Faye and I lay on my bed for quite some time before I realize that Lexi isn't going to answer and I better start in my homework.
While sitting at my desk, I put in headphones to block out the sound of whatever obnoxious voice is going to fill the room soon enough because of Faye. I received an assignment due next time I have the class, which might be tomorrow I can't remember, to draw the inside of a brain only have it stuffed to the rim of things. It could be stuffed with memories, or whatever is normally on your mind in specific.
Pretty much anything you choose.
I've opted to draw the inside of my mind, which of course I'll deny if the teacher asks. He'd never believe me anyways.
Unfortunately, the assignment does not take long and does not act like the proper distraction that I needed. I finish drawing the inside of the brain fairly quickly, there are music notes, and Eiffel towers, and wolf prints. I even put in a pair of converse in there, and earbuds. But when I finish, my concern for my friend grows immeasurably.
I text Lexi again, hoping she'll answer this time. Of course she doesn't.
Not feeling good about this situation, I take out my headphones and turn off Faye's music.
"Faye, we need to find Lexi." I say, hoping the tone of my voice explains the severity of the situation. If Lexi truly is pregnant...
"You sound pretty serious B." Faye sits up from her slouching position on her bed.
"I am going to call Max. Does Lexi have an i-cloud? Because I know her passwords and stuff. Maybe we can track her down via find my iphone? We should spam Evan's phone. Maybe they have just muted us. If we spam them enough maybe we'll pick u-"
Just as I am about to finish the word our dorm room swings open.
Evan is holding a seemingly not crying Lexi and their faces are somber.
"Where have you guys been?" Faye asks, "Brooke was just about to call a search party!!!"
"We went to the doctor." Lexi says in a small voice.
"The situation has resolved itself." Evan adds.
"You didn't have a...." I trail off, not wanting to think the worst.
"No!" Lexi is quick to answer, "It was a false alarm."
"False alarm? What?" Faye is extremely confused, but no one explains anything to her.
"Let's just go have dinner. It's been a long day."
****
The dining room is loud and for some reason messy, there must've been some food fight that we missed. The French kids get very snotty so it tends to happen quite a lot. Someone could've insulted someone else's hair and then a plate of spaghetti is dumped on their head and it escalates really quickly.
Max isn't there when we get into the dining hall, so I text him to make sure he knows where we are. Then, we all get food and take our seats at our table.
Faye is still really lost about everything, and asks, "Did I something really important?"
I just smile at her and eat my food, thankful that this has all been resolved.
Imagine having a baby in the school. They wouldn't know what hit them.
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"So where is lover boy?" Evan asks about my boyfriend's where-abouts.
"I am not sure." I reply, confused by the cryptic text he just sent.
"I still can't believe you call yourself his girlfriend." Evan teases.
"Why? Max is cute." I blush.
"Yeah, exactly, cute. You don't go for the cute type."
"And you know that how?"
Evan winks at me.
I roll my eyes and pick up my things to go change.
I always talk about how much I've changed since my arrival in Paris, and I have. Really. But, still some aspects of my personality remain. Although these people I consider to know me best do know me very well, there are things I've held back from.
I don't talk about where I came from. I don't talk about my "type" of guy. I don't tell them where my family is or who they are. I briefly mention my mom and my friends but nothing more then a drop of a name or a funny story.
I don't explain to them about the forgotten Ipod in my drawer, or my discarded journal from last year, or about my hoodie days, and my deeper meanings behind the art I draw.
Of course they ask. They know I'm not letting them in completely. Thankfully, they do not press.
"You know what, I am going to go now. For real."
Seeing as I have no instructions as to how to dress, I just throw on a pair of jeans and a french graphic tee I picked up at some flea market that Faye and I went to. I leave behind my sketchpad, but I do bring my Polaroid and my phone just in case there are some things I want to draw and I can snap a picture of it for later.
My heart is fluttering like crazy, which is weird because it hasn't felt like that since...
It feels good to have someone to have my heart flutter about. Better than feeling nothing at all, which I have been so used to.
Max is leaning on the gate when I find him, smiling at something at his phone.
"Hey you." His smile is infectious.
"Do I get to know where we are going?" I smile back and grab his hand which I can tell gets him nervous.
"Just out for dinner. I thought it would be nice to get out of the university." Max tells me.
"Yeah it would be nice."
Hand and hand we walk down the streets of Paris, talking and laughing. In school things are a little more intense with relationships. Everyone knows about everything because rumors spread fast. So although it might not be the truth, things get around. It's better to have your romance out in the streets of Paris where everything has an air of mystery and romance.
When we arrive at the restaurant, a small nook in the wall called Chez Marie, Max acts as the absolute gentlemen. We switch to speaking only french so that the waiters treat us nicer. It's a known thing in Paris that if you can speak french like you are fluent and from a french place than it is better than speaking English like an American.
We eat together, acting like a classic couple, which is more than I can say about my last relationship. It feels right to be here in Paris, happy. I finally feel like I am in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
