to paris with love

[coeur_de_lion]

Alli's school is not a terribly interesting school. It is, as far as Alli is concerned, a perfectly boring and average school in all possible respects. But some alumnus went and made themselves a bunch of money, and apparently they think it's a good idea to spend some of this money on "improving the cultural exposure of today's youth". (Alli has never met the alumnus in question, much less heard them speak, but she persists in picturing this spoken with a haughty British accent.) What this means for Alli is that she and a number of other 'deserving students' are being shipped over to France for free for a week. Alli's not quite sure why she counts as deserving- because her mom's single, maybe?- but she's hardly complaining. It's a free trip to France, after all.

In her usual style, Alli packs an hour before she has to leave and ultimately makes it out the door only ten minutes late after forgetting at least three vitally important items (her eyeliner!). But she makes it through Pearson security with plenty of time... well, more like barely enough time. But the important thing is, she's safely ensconced in her seat when they take off.

Once she's gotten her bag stowed and her legs rearranged in a doomed attempt at comfort and generally considers herself suitably settled, she turns to her seatmate. "Is your brain doing an Eeeeee France! thing too?"

Comments

[hatchedplan]

"I suspect my brain may postpone its eeeee-ing until we are actually in France," says her seatmate.

[coeur_de_lion]

"Well, you've got time then," Alli snorts with a smile. "The flight's what, seven hours?"

[hatchedplan]

"Bit more. Pity it's so hard to sleep on planes."

[coeur_de_lion]

Alli nods. "We could play cards or something? If you want? I mean, I brought a couple books, but- eight hours."

[hatchedplan]

"Yeah, I'm going to run out of books in that time, too, and I want to have some on the way back. If you brought cards I'm game."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Hah, wasn't actually what I meant. I can't just read for eight hours straight. Though I guess it's one way to try and fall asleep...? You could borrow mine on the way back, if you want, no idea if they're your thing or not." Alli occupies herself trying to extract the deck of cards from her bag. It's not the easiest logistically, but she eventually gets them out and starts shuffling them on her tray table. "Game preferences?"

[hatchedplan]

"Mm, not enough people for euchre or Popcorn or Uno. I know Go Fish and Egyptian Ratscrew and War."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Egyptian Ratscrew!" Alli says immediately. "Best name." She starts to deal them in. "So, did you bring your chair? Or can you rent them in France or something?"

[hatchedplan]

"It's checked. I used an airport chair on the way up the jetway but I might do without on the other end until we get our stuff, just to avoid having to be pushed by somebody who doesn't speak English. I'm not that good at French."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Huh. You don't need it all the time? I think I missed that. I'll help with the French if you want, though. My sister lives in Québec, I get lots of practice." Seeing a Queen go down, Alli flips two cards from her hand, hissing at the results when they turn up a 7 and a 5 and fail to win her the hand. "Ah, merde. All yours."

[hatchedplan]

"It's not so much 'I don't need it all the time' as 'I need it a medium amount such that sometimes I elect not to bother'. Need is constant - if I'm going to be moving around, anyway -" She takes the cards. "- hassle varies."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Are there non-chair things that would help I could ask for? Crutches, or something?"

[hatchedplan]

"Nah - I'm not in pain or weak or anything, I'm clumsy, and anything I have to actually haul around and coordinate, like a cane or crutches or even a walker, winds up going flying and knocking out somebody's teeth likely as not. Chair or putting up with falling without any accessories is it."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Hah. Yeah, never mind then, I prefer my teeth to remain attached." Next pile to Alli; she scoops it up, though tragically it is slightly smaller than the first pile she lost. "I guess yay that it's just clumsiness and not, like, a face melting disease or something like that?"

[hatchedplan]

"Oh, yes, it could easily be worse. If I lived farther south I might do without the chair at all, but ice is a disaster."

[coeur_de_lion]

"In your defense, ice is also a disaster for us normal-clumsy people."

[hatchedplan]

"Yes, but you can sometimes traverse it, I've seen it done."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Hah, sure. Within reason, though. I mean- have you seen that freshman girl? The really tiny blonde one who's been wearing hooker heels all year? How is she not dead?! Merde. Ice is bad enough in sneakers."

[hatchedplan]

"Oh yeah. I don't even go for heels when I expect to be in my chair all day, I still have to get up for a second here and there to go to the bathroom or whatever - I imagine there's a way to do it without having to be able to stand at all but I don't know what it is."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Get someone to help you, probably," Alli says idly as she places a card. "Oooh! Better yet, someone hot and shirtless."

[hatchedplan]

"I think paraplegics can use handicapped-accessible bathrooms alone," says May. "If I were going to interact with someone hot and shirtless I think I'd rather it be in a different context, anyway."

[coeur_de_lion]

"Meh, fair." She grins. "Any ideas on the lucky guy? I'm all for Ed Norton, personally."

[hatchedplan]

"Nothing that specific."

[coeur_de_lion]

"What, nothing? Merde. And here I was being all tactful by not even asking about people we know." She wrinkles her nose. "Probably because of the spectacular lack of options at school."

[hatchedplan]

"I mean, I can name cute actors, but I cannot name cute actors who are so cute that I would like to have them shirtless and nearby solely on this basis, and I don't pay enough attention to unscripted interviews to know which ones are decent conversationalists when paid writers aren't feeding them lines."