Charlotte in Paris (2 page)
Read Charlotte in Paris Online
Authors: Annie Bryant
“My name is Charlotte Ramsey. I’ve traveled all over the world with my dad. Now I’m flying back to Paris to find my lost cat!”
La Meilleure Nouvelle
THE BEST NEWS EVER
To: Charlotte
From: Sophie
Subject: Orangina
i have seen Orangina!
it was him
i’m so sure…he was wandering by the Seine
i call his name and he turn around
i took only 1 step in his direction and he ran away
you must come. he would come to you
if you called him
i worry about him…alone with no charming houseboat to return to at night
i have a few days off from school
because of teacher meetings next week
i’ll talk to
Maman
. you talk to your father
you must come to Paris!
Orangina needs you
And you have been away much too long!
Bisous
, Sophie
I
t took me hours to fall asleep that night. Too many visions of a sugar plum Orangina were dancing in my head. The next morning, I jumped out of bed as soon as my alarm went off, and I rushed to the kitchen to tell Dad about the e-mail. When I got to the part about Sophie begging me to come to Paris, I began to talk faster and faster. It was like I was on
fast-forward
.
“I know—it’s short notice, but Dad, it’s such good timing. I don’t have any tests next week, and I miss Sophie so much! It feels like forever since I’ve seen her! Can you believe she found Orangina? I looked online last night at flights, and they’re actually really cheap right now, and we don’t have school next Friday because it’s a professional day,
and
I haven’t missed a day of school yet this year
and
…” I had to stop and take a deep breath. I was trying to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy.
“So?” I asked tentatively. My dad is pretty laid back as far as dads go, but still…I knew it was a real long shot. I mean, who sends their daughter to Paris to find a missing cat?
“Are you
really
asking me if you can jet off to Paris next week…alone?” Dad looked amused.
“Well…uhh…uhh…actually…yes.” I crossed my fingers behind my back and tapped my foot on the floor. It’s what I do when I want something really, really badly.
Dad stirred his cinnamon oatmeal around and around and looked thoughtful. “I don’t know, Charlotte. I’d love to be able to just say yes and send you off on a great adventure. I know Orangina means a lot to you, and how much you miss Sophie. But there are a lot of things to think about. It’s a big deal to miss a week of school.” My dad teaches creative writing at Boston University, so school is very important to him. He continued, “I know
I
hate to see my students miss a class…. It’s hard to catch up. Even if tickets are cheap, it’s still a significant amount of money. And to be honest, I don’t know how I feel about sending you off on a plane all by yourself. We’ve always traveled together.”
I took a deep breath and launched into the responses I had rehearsed before falling asleep the night before. “I can talk to my teachers before I leave, and I know the BSG will collect all of my assignments. I’m doing really well in school, and I’ll work extra hard before I leave and even harder when I get back. Besides, I still have some money saved from my birthday last year that I could put toward the ticket. And I know I’ve never traveled by myself before, but plenty of kids my age do it. Avery’s flown by herself to see her dad in Colorado a couple of times. And I’m sure the Morels would meet me as soon as I got off the plane. Besides”—I paused to catch my breath—“traveling is
very
educational.”
Dad laughed out loud. I knew that last comment would crack him up. It’s something he was
always
telling me.
“Well, Charlotte, you’ve presented a good case for yourself, that’s for sure. Maybe you should think about becoming a lawyer. Did you memorize your speech, or was that a spur-of-the-moment thing?” he asked with a smile.
“A little bit of both,” I admitted.
“Charlotte, I know how much a trip back to Paris would mean to you, but I need to think about this. This is not trivial. We can talk about it later tonight.”
“Okay,” I agreed. Suddenly, I felt a little bit optimistic. At least it wasn’t an outright “NO.”
Just as I was pouring myself a glass of orange juice, the phone rang. Dad picked it up, and I froze in my tracks. “Oh,
bonjour
, Jacqueline.” It was Madame Morel—Sophie’s mom. Dad motioned me out of the room. I sighed and took my orange juice and oatmeal into the hallway, but I lurked at the door. I just
had
to hear what my dad was saying.
