You may have noticed that this is a Switzerland postcard, not an Amsterdam one. What am I doing in Switzerland? Would you believe I sneaked away without my mother's knowledge? I didn't think you would. That's exactly what I've done though. Kristy Thomas, Claudia Kishi, Anna Stevenson, and I are on a sort of pilgrimage. The purpose of which I am way too embarrassed to admit.
Your friend,
Shannon
Before Amsterdam, I'd only every done one really bad thing in my life. That was the time I purposely flunked an exam to avoid taking a trip with my mother. (Sounds terrible, but it worked out for the best). Strangely enough, the second bad thing also involved my mother. Sort of.
Let me back up. Early Friday evening, when Greer and I had had an appropriate amount of time to recover from the events of the afternoon, Kristy knocked on the bedroom door. Greer, Mary Anne, and I were just lounging around. Personally, I was relieved that Greer had managed to calm down so quickly. She'd been in tears by the time we returned to Verbruggenhuis. She felt humiliated, especially when she thought of all those people who'd captured her on film. Greer may be a drama queen, but I completely understood her embarrassment on this occasion. So, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see Kristy walk through the door. I didn't need her stirring up the trouble of the afternoon.
"Hey guys," Kristy greeted. "I want to talk about something that happened this afternoon."
Greer moaned from where she lay on Mary Anne's bed. "Can we just never speak of that again?"
"No, not that," Kristy replied with a wave of her hand. "I'm talking about an expedition."
"You aren't seriously going to try to find that dog, are you?" said Greer.
Kristy paused a moment, appearing deep in thought. Finally, she said, "No, no. What I am proposing is a search and rescue operation for my whistle."
Silence fell over the room. Had Kristy completely lost her mind?''
"I'll buy you a new one, " I told her. No way was I spending even thirty seconds looking for that blasted whistle. Good riddance.
"But, this is my lucky whistle," Kristy protested.
"Oh, well, that changes everything," said Greer.
Mary Anne giggled, then put on a serious face. "Sorry, Kristy. I'm going to Holland tomorrow,"
"Me too," said Greer.
"I'm not," I said. "But I'm not spending the day searching the bottom of a canal for a whistle either."
Kristy's shoulders drooped and she sulked out of the room without another word.
A half an hour later, I was in the foyer arguing with Tiffany, who had just come downstairs in Stacey's hideous glitter purple heels and a black minidress (no doubt also Stacey's). Tiffany wanted to go out in public like that! Presumably, for a "walk". I was trying to get to the bottom of the situation when Kristy came bounding down the stairs, all smiles, and broke up the argument.
"New plan, Shannon!" she cried. "I just recruited Claudia and Anna for a brand new expedition. We leave a dawn."
"Kristy, I told you, I'm not going on a search for a lost whistle,"
Kristy shook her head. "I'm talking about Switzerland. Greer really got me thinking. I may never get this opportunity again. This vacation won't be complete unless I meet Shannon's grandmother,"
"Grandma Kilbourne lives in New Haven," said Tiffany.
"Anna and I have it all worked out," said Kristy, totally ignoring Tiffany. "We'll leave right after your mom and Mrs. Carson. It'll only take eight or nine hours to reach Switzerland by train. We'll be gone less than twenty-four hours. You mom will never know!"
Tiffany snorted. "Are you kidding? Shannon would never do anything so deceitful. Didn't you know? Shannon's perfect," Tiffany stepped out the front door and slammed it behind her. Through the window, I watched her disappear into the night.
That was it. Tiffany made up my mind for me.
"I'm in," I told Kristy.
Five-thirty the next morning, I lay in bed listening to Mary Anne move around the darkened room. Out in the hallway, Mom, Mrs. Carson, and Mallory were whispering as the walked back and forth to the bathroom. I heard Greer on the stairs, running halfway down before turning around and running up again. Mary Anne finally slipped out of the room. I listened carefully as the group trooped down the stairs and quietly shut the front door behind them.
