College Fund

//And You Say You're a Teenage Girl?//

"Right this way, we're almost there!" Margaux's mom smiled as she forged a path for us through the hordes of tourists. We had decided yesterday that our first tourist stop in France would be the Louvre, and I was beyond excited. It was so crazy waking up this morning and realizing I was living my childhood dream.

Finally I was able to stand on my tiptoes and see the building over the heads of all the people. We were there just a few minutes before it opened, so everyone was lined up outside.

"Mom, do we have to wait in this line? We've been here a million times." Sage rolled her eyes and flipped her long hair. I guess she was still in that sassy teenager phase. That wouldn't last long, or, on the other hand, she could be like Bria and never grow out of it.

Momma Margaux shot her a look. "Non, Sage, arreter de se plaindre."

"Mais, mere," Sage continued whining. "J'ai la pratique dramatique."

"Ferme la bouche."

I didn't know what that meant, but it must have been some form of 'shut up' because after that Sage simply huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Margaux rolled her eyes at her family's banter and turned back toward Bria and I. "Sage takes drama very seriously," she explained. "Her school play is next week, we could get you guys tickets if you want to see."

"Oh my god, totally!" Bria chimed. "I would love to see it!"

I nodded. "Same! Wait... it's not in French, is it?"

"Of course it's in French, silly, we're in France." Margaux rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll get you an English copy of the script so you can follow along, if you'd like."

"I would like."

"Tres bien!" Margaux sighed happily. "Did you hear that, Sage? Bria and Cassidy are coming to your show next week!"

"Oh, really?" Sage turned to smile at us. "That's cool, but I'm warning you, it's really cheesy."

"Great! I love cheese! Especially on pizza."

"Oh my god, Bri." I rolled my eyes at Bria's sad attempt at humour. "Save us all, and don't quit your day job to become a comedian."

Bria play-punched me, and I pretended it hurt.

"Alright you crazy kids, pay attention," Margaux's mom scolded. Bria and I had been so absorbed in our play fighting that we hadn't noticed the line start to move. We shuffled forward to the ticket booth. I used my credit card to buy my ticket and waited while Margaux's family tried to figure out their tickets. They were trying to get some sort of family discount, but the worker wasn't letting them for some reason. I couldn't understand much, because their discussion was in French, but from what I could pick out the discount would only apply to parties of four. That set Margaux's mom off into some flurry of 'Leur pere n'est pas là' and 'C'est ma famille, ou est notre reduction?'

In the end, Margaux, Sage and their mom had to pay full price for their tickets. Oh well, they tried.

As we entered the museum, Margaux's mom continued to mumble things in French unhappily, but I didn't bother asking what was wrong. Judging by what Margaux had told Bria and I last night, little things could set her mom off. And I really didn't feel like starting an argument.

The entrance to the Louvre was through this fantastic glass pyramid. It was so cool, and I found myself trying to get a glimpse of the city through every window, which obviously wasn't possible. Excited goose bumps trailed down my arm as we passed through and entered the actual museum.

"Now, I'm warning you girls," Margaux's mom seemed to finally be able to pull herself together enough to speak English. "The Louvre is massive. It's basically impossible to get through the entire thing in one day. So figure out what is most important for you to see, and go there first. We can always come back again another day if you want to see more."