Kyle

Paris

"Hurry up, you're going to be late!" my best friend, Adalyn, called out to me as I was rushing to finish packing. "Your flight leaves in an hour! It takes half an hour to get there, and then you have to get through security!" I started packing faster.

I was about to leave for Paris. The city of my dreams. I have always wanted to go to Paris for as long as I can remember. I got a chance to study abroad over there for the fall semester. I couldn't pass it up.

"Aurora! Let's go!" she called out again.

"Okay! I'm coming!" I rushed down the stairs and she was waiting at the door, with her hand on the handle, ready to open it.

"Wait. Do you have everything? Your journal?"

"Yes."

"Your phone?"

"Of course."

"Your necklace?"

"You know I would never forget that. I never leave the house without it." I pulled my mother's necklace out from inside my shirt. My mother gave me her favorite necklace just before she died when I was 10. She had stage four leukemia. That necklace has been with me ever since. I rarely take it off. It's my good luck charm. I always feel like she's still with me when I have it on. It's a beautiful silver necklace with a red rose at the end of it.

She looked me up and down. "You're good." She grabbed one of my bags and we ran out to the car.

We finally got to the airport after being stuck in traffic for 10 minutes. We got out of the car as quickly as we could and she helped me get my bags. "Wait!" I was about to run off when she stopped me. She gave me a huge hug. "Call me as soon as you land in Paris. And don't forget to send me lots of pictures."

"Of course."

"Oh!" she said as she pulled away. "And please meet a cute French guy for you to marry."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll try."

"Okay." she gave me one last hug. "Oh my God, I'm going to miss you so much." I started to hear her choking on her words. She was crying. So naturally, I started to cry, too.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Addie. I love you so much."

"I love you more." she squeezed me tight one last time before she pulled away.

We both smiled through our tears.

"I'll see you when I get back."

"I hope so."

"Bye, Addie."

"Bye." I could tell that she was trying not to cry again.

I walked away before I could cry again.

. . .

The flight took about 7 hours, so I got in at 9:00 am. The time-change really confused me. I called Addie as soon as I landed.

"Hey!" She tried to sound awake, but I could tell that I just woke her up. I completely forgot that it was 6 am in Buffalo. "You're finally in Paris! How was the flight?"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Addie. I didn't mean to wake you." I whispered.

"No, it's okay. I wanted to wake up anyways."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "It was long and exhausting. I slept almost the entire flight."

"That's good! Do you know where you're staying?"

"Yeah, it's this huge expensive hotel. It's called Hôtel Ritz Paris."

"Girl, how did you get an expensive, 5-star hotel in Paris?"

I shrugged. "School. I have to go. My car is here." I hung up immediately. She was too much of a talker.

. . .

The hotel was nothing like I've ever seen before. As soon as I walked in, there was a long corridor with fancy teal and gold rugs. The windows had teal curtains that were draped to the sides. They had blue chairs and gold tables along the corridor. The smell was like lavender, vanilla, and rose all in one scent. The windows were on the left and there were dining and living areas on the right.

It was like something out of a fairytale.

When I got to the lobby, I noticed a grand curving staircase on both sides of the foyer. Everyone was dressed to impress. All of the men were in Prada suits and all of the women were in Chanel dresses. As I approached the front desk, I tried to look as proper and sophisticated as possible. "Good evening, ma'am. How can we assist you tonight?" One of the women said.

"Hi, I'm studying abroad from New York City. I was told that this hotel has a room for me?"

"Why, yes! We do. You will be staying in the Coco Chanel suite. Here is your key." the key she was handing me had the Chanel logo engraved on it in pure 24-karat gold. My eyebrows shot up as I slowly took the key, staring at it.
"Oh, don't worry about the price. Everything is covered for you."

Wow. The sound of all of this in her french accent really made me think about everything. The hotel was beautiful. The country was even more beautiful. I already wanted to move to Paris.

I went into the elevator and saw that one of the buttons was the Chanel logo. I assumed that was my suite. I pressed it and it made such a fancy sound. The sound it made when it hit the floor sounded like glass. It opened to the most stunning place I have ever seen in my entire life. I stepped out of the elevator very slowly. I was trying to take it all in.

This was all free. It was all for me. What has my life come to?

I walked around the room, examining every detail. They really went all out for Chanel. Everything in the whole suite was from Chanel. The bed was perfectly centered along the wall with a light canopy over the headboard. The whole room was so clean and organized. The suite had a living room inside it. It had a couch, a TV, and a fireplace. As soon as I was done checking out my luxury Coco Chanel suite, I called Adalyn.

"Girl! Tell me everything!" she answered on the first ring.

"Addie, I'm in the Coco Chanel suite in a 5-star luxury hotel in Paris. Also, everything is free. This is so surreal. It feels like a dream."

"Aurora, you are living your dream. Enjoy it. I'm so jealous."

"I'll call you later."