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It was a very long and bumpy ride and all three of them slept as much as they could. The train stopped in five or six cities along the way, and about six hours had passed by the time they reached the Monte Carlo station.
They gathered their luggage and Granny Pearl and headed for the exit. They stepped outside the station and Bree got her first glance at Monte Carlo.
The city was gorgeous *and so is you and Conner being together, um, what? I didn't just say that. Hehe* A cluster of colorful hotels, resorts, and residents grew down the Monegasque hills and stretched along the ocean side *Romantic, right? Okay I'll shut up now.* A bay a little way along the shoreline was home to hundreds of boats and yachts that bobbed in pretty blue water.
"So this is where postcards come from *yep, and other postcards come from wherever they say they're from, dumbzo*,"Conner said in awe.
It was almost impossible not to enjoy the refreshing breeze and the warm rays of the golden setting sun *romantic, am I right?* Pearl hummed a cheerful tune as they pushed her along the paradisiacal city.
They wandered aimlessly *that sounds like me in my room in the morning* through the streets looking for a directory sign or a sign that pointed them towards the Lumiere des Etoiles casino. However, they soon realized the whole city was made up of casinos *well isn't that the inviting city for children of their age*.
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Bree said, defeated.
"Why don't you look it up on your phone?" Conner asked.
"I would, but my battery died in Paris," she said.
Just when Bree thought they were never going to find it, Pearl tugged on Conner's sleeve and pointed to a building at the end of the street.
"Das Lumiere des Etoiles casino!" she said excitedly.
Bree was so happy that she wanted to hug Pearl, but considering that she didn't even know her real name, that might have been to straight forward. Instead, she hugged Conner, who seemed to be just as excited as she was at this discovery. She didn't even care that she was hugging her crush, she was just glad to have made development in their adventure.
"Granny Pearl, you're amazing!" Coner said while pushing her down the street.
The Lumiere des Etoiles casino was an enormous building with tall columns and was topped by an enormous glass dome. If it wasn't for the electric sign blinking its name, Bree would have thought it was an old town hall that had been painted a sandy yellow to match the rest of the city.
Conner and Bree had difficulty pushing Pearl's wheelchair up the steps but they managed and then hurried inside. The casino had green marble floors and golden pillars lining the walls. A massive chandelier hug from the dome above and illuminated the sea of slot machines and card tables.
There wasn't a single guest at the casino who was under the age of eighty. Everywhere they looked they saw wheelchairs, walkers, and white hair. Grandmas showed other grandmas pictures of their grandchildren before taking each other's money. Old men showed off faded tattoos thay had mistakenly gotten when they were younger. It was like they had stepped into a room full of Pearl's.
"No wonder Mother Goose and Pearl like this casino so much," Conner said. "I feel like we've found their natural habitat."
They propped pear up in front of a slot machine and gave her a handful of coins to keep her busy. Conner looked around the room, then his eyes laid on the roulette table in the back, the only one with no one there. They walked through the crowd of senior citizens, receiving the strangest look from them as they did- they stood out like sore thumbs.
They got to the roulette table and Conner reaches into his pocket for his special poker chip. While he rummaged around for that, Bree got a good look at the roulette dealer. He wore a white button-down shirt with a black vest and bow tie. He put his hand up to stop them before they said a word.
"Sincerest apologies, mademoiselle and monsieur, but this table is reserved for special chips only," the dealer said. "And I do not believe either of you are old enough to be in this casino, anyway."
Conner pulled out his poker chip and showed it to the dealer. The dealer's eyes lit up.
"We didn't come here to gamble," Conner said. "But I would like to bet this on the black."
It must have been code for something because the dealer dropped his hand and raised an eyebrow at them. He looked at them shrewdly.
"I see," he said. "One moment, please." He picked up the receiver of a telephone under the roulette table. He said something in French to whoever was on the other side of the phone and then promptly hung up. *For anyone wondering what he actually said, he said, 'Sir, we have someone with a black token'. But they don't know that, okay back to the story.* "The manager will be with you shortly."
Bree didn't know whether this was good or bad. ^Had the chip actually led them to something useful or were they going to be escorted out of the casino by the manager?^
A moment later the manager of the Lumiere des Etoiles casino met them at the roulette table. He was a tall, burly man with a thick black mustache. He wore a sharp suit and straightened his tie as he greeted him. His presence made Bree tense up a bit. She had always read about situations like this. Some girl and boy, younger than everyone around them, being kidnapped by some guy with a mustache. Guys with mustaches creeped her out, but they made a lot of money in the movie department.*And, no, I did not write this because I hate guys with mustaches. They're fine. Most of them.*
"Bonjour," the manager said. "I believe I can be of some assistance?"
Conner showed him the poker chip. "Yes, this belongs to our grandmother," he said, turns out Granny Pearl is coming in handy again.
"May I?" the manager asked, and opened a hand. Conner handed him the chip, against Bree's better judgment, and the manager pulled out a magnifying glass to inspect it. "Very well, please follow me," he said, walking away from the roulette table.
Bree looked to see if Conner was going to start walking, but her eyes met his. Conner looked at her as if to say, 'You are going first, I am not going to follow this guy!'. Bree responded with a look of, 'No way, you are the one leading this, and you're the guy!'. Conner looked defeated and started following the manager, with Bree close on his heels.
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~~~~~ (*****^-^*****) ~~~~~
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The Mind Behind The Beanie || ✔
Fanfiction"Oh, Conner- I forgot I had something I was going to ask you," Bree said. His answer surprised her. "Ask me anything," he responded. This sudden confidence surprised her but she continued as planned. "Do you have a crush on me or something?" Bree...
