Internationalism is alive and well at Newbold. After collecting nourishment on their dining trays Hilary and Deirdre stood before the dining hall. The room was not nearly as intimidating as say, PUC's dining hall. The choice of seats are limited and Deirdre, feeling adventurous and kind lead the way to a seat with a girl from Spain named Maria. The language barrier became apparent very quickly and lead to a lot of eye contact with the cereal in their bowls.
After Maria departed from the Californians, another girl sat with them. Her cheery smile and better handle on the English language allotted more conversation between the three ladies. A new convert from Norway, she gave the sisters a brief testimonial. Before Deirdre finished her peppermint tea both sisters had an invitation to a Norwegian youth conference in October.
Later the girls embarked on their second journey to Bracknell. The half hour jaunt made them think perhaps they were jetlagged. Having a list of needed items with no definite destination did not help with their increasing exhaustion. But they tallied forth, attributing their perseverance to the glorious weather and their American breeding.
Princess Square on High Street provided their every need. Argos was the store that really amazed them. It was filled with catalogues as thick as phonebooks. Within every catalog were products with codes you entered into a machine along with your credit card, after your purchase the machine spits your receipt out at you. Upon your receipt is your order number. Very simple. But not if you're unfamiliar with this form of shopping.
With all their essential purchasing out of the way Deirdre decided to step into Claire's to have her ears pierced. Hilary was only slightly disappointed by Deirdre's nonchalant attitude about the life changing, body altering procedure. After signing her name on several dotted lines agreeing not to sue Claire's for punching holes in her cartilage, she received two evenly placed CZ studs in her lovely lobes.
It was time to begin their return. With hands full of bags they shrugged and sighed as they pondered their plight. Hilary, feeling her years, decided to look for a bus. The two ladies stared at the bus sign until they were sure they understood the route. Seated patiently upon a bench they both silently wondered if the bus system worked on bank holidays. Several people passed them without answering their, "Excuse me" or, "Hey!" Undiscouraged, Hilary attempted to grab the attention of a gentleman exiting the gym behind them. His attention was grabbed and held. She asked him if he knew anything about the bus system and he replied no. Then paused and offered them a ride to Binfield if they could wait five minutes while he closed the gym. Hilary quickly analyzed the situation and decided that a ride with the gym manager couldn't be any more dangerous than the English bus system (or waiting for it alone at the bus stop). After the gentleman, named Jamie, locked up they piled their bags into his car and headed towards Binfield spinning through roundabouts and threatening cyclists. He spoke most of the way there and answered a few of the ladies' questions. They understood some of the answers but were dumbfounded at how little they comprehended. The half hour walk was only a two minute drive and Jamie dropped them off at the front of the school with well-wishing. Hilary and Deirdre were very appreciative and thanked him profusely. They walked back to their dorm thrilled with their good luck.
Sleepy again, they put their new pillows to use and slept until dark. The rest of their evening was spent creating a Little America in their minds while they watched an episode of Veronica Mars they wished they could have shared with their beloved parents.
