Across the Ocean Read Online Free PDF Page A

someone I could see myself being great friends with, if I lived here. I feel comfortable around her, and I really enjoy her company.
     
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    My day has been fun and eventful. I ’ve eaten a tasty bruschetta (I’ve never had bruschetta before!) in their little café. We end up heading down a street called Laugavegur when Sóley was finished working. I’m not so certain that it’s a real word, but I try my best to do it justice anyways. “Lay-a-vegg-ur,” or some strange mouthful. It’s apparently the street downtown and it is lined with tons of small tourist shops, designer clothing stores, cafés, fancy restaurants, and a ton of people.
    This city is really beautiful. The streets are kind of like gray cobblestones in some places, and a lot of the buildings are very old, or even the same ones that were originally built here. There are tall, green light posts topped with bright yellow fake tulips to keep it festive in the summer , I think. It certainly feels festive for me as a tourist.
    Sóley tells me it ’s normal to have so many tourists horde to Iceland during this season because the best weather of the year is in summer. We’ve finished eating some really delicious burgers at a place called Hresso. They really know how to make a burger in this country (even though it cost me $16 due to the conversion rate, so it better be good). A term they like to use here is “sweaty burger” which implies that it is pretty much dripping all over the place with hamburger sauce. They also put red bell pepper (or they call it paprika) and cucumbers instead of pickles. It tasted so fresh like that; I think I’ll be adding cucumbers to all of my future burgers . Yummy .
     
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    Sóley and I are heading back to Vör, where Emilia and Lára are preparing to finish their shift for the evening. It’s around 7pm and we’ve just spent our time getting to know each other a bit better. We plan to head to the bar next door to meet up with Valur and apparently Ari. My stomach is beginning to roll a bit after consuming way too much burger and fries along with anxiety about meeting Ari for the first time. I know I can pull this off, but Lára is going to be here too and I’m not really sure exactly how I’m supposed to behave or interact with him when she’s around.
    Everyone knows about the “almost” relationship Ari and I have had, and I wonder if they ’re at all anxious about it, too. Is Lára worried? Is she insecure and wondering if I might somehow steal him away from her? Can I even do that ? Would he leave her for me? Do I want him to ? It’s impossible to know the answer to those questions now. I will just have to wait and see. Anything right now is purely speculation.
    Emilia, Lára, Sóley and I head next door and order our beers at the bar. There aren ’t a lot of people here at the moment, and the girls tell me it’s too early for the Icelandic nightlife to come out. I’m told that it only gets busy around midnight. They lead me through a door to an outside patio for customers who smoke and just don’t want to sit inside. We all grab a chair and surround one of the many empty tables.
    Valur and Ari aren ’t here yet, and I chug quite a bit of my beer in hopes of calming my nerves. I try my best to focus on calming down.
    I can barely even sit still in my chair. I ’m drumming my fingers on my thighs and my feet are tapping nervously. I’m constantly checking the door that leads back inside the bar for the guys. I’m desperately hoping that my nervousness isn’t something the girls can notice. I’m really trying as hard as possible to be smooth and cool. Chill the fuck out, Brooke! Get it together!
    The hairs on the back of my neck start to rise and I get a bit of a tingly sensation through my body. Aiming to be as nonchalant as possible, I sit up a little straighter in my seat and try to sneak a glance at the door to see if it is opening. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I try not to appear