Girls Like Englishmen (Chapter 5)

The day after, a Friday, the girls -- and DeMarcus -- were at the cafeteria again during school hours. They waited for Madeline to arrive and so did Mason. But instead of waiting at the table, Mason waited by the door, looking pass all of the students coming in. Soon the stampede decreased in size and Madeline headed towards the door all by herself. Mason stood in her way so she could see him.
"Oh, hi, Mason-cup," she greeted him. "What are you doing standing up?"
"I need to have a word with you," Mason answered in his strong yet gentle British voice.
"Look, I said I was sorry a million times yesterday and this morning. Do I have to apologize for the million-first time?"
"You didn't even apologize a million times. You said sorry maybe seven times."
"You know, you're wasting time when you count."
"Madeline, I really like you. You're the first girl I ever courted for less than a week after meeting."
"I know. I'm awesome sauce, right?"
"What is awesome sauce? Are you referring to ketchup?"
"Just forget it."
"I like you but I can't pursue this whole thing any further."
"Why not?"
"Well, for starters, I think you're racist."
"Racist? We're white people. Plus, my friends are diverse."
"I know, I understand that. But you assume that I'm some royal prince because I live in a mansion with a minted family in England."
"I didn't assume you were a prince. I assumed you were rich... which is true. So can we kiss and make up?"
"No, we can't."
"Why we can't?"
"You can't be with me for my money."
"Mason, I'm not with you for your money. My parents got plenty of that. Besides, I only approached you because you were gorgeous."
"So you're with me for my looks?"
"No, no. I'm not explaining this correctly. Listen, when I got to know you, I thought you were thoughtful and sweet and smart. And you thought the same thing about me which I loved." She grasped Mason's hands. "The point is we're good together. We practically belong together and I want to make this work. Come on, let's give us chance, William. Harry! Mason." She smiled to look innocent.
But Mason pulled his hands away from her and squinted his eyes. "Goodbye, Madeline. And when I mean 'goodbye', I mean forever because this is my last day here so this is the last day I see you."
Mason walked away, leaving Madeline with a sad look on her face. She sighed and marched all the way to her table. She sat down with a pout.
"What's wrong, Madeline?" Lizzie asked.
"I'm not going to have my fairytale wedding," she answered.
Skye scoffed. "I could've told you that."
"You already told me that."
"Yeah, and I would tell you again."
"Are you going to be okay?" asked Debra.
"I think so," Madeline replied. "But even though my racist self thought that Mason was some prince looking for a princess, I really liked him. He's a good person."
"And so are you," said Andrea. "And you're not racist."
"Yeah," Lizzie agreed, "just look around. You got a black friend, a white friend, a friend from Mexico and Puerto Rico and another white friend."
"I'm half-German," noted Skye.
"Does that mean you're related to Hitler?"
Skye pursed her lips and looked into the air.
"Yeah, Madeline, you're not the racist friend," said Andrea.
"To be honest, I do sometimes think that I am possibly related to Hitler," Skye confessed.
"That would explain the crazy tree where your crazy apple came from."
Skye snickered.
Lizzie took a look at DeMarcus who was shaking, seemingly out of nervousness.
"What's wrong, DeMarcus?" she asked.
"You know, all this relationship talk has got me worked up," he responded. "It's tempting me to do something right now." He got out of the table and got down on one knee. He held her right hand and looked right into her eyes. "Lizzie something Duvall, will you go steady with me?"
Lizzie smiled and placed her left hand on her chest. "Oh, DeMarcus, yes!"
DeMarcus smiled, springing up and gave Lizzie a big hug. The girls clapped at the delightful "proposal". DeMarcus sat back down and held Lizzie's hand to kiss it.
"That's so sweet," commented Madeline. "No one asks like that anymore."
"What a Saved by the Bell moment," Skye remarked.
"Look at me," grinned Lizzie, putting her arm around DeMarcus' neck. "I'm DeMarcus' official girlfriend."
DeMarcus wrapped his arm around Lizzie's waist. "And I'm Lizzie's official boyfriend."
"Oh, as our first date as an official couple," Lizzie put her hands together, "can we eat cake by the ocean?"
"Why? Whose birthday is it?"
"No one's. We should just eat any kind of cake."
"Okay. But I'm confused: are we eating cake in front of the ocean or in the ocean?"
"I don't know. In front of the ocean?"
"What if the waves hit us and saltwater gets in our cake?"
"I think cake already has salt in it. More salt wouldn't make a difference."
"Wow, you two belong with each other," said Skye.

