World Men à la Mode

Chapter Thirty-seven - To Norway

        Today was yet another day that you could sleep in until eight o'clock. Charlotte was awake as usual, drawing and coloring to her heart's content to keep the flow going with her focus. Her hair was thrown up into a towel to keep her still damp locks from dripping all over her drawing medium. You pulled yourself from the warmth of your blankets and padded over to the bathroom to do your daily morning ritual. When you opened the bathroom door to grab the brush you forgot, only to be faced with Charlotte holding her drawing up close to your face and eye level. You recoiled from surprise and let out a small squeak, your hand going over your heart to feel it rapidly beating against your rib cage.

        "Fucking hell, Charlotte. You scared me half to death."

        "I'm sorry! I just really wanted you to see it!"

        You let out a sigh as your heart rate slowed down to its usual, even pace and gazed upon her work. She truly was talented when it came to art, and you even owned a few paintings and laminated drawings she had made through the years of your friendship. You smiled at her, your eyes showing nothing but respect and admiration for her.

        "It looks amazing, Charlotte," you said as you went to grab your hair brush from your suitcase. "What are you going to do with all of the drawings once we're back home?"

        She shrugged, slipping the artwork into a protective, clear plastic sleeve. "I haven't decided yet. I'll probably keep one from each country and sell the rest on Etsy."

        "That sounds like a good idea. If that's the case, I might buy a couple off of you. Gotta keep my place trendy and beautiful with fresh artwork, you know?"

        "Yeah! But you don't have to pay for them. I'll just give them to you."

        "No! You worked so hard on them. I can't accept them for nothing."

        "How about this then? When we get back home, you go to that arcade near the college campus with me. In exchange for your time, I'll give you the drawings."

        You squinted at her before reluctantly agreeing. The two of you shook on it before finishing up in the room and heading down to breakfast. Most of your friends and the two tour guides were there, just settling down with their plates and drinks at a larger table to accommodate everyone. The group pretty much ate in silence as you all munched happily on your meal. Alfred stood up once he was finished to announce the schedule for the day.

        "We don't have much going on today, dudes. For the rest of the morning we'll be at the Maritime Museum. After that you have free time for lunch and to explore on your own. We leave for Norway at four-thirty, so we'll eat dinner once we land in Oslo with our next tour guide. You'll then have the night to explore the new city a bit before we go back to the hotel. We do have to have our stuff out of the hotel before we leave though. So after breakfast you'll need to make sure you have your carry-on bag and your suitcases packed and downstairs on the bus."

        He received nods and the group finished their breakfast before doing as he asked with the luggage. On the bus, you played a few games on your phone between conversing with Emil and Alfred. The Maritime Museum was interesting to say the least. You learned a lot about the island nation and its story with the ocean. Probably the most intriguing thing in the museum was the Cod Wars, in which Iceland fought for fishing rights against the United Kingdom and won all of them.

        By lunch time, you weren't all that hungry and decided on stopping in a small corner store to pick up a snack. You then returned to Old Harbor to check out the puffin community one last time. Emil's little puffin friend, who you found out was named Mr. Puffin, seemed to recognize you and scuttled over to you, jumping at your feet almost excitedly. You laughed and crouched down, petting the small bird gently with two fingers. He seemed content with this but was upset by you having to leave. You simply pet him again before saying goodbye and leaving to continue to venture around the capital.

        Your next stop was a candy shop you had seen during your time on the bus. You bought some licorice since Emil said you should really try some if you get the chance. You also bought a few other candies to take on the flight just in case you didn't end up liking the licorice. The rest of your time was spent window shopping before you had to head to the meeting place to be picked up by the bus to go to the airport.

        You chatted with your friends on the bus ride to the airport, everyone sharing what they did during their free time. Once at the airport, the group said their goodbyes to Emil, telling him one last time how cute he was. You rolled your eyes and gave him a hug, telling him that you'd like to see him again sometime if that was alright with him, which it was. You wrote down your email on his hand, and he did the same to you with his email with a pen you had stored in your carry-on bag.

        "Alright love-bugs. Time to break it up and get your butt to the terminal," Alfred chided playfully.

        You lightly batted at his chest and said goodbye to the Icelander one last time. Alfred laughed and followed you through security and on to the plane. You found your seat next to Valerie and shoved your carry-on in the above head compartment. You sat down then and buckled in, waiting for the flight to take off. The pilot gave his spiel on safety while the stewardess assigned to your area demonstrated what he said. You figured all the walking you had done earlier would take its toll on you, and you found yourself asleep for most of the flight to Oslo, Norway.

~Author's Note~

DreamsForDays here! Sorry the update is a little late today! I wasn't feeling as inspired to write today, so I hope it turned out okay! Not much to say this time around. Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated! Until next time!