A matter of time

4. Go to Paris

Dedicated to @_The_one_and_only_ for the brillaint banner she made, which is displayed at the side :)

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My parents have booked our yearly summer holiday to France, and this year more specifically Paris. I’m really looking forward to it as it could be my last holiday and I want to make the most of it. My parents work a lot and we don't always spend a lot of time together as a family, so I want to make the most of it. I am slightly gutted that my besties aren’t coming as I've always wanted to go abroad with them. We could’ve had so must fun in Paris. The city of love. I could’ve maybe got a new love interest. Or had a holiday romance- I've always fancied having one of them. And it’s about time I got over Chris. I mean he got over me so quickly. He was all over one of the school sluts the next day and I was gutted. It really knocked my self confidence, especially with all the cancer business going on as well.

I’ve been trying to persuade my parents to let me take the girlies as well but it seems they’re already busy during that weekend so I guess it’s going to be a weekend of traipsing around museums and boutiques, not that I’m complaining. I actually enjoy looking at the history of places, especially that of European countries. History is one of my passions and was my favourite subject at school. I still wish I could just take that lesson now. I’m also hoping to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower because it looks amazing. We leave on Friday and return Monday evening. I need to go clothes shopping before then and get some new outfits...

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It’s four thirty am and I'm ready to leave for the Eurostar. Our train is at five thirty and it should take us about half an hour to drive to the station, bearing in mind there is minimal traffic. My dad runs into the room in a panic.

“Isabella, grab your stuff and put it into the car now! The tickets are actually for the four fifty seven train so we need to leave now!” he says. Then he runs out of my room. I grab my suitcase and follow him downstairs. I place it in the trunk of the car and get in the back seat. My mother is waiting impatiently for my dad who is currently locking up the house. The sun is already starting to rise and I reach on top of my head for my sunglasses. I pat my head and realise that I've left them, along with my Carmex, on my bed. I shoot out of the car and shout at my dad to unlock the house. He huffs but agrees to my demand when I pout and bat my eyelids at him. He can’t expect his little girl to spend the start of possibly her last holiday with dry, cracked lips and a headache from the sun. I race up the stairs and burst into my room. I reach my bed and realise that only my sunglasses are there. I shove them on my face and desperately scan my room in hope of finding my Carmex.

“Bella, hurry up, we’re going to miss the train!” yells Dad. I give up and run out of the room. I run outside and strap myself back into the car. My dad relocks the house, activates the security system and jumps into the driver’s seat. He gets the engine running in seconds, which is a miracle as our car is older than me. It’s the main reason why I try to avoid my parents picking me up from any parties or friends’ houses. Dad turns out of the driveway, pulling his seatbelt over him as he turns onto the road. I shift around in my seat as something digs into my bum. I wriggle around a bit more before rubbing my hand over the seat, finding nothing. I sit back down and it digs back in. It takes me a few more minutes for my brain to realise that the object I am sitting on lies in my pocket. I must say I'm not the brightest of people. I pull the object out of the back pocket of my jean shorts and I am greeted with my tube of Carmex- so that's where it went! I don’t remember putting it in there.

We arrive at the station with three minutes to spare. We hurriedly unpack our belongings, lock the car and race through the sliding doors or St Pancreas International. I race ahead of my parents but I am halted by the ticket barriers. My parents finally arrive, panting and out of breath. They give me my ticket and we all start running again after the barrier accepted our tickets. We reach the platform and the train is already there. We head towards the nearest doors and jump aboard, just as they start to close. We find three empty seats and collapse into them, our breathing rates starting to return back to normal. My chest rises and falls as I take in big gulps of air to satisfy my lungs, which were apparently starved of oxygen since I began my run- or should I say sprint. I relax back into the chair and put in my earphones. I start my One Direction playlist and close my eyes; five am isn’t an acceptable time for me to be awake. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep.