EIGHT:
"Hey Pony, wake up-more food!" Two-Bit nudged me.
I sighed and opened my eyes. Despite the fact that I was tired it wasn't really very easy to sleep on the plane for me, although I noted somewhat bitterly, Soda and Darry had not had that much trouble with it.
"Again?" I asked. "Didn't we just get fed?"
"Yup, and now we're getting dinner." Two-Bit explained. "I wonder what it will be."
"If it's as inedible as the last lot I might skip thanks." I said.
"The muffins were nice enough!" Two-Bit said, and I shrugged. Two-Bit would eat anything whatsoever so that wasn't saying much.
I sighed and looked out the window, but all I could see was clouds. At that time we should be somewhere over the ocean before coming into England in about two hours time. The changes in the time had completely confused me.
The stewardess reached us. "Are you eating boys?" She asked.
"Sure are." Two-Bit said, giving her a grin.
She handed over two meals, and Two-Bit ripped his open eagerly. I opened mine with a little less enthusiasm. The main meal was lasagne which looked decent enough, with a dinner roll. It was to be followed by a mouse type thing and lemonade.
I took a deep breath and ate a forkful of the lasagne, and was actually surprised that it wasn't that bad. Two-Bit was shoveling mouthfuls in himself. "WaittillwegettoEnglandandtrytheirfood." He said as he was eating.
I raised an eyebrow. "Glory Two-Bit speak English." I joked. "We wanna' fit in don't we?"
Two-Bit recommenced his eating and I ate as much of the lasagne as I could considering the taste got a little strange after awhile.
When the meals had been cleared Soda came over and leant over Two-Bit. "Hey Pony, you missed the in-flight movie when you were snoring away over here."
"I wasn't snoring!" I protested.
"Weren't you just? They could probably hear you up the back!" Soda replied.
"Damn Soda," I said. "You're the one who snores."
Soda just grinned, and went back to his seat.
I leant back in my seat, and opened the pamphlet I had on England's tourist attractions. There were so many things I wanted to see: The Tower of England, Buckingham Palace, Madame Toussades Wax Museum..
Two-Bit leaned over to look at the paper. "Are we gonna' take a trip to see those rocks?" He asked.
"Rocks?" I repeated confused, and then I realised that Two-Bit meant Stonehenge. "I don't know. It depends on time. We've got nine days, so we want to fit as many things in as possible."
Darry, who had been listening to this, leant over the aisle now. "Maybe when we get to the hotel we should make a list of the things we want to do and work out a schedule."
Typical Darry-always practical, although in this case, his practicality was a good thing.
"Ladies and Gentleman shortly we will be beginning our descent into Heathrow airport, London..." The pilot announced, and I clutched at Two- Bit's arm in excitement. We were almost there!
*****
"PONY!" Darry said angrily. "Stop being so impatient!"
I couldn't help it. We were finally in London, and we were stuck in a huge line in customs before we could even get our luggage and get to the hotel. It seemed so unfair.
"Sorry." I muttered sulkily, but Soda gave me a grin. He knew what I felt like. But then Soda's always been kinda' restless.
Eventually we reached the front of the line, and showed the man our passports (something we'd all had to apply for when we won the trip since before that none of us even had one!), and he chatted to us, as he stamped them.
"Been here before lads?" He asked.
"No we haven't ever left America before." Darry admitted. "And if we hadn't won this trip we never would have!"
The man smiled. "Well enjoy your time here then lads."
As we went to get our bags I whispered to Soda "Did you hear that? Don't the English talk cool?"
"Yeah, funny, but cool." He agreed.
We made our way to the luggage carousel and waited for our bags to come out. It took awhile, but Darry's appeared, and then mine, and then Soda's. But where was Two-Bit's? "Maybe they put it on the wrong flight. I've read about that happening before." I offered.
Two-Bit looked despairing. "They better not have-Mum lent me her camera for this trip. She reckoned we had to have photos of a Mathews in England! Its not everyday people like us get over here!"
"Greasers of London." I sang to the tune that Two-Bit had been singing the werewolf song ever since he knew we were coming to England! But this didn't even make him smile. Instead he scowled at the carousel. "Damn thing." He muttered angrily.
Darry frowned, and muttered something about checking with the officials, and wandered off.
"Hey Two-Bit at least if your luggage was put on another plane it's still going for a holiday." Soda offered.
"Humph." Two-Bit grunted. And then he smiled, and lunged for a bag coming out. His luggage wasn't lost-it had just been taking it's time.
*****
We made our way outside with our luggage and the first thing I noticed was a double-decker bus. "Look Soda!" I cried, but he was looking around with a look of excitement on his own face.
"We're meant to get picked up here." Darry told us. "And then taken to our hotel."
"Darry-there!" I said, and I pointed to a man who was standing with a cardboard sign that said CURTIS. I didn't think people really did that.
We walked over to the man, who then opened the doors of a maroon colored car for us. We got in and all stared out of the windows as he drove from the airport to the hotel which was only about a twenty minute drive from the airport. As we drove along the driver gave us tips on some of the best things to do and see in London, and the other areas of England.
"There's so much to do." I said mournfully. "We're never going to get to do it all."
The hotel itself was about five stories high, and had a fairly nice lobby. It wasn't one of the most expensive looking ones I'd seen, but to a greaser like me it seemed better than the three-star one they said it was! Over to one side I noticed there was a dining room, but I didn't have time to check it out properly since Darry dragged us to the check-in desk. "We're the Curtis' from America, we won-" He began, but the clerk interrupted him in a curt London accent.
"Yes sir, we've been expecting you. In a minute I'll get someone to show you up to your rooms. Now as you may or may not know we provide a free continental breakfast for all guests in the dining room every morning. Lunches and dinners generally require payment, however as part of your trip dinners have also been included. If you require a maid to clean your room leave the sign on your door when you go out for the day. If you require information about anything in the city, or beyond, feel free to ask us." The clerk explained, giving us a big smile. "Now; your room key.." He went to find it, and then came back with it, and a man who was to show us to our room.
Our room was on the fourth floor just down from the elevator-or lifts as they call them in England- and when we walked in my jaw dropped. 'If this is three-star I'd hate to see what a five-star looks like!' I thought. We were in the living area of the rooms, which had two big couches, a television, a table and chairs, and a mini-fridge. It opened up onto a small balcony. On either side of the room were the bedrooms. Two double beds per room, and a small table. On the right side there was also a bathroom with a shower, bath, basin and toilet.
"Wow!" Two-Bit said. "This is better than home!"
I had to agree!
The man left the room, and we were on our own. "Check out the mini-fridge. YUM!" Soda said.
"You have to pay for the things in there." Darry reminded him, and Soda sighed, and left it alone.
"Well what the heck are we waiting around here for? Let's explore!" Two-Bit cried.
I yawned. It seemed Two-Bit had not heard of the jet-lag I had. But luckily Darry and Soda were also feeling tired.
"Can't we rest Two-Bit?" Darry asked. "We got up before it was even light this morning, and with us being in a different time-zone now although it's afternoon here it would be night at home."
Two-Bit sighed, like we were all complete spoilsports, but agreed a rest wouldn't hurt. "And then we can check out the dinner in this place!" He said.
"Two-Bit!" Soda was astonished. "We got fed so many times on that plane, how can you still be hungry?" Even though Soda was a big eater, Two-Bit was a bigger one!
"I just am.." Two-Bit said, and then he had to stifle a yawn.
Soda and I were sharing the room on the left, and Two-Bit and Darry the one on the right. As I contemplated unpacking a few things, but decided to have a nap instead, I thought, as I curled up on my bed, that it felt familiar to be sleeping in the same room as Soda.
[A/N. When I was writing this I was thinking about my own excitement when I went over to England when I was eleven (eleven years ago!) and it sure brought back the memories. Before that I'd been to places all over Victoria and New South Wales, but never on a plane, and never out of Australia. *sigh* I can't wait to get back to England hopefully next year!! And I get the feeling the greasers are going to have as much fun as I did...lol!]
"Hey Pony, wake up-more food!" Two-Bit nudged me.
I sighed and opened my eyes. Despite the fact that I was tired it wasn't really very easy to sleep on the plane for me, although I noted somewhat bitterly, Soda and Darry had not had that much trouble with it.
"Again?" I asked. "Didn't we just get fed?"
"Yup, and now we're getting dinner." Two-Bit explained. "I wonder what it will be."
"If it's as inedible as the last lot I might skip thanks." I said.
"The muffins were nice enough!" Two-Bit said, and I shrugged. Two-Bit would eat anything whatsoever so that wasn't saying much.
I sighed and looked out the window, but all I could see was clouds. At that time we should be somewhere over the ocean before coming into England in about two hours time. The changes in the time had completely confused me.
The stewardess reached us. "Are you eating boys?" She asked.
"Sure are." Two-Bit said, giving her a grin.
She handed over two meals, and Two-Bit ripped his open eagerly. I opened mine with a little less enthusiasm. The main meal was lasagne which looked decent enough, with a dinner roll. It was to be followed by a mouse type thing and lemonade.
I took a deep breath and ate a forkful of the lasagne, and was actually surprised that it wasn't that bad. Two-Bit was shoveling mouthfuls in himself. "WaittillwegettoEnglandandtrytheirfood." He said as he was eating.
I raised an eyebrow. "Glory Two-Bit speak English." I joked. "We wanna' fit in don't we?"
Two-Bit recommenced his eating and I ate as much of the lasagne as I could considering the taste got a little strange after awhile.
When the meals had been cleared Soda came over and leant over Two-Bit. "Hey Pony, you missed the in-flight movie when you were snoring away over here."
"I wasn't snoring!" I protested.
"Weren't you just? They could probably hear you up the back!" Soda replied.
"Damn Soda," I said. "You're the one who snores."
Soda just grinned, and went back to his seat.
I leant back in my seat, and opened the pamphlet I had on England's tourist attractions. There were so many things I wanted to see: The Tower of England, Buckingham Palace, Madame Toussades Wax Museum..
Two-Bit leaned over to look at the paper. "Are we gonna' take a trip to see those rocks?" He asked.
"Rocks?" I repeated confused, and then I realised that Two-Bit meant Stonehenge. "I don't know. It depends on time. We've got nine days, so we want to fit as many things in as possible."
Darry, who had been listening to this, leant over the aisle now. "Maybe when we get to the hotel we should make a list of the things we want to do and work out a schedule."
Typical Darry-always practical, although in this case, his practicality was a good thing.
"Ladies and Gentleman shortly we will be beginning our descent into Heathrow airport, London..." The pilot announced, and I clutched at Two- Bit's arm in excitement. We were almost there!
*****
"PONY!" Darry said angrily. "Stop being so impatient!"
I couldn't help it. We were finally in London, and we were stuck in a huge line in customs before we could even get our luggage and get to the hotel. It seemed so unfair.
"Sorry." I muttered sulkily, but Soda gave me a grin. He knew what I felt like. But then Soda's always been kinda' restless.
Eventually we reached the front of the line, and showed the man our passports (something we'd all had to apply for when we won the trip since before that none of us even had one!), and he chatted to us, as he stamped them.
"Been here before lads?" He asked.
"No we haven't ever left America before." Darry admitted. "And if we hadn't won this trip we never would have!"
The man smiled. "Well enjoy your time here then lads."
As we went to get our bags I whispered to Soda "Did you hear that? Don't the English talk cool?"
"Yeah, funny, but cool." He agreed.
We made our way to the luggage carousel and waited for our bags to come out. It took awhile, but Darry's appeared, and then mine, and then Soda's. But where was Two-Bit's? "Maybe they put it on the wrong flight. I've read about that happening before." I offered.
Two-Bit looked despairing. "They better not have-Mum lent me her camera for this trip. She reckoned we had to have photos of a Mathews in England! Its not everyday people like us get over here!"
"Greasers of London." I sang to the tune that Two-Bit had been singing the werewolf song ever since he knew we were coming to England! But this didn't even make him smile. Instead he scowled at the carousel. "Damn thing." He muttered angrily.
Darry frowned, and muttered something about checking with the officials, and wandered off.
"Hey Two-Bit at least if your luggage was put on another plane it's still going for a holiday." Soda offered.
"Humph." Two-Bit grunted. And then he smiled, and lunged for a bag coming out. His luggage wasn't lost-it had just been taking it's time.
*****
We made our way outside with our luggage and the first thing I noticed was a double-decker bus. "Look Soda!" I cried, but he was looking around with a look of excitement on his own face.
"We're meant to get picked up here." Darry told us. "And then taken to our hotel."
"Darry-there!" I said, and I pointed to a man who was standing with a cardboard sign that said CURTIS. I didn't think people really did that.
We walked over to the man, who then opened the doors of a maroon colored car for us. We got in and all stared out of the windows as he drove from the airport to the hotel which was only about a twenty minute drive from the airport. As we drove along the driver gave us tips on some of the best things to do and see in London, and the other areas of England.
"There's so much to do." I said mournfully. "We're never going to get to do it all."
The hotel itself was about five stories high, and had a fairly nice lobby. It wasn't one of the most expensive looking ones I'd seen, but to a greaser like me it seemed better than the three-star one they said it was! Over to one side I noticed there was a dining room, but I didn't have time to check it out properly since Darry dragged us to the check-in desk. "We're the Curtis' from America, we won-" He began, but the clerk interrupted him in a curt London accent.
"Yes sir, we've been expecting you. In a minute I'll get someone to show you up to your rooms. Now as you may or may not know we provide a free continental breakfast for all guests in the dining room every morning. Lunches and dinners generally require payment, however as part of your trip dinners have also been included. If you require a maid to clean your room leave the sign on your door when you go out for the day. If you require information about anything in the city, or beyond, feel free to ask us." The clerk explained, giving us a big smile. "Now; your room key.." He went to find it, and then came back with it, and a man who was to show us to our room.
Our room was on the fourth floor just down from the elevator-or lifts as they call them in England- and when we walked in my jaw dropped. 'If this is three-star I'd hate to see what a five-star looks like!' I thought. We were in the living area of the rooms, which had two big couches, a television, a table and chairs, and a mini-fridge. It opened up onto a small balcony. On either side of the room were the bedrooms. Two double beds per room, and a small table. On the right side there was also a bathroom with a shower, bath, basin and toilet.
"Wow!" Two-Bit said. "This is better than home!"
I had to agree!
The man left the room, and we were on our own. "Check out the mini-fridge. YUM!" Soda said.
"You have to pay for the things in there." Darry reminded him, and Soda sighed, and left it alone.
"Well what the heck are we waiting around here for? Let's explore!" Two-Bit cried.
I yawned. It seemed Two-Bit had not heard of the jet-lag I had. But luckily Darry and Soda were also feeling tired.
"Can't we rest Two-Bit?" Darry asked. "We got up before it was even light this morning, and with us being in a different time-zone now although it's afternoon here it would be night at home."
Two-Bit sighed, like we were all complete spoilsports, but agreed a rest wouldn't hurt. "And then we can check out the dinner in this place!" He said.
"Two-Bit!" Soda was astonished. "We got fed so many times on that plane, how can you still be hungry?" Even though Soda was a big eater, Two-Bit was a bigger one!
"I just am.." Two-Bit said, and then he had to stifle a yawn.
Soda and I were sharing the room on the left, and Two-Bit and Darry the one on the right. As I contemplated unpacking a few things, but decided to have a nap instead, I thought, as I curled up on my bed, that it felt familiar to be sleeping in the same room as Soda.
[A/N. When I was writing this I was thinking about my own excitement when I went over to England when I was eleven (eleven years ago!) and it sure brought back the memories. Before that I'd been to places all over Victoria and New South Wales, but never on a plane, and never out of Australia. *sigh* I can't wait to get back to England hopefully next year!! And I get the feeling the greasers are going to have as much fun as I did...lol!]