When I was confident no one was coming back for a forgotten sweater or purse, I climbed out of bed and dressed in the clothes I set out the night before. I kept the lights off so not to wake Dawn. (I didn't need a lecture from her so early in the morning). I met Anna in the bathroom, already brushing her teeth. I was happy Anna wanted to come along on our adventure. Even though we go to different schools, Anna and I are good friends. Since arriving in Amsterdam, we hadn't spent much time together.
Of course, we had invited Abby along, too. She declined, saying she was looking forward to the possibility of being Anna and herself if Mom and Mrs. Carson returned early. Abby was so excited that I didn't have the heart to point out that her own hair was about eight inches longer than Anna's.
Kristy, Anna, Claudia, and I met up in the foyer at precisely five forty-five (Kristy's orders), all still a bit sleepy. Kristy, Anna, and I were wearing jean shorts, sweatshirts over t-shirts, and sandals. Claudia, however, had taken the trip as an opportunity to wear another bizarre outfit. That morning she wore a blue and white checkered dress with an (obviously) homemade pinafore and a pair of hiking boots spray painted white. Well, that wasn't too bad. What made the outfit bizarre was the accessories - mismatched earrings (a steaming cup of cocoa and a marshmallow in the two holes in her right ear and what appeared to be a goat in the left ear), a sign taped to her back reading: Burn Ore Bust! and decorated with a drawing of Kristy and a Bernese Mountain dog yodeling atop the Swiss Alps. Her hair was in french braids twisted into buns above her ears. Wait - I saved the best for last - across her shoulders, Claudia balanced a long broom handle with a tin pail dangling from each end.
"I'm the Swiss Miss!" Claudia exclaimed, proudly.
"Wow, Claud. You look fresh!" said Kristy.
Anna and I eyed the outfit and each other warily.
"Um...we better get a move on. We don't want to miss the train," I told them.
I slid the strap of my tote bag onto my shoulder and opened the front door. That's when I noticed Kristy had a garment bag draped over her arm. I gave her a brief quizzical look, but said nothing. After all, Anna was carrying her things in her violin case (I guess she read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler a few too many times) and Claudia had her own belongings stuffed in the tin pails.
"You know," Anna said to Claudia, as we stepped into the crisp morning air, "they're not going to let you on the train with that."
"Of course they will," Claudia assured her. "We're going into the Alps. They see people carrying these all the time."
Turns out Claudia was right. Sort of. The conductor allowed her on the train with her...contraption, but only after she dismantled it. Claudia was momentarily upset until Anna pointed out that she wouldn't have been able to sit down with that thing on her shoulders anyway.
We found seats at the back of the train. People kept turning to stare at Claudia, who was completely oblivious and stuffing a brownie in her mouth. I was becoming a bit worried about her. She had been going to Abraxas two and three times a day. The first trip satisfied Anna's curiosity, but Claudia seemed addicted. I wasn't even sure if Claudia was aware of exactly what was in those brownies and muffins. I didn't know what was more worrisome, that or the fact that they weren't even having much effect on her anymore. Could it be that she built up a resistance? Was that possible? I'd have to ask Charlie Thomas. He would know.
I checked my watch. "We should be coming into Germany at any minute," I told them.
"Germany? Oh no!" cried Claudia. "I didn't know we would be going into Germany!"
"Well, how did you think we'd get to Switzerland?" I asked her.
"I don't know! I don't know anything about geology!" Claudia replied. "If I'd known, I would have packed my lederhose!"
Anna and I both cocked an eyebrow.
"You have lederhose?" I asked.
"You know what lederhose is?" asked Anna.
"Of course," Claudia said, exasperated. "It's the traditional dress of German-speaking countries. I did my research. Claudia Kishi knows fashion."
"Does Claudia Kishi know what men wear lederhose, not women?" Anna asked.
"Huh?"
