Chapter 2: Amsterdam, Diamond City
City of Amsterdam. Founded in 1275, the city grew over the centuries on the shores of the Amstel River. It had been the centre of the world during the Middle Ages, as well as the Renaissance, where it was the stage for Protestantism founded by none other than Martin Luther. During World War II it was under Nazi rule, where thousands of Jews were captured and sent to their deaths in concentration camps. Nowadays, it was known for its tourism, its museums and other historical landmarks, and of course, for its diamonds. Ever since the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, Amsterdam was one of the biggest diamond markets in the world, and if you wanted to buy diamonds, that was the right city to do it. In sum, Amsterdam was a city that had seen some of the best, and also the some of the worst things Mankind had done; and now, it was to be visited by Tipton gang, who were thrilled to see the views.
Having planned their three days in Amsterdam, they knew what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. Standing in front of Centraal Station, they all tried to reach a verdict on what they would do first. Their teachers had suggested them to accompany some of the excursion groups, especially because those groups might visit some places that would help them write their reports about their stay in town later. But, like always, the gang decided they were off better just doing what they usually did, and that was to visit things by themselves, no strings attached whatsoever.
"I vote for spending the day visiting the Rijksmuseum." –Cody said.
"No, no museums. We decided that since we're staying three days in Amsterdam that we would spend one day visiting museums, but we never said that it would be the first." –Zack told his brother. –"I vote we go where our feet take us."
"In other words, sightseeing without an itinerary." –Anastasia smirked.
"Pretty much, yeah." –Zack smiled.
"Well, I don't see any problems with that. What do you say? Let's do what the tweeb here says?" –Mark laughed.
"I don't see why not." –Maddie said. –"But, I vote for us to grab a bicycle each. I'm in the mood for some cycling." –the blonde confessed.
"Me too." –Zack agreed. –"They say that it's best way to move in this town."
Renting a couple of bikes, the gang quickly embroiled themselves into the city. They were incredibly surprised by the fact of how people seemed to prefer use bicycles or just walk instead of using cars to move about. Still, one would have to be careful, for bikes had the same rights as cars when riding on the road, and that meant people had to be careful in order not to get run over by a cyclist. Their first stop was a small flea market they saw on the neighbourhood of Spui.
"Whoa, look at this." –Barbara said, as she checked one of the stands that was selling second-hand books.
"So many kinds of books. I bet we can find a couple of great books for a couple of bucks right here." –Cody said, as he grabbed one of the books that was written in English.
In that flea market, there was something for everyone. Books, vinyl records, old comics, figurines, knickknacks, small pieces of fortune, lithographs among other things. During their trip, they had never seen a small flea market with so much variety and were actually amazed to see such variety.
"Check out this football, Zack" –Max pointed to a perfectly football on a stand.
"Nice. It's a football with the logo of the last world cup, and it's in really great condition. You want it?"
"No, I don't need it." –Max said.
"Come on, I can see that you just want to try a few tricks with it. I'll buy it for you." –Zack said, as turned to the salesman. –"How much do you want for it?"
Bargaining prices is almost an art, and Zack ended up finding he was almost a specialist in it; still, no one could beat London when it came to bargaining. Once more, when Maddie fell in love with a book she liked, the heiress quickly bought it for her. But before the blonde could thank her for it, another book caught her eye, and this was no ordinary book… it was a book she and London wrote together a few years ago; well, sort of… Ivanna Checks In.
"No fucking way!" –Maddie thought to herself, as she picked up the book, handling it as if it was the most precious and most fragile object in the universe. - "Look, London, look!" –she said, showing her the book.
The heiress's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets when she saw what her girlfriend was holding on her hands. That particular book brought nothing but headaches to London, but at the same time, it also remained as a testimony to one of most incredible and amazing situations she and Maddie had gotten themselves into. Looking at the book's cover she smiled, while remembering when she found out that she had plagiarized an already existent book and she was sued in a million dollars, all thanks to Maddie, who told her the story that inspired her to write her own book, did not remember that she had read it in a book.
"I can't believe this one actually survived. I thought they had all been destroyed." –London said, surprised to actually seeing a copy of the book. She was obliged to destroy every last copy of the book, including the one she had kept for herself.
"Looks like someone bought it before the author sued you." –Maddie smiled, as she opened the book and looked at the illustrations of Ivanna, London's Pomeranian, who became the star of the book. With everything that happened back then, she did not even have the opportunity to actually read it. –"To think that you lost a million dollars because of me."
"I know, right?" –London giggled. –"Still, I got that million back in a jiffy, and thanks to that mess, you ended up doing my nails and my homework for a whole month." –the heiress chuckled.
"True… but you ended up paying me anyway." –Maddie snickered. London ended up paying her 200 dollars, and let the blonde choose a few things from her wardrobe. –"Still, you have to admit it was one of our craziest adventures… or at least, one the most memorable."
"Or both." –London smiled.
The girls got so caught up in that stroll through memory lane, that they did not notice the rest of the gang was no around them. Since no one felt like interrupting them, Zack decided to be the one to call them.