Girls Like Englishmen (Chapter 4)

The night after that day, Madeline's mother set up the table in the dining room for dinner. She cooked the food and arranged the plates to make a good impression for her daughter. Around six, Mason arrived and Madeline's dad let him in. Mason sat down with the family to enjoy a dinner of baked chicken, peas and mashed potatoes. He sat next to Madeline who sat across from her parents.
"This is a lovely dinner, Mister and Missus King," Mason remarked.
"Oh, I didn't cook the food," admitted Mr. King. "You should thank my wife right here. She's a regular in the kitchen."
"Oh, honey," Mrs. King blushed.
"Wonderful food you made," said Mason to Madeline's mother.
"Thank you. You should call me Paula Deen."
"Nobody likes Paula Deen, mom," said Madeline.
"We are thrilled to have you for dinner, Mason," Mr. King confessed.
"I feel the same as well," said Mason. "You guys created such a lovely daughter."
"What do you mean by 'create'?"
"Shut up, dad," Madeline demanded.
"My apologies. I shouldn't disrespect a prince."
Madeline widened her eyes.
"Excuse me?" inquired Mason.
"We've heard that you're a prince in London," responded Madeline's mom.
"A prince?"
"A royal prince," said Madeline's dad.
Madeline shook her head endlessly while staring at her parents.
"Uh, what makes you assume that I'm a royal prince?" asked Mason.
"Well, we heard you were rich," answered Mrs. King.
"Like us," her husband added.
"You own a mansion."
"Like us."
"With a golf course and a swimming pool."
"Not like us. Yet we admire that."
"You practically fly to wherever whenever you want on your jet, don't you?"
"Not really," answered Mason. "My dad owns two jets and tells me when I can use them."
"So your dad's a king?" asked Madeline's father. "That's amazing."
"Truly amazing," Madeline's mother agreed.
"Does he play ping-pong with the Pope in a ball pit?"
"Oh, that sounds like fun!"
"It does," consented Mason, "but my father doesn't do any of that."
"So they play fooseball in a ball pit?" asked Madeline's dad.
"No, my dad doesn't know the Pope. He doesn't even know his own father."
"Your dad is one of the low-key kings?" questioned Mrs. King.
Mason glanced at Madeline who stopped shaking her head when she felt his eyes on her.
"What is going on?" he asked. "You people think I'm royalty?"
"Um, no," replied Mr. King. "We know you're royalty."
"You think just because I'm from England, I'm basically a prince?"
"No, not at all," Madeline's mom answered. "It's just that Madeline said--"
"Madeline said nothing," she said in third person.
"So let's get this straight," said her dad. "If my daughter marries you in a later future, she won't become a princess?"
"Cor blimey, no," Mason responded.
"So she won't have any occupation that involves wearing a crown?"
"Absolutely not. I don't even own a crown, although I can afford one."
"So you would have the crown for her?"
"I-I don't even know. Madeline, do you know?"
Madeline's eyes widened. "I know that I'm screwed," she nervously chuckled.

Girls Like Englishmen (Chapter 3)