"Men wear lederhosen. Women wear dirndls," said Anna.
"Huh?"
Anna gave up. Clearly, Claudia wouldn't get it anytime this century. It was then that I noticed Kristy had been uncharacteristically quiet. She was leaning against the window, knees pulled close to her chest, writing in a small notebook. She chewed on the end of her pen, thoughtfully.
"What are you writing?" I inquired.
If I'm not mistaken, Kristy's cheeks went just a smidgen pink. "Oh, nothing," she said, pulling her knees tighter into her chest.
Hm. What could Kristy be writing? We hadn't done any baby-sitting, so it couldn't be about that. Perhaps, Kristy was planning a Western European Cultural Festival for when we returned to Stoneybrook. I groaned inwardly at the thought. I really didn't need to see Claudia in lederhose.
Once we reached Germany we stopped chatting and settled into our own routines. Claudia started drawing a caricature of a Bernese Mountain dog on a napkin ("a gift for Shannon's grandma's family," she said). Kristy kept writing and Anna removed her violin from its case. She straightened in her chair and began to play a slow, sad song. (apparently she wasn't a big fan of Mixed-Up Files after all). Since we had several hours of travel left, I took out my copy of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, a book on my summer reading list.
You know the old saying "time flies when you're having fun"? Well, that's how I feel when I'm reading a good book. I had just reached the part where Drouet informs Carrie of Hurstwood's theft in Chicago when a booming voice sounded over the intercom. The voice made an announcement in German, the only word of which I understood being "Berne". I checked my watch. It was about the right time to be arriving. I didn't yet see the station. The conductor must have been giving us a five minute warning. To be sure, I got up and walked down a few rows, stopping beside an older woman in a business suit.
"Excuse me," I said. "Is the next stop Berne?"
She nodded. "Ja, ja. Berne,"
"Thank you," I said and walked back to my seat. "We'll arrive at the station soon," I told Kristy and Claudia, who were already packing up their things. Anna had fallen asleep against Claudia's shoulder, so I shook her awake.
"I have to...uh, be right back," said Kristy, draping the garment bag over her arm and disappearing to the very back of the train.
I looked at Anna, who shrugged. We took off our sweatshirts and folded them into my tote bag. I'd just taken out my hairbrush when Kristy reappeared causing me to promptly drop it.
Kristy had changed out of her t-shirt and jean shorts. Now she had on a short tan skirt and a white tank top under a minty blue shirt. The shirt was a light, airy material and only buttoned halfway. Kristy's hair had been freed of its usual ponytail and pushed back with a white headband. Lipgloss shined on her lips.
"Kristy," I gasped. "You look...nice,"
"What? You expect me to meet Shannon's grandmother looking like a slob?"
"Well, that Pizza Express t-shirt was kind of grubby," Anna agreed.
"Thanks," Kristy replied, sarcastically.
By then, the train had pulled into the station. People were already filing out the door. We picked up our belongings and joined the line. The conductor stood at the door, seeing everyone out. When I reached him, he tipped his hat and offered me a hand.
"Auf Wiedersehen," he said, as I hopped onto the platform.
Claudia was the last one off the train. When the conductor took her hand and said, "Auf Wiedersehen," she curtsied and said, "Ditto," She stepped onto the platform, started to move away, then turned around again. "By the way," she told him. "I love your cheese."
Kristy and Anna snorted with laughter. I grabbed Claudia's arm, as she hitched her broom and pail thing back onto her shoulders, and hurried her away. (Unfortunately, in our rush, the broom handle hit a few innocent bystanders). Once outside the station, Kristy, Claudia, Anna, and I glanced around at the city of Berne. Tall buildings towered before us, cars were speeding passed, a bus nearly ran over a man riding a bicycle. Even though I knew better, in some way I was expecting a quaint village nestled amongst the Alps.
I exchanged glances with Kristy and Anna. At the same time, we gulped. Suddenly, our plan didn't seem so simple.