Meet Me Halfway

Nadeen woke up to the person in the bunk above her, slamming his fist into the wall next to their bunk bed. She shot upright, wondering what in the absolute hell was going on. He spoke in a foreign language she couldn't pinpoint and the volume of his voice grew louder and louder.

"Excuse me?" she asked, peering out of her bed and up at the stranger above. He stopped banging, thank god, and looked down at her with a perplexing expression. He again spoke in his native tongue, gesturing a mess of sorts with his hands before finally grunting and laying back down in silence.

"I guess this is what happens when you book a hostel that only costs eleven euros a night," she mumbled to herself.

She looked around the room she was staying in for the next few days, it's yellow pastel walls chipping away to the wallpaper that lay underneath. It surely wasn't anything special but it was cheap and that's all that really mattered. There was six bunks in the room, allowing twelve people at once to sleep although she had only actually seen four beds occupied in total during the last couple days. And that's when she realized she was the only one left in the room other than her strange counterpart above her. Nadeen glanced down at her watch which read five o'clock in the morning even though the sun told otherwise. She hadn't bothered to change the time when she arrived in Europe, wanting to always know what time it was at home. There was a six hour time difference from Boston to Amsterdam meaning it was actually eleven.

Quietly she stood up from her bed, stretching silently, not trying to have another "conversation" again with her grumpy roommate. She rummaged through her bag realizing she desperately needed to do laundry but was too embarrassed to ask how the washing units downstairs worked. She could barely do laundry back in America let alone in Europe with Dutch labeled settings. Settling on a wrinkled light blue sundress, she grabbed her tennis shoes and escaped to the bathroom. The light inside flickered in and out and she quickly changed trying to leave the hell hole of a hostel she was staying at. She exited the bathroom and quickly looked back inside her room one last time deciding if she should forgo her camera today and just take in the sights instead. Grabbing a leather jacket, she also grabbed a random book she had bought in London and stuffed it inside her bag, before heading outside in the cloudy and windy city of Amsterdam.

The thing about Amsterdam was the streets ran in a circular direction, following the rings of each canal. It was nothing like Boston or New York or even London. Which is why every time she left her hostel, which granted had only been a few times since she arrived Tuesday, she got extremely and hopelessly lost. She wandered throughout the tall, multi-colored buildings, admiring how each of them titled just slightly forward. It gave the homes character and set them apart from most other architecture she had ever seen.

Nadeen released a sigh of relief once she had finally seen water in the distance. She knew if she made it to one of the cities many canals that she could maybe possibly find her away around. At least, following the canals were a little more helpful then just turning down different winding streets.

Her stomach let out a growl alerting her she had definitely missed the free breakfast the hostel offered in the morning. Besides, a cappuccino and a Dutch pancake didn't sound half bad anyway. The first thing she had eaten once arrived in the Netherlands was a Dutch pancake and she was in love. Everyone else around her, mainly British tourists, had ordered American pancakes but why not treat herself to a local delicacy?

She stopped at a cafe that sat canal side, offering a few tables to enjoy the open air. She looked inside and saw most had opted to sit there with the weather not being the warmest but she didn't mind. The cool, breezy air reminded her of the shore at home. She grabbed the last table from the entrance, sitting down and taking in her surroundings. There was only one other person sitting outside, four tables down, an older man bundled up in a heavy brown jacket reading away at a Dutch newspaper.

Nadeen grabbed the book she brought along with her as a waitress came over smiling and placed a menu down in front of her.

"Hallo," she smiled.

"Good morning," Nadeen answered back, sheepishly. Unfortunately she only knew a two words in Dutch, thank you and canal. It proved to be a much harder language then she had realized.

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked in a thick Dutch accent, instantly switching her language.. It seemed everyone here had mastered both dialects. It was arguable that the Dutch knew English better then some Americans which Nadeen didn't find too surprising.

"May I have a cappuccino?"

The waitress nodded and strolled back inside as Nadeen browsed back down at the novel she pulled out. It was some trashy romance novel she had picked up in Heathrow when she had first arrived in Europe. The sound of French conversation grew louder and louder as she tried to concentrate on her book.

"Mais maman!" the voice yelled, sounding annoyed. Nadeen had taken a couple of French classes back in high school but was by no means fluent or even could hold a conversation. She did remember "Maman" meant mom though. As if that would help.

"Ecoute, je vais bien. Dites à Adélaïde que je vais peut-être venir à Berlin. Mais pour l'instant je reste ici!" The girl passed Nadeen's table and sat a few tables away, throwing her phone into her bag. She was envious at no matter how vicious her words were (or at least she assumed from it not sounding like the most pleasant of conversations), the way each word rolled off her tongue was flawless and mesmerizing. The girl had a slight raspyness to her voice, that gave her a seductive edge.

Nadeen giggled to herself wondering how such a voice could be so sexy. She definitely had been reading too much of her romance novel. The waitress came back setting down a bright red coffee cup.

"Enjoy," she smiled before walking over to the french girl.

"Bonjour, may I have an espresso, please?" Her accent was heavy but still sounded beautiful in another language. Her dark curly hair blew in the wind and Nadeen caught herself wondering what her face may have looked like. She tried to match the raspy voice and imagined strong features and piercing eyes. She giggled yet again realizing she definitely had read too much of her romance novel.

The French girl reached into her bag grabbing a pack of cigarettes and pulling one out. She rummaged through her bag again, letting out a groan. Slowly getting up from the table, she turned around and started walking over. Nadeen felt her heart speed up and wondered where this was coming from all of a sudden. The breeze blew dark curly hair out of the mysterious girl's face to reveal chocolate amber eyes and a strong brow. She wore fire engine red lipstick that offset just so perfectly against her dark complexion. She stopped in front of the table, resting a hand on her hip.

"Hallo," she smiled.