight o'clock; Madeline had the entire day to waste before catching her flight. She sighed - it seemed as though she was doing that a lot lately - and muttered to herself, "Might as well go sightseeing while I'm here; I can add some stuff to my transcript at least…"
Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and tugging off her skinny jeans, she opened her duffel bag. Sitting right on top of the pile was the vibrant, strapless, coral sun dress Julchen had given her. Maddie really didn't want to get dolled up, just to catch a flight in a dress and makeup later, but most of her other clothes needed to be washed. She didn't exactly have a choice. Laying the dress out flat, Madeline did her best to match it with her accessories. After about twenty minutes she ended up with the sundress, a small white jacket with ¾ sleeves, black flats, and a little chain necklace with a little silver maple leaf pendant. The outfit was simple, charming, cute and simply Madeline. Maybe looking like I'm not hurt will help, she thought optimistically. Now onto her next task: taming the monster. Removing her hair tie only made her curls more wild than they already were. She didn't have outrageously curly hair, but it wasn't straight either. And it didn't help Madeleine's case that she slept with her hair in a messy bun. She smoothed out her dress, bracing herself for the pain to come. Gripping tightly her hairbrush in her right hand and her dry shampoo in her left, she sucked in a breath and dove right in. After approximately five minutes of shrieks and silent curses - mostly because her hairbrush got stuck in her hair at one point - Madeline examined her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was a little more curly than "wavy," her outfit was put together perfectly, and she still had on makeup from the day before. With her glasses, she looked like a sweet little bookworm; perfect for a tourist - at least to her.
Maddie grabbed her notebook, saddlebag, laptop and a brochure off the desk and began planning where to check out first. There were quite a few luxurious looking places, but her book was filled with gorgeous scenery. This time around, she decided to go see a typical tourist spot: Big Ben. It was quarter to nine by the time she finally hailed the taxi, and it would be another twenty minutes before she got to the Great Bell.
Madeline checked her phone; it was just about time for lunch. After she arrived, she had went on a little tour of her own of the surrounding area; she saw the Elizabeth tower, Big Ben, and did a little bit shopping. She had just gotten off of the London Eye when she figured it was probably about time for her to eat, and she was right. Looking around, she spotted a McDonalds; though the blonde didn't usually prefer fast food places, it was the nearest option - and she was starting to feel sort of light headed. She tucked her phone back into her purse and began walking. Only to stop dead in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice through the crowd, "I don't know, brah, I'm just worried about her. I didn't exactly hear from her for about a month, and then I found out from Julchen's bro that the psycho said last she knew, sis booked a flight home. So I called her…"
"Shit!" Maddie cursed under her breath. She definitely was not expecting to see her brother here, in London, of all places. She looked around frantically through the crowd, trying to spot him before Alfred spotted her. She begged, pleaded with her legs to move, but they remained glued to the spot. And to make things worse, as soon as she found Alfred, along with Antonio, tears flooded her face. The clenching pain in her chest returned with a vengeance, and the only thing she could think of was, Please don't let him see me… Not like this…
The oblivious duo almost didn't notice her as they talked and laughed together, giving the small blonde a chance to escape. Turning on her heels, she tried hard to wipe clean her face without being obvious. Alfred was mowing down on a hamburger so Madeline knew he wouldn't have noticed her, but suddenly a slightly muffled American voice - more than likely due to his hamburger - called out to her, "Maddie!"
She mentally kicked Alfred for his inability to read the mood and stay quiet but still turned around, smiling at her brother and his friend. "Oh, um hey, Alfred… What're you doing here…? In London…?" she asked slowly.
"I was just gonna ask you that sis. You kind of hung up on me yesterday," Alfred responded, balling up the wrapper from his burger.
"Sorry about that, eh. I wasn't getting much sleep this past month - the transcript and all - so I was a little ornery and just really tired. I was falling asleep talking to you," the last sentence was of course, a lie. But Alfred doesn't need to know that. "You never answered my question," she continued, "what're you guys doing in London?"
"Oh, we're here for Francis' wedding. You know - best man and all," Alfred said, oblivious to the harsh look Antonio was giving him.
"Alfred, man, wasn't that supposed to be like top secret or something? Don't tell anyone, top secret?" Antonio said, looking slightly panicked.
Without a second thought, the American responded, "Yep."
The Spaniard facepalmed. "Lo siento, Madeline; we didn't want to keep this a secret from you, but Alice is kind of scary man. And I didn't want her to get mad with Francis or something you know? He gets in enough trouble on his own."
All three laughed slightly at the dry humor, when suddenly Antonio's face lit up. "We better get going, Alfred. The weddings in four hours and we need to help make sure everythings set up."
