Forever French

[Honey_B]

This is the story of an American girl who graduates from high school and receives two months in France as her graduation present. She will spend her time with a host family name Bechard. Their large house lies in a suburb of Paris called Saint-Cloud. She will be traveling with her best friend. During their stay, the girls will be attending classes on French culture; history, art, music, and language at the American School in Paris located in Saint-Cloud.

The characters for this thread will include:
Jennifer: Already a world traveler at 18, she is looking forward to getting the most out of her two months. She wants to see and do everything. She has long red hair, blue-green eyes, tall with a curvy figure.

Karen: 19 years old and Jennifer's best friend for ten years. This is her first trip to Europe. Her expenses are being partially subsidized by Jennifer's parents who think of her as a second daughter. She is Jennifer's height, but she is a willowy blond.

Marc Bechard: 20 year old university student, only son of the Bechard family. He become smitten by the two lively American girls almost immediately.

Professeur Jean Cuvier: A teacher at the American School in Paris, he is the girls' instructor. He is 35 years old, cultured and distinguished. Both Jennifer and Karen develop a crush on him.

This story is very near and dear to my heart as I have lived parts of it. If you plan to join, please make a commitment to stay and post regularly. Thanks.

Sorry forgot to mention, I will be playing Jennifer.

 

[Honey_B]

O.K. Missla kind enough to take the role of Karen. We just need the guys now.

 

[Noemi]

lets do it

Ok i take te rol of Jenifer!

 

[Honey_B]

Sorry Noemi, forgot to mention I'd be writing the Jennifer part.

 

[ariosto]

OOC:
I'd like to play the Professor if it's OK. I sort of fit the part.

 

[Obidiah]

May I?

I would love to play Marc, but forgive me if Im not entirely French (although Londons not that far away) and my native language seems a little "merde" sometimes.

 

[Honey_B]

Jennifer

I stood up when everyone else did even though the captain had not turned off the seatbelt sign. My still muscles protested but I didn't care. We were finally in France after a grueling eight hour flight. Karen squealed from my right.

"I know! I am so excited too. We are going to have the biggest adventure of our lives!" I said as I hugged her. "Let's get off this torture tube!"

We grabbed our carry-ons and we slowly shuffled off the airplane. "We need to find Marc Bechard. Here's his picture," I said handing the photo to Karen and scanning the crowd.

 

[missla]

Karen

I was pumped that I was able to go to Europe with Jennifer. When the plane landed, she and I squealed with delight and stood up and hugged each other. "Can you believe that we are finally here?" I asked. That plane trip had taken forever. I was so lucky that I was able to make the trip. My family was not near as well of as Jennifer's, and her parents had actually paid for part of my trip!! They are like a second set of parents to me. When my own parents had protested about them paying, Jennifer's mom said it was something they really wanted to do - plus they didn't want Jennifer to be running around Europe by herself. We all had a good laugh about that. I had know Jennifer for way too long, and knew she loved to have fun, and would do almost anything to have fun.

As we got off the plane, we began to look for Marc Bechard, a member of our host family, who was to pick us up....

 

[Obidiah]

Marc

I wasnt in the best of moods. I hadn't had much sleep last night, due to next doors beatbox rattling around the street and to cap off the morning, Father told me that I had to go and pick up our new guests from the airport on my own. I have been able to drive for a bit but I still hate the Paris traffic. All my fellow countrymen seem to enjoy their reputation as the worst set of drivers in Europe. My Renault Twingo, although cute, wasnt the most fearsome of cars to prowl the paris streets and by the time I pulled into the short term car park at Charles De Galle I was swearing at the ticket machine like the rest of my compatriots.

Still now I was outside the arrivals rail leaning on a trolley Id luckily managed to acquire looking for faces. When it suddenly dawned on me that the information on Jennifer and Karen was still on the kitchen table next to my undrunk coffee and uneaten croissant. All I remember was that they were both smiling so broadly in the picture I thought that it had warped. I wondered at the time wondering whether american photographic labs deliberately stretched the happy faces so to make them look even smilier, and toothier. But they were just obviously happy. They also both looked very attractive. I had expected when father announced that they were going to be staying that they would explode the myth of bubbly, bouncy American teens ala Grease and Buffy. But the picture (and it was only a picture) seemed only to reinforce that. Oh well, lets wait till I see them in the flesh.

So I stood watching a thousand unknown, blank faces pass me by, hoping to high heaven that they could recognise me. Because I was in the dark about them.

 

[Honey_B]

Jennifer

"Karen, there he is," I said into my friend's ear. I had gotten a glimpse of Marc as the crowd started to thin a little. His photo did not do him justice. His eyes jumped out at you, distinguishing them from his other features with sapphire brilliance. Long dark lashes framed the slightly slanted eyes. C'est magnifique! He had high cheekbones and a mouth that could only be described as sensual even as it had a slightly grim downturn at the moment. He was tall; he would probably have a good five inches on my 5'9". I could tell, even from this distance, that he had the long lean build of a swimmer.

"We had better go say, hello. I don't think he recognizes us." Karen said interrupting my appraisal. Trying to toss off the stale feeling of a long airplane flight, I mustered up some cool sophistication as we walked over to Marc.

"Bonjour, Marc!" I said, forgetting it was 6:00 in the evening. "Je m'appelle Jennifer Adams." I said in my best schoolgirl French hoping I didn't sound too atrocious. Unfortunately, pronunciation had never been my strong point.

