So I have returned to dreary Lille for the school year. It was a last-minute decision, but it was made by my mom. Not me. I would have stayed in America.
Her reasoning for my return was that American schools weren't challenging enough for me. I pleaded to stay, and I even told her I was taking the hardest classes. But no! That wasn't enough. I am no longer a high school student; I am in 3ème- my last year of collège (middle school).
So oui, I am back in French schools and back to being challenged. The first thing I did was go out to dinner (late lunch) with Aurélie and her family, and we went to my favorite Flemish restaurant in Vieux-Lille. I had konijn in geuze, or in French, lapin à la gueuze. It's rabbit cooked in a certain kind of beer. It's one of my favorites. For dessert, Aurélie and I had ninoofse vlaai, a type of bread pudding. It was nice to see Aurélie and her foster sister Chanson, as well as her parents. Sometimes I secretly wished that I had her family. They are my idea of perfect. Her parents are so kind and supportive- well, my dad is, but my mom isn't. Oh, and to boot, the Fauberts are hosting a Brazilian exchange student named Fernanda Alencar. I'm excited to meet her and share my culture with her. I'd like to learn more Brazil, too, since my knowledge of it is so cursory.
I parted ways with them since they lived in Vieux Lille, and on the way home, I saw Julien. He hasn't changed since I saw him last. His dark hair still hung in his face, and he was still skinny and little. I wanted to hug him, but my inhibitions decided against it. I waved and said, "salut", and he approached me.
"You're back!" He was shocked. He gazed over my body and nodded his head. "You haven't changed except for the fact you wear your glasses now."
I laughed. "I grew to like them."
"That's good. Then you won't ask me what the board says. Speaking of which, are you excited for school?"
I sighed. "Un peu."
"Well, um, do you have free time? Do you want to come to my house and babysit Delphine with me?"
Impulsively, I said "oui". On the way to his house, I told him about Chrissa. When it came to Chrissa, Julien was a secret. If she knew he existed, she'd go crazy and act all weird and obsessive. If Julien ever visited the States with me, I'd have to sneak him past Mademoiselle Maxwell. I can only imagine: "SABS!!!! IS THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND?!?!?!?!"
And the answer would be no. No, no, no, and no. I have a crush on him, but I could never date him. We have been friends for too long- that would be weird. My mom thinks we are dating, which is just wow. She said the same thing about Gérard, too! Oh, so now every guy friend I have is my boyfriend. Why can't they be just friends? Back to my time with Julien...
Delphine, his eleven-year-old sister, claims that he has a crush on me as well, and Julien denies it. Julien and I were sitting on the sofa, which was littered with Delphine's throw blanket and pillow, and Delphine took a photo of us on our cell phone.
"You two kind of look like you're dating!" She proclaimed.
Julien blushed. "No. Dating a friend would be awkward."
Delphine giggled. "Um, Sabine is awkward! Dating her wouldn't be different from being her friend."
I then blushed too. Merci, Delphine. Merci beaucoup. I informed her once again that we were just friends.
"Wait a few years and then tell me," she said. "Oh, and I'm sending both of you that picture!"
Here is the picture:
We were just watching TV. There is nothing wrong with that!!! We are just friends! Though, I did show my brother the photo and he declared "couple", but Sébastien has no idea what he's talking about. I feel that 14 is way too young to date- definitely way too young to date seriously- so yeah. You don't have to worry about me! :)
Anyway, I got in trouble for going to Julien'a without my mom's permission, so Mère took away my laptop for a week and I haven't been able to post.
-Sabine
7 comments
Wow! It's interesting to FINALLY see Julien after all you've talked about him! And I hope you enjoy your time back home.
Isn't it weird how you want to go to a certain place, and you rant about how much you hate where you are now, and then you go where you want to, and then, it's just weird?! That's what I find. Like, when we went to Canada for my birthday, it was okay, but not as great as I THOUGHT it would be?
Well, I HOPE you get to go back to the states!
~Miranda
P.S. What about Sabine? Is SHE back in Lille?
I can't wait to hear more about you life in Lille, Sabine! It was nice to see a picture of Julien. He sounds like a great friend. Do you miss being in the US at all?
Emily
You guys do look cute together. =) But don't you find that's always the case... when a boy and a girl are friends, everyone assumes there's something more to it. It's just as nice to have a friend who's a guy.
Hey, this is Summer.
I'm sorry to hear that things got disrupted for you. I wish your mother could have been a little more sensitive about it. I mean, it's not like schools in the United States totally changed in the last month or something. You'd think this decision could have come with more warning, or even some discussion.
I hope you'll enjoy being back in Lille, though! I know you missed it.
It's so cool to finally see Julien, after hearing about him! I hope you guys have fun re-establishing your friendship, whether or not it ever becomes something more in the future.
There's definitely nothing wrong with just being friends with a boy!
Love,
Summer
Wow! It must be a major change for you to move back to France. You must share what feels really different. Whenever we come back from Ukraine, I always notice how wide the aisles in stores are- and how big the bottles of laundry soap are!
I'm glad you get to be back home though. I look forward to hearing more about you and Julien!
I can see why you want to be friends with Julien! I am good friends with Kyle. We did get a little teasing but not real trouble. Boys make wonderful friends I say!
I hope your move goes smoothy. I know it can me difficult. Good luck!
-Emily
Yes!!!! I totally understand. When we were younger, everyone thought my friend Dave and I were going to get married. In fact, everyone STILL thinks that, even though, you know, we're not actually talking anymore. *sigh* parents.
Anyway, I hope the move works out for the best. It's too bad your mom just kind-of randomly sprung it on you.
-Cate (I forgot I'm still logged into Harper's account ;) )
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