Alfred rose his eyebrows in recognition, "Oh, yeah! Thats totally right dude! I'll get the taxi. But wait, what was the address again? Sorry brah, I forgot."
Antonio rolled his eyes. "395 South Kensington*. Oh no, you weren't supposed to hear that! You didn't hear that from Boss; please don't show up," he said half-jokingly. Madeline knew what they were doing, it wasn't that hard to catch on. "Look, guys, I appreciate this, I really do, but don't worry. I'm not going to go. I mean it," she smiled, showing her sincerity.
Antonio's grin quickly dropped, replaced by a look of confusion. He glanced at Alfred for answers but the American looked just as perplexed by Maddie's response. "Look, galla*, no lo sé* what's been going on since I last saw you, but I think Julchen gave me a pretty good idea. I can guess zhat's not your true feelings, no? Give me your phone; I'll give jou my number. If you want to, that is, just call us. We'll sneak you in. It's kinda last minute, but it's at four. Alfred will text you the address so you have it for sure, ok?"
Maddie did as she was asked, nodding her head yes. She waved goodbye to her brother and the Spaniard, and decided - rather than get fast food - she was going to head back to her hotel. She had some thinking to do. But first, she had to call someone.
"Ja, vhat do jou vant?" the German woman sounded exhausted. Madeline suddenly regretted disturbing her friend, but got over it just as quickly. "Julchen? Hi, it's me -"
"Birdie!?" Julchen cut off her friend upon hearing Maddie's voice. "Are jou okay?! Jou left vizhout a vord IvassovorriedIdidn'tknowvhattodo -"
This time Maddie cut Julchen off, "Julchen; breathe. I'm fine. Actually, I need some advice. And…I need your plan again."
"Hold on a second Birdie; Luddy if jou don't shut zhe hell up I svear I vill beat you so hard jou'll zhink Feli is a girl! Sorry about zhat," Julchen said into the phone, "Ludvig pulled some strings and now ve're in London. I'm actually supposed to be helping zhat arse Francis get ready but, screw him. So, jou're sure jou're okay?"
"Yeah… Wait, you're here? In London?"
"Ja, zhat's vhat I said. Do I have bad reception or somezhing?"
"No, no; I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hearing things. Actually, I just ran into Al and Antonio. Which is why I wanted to talk to you."
"Vait, vhy are zhey in America? Zhey're supposed to be here for zhe wedding?"
"No, they are - ugh. I'm in London. I had to switch flights and I ran into them when I was going to get food. Julchen, I'm thinking about going through with your crazy plan," Maddie's voice cracked.
"Is everyzhing alright? Jou know, I can drop vhat I'm doing -"
"You aren't even doing anyzhing, mon ami," Francis' voice was clearly heard in the background.
"Shut up!" Julchen was back. "Anyvay, I can drop vhat I'm doing und come help jou if jou vant."
"No, that's fine. I'm alright. I've just been thinking...a lot. And I think I know now what I need to do. I haven't lost yet, there's still a chance. And Julchen?"
"Ja Birdie?"
"That dress you bought me won't be going to waste afterall. I'm going to let you go; I'll text you the deets. I need to give Alfred a call real quick though."
"Ok, bye Birdie. Und don't forget to text me!" With that, Maddie hung up. She had gotten into her hotel room and stripped, throwing all of her clothes into her open duffel bag. Her flight left at midnight; she had enough time to stop by the wedding, and then catch her flight back home. She wasn't going to make a spectacle though. Madeline was just going to stop in, say hi to her friends, and give Francis her congratulations - whether verbally or in spirit. But she still wasn't going to doll herself up the way Julchen had. She left her makeup alone; simple brown eyeshadow and mascara, a little touch of light pink blush and natural colored lipstick. She slipped into the white gown-like dress Julchen had bought for her. Madeline examined her appearance in the mirror: her loose curls spilled around her shoulders, halfway down her back; her makeup was charming, and the dress just barely touched the floor. That was her other issue: shoes. Julchen had her wearing heels, but Maddie just wasn't the type to usually wear heels. Instead, she decided to just wear her black flats; partly for comfort, partly because they were what she already had unpacked. She threw on a light jacket, grabbed her bags and went downstairs to check out. She shot Julchen a text message then checked her watch; it'd be three o'clock by the time Julchen came to get her. Just enough time to make it to the wedding, she kept repeating in her head.
As she walked out of the hotel, her phone rang. "Just the man I wanted to talk to," she smiled, "I'm taking you up on your offer; meet me at Julchen's car. I'll text you when we get there."
*everything is not okay
**not a real address, just a street in london thats known for wealth, and a random number
***girl, bird; I'm using this term because Julchen (Antonio's best friend) always calls Maddie Birdy
****I don't know