carpe diem ⊶ joseph descamps

42 | carry on

—
[forty-two]
wise words
—

"Oh, god, out of all the things we could've done—you chose this?"

It was after much interrogating, toiling around, and lighthearted teases that Sadie finally stumbled back into normalcy among her friends and formmates.

The girls had questioned her endlessly, while some boys started to tease her about her nerdiness and dislike for Celine despite being a feminist, to which she defended herself by saying she didn't dislike Celine for her womanhood. It was all laughed off by the others, but it left her feeling even more rotten for her behavior. Sure, she felt great sticking it to the woman, but all of her fire left immediately when she realized just how badly she'd blown up over something so miniscule—a boy. A boy who infuriated her more than anything.

It didn't help that after their conversation, he only seemed giddier, going so far as to not crack any jokes at Pichon the rest of the day, and even helping Marcelin cross the street after the man had taken longer than the rest with his crutch. It was terrible. She was supposed to be thinking all these terrible thoughts of him and how he didn't deserve her conflicted-but-more-positive feelings. But then he had to go and not be a dick to others for once, only making it worse for her.

God, he just loved making things worse for her.

To distract herself, Sadie had taken to showing Laubrac some of the sights she had told him about. With Marcelin and Giraud chaperoning, she suggested going towards the Champs-Élysées. Everyone was ecstatic, many wanting to go shopping and others wanting to get some food—and with how the place layed out, the teachers explained that so long as they stayed in the area, they could do as they liked without them.

Laubrac, who looked completely lost, sidled up to her with the question of where to start. She was more than happy to spend the afternoon with him, considering her friends wanted to go shopping and she didn't have much interest in that, despite the money her father gave her for the trip. Instead, she decided to spend it on lunch and some chouquettes for Laubrac to try. He initially fought her on it, not wanting her to spend any money on him, but was resigned after she insisted for the fourth time. It definitely didn't help as Michèle, who had hurriedly tagged along with Simone, wistfully declared how she wanted to try the pastry, as well.

After a couple hours of walking the streets, exploring, and people watching, they were heading towards the top of the Arc de Triomphe for sunset. Laubrac had actually been excited for this one, stating that he'd enjoyed learning about the monument while in class. Meanwhile Sadie, who hadn't thought too much of the history of it, loved looking at the view. And she wasn't the only one, as a lot of the students had joined in, including Martine and her friends, Joseph and his, and many others.

Marcelin, who was still using his crutch, declined the invitation to join, instead insisting to stay with the rest of the students who opted out. This left them with Mrs. Giraud, who was actually not upset with the proposal due to the history of the monument. She'd told Sadie how she'd never had the time to go, seeing as she always lived in Saint Jean, and she'd never come on the field trip due to it usually not needing a female chaperone. And Sadie, with a newfound "friendship" with the woman, actually listened with Laubrac as Giraud practically gave another history lesson while walking through the place, not minding that they had been a bit separated from the rest of the group.