Une Fleure Fanée

Week 13 Part 1 (Sunday)

     In all my years as a father, I had never encountered the passion and eartnessness with which my son spoke. I understood for the first time that the story of Easter meant something for me. That it was more than a legend, a myth, more than just a religious story. It turned into light for me... light that pushed the clouds around my heart away. It was real... and I've never been the same again."

     Everybody agrees. I just nervously sit there and try to do what the others do. We listen to more stories, pray, sing songs, and overall, it's kind of fun. Until the bread and wine part. Unwanted calories.

     "You're not having alcohol at ten, Lilly. Stay behind," Mom whispers to me.

     I sigh in relief and wait until everybody else gets their bread and wine. More like a cracker and a smidge of wine, but I'm still glad Mom doesn't make me eat any. Everybody else gets blessed by the Priest, and we begin to head out once everybody else is blessed.

     "That was actually fun!" Pressley exclaims.

     "Are we ready to go to the teahouse?" Ms. Abby asks.

     "Yes!" we all exclaim.

     First challenge of the day: tea house. There's going to be finger sandwiches, cookies, and tea. I'm not going to eat much. I'm still trying to lose weight. I fidget anxiously. I should have taken Venlafaxine. Too late.

     We have the same Uber. I guess not many cars have space for 12 passengers. We do some Instagram stories and TikToks. I'm so silly on social media, but I'm so stressed in real life. I look at all of the mean comments, and of course, proanaxoxo. All motivation to starve myself!

     We pull up to this tea house called The London Tea House Merchant. Here we go. I take a deep breath and I step out of the Uber. Ms. Abby and Ms. Gianna aren't here. Luckily, there's an outdoor menu.

     We all look at the menu. There's this mango pear white tea that they offer in decaf, and it has 0 calories! Perfect! Sweet enough that I won't need any honey or sugar. Before I can look at the pastries menu, Ms. Abby and Ms. Gianna arrives.

     We all enter and get a table. A kid's table and an adult table. We all chat about next week's pyramid. My bets are Sarah, Hannah, Brady, me, Elliana, and then Gia on top. A lady comes up and we place our orders.

     Hannah and Gia get a basic white tea, I get my mango pear white tea, Brady gets a peach oolong, and Pressley and Sarah get some jasmine green tea. We clink our cups, albeit very carefully. It's actually really good. British tea is so good.

     "So are you guys excited to see what the solos and the group dances are going to be?" Hannah asks.

     "Yeah, I hope Hannah, Gia, or Pressley get the lead," Brady chips in.

     "Is that because we've never gotten the lead?" Pressley asks.

     "Yup," Brady remarks, popping the p.

     "That's sweet, but like I said earlier in this trip, I don't think it's happening," Hannah says quietly.

     "Ok, this is too sad. Since our trip is almost over, why don't we share the best part of our trip?" Gia suggests.

     "It's got to be Pleasure Beach," I answer.

     Gia agrees, "Yeah."

     "What are you talking about? It has to be meeting all the fans and dancing for all of them!" Pressley squeals.

     "I agree with Press on this one," Brady agrees.

     "I think today is my favorite day," Hannah chimes in.