The next day, the girls found themselves in the cafeteria for lunch during school hours. They sat at their usual table, waiting for Madeline to arrive. Lizzie did not really care as her focus was on her dark-skinned, mesmerizing male friend. They were giving each other endless Eskimo kisses which were making Skye itch.
"Will you stop?" she demanded.
The couple immediately stopped when they heard her.
"Are you jealous that Jeffrey is not here to give nose kisses to?" Lizzie asked.
"No way," Skye responded. "But when we see each other, we do our own Eskimo kisses."
"What do you mean?"
"We punch each other in the arm. Hard punches. I like roughhousing."
"Why do they call them 'Eskimo kisses'?" DeMarcus asked Lizzie in his deep voice.
"Probably because that's how Eskimos kept their noses warm in the cold," answered Lizzie.
"Of course! You are so full of knowledge."
Lizzie rolled her eyes and blushed.
"Where is Madeline?" asked Debra.
"Hopefully not in England," Skye shared.
Andrea giggled. "She's probably with Mason, feeding each other crumpets or something."
"Don't be racist. The only difference between Americans and Britains are the accents."
"I wasn't being racist; I was making a guess. They eat crumpets in England. Sabes que, get your facts straight."
"Did you know if Paul Revere didn't exist, we would all be British?" shared Debra.
"That's interesting," commented Lizzie. "Instead of a diet soda, I'd be having a spot of tea."
"Too bad any brothers aren't British," pouted DeMarcus.
"Aw." Lizzie placed her hands on his shoulder.
Her friends just stared at the couple. They unfroze when Skye caught her eye on Madeline and Mason walking in together.
"Oh, there they are," she said.
Madeline and Mason swaggered in the cafeteria hand-in-hand. The colors on their clothes, blue and white, matched while their similar styles maintained. They both had smoldering looks on their faces as if they were a new Hollywood couple on the red carpet. Madeline flipped her flowing, blonde hair behind her shoulder as Mason flipped his brown hair just by twitching his head. The two approached the table with Madeline's friends in it and they sat next to Debra.
"Whoa, I didn't know Prince William and Princess Kate came to visit," Skye joked.
"Smashing," Madeline and Mason answered at the same time.
Skye leaned back just a bit and made a perplexed face.
"What's with the matching clothes?" asked Andrea.
"Oh, these?" inquired Madeline. "They're just a little something we picked out at the mall."
"You went to the mall again after we went?" questioned Skye.
"Me and Mason went to a different mall."
"We shared a frozen yogurt," Mason added.
"Yummy."
"Okay," said Debra. "So, Mason, how do you like Laguna so far?"
"It's splendid," he answered. "I wish I could stay for just a minute more but soon, I have to depart to London and finish my studies."
Madeline wrapped her hands around Mason's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Debra. "What will you miss most about this place?"
"The games," Mason quickly replied.
"And me," Madeline whispered.
"And her."
"Oh, you must really like yourself some Madeline," nodded Andrea.
"Oh, I sure do. She's so intellectual. She's got a good head on her shoulders. And that mug. Who can resist such a face?"
"Blind people," responded Skye.
"Right, right. But look at this bird: she's a big bottle of sunshine."
Madeline grinned, glowing as sunshine would.
"The sun makes blind people," said Skye.
"Shh, Skye," Madeline hissed.
Skye sneered like a snake.
"Mason, have you met my... good friend, DeMarcus?" asked Lizzie.
"I'm afraid not," answered Mason. He put his hand out. "How are you doing, DeMarcus?"
DeMarcus shook his hand. "I'm dandy as candy, British brother. You said you liked the games. Do you play a sport?"
"Oh, I play a little football back at my hometown."
"Oh, that's cool. I play football, too."
"Delightful. So are you good at kicking?"
"When it comes to field goals."
"Of course. Kicking is mainly how you play the game. How else are you going to get it in the goals?"
"Uh, when I play football, I usually run. And sometimes catch."
"I'm befuddled. Are you a goalie?"
"No, I'm a football player. Are you referring to the goalpost?"
"No, I'm referring to the man that stands in front of the goal."
"You mean the referee?"
"He's talking about soccer!" Madeline lifted her head up.
"Oh, you call soccer 'football'?"
"Of course," said Mason.
"Oh! Okay. Sorry about that. But to be fair, you should've said soccer."
"Moving on," Madeline rolled her eyes.
"I'm famished," Mason said. "I'm going to get something to nosh." He took his feet out from under the table and stood up, facing Madeline. "Do you want anything? A bag of sweets perhaps?"
"No thank you," she smiled.
"Very well then. You know, ever since I've been here, this cafeteria has been serving fish and chips for us foreign exchange students. It feels like I'm home."
He walked away with a smile as Madeline watched him walk away. She then paid heed to her friends.
"Man, I'm so sick of eating fish and chips every day," Andrea spilled.
"I see fish on your plate," started DeMarcus, "but I don't see any chips. I see fries."
"I think 'chips' mean 'fries' in England," guessed Lizzie.
"Oh! Ain't she a brainiac or what?"
"Yeah," uttered Skye.
"Isn't Mason the cutest?" inquired Madeline. "He is so sprung on me."
"Too bad he's going to spring back to England in a couple of days," said Andrea.
"Whatever because we can continue our 'corking' relationship over the phone and Skype. Maybe letters. He could write me love poems."
"Or he could write you nothing," added Skye. "Maddie, how do you know that he wants to keep seeing you?"
"Because he's seeing me every day. Look at us. We look like the Blue Man Group but with better style. Besides, if he didn't really like me, he wouldn't have agreed to meet my parents tomorrow."
"He's going to meet your parents?" asked Debra.
"I wouldn't have said it if he wasn't."
"Maddie, don't you think you're moving a little too fast?" questioned Andrea. "You've known this guy for barely a week."
"No, I'm not moving too fast. I like Mason and Mason likes me. We're going at the same pace and it's a normal pace. That's why I'm going to wait until I'm in my late twenties to marry him and become the princess of England."
"That dude is a prince?" asked DeMarcus. "Why didn't anyone say anything? I just shook his hand and my palm was dirty."
"I'm sorry, my special friend," said Lizzie, resting her hands on his shoulder again.
"He is not a prince," Andrea noted. "He's not a prince, Madeline."
"Fine," said Madeline. "I move to England, we date then break up. My broken heart is consoled by an actual prince who I will later marry. Boom, there's my plan."
"That's a dumb plan."
"Especially for someone supposedly smart," said Skye.
"I told you," said Madeline, "it's my fairytale dream taking over."
"Well, there aren't any British fairytales so get over it."
"There are plenty of--"
"I know what I meant!"

