It's only about a three minute drive from our house to Amelie's. We pull up to their house, and it's only a little bit bigger than ours. They only have two kids so it's fair enough. I'm almost certain they both still live at home, and they are mine and Cheryl's ages.
We walk up to the front door with Amelie leading us, and she opens it, shouting, "yoohoo! We're here!" We all enter the house shyly as Amelie's husband Ben appears. Soon after, so do their kids. They look almost like twins with their brown hair and blue eyes, even though I know they are two years apart, just like my sister and I with our blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Cheryl and Miller, this is Maddie and Joseph. And of course, my husband Ben." I say 'hi' to both Maddie and Joseph, and luckily enough, they seem to be just as nervous as we are. "Miller, you're 19, right? So is Joseph! And Maddie is 17 - like you, Cheryl!" Amelie adds. "Alright, lets all have some afternoon tea. We have a bit of news for you all!"
We walk through the narrow hallway which leads to the kitchen, dining room, and lounge room. The dining table has an array of cakes and biscuits, as well as drinks such as tea and coffee. I hear Cheryl's stomach grumble, and she goes bright red. I don't think anybody heard, or if they did, they aren't bringing it to the group's attention. I snicker under my breath.
"Wow, this looks amazing!" I say to Amelie, as we all take a seat at the table.
"Really, it was no trouble at all. We just wanted to welcome you all, didn't we, Ben?" She looks over to Ben, who is beaming.
"Yes, of course! Everyone, please, dig in!" We all take a couple of the bite sized cakes and put them on our plates. I decide to have a cup of tea as well - I prefer that to coffee. After a few minutes of silent eating, Amelie pipes up again.
"So. We actually have a bit of a surprise for you. Because we like to have more of an intimate Christmas Day lunch with only closer family, tomorrow we are hosting a Christmas lunch and everyone's coming! Tony, I've even invited some of your old school friends!"
Everyone? What does 'everyone' mean? The whole town? I'm going to be so jet lagged, but I think I'm going to go all out, dress wise.
"Wow, that's unbelievable...thank you! I was not expecting this, were we, Sal?" Dad looks to Sally, who seems to be in awe of the idea. It is pretty crazy, although I still don't know how many people will be there.
"...What do we wear?" Cheryl asks in a small voice beside me. Phew, thank god I didn't have to ask that question, because I was thinking the exact same thing.
"Whatever you like! It's not anything formal so you have nothing to worry about," Amelie answers, kindly. "Now, Maddie, Joseph - why don't you take Cheryl and Miller on a tour of the gardens?"
"Sure, mum!" Maddie says, and then us four hop up from the table, leaving the parents to catch up. That's what I hate about this. I feel like a little kid. Like, I'm 19. Almost 20. Why can't I be treated that age?
As expected, Cheryl and Maddie click instantly while we are walking around outside. They're both the same age, so it's pretty typical. For that reason, I try to make friends with Joseph. "So...Joseph, do you go to uni?" I ask him, all of a sudden.
He turns to look at me with a dashing smile. "Yeah, I actually go to uni in London. I don't live at home, I'm just here for the holidays, what about you?"
"Yeah, I go to uni. I also don't live at home. It's much easier that way, don't you think?" I ask him.
"Definitely. A lot more freedom," he replies, and I nod my head in agreement. I like Joesph. I'm beginning to think he's one of those likable guys who makes friends with everyone.
"...no way! I got my nails done that colour, too! Look!" I overhear Cheryl saying this to Maddie as she takes off her gloves up ahead of us. Joseph and I look at each other, and then burst out laughing.
"What?!" Cheryl and Maddie turn back to look at us, disapprovingly.
"Oh, nothing, Miller just told me a really funny joke," Joseph says, giggling.
"Yeah, I'm really funny, aren't I, Cher?" Cheryl mutters something under her breath, and I can't hear it, but she's probably dissing me, as usual. Joseph and I burst out laughing again.
From the back door, I hear Sally shouting out to us. "We've gotta go! Come on, you two!"
So Cheryl and I say our goodbyes to the other two and off we go. All I know is, I'm having a hot shower and then collapsing into my bed once we arrive home.
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"Miller...Miller! Wake up!" Cheryl hisses, nudging me to wake me up. I open my eyes, but wince as the light hits them so suddenly. Wait...How long have I slept for??
"What time is it...?" I groan, my morning voice cracking. I sit up on my elbows.
"It's 10am! We have to leave at 12. Apparently Amelie gave us their second car for us to use while we're here! That means we can go to London and stuff! How cool is that?!"
"Sweet! We have to do heaps of shopping - I mean it. I want the 'London look'!" We both laugh, but then I decide to get out of bed, because I need to have breakfast and then get ready. And I want to look good. Sometimes looking good isn't for other people, it's for yourself. That's how it is with me for most of the time.
"Morning, Mil, want some breakfast?" Dad asks me as I'm trotting down the stairs. I've noticed that dad is already starting to sound like even more of an English person. His accent is becoming thicker. Maybe it's because of the people around him, bringing his true colours back out.
"Yeah, I'll just have a croissant, I think. Cheryl said we're leaving at 12?" I open up the croissant on the kitchen table and put some jam in it.
"Maybe 11.30," dad replies. Shit. I better eat this quickly and get ready.
Once I've finished eating, I walk back up the stairs to do some fresh faced makeup. I don't like to cake makeup on, I just like to look like I give a damn. I put on some concealer and some mascara, as well as a little bit of blush to liven my face up. I take out my hair from how it was when I slept, brush it, and run a straightener though it. You'll never see me with anything other than straight hair. My hair is usually pretty straight naturally, but I like it extra straight.
I walk back into my little room and open up my suitcase. "Hmm...what should I wear..." I ask my self out loud. Amelie said "whatever you like", so that doesn't really help. As we're in England, is going to be chilly, so I decide to put on some skinny jeans with ankle boots, a light long sleeve top with a roll neck sweater over the top, and of course a big winter coat to keep me extra warm if I'm outside. Perfect. I look back in the mirror, and I'm happy with my appearance. Nice and natural. I feel as English as ever.
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Ding dong, goes the doorbell at Amelie's house. I can hear that there are loads of people in there already. I'm starting to feel really self conscious, and I don't know why. Are people going to know who we are? Are we going to be known as 'those Australian people'? I just need to be confident. Breathe.
The door swings open, and there's Amelie...
...as well as about 200 other people. Just my luck!
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