The Unstoppable Zuri

Those Last Few Memories

"Ecoutez, si vous plait!" said Madame Teagan, holding up her camera. "Souriez! Un, deux, trois!"

    "Formage!" said our whole class as she snapped a few photos for the yearbook.

    We all disbanded and started taking our own photos. We were here: at the Eiffel Tower. I looked all the way up at the top. It was so much bigger than I'd imagined.

    I truly couldn't believe it. Sadly, today was our last big adventure in Paris, but this felt like the perfect finale to the whole thing. It was so tall and ominous, but absolutely beautiful at the same time. It seemed to glimmer against the perfect, sunny day we had. It was the best weather we'd had the entire trip.

    First, we went through security to the Esplanade, which was right underneath the tower. We took a bunch of cool photos looking up at the tower from underneath it. Lucy, of course, was vlogging. I made sure to use the bathroom once more before we took the elevator up to the first floor.

    The first floor was very open and airy. There were little French kids running around with their families nearby. A little boy was looking in one of the viewfinders as his mom held him up to it.

    "C'est cool, Maman!" he said.

    We had to stay together as a group, following our teachers as we went to the viewing areas, the glass ceiling, and the gift shop. I, of course, got more chocolate. I was feeling dark chocolate and sea salt today, though. I also bought a postcard to put on my bulletin board at home.

    The next part of our adventure was why our deposit for the trip was so expensive. Or at least, part of why the trip cost my dad an arm, a leg, and a lot of overtime. We were having lunch at the upscale Le Jules Verne, a fancy-shmancy restaurant in the tower.

    A hostess brought my classmates and I into one of the main dining rooms. We were right by a window and had a breathtaking view. It was so beautiful that we honestly seemed underdressed in our leggings and sweaters.

Because our teachers wanted us to really experience French cuisine, we were taking part in the five-course tasting menu. I was excited to try all the expensive food, but honestly, I really just wanted another pizza for lunch.

    Vlogger Lucy took pictures of all the meat we ate, which were courses of crab, sea bass, cod, and lamb. Dessert was a chocolate souffle that looked so good, I thought I would die right there. It was even better when I bit into it. It was my favorite part of the meal.

    After we finished up at the restaurant, we explored the rest of the tower's second floor. Of course, we took more pictures and videos, then visited one of the gift shops. Our last shop was the macaroon bar. Emmi, Lucy, and I pooled our euros together so we could buy a few of each kind to try. My favorite was the Jardin de la Tour Effel flavor, which was a mint and chocolate combo.

    "Allons-y! Allons-y!" said Madame Teagan as I stuffed another macaroon in my mouth.

    We followed her and the rest of our class to the elevator, which would bring us up to the summit of the tower. We had to take two separate cars since we were such a large group. Even though the view was amazing, I felt like I couldn't look as we were going up. I wasn't great with heights.

    The car let us off at the summit of the tower. I didn't go towards the edge of the railing. My ears were bothering me this high up, and my stomach felt uneasy. Being this high up was easy in an enclosed plane, but not so easy in an open-air area.

    When everyone was done with their pictures, we went up to the champagne bar. When we were doing some research beforehand, I learned that they had more than just alcoholic drinks. I ordered the limonade artisinale. It was sweet and tart at the same time, and it tasted really fresh, too. It was just what I needed after my very salty lunch.

    Next, we took some time to explore the more educational parts of the summit. We walked past Gustave Effel's office, which was recently restored to how it looked back in the day. Then, we looked at an old scale model of the tower preserved behind a pane of glass. It was crazy to think the tower was once a reddish color.

    When we were done at the top of the tower, dusk was starting to set in. We waited in line for the elevator, and when one of the cars opened, a bride and groom came out of it with their photographer. My lip was quivering and I started to hold back tears.

    Eliott and I talked about the future a lot. We had dreams of a family and kids. But we also wanted to get married when we were done with college. Paris was always my dream destination, and he said he wanted to propose to me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

    The fear of starting all over again still scared me. Dating all over again, finding love, possibly even using dating apps because it was hard to meet people, then having to go through the whole process of talking about the future...it seemed so daunting.

    However, I had other things to worry about. I had to focus on what actually lay ahead: finishing high school and my baby girl. It was going to be really hard, but I knew I'd find my happy ending like that bride and groom someday. It was scary to think it wouldn't be with Elliot, because I didn't think I'd ever be able to love and connect with somebody like I did with him. But this fantasy husband in my future would be a different kind of love, one that I hadn't experienced before. And he'd love my baby girl, too. He'd be responsible and treat us both right.

    We took the elevator back downstairs and went out into the gardens around the tower. They were full of ponds, trees, and fall flowers. The trees were full of magnificent fall leaves, just like back at home.

    "Hey, while I've got my good camera, why don't you take some maternity photos with the tower in the background?" Lucy said.

    "Oh, that's such a good idea! That'll be so cute!" Emmi said.

    I sighed. "I typically wouldn't be on board, but I know my dad can't afford for me to take actual maternity photos. I'm in."

    I got off my scooter and the girls helped me get in position by the big sycamore tree with the tower in the background. All the leaves on the tree were either yellow or light orange, just like the sunset in the background.

    I did my best to hold myself up with my crutches, one of my hands touching my baby bump at the same time as Lucy took all the photos. It was the perfect final memory of Paris.