Gabrielle watched the repetitive English countryside pass her by as she thought about this. Thankfully after a lifetime of riding trains she had grown accustomed to that feeling of queasiness as the train bounced along. Oh, she really wished she had said yes to toast when Mrs. Harrison offered her some before they left for the train station. Now she was just hungry and sick and tired, since her Auntie Irene decided to come down from Glasgow and stay the weekend. Gabrielle had been kept up all night with the snores of the fifty something year old woman in the bed next to her.
The funny thing was that George was Auntie Irene’s favorite person in the whole world. No one was really sure why, but when ever she would come to visit the first thing out of her mouth was, “Where is that handsome young Georgie then” or something like it.
Gabrielle felt herself fighting the urge to giggle and knew she would get a bunch of odd looks if she didn’t keep it down.
John looked over at her “What are you grinning at then?” he asked
“Nothing” she ducked her head down and shoved around in her bag, pretending to look for something
“Odd bird, isn’t she” John said to Pete.
Pete gave the usual response, an indecisive grunt.
“So, Gabby, hope you like Cornflakes” said Paul, he rubbed his hands together and everyone else groaned
“I’ve heard about your mal nutrition andall that” Gabrielle laughed, “What d’you expect me to do about it”
“You’re staying with Astrid, yeah?” Paul asked
Gabrielle looked at George “Am I then?”
He shrugged “If she’ll have you I guess”
“Ah, how could she not” said John, he clipped Gabrielle on the shoulder affectionately “Nice, clean, well rounded girl like you, everyone’ll love you”
“By everyone, do you mean the amphetamine addicted, leather clad bisexuals that roam the Reperbahn?” asked Gabrielle
“They aren’t all bisexual” said Paul thoughtfully, he pulled a face “Oh wait, yeah, yeah they are”
“Oh god” she sighed, “I’ll end up back in Liverpool with one of my organs missing”
“Oh no” said Paul, tapping her on the knee lightly “No, you’ll most likely come back with your organs but have the Hamburg throat or crabs or something, OW! Christ, you’re…”
“If you say feisty I’ll hit you again” she warned him
“I was going to say a daft bleeding cow, but feisty works too” Paul grinned,
She rolled her eyes exasperated and looked over at John, “Stuart’s living with Astrid right?” she asked
“Last I heard” he nodded “But I doubt if he’s using the spare room or anything”
“Are they in love? Or are they just you know, shagging casually”
“Erm, they’re in love,” John paused “This is all sounding really soft and girly”
She laughed “I am really soft and girly”
“Can I touch you and find out?”
“Do you want me too hit you too?”
“No mum”
“Hey you speak German right, yeah?” George said, he looked over at Gabrielle and smiled “Er, or was that French, I dunno”
“Uh both” she admitted
“You speak both?” Paul asked incuriously “Fucking hell Gabby, Pete and I speak only a bit of German each”
“Well I’m not fluent or anything” she protested
“Yeah you are,” said George, brightening suddenly “remember when Shaz’s French grandpa was visiting the pool and you had that conversation with him”
“That’s not fluent, that’s just understanding enough to not sound like an idiot”
“Say something in French” John prodded, he kicked her with his foot across the isle “Go on, then, say something, go on”
“This is stupid” she groaned “We aren’t going to France, we’re going to Germany”
“Say something in German then” Paul grinned impishly
Gabrielle made a face. In truth, she could get by with French, after taking it for six long years, and she had two years of German, which she just barely passed under her belt as well. “No, there’ll be plenty of people saying things in German in Germany, you can wait”
“But we want to hear you say something in a German” Paul whined
“No, you don’t” she tried to sound irritated but was really just amused “You’re just being annoying, now shut it”
“Why you aren’t doing anything”
“Paul, shut up”
“Say something in German”
“Are you hoping to surprise me so I just burst out saying something in German, because it’s not working:”
“Say something in German”
John looked over at Pete and George who had the same looks of amusement on their faces “You could just let them go one for hours”