"Hey! Are you two finished with your shopping?" –the twin called them.
"Uh, what?" –Maddie asked. –"Oh, Zack, almost. You'll never guess what I found; look." –she showed him the book.
"No way!"
"Yes way." –Maddie smiled.
"I thought they had destroyed every single copy." –Barbara said.
"Every single copy, except maybe this one." –London said. –"Believe me, we're just as surprised as you are."
"What are you guys talking about? Is it another of your misadventures back in Boston that we don't know about?" –Anastasia asked, intrigued.
"If it is, you better spill the beans and tell us all about it." –Mark told them.
Quickly, the gang told the whole story to Mark and Anastasia, whom got quite a big laugh from it.
"And all that because one silly little blonde whom we like very much told a story to a certain brunette whom we also like very much, and completely forgot about the fact that that said story was from a book she had read when she was little." –Mark said. –"Sometimes it feels like you girls pick the craziest situations in the world and decide to make them happen."
"Well, it didn't help when London stole the story from me." –Maddie laughed.
"But you stole it first, when you claimed it was yours, remember?" –Cody told her.
"Just another day at the Boston Tipton." –Max giggled. –"I keep telling you, that place has got to be "Craziness Central" when the four of you are there." –she pointed to London, Maddie and the twins.
"You know what? This book has my name on it, but it's much as yours as it is mine. After all, you told me the story and then I wrote it. It doesn't matter if the other book already existed. I'm going to buy it for you and then, I'm going to do something I should've done back then." –London said, as she took the book from Maddie's hands.
She quickly bought it to the old woman who owned the book, and then borrowed a pen from Mark, who always had a pair of them with him. Looking for a place to sit, she sat in nearby bench and started to write on the book's cover. Slow and steady, she wrote Maddie's name above hers with a similar letter. Now, when looking at it, you would see "Madeline Fitzpatrick and London Tipton's Ivanna Checks In".
Seeing what her girlfriend did, a tear rolled down Maddie's face. To thank her, she kissed London on the lips, while trying not to cry out of happiness. What the heiress did was simple, but it was at the same time, a very powerful thing.
"Princess, thanks, but you can't keep buying me everything I see on the street, or doing everything you can just to make me smile. You'll spoil me rotten." –Maddie giggled.
"I'll spoil you rotten to the core, if that means I get to see you smile from joy, Blondie." –London winked at her, as she kissed her again, this time taking her sweet time to savour Maddie's lip gloss, while playing with her tongue. –"Besides, your name should have been in this cover from the very beginning, along with mine."
"Hey, girls, are you going to stay there the rest of the day kissing, or are you coming with us?" –Anastasia playfully asked them.
Looking at her friend, both just smiled and kissed once more, only for Maddie to break the kiss and say:
"Just one more kiss and then we can go." –Maddie smiled. –"What can I say? I'm needy today… and besides, this is Amsterdam. Where else on Europe can two girls kiss without someone pointing a finger at them?" –she smirked, as she kissed London, who returned the kiss.
The words that came out of Maddie's mouth made all sense to their friend. If there was a place in the world where two girls could display affection for one another, then that place was Amsterdam. Over the last decades, the city became one of the few places in the world where gay, lesbian and transsexual couples could walk on the streets without being pointed at, persecuted, mistreated or victimized; a place where they could just be themselves. Smiling, Anastasia was happy for her friends.
The sun would not set in the horizon for at least another hour, when they finally stopped. The gang found itself in the Museumplein, or Museum Square, where some of the most important museums in the city of Amsterdam were located, like the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Diamond Museum and the Stedelijk Museum. While the twins took some photos with the "I Amsterdam" sign in the background, the rest of them were lying on the grass, trying to figure out where to go from there, and more importantly, where they would have dinner.
"We could always head back to Dam Square and grab a bite from one of those fast food joints we saw on our way here." –Anastasia said.
"I'm not in the mood for fast food tonight." –Maddie said.
"Me neither." –London said.
"Then, what about a fancy restaurant?" –Barbara asked.
"It's not really my style, but if London pays, I'm up for it." –Max joked about it.
"But if we go to one of those places, we'll have to go back to the ship and change into something more appropriate." –Mark sighed. –"Because, let's face it… no fancy restaurant will let us in with these clothes."
"Ahem, excuse me, but do you forget who you hang out with?" –London asked him. –"I got more money in the bank than all the governments in Europe combined… if I want to, I'll buy the restaurant and the building it's in, if they don't allow us to have dinner there." –London giggled.
"Don't you think that's a little too Bruce Wayne in the Dark Knight, even for you?" – Anastasia joked.
"Maybe a little." –London chuckled. –"But you know I can do that if I want to, so no worries."
The conversation went on, but Maddie had her mind elsewhere. Opening her messenger bag, she took out her camera and decided to record a video diary to send her family. Turning it on, she began to talk to the camera.
