The Bucket List

Amsterdam 03

7.05am,
July 27th, 2013
De Taart van m'n Tante restaurant,
Ferdinand Bolstraat 10,
13 minutes away from Amsterdam Centraal by car.
Opens daily from 10am - 6pm.
Light meals €2.75-€5.

"It's closed," Elise says dejectedly. She presses her face against the locked doors, peering into the empty shop.

"It's just not opened yet," Elliot says, rolling his eyes (he does that a lot. He's not sure why) adjusting the straps of his backpack. "Well, I am off to find my hostel. If you don't mind, good day, Elise of New Jersey. It was lovely meeting you."

"Goodbye, Elliot of Salisbury," she says cheerfully, not even bothering. She is too busy jotting down the number of the restaurant owner to care.

Elliot had started to walk down the street, relieved at getting rid of her when Elise suddenly realize the teeny tiny hole in their sweet farewell.

She didn't have a place to crash.

In the chaos that took place before she started her Eurotrip, she forgot to book a hotel. And in the first country she visited, no less.

"Elliot!" she calls out to him, jogging to keep up with his suddenly increased pace. "Elliot! Wait!"

He whips around and annoyance crosses his sharp features. "What?" he hisses.

She inhales deeply before asking, "Can I crash with you?"

Elliot felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. "What do you mean you want to crash with me?"

"Uh.. It's a need. Not a want," Elise says, bouncing on the heels of her stiletto.

How she managed not to break her neck will remain a mystery to those who ever crossed her path.

"I don't care. Don't you dare tell me you didn't find a place to stay before coming here!" he nearly scream at her. She shifts her feet nervously, her finger twirling a stray hair strand.

Elliot didn't know what to say or feel. He had been planning this trip for months, meticulously calculating the amount of money he would need and how many days he should spend in one place. His little brother had wanted to come along but he flatly rejected the poor guy, saying he needed to travel alone.

He wanted to do everything he had ever dreamed of. He wanted to travel to every place, every country there is. He wanted to enjoy every bit of pleasure life can give him.

And now, little Miss New Jersey is going to ruin everything.

"I'm sorry, Elise," he mumbles, backing away. "I can't help you now. Look, you have a phone. Find a WiFi somewhere and look up for free rooms."

"Elliot -" Elise starts to say, her huge eyes filled with hurt.

"No, I didn't plan on getting a travel mate, Elise," he tells her, now starting to walk away. "I'm sorry. You're on your own."

With that, he left the young woman standing in front of a still-closed cake shop.

~°~°~°~°~°~

7.13am

Elliot is walking down Ferdinand Bolstraat towards Frans van Mierisstrat, where his hostel is, when his good conscience whacks him hard on the head.

For goodness' sake the girl is alone in a foreign land and has no basic grasps of the language! Sure, the Dutch speak good English but then, if some crook comes up to her blabbering in Dutch and she thought they were being nice, wouldn't that be a problem? She would be dead within the hour.

"And they say chivalry is dead," he grumbles, as he retraces his steps back to the cake shop.

Elise is nowhere in sight when he arrives. He sighs in frustration, his head starts to throb at the thought that something might have happened to her.

"Excuse me." He approaches a young man sitting on a bench facing the row of shops a few feet away from the restaurant. "How long have you been sitting here?"

"About 10 minutes. Why?" the young man asks back, adjusting his glasses. He tilts his head to the side, looking at Elliot curiously.

"Did you see a young lady around here? She has brown hair until here," he pats shoulders, showing how long it is, "and brown eyes and freckles. And she was carrying two pink luggage."

"I think she went that way," the young man points to the street on his left.

" Right. Thanks," he shakes the young man's hand. Good grief, she took the same street as him! She probably tried to follow him but then lost sight of him.

Elliot hurries in the direction the young man showed, the direction he had took, hoping Elise hadn't gone one street too far.

The street has a lot of coffee shops on both sides. Like a lot. But that's okay, he thought to himself. That'd make it easier to find her.

He checks every coffee shop there is on the street, but she isn't in any of them.

The poor guy has been walking down the street for nearly 5 minutes when he suddenly spot a McDonald's on the corner of Albert Cuypstraat.

Now, Elliot isn't one to stereotype people but he's run out of options. So, please don't judge him.

Fingers crossed, he enters the small outlet and lo behold! Our Miss Elise of New Jersey is sitting at a table eating a Quarter Pounder.

"There you are!" he sighs out in relief, if not joy at the sight of her unharmed.

"You were looking for me?" Elise asks, looking surprised at the sight of a really red-faced Elliot.

"Fine, you can crash with me," he exclaims, plopping down into the seat in front of her. "But we'll split the bill."

"That's okay," she says quickly. "I don't want to be a burden -"

"Shut up. You're crashing with me," he says, ignoring her feeble attempts to make up excuse to not stay with him.

He helps himself to some of her fries, realising how famished he is after the scare Elise gave him.

"Why did you go through all the troubles finding me?" Elise ask, breaking the silence. It is also in an attempt to save her precious fries from being devoured by the monster Elliot.

"Because of my good conscience. My other conscience wanted to just leave you but I thought, 'I have witnesses that saw me with you last' so I came looking for you," he shrugs.

Elise rolls her eyes, snatching her fries away from Elliot's outstretched paws. Yes, that guy has hands the size of a bear's paw and Elise's mountain of fries is being levelled out faster than you can say 'USA'.

"Well then, Elliot of Salisbury, looks like we're going to be travel mates. Hope you have a strong stomach for it," she grins widely, the gap between her front teeth makes her look a lot more mischievous.

Elliot suddenly wonders if he made the right choice.