Preath: Head In The Game [Complete]

20: Evening Football and Distant Owls With a Pookielicious Surprise

"Woah," Rose said. "The echo is so good in here. Lindsey, you've got to get us singing for your Instagram takeover."

"Where are they?" Lindsey asked.

"Maybe they ditched us because I didn't like the yoga," Emily said.

"Tobin just does it for Chris anyway."

Giant soccer feet made it easier to balance on a toilet seat, but with the lid still up, there was barely enough room for both of us. I mouthed to Christen,

"How many of them are here?"

Chris used her height and peeked over. She held up three fingers.

"What's the big deal?" I asked. "It's not like they're clueless."

"They'll tease all day," she said.

"Toooooeeeeebeeeeaaaan?" Emily called. "Shitting yourself again?"

Chris nearly lost her balance right then, but I grabbed her by the seam of her shirt. Listening a little longer, I noticed Sammy's voice was absent. They must've left her at the table to be the silent guardian, watchful protector, and the dark knight. At least, those were the names Rose called her after Sammy broke her nose and had to wear her ridiculous mask. I personally thought Sam had an elf-y look to her, and she'd be a good pick for Lord of the Rings if only she had better survival instincts.

"Wait..." Emily said. "What if they're in...the big stall?"

"Shit," Chris mumbled.

A knock rattled the stall. "Guys?"

Chris curled her lips in to keep from laughing.

"Whatever," Emily said. "If you're in here, if you want to have a moment in a public bathroom because you don't want us to follow you all day... then you go right ahead and do that."

The footsteps slowly faded out. I hopped off the toilet.

"Careful of the diaper table," I laughed as Chris took my hand.

Paris was everything I remembered it to be since I'd used to walk here with Lindsey. It was no wonder it was such a popular vacation spot. The city was a panoramic museum full of colour and beauty. Surrounded by so many fashion-conscious people, my uneven socks soon felt inadequate - I tainted the painting.

It was hard to say whether or not a man and woman walking down the street were a couple because almost all the local men wore sly smiles, and almost all the local women had a look in their eyes that suggested they were pleased by everything. A common politeness that foreigners would mistake for flirtation - and the rest of the smiley faces were honeymooning tourists.

"I know I speak Spanish and it's supposed to be like French, but I still can't understand what they're saying," Chris said. "I like that though. It's more fun to guess." Then she pulled a giant map out of the second water holder of her backpack.

The question from this morning still sat in my mind. Was this a date? Did she want it to be? Or was she just as big a tease like all these French people seemed to be?

"Where are we going now, Dora?" I asked.

"I have no idea," she squinted at the paper. I guess the real Dora's map would've been easier to follow. "Maybe we should just keep walking until we get really lost."

"Here's an idea," I said, and I went in her bag and found my football from the hotel.

"Which one's that?" she asked.

"Ball number one." I dropped the ball in the air in front of her. She instinctively kicked it up, and so our back-and-forth game of juggling began.