Girls Like Englishmen (Chapter 2)

The next day, the girls decided to go to the mall together after school. Madeline agreed to drive them all there. During their destination towards the shopping center, the girls listened to the radio. Madeline channeled to a pop station which played the funky song, "Cake By the Ocean" by DNCE. They all sung along in unison with some of them off-key.

Talk to me, baby
I'm going after this sweet-sweet craving, whoa-oh
Let's lose our minds and go crazy-crazy
Ay-yi-yi-yi
I keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean
Walk for me, baby
I'll be Diddy, you'll be Naomi, whoa-oh
Let's lose our minds and go crazy-crazy
Ay-yi-yi-yi
I keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean, ah

"Do you guys think me and DeMarcus should go on a date and it's practically eating cake by the ocean?" asked Lizzie.
"Lizzie, let a song be a song," responded Skye.
"You guys should do whatever you want," Madeline opined, concentrating on the road. "I desperately need date ideas."
"What for?" asked Andrea.
"You know what for. For Mason."
"Ah, your little British friend?" inquired Skye.
"Yep. I think he's head over heels for me."
"What makes you say that?" asked Debra.
"Well, whenever we talk, I see a little sparkle in his eye."
"Maybe that's from the light," said Andrea. "Light does that, you know."
"Whatever. I can still feel it. It's like heat."
Skye asked, "So is this like a fling or--"
"No way. I want a relationship with this guy."
"But I thought he won't be at our school for long," said Lizzie.
"He won't be but that doesn't mean we can't have a long distance relationship."
"Do you even know how to have a long distance relationship?" asked Andrea.
"Of course. I was in a long distance relationship with my second boyfriend, Brent McCain, while I was in middle school. He moved to Kentucky and we called each other every weekend for two years. Then he dumped me for some farmer girl. How dare he send me pictures! And the girl was missing teeth."
"Guys like gums," said Lizzie.
"Are you sure you can handle such a relationship again?" questioned Debra.
"With Mason, of course," answered Madeline. "He has it all. Did you know that instead of riding the airplane with the other students, he was sent out here on his dad's private jet? So cool. And I learned a little bit about myself: if I do not accomplish my goal of becoming the highest paid actress all around the world, I want to become the princess of England."
"You think Mason is a prince?" asked Skye.
"He's rich enough to be one."
"You only want to be with Mason because he's rich?" Debra inquired.
"No! I want to be with Mason because he's just like me. Only British."
"Madeline, there is no way you can be the princess of England," said Andrea. "Mason is not even a prince."
"And you're not even English," added Skye.
"Madeline speaks good English to me," said Lizzie.
"Yeah, I, like, totes speak good English," Madeline agreed.
"Maddie, you can't be with a guy for fame," said Debra. "That's what Selena Gomez used to do."
"I'm not trying to be like Selena Gomez. She's not the highest paid actress in the world."
"What would you do with the money anyway?" Andrea questioned.
"Practically everything. I could be the first woman on the moon."
"Wait, you want to be an actress or an astronaut?"
"Whatever pays more. I'll be the freakin' spaceship if I want to."
"Now you want to be a spaceship?" questioned Skye.
"Look, guys. I know this sounds absolutely kind of shallow and superficial of me or whatever but I like Mason. Nevertheless, I want to marry him so I can become a princess or at least have a career similar to that. I've wanted to become a princess ever since I was a little girl. Don't destroy my fairytale dreams."
"I encourage your fairytale dreams," smiled Lizzie.
"Whatever, Madeline," said Andrea. "We're your friends so just do you."
"Thank you, Andy," said Madeline. "If I ever get to wear the crown someday, I will more than likely share my spot of tea with you."
"If you try to wear the crown," mumbled Skye, "you'll share a spot of tea with your new girlfriend in prison."
"Nobody likes a dream crusher, Skye."