"Hey there! It's me again! Sorry if I haven't sent you anything for the past days, but I've been very busy with school… yeah, who would have guessed that we would have so much homework. Not that I'm complaining, you know that I always liked a good challenge." –Maddie smiled. –"If you look behind me, you'll see that I'm already in Amsterdam and behind me is part of the gang discussing where we're having dinner tonight… say hello to the camera, guys!" –Maddie waved at them.
"Hey, there!" –Anastasia and Max waved.
"Hi Mr and Mrs Fitzpatrick! Don't worry, we're all taking good care of Maddie for you." –Barbara said. –"Especially, London… she's always there for Madeline… especially at night." –the last part was practically hushed to London.
"Cut it out, you!" –London hushed her, giggling. –"And I thought Zack was the one liked to say those things."
That comment made Maddie giggle. Trying not to drop the camera, she went on with her video.
"Never mind what they're saying." –Maddie giggled to the camera. –"I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay and I'm having a blast. Dublin, Edinburgh and Loch Ness were amazing, and so far, Amsterdam seems amazing too. Tomorrow we're going to visit one or two museums, and of course Anne Frank's House, and who knows maybe even check out the Red-Light District… don't worry, it will be just the oldest of the group and Moseby will insist on sending a couple of bodyguards to keep an eye on us, which I think it's a nice idea, because you never know who'll be watching." –she kept smiling, when she noted the twins were calling her name out in the distance. –"Looks like Zack and Cody want to talk to me… shall we go and see what they want?" –Maddie waved at them, signalling that she was going to their encounter.
Going to their encounter, the blonde quickly understood why they had called her.
"You guys want me to do what?!" -Maddie said shocked.
"We want you to film those skateboarders over there. They got some mean skills and we wanted to study them later, so we can try them. Could you do that for us?" -Zack asked her, pointing out to a group of older kids who were doing some cool manoeuvers.
"Why don't you use your cell phones?"
"Well, mine's out of battery and Cody's…"
"I forgot it back on the ship."
Hearing that, Maddie let out a sigh, and waved her head, before giggling.
"You guys are incredible, you know that?" -she smiled. –"Fine, I'll do it, but you two owe me big time."
"Put it on out tab, sweet thang." –Zack blinked an eye at her.
"As always…" -Maddie giggled. –"So, who do you want me to film first?"
While filming the many tricks that particular group of skaters were doing, the twins explained Maddie which trick was it, and how hard it was to pull each.
"You see that one? That's a Backside Heelflip, which is basically a backside 180 ollie with a heelflip." -Zack told her.
"An ollie?"
"It's the proper name for a skateboard jump, if you wanna know." -Cody explained her. –"Basically, an ollie was first done on a skateboard halfpipe back in 1977. It didn't look much like what we skaters do these days. It took many talented skaters experimenting to learn how to pop ollies on flat ground to reach what it's called a real ollie."
"Cody, don't give her a History lesson. Nobody cares about those things… oh, look, look! Look at that Daydream flip that girl just pulled!" -Zack pointed to a redhead.
This went for a couple of minutes, with the twins going on with the explanations and history of each trick that was pulled in front of them, when something they were not expecting happened. One of the skaters, failed a trick and his skateboard rolled to where the three friends were. Grabbing it, Zack quickly went to where he was and gave it back, as the guy pulled himself up. He was a few years older than Maddie was. He had black spiky hair, white skin, and blue eyes. As for his clothes, he was wearing an orange hoodie, black jeans and a pair of orange Converse All-Stars.
"Thanks." -he said, as he got up.
"No sweat. It's not easy to pull a 720 Gazelle Flip, at least not when you don't come in with enough speed." -Zack declared.
"You know this trick?"
"Do I know it? I've been trying for nearly a year to master it, and trust me when I tell you that I bruised my knees more times than I can count trying it. My brother here can vouch for me."
"Well, if you've been trying it, I guess you're no newbie to this." -he said. –"Name's Jöel."
"Zack, and this is my brother Cody and our friend Maddie."
"How you doing? You know... now that I look at you, you three look familiar." -Jöel said. –"Ha, now I remember, you two are those twins who are friends with that celebrity heiress, London Tipton, and you're her girlfriend, right?"
"Busted." -Maddie thought. She had not been recognized that day, and was hoping to stay incognito for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, her luck had just run out. –"Guilty, as charged." -she forced a smile.
"Pleasure to meet you." -Jöel said. –"Are you on a holiday?"
"Not exactly…" -Cody said.
"Well, you can tell me and the rest of my friends all about it, that is if you want to hang out. Any skateboarder is welcome to join us, that's out motto." -Jöel told the twins. –"You're also welcome to join us." -he said to Maddie.
"Come on, Maddie." -Zack said.
"Yeah, come on. It'll be fun." -Cody asserted.
"I don't know…" -Maddie was a little unsure. He looked like a nice guy, but appearances could be deceiving. Still, the twins usually had a sixth sense for choosing the right people as friends. Taking a chance, she said: "Alright, but let's call the rest of the gang too."
"I'll go fetch them. Back in a minute." -Cody said, as he took off.