Locked out

Let's try to catch up.

So since Vaune and I had been having some host family dining issues, we chose to go out for a deluxe evening meal on Thursday night. We put on our Thursday best and sashayed all the way to… McDonald’s. And it was joyous. We had been dreaming about it all day, ever since Vaune had suggested it during class and we looked up the closest “McDo” online.

I would say that the most notable feature of the McDonald’s is that a quarter pounder with cheese is, in fact, called a Royale with cheese. All you Pulp Fiction fans, rejoice. Vaune and I both ordered the “Royal Bacon,” which was a burger, toppings, and a giant, round slice of bacon-like meat. Another notable fact is that Vaune is a vegetarian, and yet consumed her Royal Bacon with the utmost enthusiasm. As did I.

Our delicious meal


Vaune says a joyous goodbye to vegetarianism, joyfully.


Me, imitating Vaune, and also enjoying McDo.


Me, demonstrating my distress at the existence of a "Croque McDo," which is the McDonald's version of a Croque Monsieur, which is kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich with ham in it.


Mmm.


Aftermath.


After we decimated – nay, annihilated – our meal, I said to Vaune, “Now that we have eaten food that will undoubtedly make you sick, let’s go drink!” And so we headed to the Falstaff.

We met up with Chris I and Chris II, as well as our new French friend Antoine. Katie and Kristine showed up later. Around 10 PM I decided I was tired and started to head back to my house, only to discover about halfway there that I did not have my housekey. I texted Vaune and then continued home to commit attempted breaking-and-entering. It failed, and I walked back to the Falstaff, where Chris grabbed me and we ran to catch the 11:23 bus. At 11:22 we resigned ourselves that we were not going to make it to the Ralliement bus stop in time, and so went to… McDonald’s. Chris got a McChicken and I got a McFlurry. We walked back to Ralliement, forty minutes before the next bus would be there, so we sat down in the doorway of a boulangerie because it blocked the wind. One woman asked us for a light, and we happily obliged with our new Falstaff lighters, given to us by the bartender/proprietor/our friend Kat. Another boy came and talked to us and got very excited about basketball and the Celtics and almost made us miss our bus.

At 12:47 we boarded the bus and eventually arrived at Chris’s house. We quietly snuck in, trying not to wake his host family, because there are “no visits without prior permission” and I am sure that includes strange girls sleeping in your bed, regardless of incompatible sexual orientations for both parties. We got ready for bed and then Chris told me true ghost stories about his childhood home. I thought I was going to pee myself. We went to sleep in Chris’s giant comfortable bed, although I didn’t sleep very well. We woke up at 6, and he snuck me back out. I took the 6:30 bus to Ralliement, and then walked a half an hour back to my house. Monsieur wasn’t awake yet when I got there, so I sat outside and read Infidel until I heard him come outside to get the mail. This was part of my ingenious plan, because it meant that I would not have to knock because the door would already be open and I would not have to admit that I had forgotten to put my key in purse. I walk in, smelling of smoke, wearing day old clothes, and looking like a zombie, and Monsieur just says, “Bonjour!” and smiles. Grace à Dieu Madame wasn’t up… she would have made fun of me and lorded it over me for the next day. I went upstairs, grabbed my towel, took a shower, ate breakfast, and jetted to school.