Speak Now

Chapter Ten

Madeline had holed herself up in her hotel room for the entire month, organizing her transcript. A dark aura had gathered around her, and even Julchen couldn’t shake her out of it. At first, Julchen had went back home for about a week, and instantly regretted it when she got back: Madeline hadn’t moved from her spot on the bed, and was surrounding by half eaten junk food and garbage. Most people didn’t know this but the loud German was very OCD and couldn’t stand being in a messy room.

“Jou have to get off jour arse, Birdie!” Julchen yelled as she began tidying up. Madeline just ignored her. The albino had had enough; she grabbed a glass of water from the small kitchenette and dumped it on Maddie’s head. “Hey,” Maddie screamed, “watch the computer!”

Julchen crossed her arms as the blonde looked up, away from the screen. Maddie’s glare softened when she saw the scowl on her friend’s face. Looking around the room, she hadn’t realized just how bad she had been living the past week. “D-Desolé, Julchen,” she lowered her gaze.

“It’s fine, Birdie. Jou have to get out of here, zhough; get some air. Zhis isn’t awesome und jou can’t keep zhis up.”

“I’m fine, Julchen, really,” Maddie’s voice sounded empty, “this is how it usually is when I’m working on a manuscript…”

Julchen sighed, if she had known that this was how her friend had been living, she would’ve helped sooner. Maddie was just about to go back to typing, when Julchen ripped the laptop off her lap. “Julchen! What’re you doing,” Maddie whined.

“I am going to vrite zhe rest of zhis for jou. And jou are going to order room service,” Julchen grinned. Maddie sighed, knowing full well that she wasn’t going to win this argument.

After about an hour filled with picking up trash and arguing over the computer, room service arrived with food. The two girls had finally reached an understanding; Maddie was not allowed to touch the computer, but she could sit next to Julchen and help. Julchen went through the 20-some pages that Madeline had already wrote; she made quite a few changes, which - of course - Maddie objected to at first. Julchen fixed the blonde’s transitions, making it more fluent, and smoother sounding; she moved around a few photos to better represent the descriptions; and, as Julchen put, “made it more awesome!” After reviewing Madeline’s notes, they both discovered that the blonde had missed a few details in the countless stories she had heard - which Julchen thus went in and corrected.

The two girls spent the entire day writing, and there merriment continued well into the night. Before either of them had realized it, the clock read two AM. Julchen stretched out, letting a small yawn escape. Maddie took her glass off, rubbing her eyes. The smaller girl began to nod off as the albino took the glasses from Madeline’s hands. “Vhy don’t jou get some rest, Birdie? I’m going to hit zhe bar downstairs und be back in an hour or so.”

Madeline crawled under the covers, too tired to argue. She waved her limp hand, signaling for Julchen to go. “Kesesese, good night, Birdie…”

After an hour had passed, Julchen was still drinking. She’d been talking to the bartender about her worries - particularly, Madeline. The German woman was concerned; she wasn’t quite sure what was going through her friend’s head, but she knew Madeline was tore up over the wedding. “If only zhat verdammt Frenchie vasn’t so dumm*... Anozher round!” she slammed her glass on the counter.

She’d always had a particularly high alcohol tolerance, so she wasn’t concerned about getting drunk. She just couldn’t believe how things had turned out. If only I saw her; I vould’ve hit zhat verdammt Michelle, she silently cursed. She let out a sigh; there was no way she could change what had happened. She also knew that no amount of talking to Francis would change Alice’s opinion, not after getting punched in the face. She let out a breathy laugh. For as long as she’d known Madeline, the Blondie had always been passive. Julchen was actually quite proud of her friend for sticking up for herself. Suddenly, a thought struck the albino. Alice said she didn’t vant to see our faces, but ve could still go! Julchen downed her drink in one go, put enough cash for the bill and a heavy tip on the counter, and bolted upstairs to tell Madeline her plan.