Marty trotted down the hallway and sat on my foot, begging for oatmeal. I peered around the doorway and tried to get a sense of how the conversation was going. Dad mostly listened. I chuckled to myself. Madame Morel was a real talker. Marty’s little doggie ears perked up every time Dad said anything, but Marty never took his eyes off the oatmeal. The little dude loves his snacks.
“
Oui
, yes, I know…I agree…I hope so too…thanks for calling, it was nice to hear your voice again…I’m sure you understand what’s going on here…Talk to you soon, Jacqueline.
Au revoir
.” My father hung up the phone.
“Charlotte!”
I waited a few seconds before walking back into the kitchen, even though I knew that Dad knew I had been listening. “Yes?”
“You need to give me time to think this whole thing over. As I said, I’m not making a decision right now. Not even a phone call from Paris will change that. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“And try not to get your hopes up either.”
“I’ll try.”
That would be easier said than done. It was hard not to hope. Madame Morel could be a very convincing woman. I had a feeling that whatever she had just said may have tipped the scales in my favor!
When I arrived that morning at Ms. Rodriguez’s homeroom, Maeve was sitting on the edge of her desk, chatting a mile a minute with Katani and Isabel.
“Char!” Maeve exclaimed as I dropped my bag on my desk. “There’s a substitute in for Mr. Sherman today. Isn’t that great?” Mr. Sherman, the math teacher nicknamed “the Crow,” was Maeve’s least favorite teacher.
Maeve could make anyone excited about anything. She was dramatic and bubbly, and just an all around fun person to be around. Most important, she was one of my best friends. When I first moved to Brookline, Maeve, Katani, Avery, and I formed a club called the Beacon Street Girls. Then Isabel moved to Brookline a few weeks into the school year, and now the five of us are best friends.
“When I first moved to Brookline, Maeve, Katani, Avery, Isabel, and I formed a club called the Beacon Street Girls.”
~ pg. 5
Before I had a chance to answer Maeve, Avery came barreling through the door. She dropped her duffel bag and quickly gathered her hair up in her favorite soccer ball hair tie. “I thought I was going to be late! I couldn’t find my math book—somehow it ended up next to Walter’s tank in my closet.” Avery’s pet snake, Walter, was actually kind of cute. A total pet lover, Avery dreams of getting a dog of her own someday, but her mom’s allergy to furry pets makes that impossible. That’s why Marty has lived with me ever since we found him in a garbage can. The BSG all love Marty, but Avery has a real soft spot for him.
Maeve shuddered. “Eeeew…I don’t know which is worse…math or snakes.” Maeve’s learning problems sometimes made school hard for her. Nothing could stop that girl’s talent on stage, though. She was headed straight for Hollywood!
“Snakes. Definitely snakes.” Katani shuddered as she smoothed her newly cut bangs over her forehead. She was looking stylish as usual that morning, wearing a knee-length skirt that she had designed and sewn herself.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I…I might be going to Paris,” I blurted out.
“What?!” Maeve exclaimed.
“Are you serious, Char?” Isabel asked.
“I’m completely serious. But I’m not sure if it’ll actually happen yet.” I filled the BSG in on the whole story, starting with the e-mail from Sophie and ending with Dad’s warning not to get my hopes up.
“Parents always say that. I bet he’ll let you go. He
would’ve said no already if he was against it,” Avery speculated.
“I hope you’re right, Ave…but sometimes when my mom says don’t get your hopes up, she still ends up saying no. It’s the worst,” Katani concluded.
“My Aunt Lourdes does that too. But I think it’ll be impossible for you
not
to get your hopes up, Char. So let’s just talk about Paris…you’ll be thinking about it all day anyway.” Isabel’s eyes sparkled as she listed the Paris museums and art galleries she wanted to visit someday. “Oh, and the Musée d’Orsay! I think that would be my absolute favorite. Cézanne’s
Apples and Oranges
, Van Gogh’s
The Siesta
…Did you guys know that the museum was built in an old train station?”
As the bell rang and the last stragglers raced into homeroom, I listened to my friends’ excited chatter about Paris and wondered what the day would bring. Isabel was right…. It was impossible
not
to get my hopes up. I crossed my fingers…for Orangina, for Sophie, for Paris, and for a new adventure.
The Waiting Game
I usually paid close attention in school and always took detailed notes, but by last period social studies class on Wednesday afternoon, I couldn’t control my nervous energy. I tried to sit still, but it was hopeless…my foot began tapping spontaneously. It just wouldn’t stop. Travel was in my bones and Sophie’s invitation to visit Paris had gotten me so excited that sitting still was not an option. As
soon as the bell rang, I raced out the door, quickly catching up to Avery.
“Hey Char, basketball practice was cancelled today…want to take Marty for a run with me?” asked Avery, jogging backward toward the seventh-grade lockers.
“That sounds good, Ave…I won’t be able to start my homework right now anyway…I’m too nervous about this whole Paris thing.”
“Want me to see if I can convince your dad? My mom tells me I’m very persistent,” Avery offered with a grin.
“That’s probably not a good idea, Ave. You know how my dad doesn’t react very well to nagging, and he already got a phone call from Madame Morel encouraging him to say yes.” I hoped Avery wouldn’t get some crazy scheme into her head to try and help…. That could be disastrous.
“Hey Charlotte!” Chelsea Briggs called out, hurrying down the hall toward Avery and me.
“Hi Chelsea,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Maeve told me you’re going to Paris!” she said. “That’s awesome.”
“
Might
be going to Paris,” I corrected her. “My dad hasn’t given me permission yet. It’s still up in the air.” I suddenly wished I hadn’t said anything about the trip. Soon the rumor would be all over school, and I’d feel really silly if it was all for nothing.
“Well, if you do end up going, you can borrow my digital camera,” Chelsea offered. “Maybe you could take a few pics for
The Sentinel
.” As the newspaper’s official
photographer, Chelsea was always looking for exciting photo opportunities.
“Thanks, Chels. That’s really nice of you. My digital broke a few weeks ago.”
“No prob. Just let me know, and I can drop it off at your house. See you guys later.” Chelsea waved good-bye and jogged off in the other direction.
When Avery and I reached the seventh-grade lockers, I quickly loaded up my bag and grabbed my jacket.
“Race you!” Avery shouted as soon as we got to the outside doors. Usually when she said that, I didn’t take her up on the challenge, but that day I felt like a run might actually calm me down. I made it to the doorstep of our yellow Victorian house only about ten seconds behind Avery.
“Wow, Char…you’re totally on fire today!” Avery was impressed.
I caught my breath as I unlocked the door and held it open for Avery. We both ran up the stairs to the upper part of the house where Dad and I live.
“Ruffff! Wooof, wooooof!” Marty barked happily when he heard our voices.
“Hey buddy, did ya miss me?” Avery sat on the floor in the hallway and Marty hopped into her lap.
“Hi girls.” My dad walked out of the kitchen to greet Avery and me.
“Hi Mr. Ramsey,” Avery replied with a huge smile.
“Hey Dad.” I searched his face for clues, wondering if he had made his decision yet.
Nothing
. “We’re going to
take Marty for a W-A-L-K.” (We have to spell out the word “walk” so Marty doesn’t go nuts.)
“Good idea. The little guy’s got even more energy than usual today. Charlotte, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute before you go?”
I looked back at Avery as I followed my dad through the hallway. She was holding Marty’s front paws up…crossed for good luck.
Dad sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for me to do the same.
“Here’s the deal, Charlotte. I spent the entire day thinking about Paris. I made a list of the pros and cons. I even asked the opinions of a couple of other professors that have kids your age. I finally decided that one pro outweighed all the cons…you’ve moved around much more than most kids your age, and I know it hasn’t always been easy. You’ve had to leave friends behind, and you’ve always been a good sport about it. So…I want you to go on this trip and have the time of your life. But…there’s one condition. It will be the most cautious, responsible, CAREFUL time of your life, understand?”