Girls Like Englishmen (Chapter 1)

"You guys don't mind if my boyfriend sits with us for lunch, right?" asked Lizzie.
Andrea put down the crispy French fry she picked up from her lunch tray. "Of course... if you tell us who that is."
"You know! DeMarcus."
"The guy you met at that party last summer?" asked Skye.
Lizzie nodded. "Yeah."
"You're in a relationship with him?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You do know he's black, right?"
"Skye! Of course I know he's black. I'm not color-blind."
"I know but if you were color-blind, you would probably be able to tell he's black."
"I'm not racist."
Andrea chuckled into her can of soda. "I don't know about that."
"Guys, if she really likes him, then she doesn't care what race he is," said Madeline.
"Thank you, Madeline," Lizzie smiled.
"So he asked you to be his girlfriend?" asked Debra.
"Not really. I kinda call him my boyfriend behind his back."
"Oh, Liz'," started Madeline, "that is the right way to do it."
Madeline gave Lizzie a high five.
"Deceitful," Skye whispered playfully.
"Why don't you just ask him to be your boyfriend?" questioned Andrea. "There's no doubt that he doesn't like you."
"I know," said Lizzie, "but I don't want to take any risks. Besides, I know he'll ask me. I'm just... way ahead of him."
"Whatever floats your boat, Dolly."
"Oh, DeMarcus does. He made me a root beer float with a little boat floating on top. We shared it because that's what future couples do."
"It was an expression but I see."
Skye squinted her eyes, looking pass the girls. "Who's the guy in private school attire? Because the last time I checked, this was a public school."
The girls turned their attention towards the guy Skye was looking at. He was a teenager, conversing with someone sitting down at a table while he stood up. He was cute; he had full, flowing hair the color of mahogany. He was polished, wearing a blue blazer, khakis, and black loafers.
Madeline instantly drooled when she laid eyes on him. "I don't know but I want to know," she admitted.
"I think he's one of the foreign exchange students," shared Debra. "There were a few teens in my class today who were from England. They were really polite."
"Of course they were polite," said Andrea. "They can't just come in class and be like, 'Ah, yo, I run this and I'm only going to be here for a week.'"
"He's obviously from England," Skye assumed. "He looks like Harry Styles."
"I like Harry Styles," shared Madeline.
"I like Liam," Lizzie shared as well.
"I'm going to introduce myself."
"Why?" Skye threw her hand out.
Madeline lept out of the table. "Because I'm the president, darn it."
Skye shook her head as Madeline approached the well-dressed boy.
"Hi," she smiled, bearing her blinding white teeth.
"Hello," the brown-haired boy said in a British accent.
"Wow, you are from England."
"Is that a rumor?"
The two laughed.
"I'm Madeline."
"I go by Mason."
"If we ever get together, we would go by 'M and M'."
"Oh, yeah."
The two laughed again, getting deeper in the tangle of flirtation.
"Listen, since we know little about each other," started Madeline, "would you mind if I give you a tour after school? Besides, I am the president of Laguna Beach High."
"Intriguing. I would love the tour."
"Excellent. Do you want to sit with me and my friends?"
"No thank you. I was chatting up the old chaps here about nourishments. It's awfully funny; the students would eat like kings and queens back in London where we studied."
"Really?"
"No. It's pretty much the same. But I do eat lobster and sip some tea now and then, usually on Saturdays at family dinner."
"Family dinner? My parents barely come home."
"Of course. We always have family dinner right after tee time in the back of the manor."
"Manor? You're rich? My feet are literally glued to the floor right now."