 

[Obidiah]

Marc

I was starting to worry, the crowd of badly dressed Americans was starting to thin with no sign of the girls. Why did I leave that information. My eyes flicked up to the arrivals board, but didnt get chance to take anything in before I was scouring the hall once more.

I did look a site. I had been pottering around the house all day, trying to clear up various bits and bobs in preparation for the visitors. I was covered in dust and still wearing my dark green joggers and tight white t-shirt. My hands were stained with newspaper ink after Dad had made me finally clear out all the old Le Monde articles that he knew he'd never have time to catogarise.

Some one was striding toward me with recognition in their eyes. I tried to remember the photo but I was beaten to it. "Bon jour Marc, Je m'appelle Jennifer Adams". Unfortunately I laughed out loud. I knew my accent was thick but I could hopefully speak better English than her French.

" I am so sorry" I checked myself, but was now smiling broadly, trying to win her back. After the interminable last 24 hours, something had made me genuinely happy. "You are here to work on your accent. At least we now know where we are starting from."

I looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Bienvenue a France. Je m'appelle Marc et vous avez les yeux belle" I put the last bit in to try and work out how much French she knew. I purposely mumbled it whilst doing the gallant thing by taking charge of her suitcases.

I searched the hall behind her for Karen and suddenly she was instantly recognisable from the photo. You wouldnt have known that she had just stepped off a plane. Suddenly remembering my manners. I grabbed Jennifer by her delicate shoulders and planted a kiss on either cheek before holding my out to welcome Karen who was just joining us.

 

[missla]

Karen

Jennifer finally spotted Marc, and we headed over to meet him. I have to say he was definitely attractive, and we quickened our pace toward him. Jennifer was a bit ahead of me and when I arrived, he was planting delicate kisses on both her cheeks. As I stepped up, he extended his hand to me. I took it to shake, but he used it to gently pull me toward him into a hug - Wow these Frenchmen are friendly!

He then kissed both of my cheeks as he had Jennifer's. I could tell he was some type of athlete, as he filled out his t-shirt admirably. I laughed when he spoke "I'm not even going to TRY to speak to you in French - I'll leave that to Jennifer!!" We all three laughed as we grabbed our bags and headed out.

 

[Obidiah]

Marc

Why do American girls carry so much luggage. Here I was hoping that they'd sit around the house in their underwear for the next two months, but the large collections of cases carry-ons and bags reminded me I was in fantasy land.
I put one of Karens cases on top of Jennifers pile on the trolley strapped a bag over my shoulder and picked up another case pulling the trolley behind me ("you never see a donkey pushing a cart" my father always says). That still meant that the girls had to carry one each, but my chivalry couldnt stretch any further. Its not that they were heavy just that they were to bulky to put anywhere.
We set off for the car with Karen on my right and Jennifer on my left, chatting about the flight, movie, awful food etc. As we passed the door the security guard looked at these two girls flanking me, looked at me, and winked. He was right, they were both worth congratulating a man on.
Guessing on the amount of luggage I had bought the biggest car that we had (I had to leave mine at home) but even then, cases filled the back seat. We had eventually filled the car leaving just enough space for us, but before I got in I said.
"So we have two choices. We can go home and get settled in, or since there are some good bars on the way, we can roll in late when everyones asleep?"

 

[Honey_B]

Jennifer

"This looks like it's going to be a tight squeeze. I guess we're going to get to know each other very well!" I said, teasing Marc. All three of us sandwiched ourselves into the little car. I couldn't imagine why Marc didn't bring an SUV, or at least something larger. I didn't feel the least bit tired and Karen looked wide awake as well.

"Hey Kar? Wouldn't it be great if we went out on the town to celebrate our arrival en France?"

I noticed Karen looking at Marc sideways. I knew what she was thinking. "I'd love it, Jen! That is if you wouldn't mind, Marc?" she said. I think she fluttered her eyelashes at him - how cute!

"By the way, Marc," I changed the subject, "Merci. Vous avez les yeux belle aussi. Yes, I do need to work on my pronunciation. Even I think I sound bad," I said with a laugh.

"I told Marc that he has pretty eyes too," I said to Karen. "Don't you think those baby blues of his are just gorgeous?" I asked her knowing that Marc was exactly her type. Hell! He was every woman's type.

 

[missla]

Karen

Marc's suggestion of stopping off to celebrate a bit was the right idea at the right time. Jennifer looked over at me with a knowing grin as I shyly flirted with Marc. Hey - we were in France to have a good time, so why not?

His eyes were so blue, always shining. Jennifer and I were both keeping our eyes on him, and he alternated looks at us. Yes, I think this trip would definitely be fun...

 

[Obidiah]

Marc

The general consensus was to get out there and get that first drink inside us. It would give me an excuse for checking them them out with a bit more alcohol in me. Not that it was easy anyway as every time I glanced in the rear view mirror Karens smile nearly made me swerve onto the pavement. It took us about half an hour to get back into the city. Jennifer was trying to chat to me, but kept being distracted by the new sights flashing past her. Consequently I learned little of her hometown, school, boyfriend! and was basically stillin the dark, when we drew up at the bar.

We bundled out and lurched into the bar. What with an 8 hour flight and then being packed into a claustrophobic car as well, the girls were walking as if they were drunk already. However, it was a nice night and I thought that the fresh air was more inviting than the smoky interior. So I took their orders and went inside to buy the first round, leaving them alone in the secluded garden out back.