A.N: Hello people! Sorry for the delay, but life called. And since I have some things to deal with right now, I don't know when the next chapter is going to be published. I'm flattered, I got a such positive response to this story! For this reason I have to thank (I will always do) my beta, who helps me -a lot!- with grammar. Without her my stories would been boring and insipid. You are precious, adrenalynn1986! And also a great writer ;)
So...this story: I told you this one won't be only humoristic and light...so expect some bumps on the road, and some drama. For now...enjoy it!
I will do my best to update it soon. Please review here, in PMs or on my twitter at chiara_dam
Your thoughts are important! Grazie :)
...
In the last twenty minutes Ms Foschi got every student to stand up and introduce themselves in front of the class, and Bo felt less alone when she realized that she wasn't the only one who didn't know shit about Italy.
Several people had been there for the same reasons as Bo was: work.
That was a relief for the brunette, who found herself more relaxed and ready to learn.
In those twenty minutes Bo had a chance to study her classmates more closely.
The blonde who was sitting next to her, with those ice-cold eyes and a cocky grin permanently drawn across her face, was Tamsin. Apparently Tamsin was attending the course for her second year now, but honestly, she didn't seem to be of much interest in anything Italian.
Except of pizza. She had a huge knowledge of every type of pizza existing in the world, and that was...weird? Totally. But also interesting, Bo had to admit.
The main reason why a person like Tamsin, seemingly being tempted to return for that second year, might take part in that kind of course would have been because of the teacher.
The blonde didn't make an effort to hide her interest in the Italian woman, but Bo couldn't say whether Ms Foschi reciprocated the feeling.
Every time Tamsin's eyes met the ones of her teacher, the Italian woman avoid them merely.
That rude guy, who addressed Bo as a bitch before, was a certain Dyson Torn-something. When it was his turn to talk he simply stood up, making sure to show off his muscles, and mumbling something about his will to learn some Italian just for fun.
Fun?
What a shitty reason for a person like that. He clearly had no interest to be there. There had to be some base motives.
Anyway Bo didn't have much time to think about that, because the last person who had to introduce herself was also the only one, Bo was actually interested in getting to know more about.
The pretty girl from before, the maniac of fancy pens, stood up with a bright smile.
"My name is Lauren, and I'm here because I love Italian literature, and also because my friend Tamsin dragged me with her..."
Some people laughed, including the blonde near Bo.
So, that Lauren was Tamsin's pal...interesting. Bo would keep that in mind.
The brunette listened intently as Lauren continued. "I'm just kidding. The chance to learn more about another culture is something I find very interesting and so...Here I am!"
Ms Foschi smiled politely. "Good! And can you say something in Italian? Have you ever learned something before?"
Lauren smiled shyly and cleared her throat before speaking up again, in almost perfect Italian.
"Quando, all'alba, dall'ombra s'affaccia
discende le lucide scale
e svanisce; ecco dietro la traccia
d'un fievole sibilo d'ale,
Io la inseguo per monti, per piani,
nel mare, nel cielo: già in cuore
io la vedo, già tendo le mani,
già tengo la gloria e l'amore."
Silence.
No other word could be heard in that damn classroom anymore. Suddenly Bos' heart stopped pounding in her chest and got stuck, mercilessly, in her throat.
That woman clearly was a goddess. Although Bo couldn't understand one word Lauren just said, she realized why so many people were fascinated by this language.
It was complicated, but also full of harmony, poetic.
And that Lauren was good. More than good. Why was she even attending the course?
The teacher clapped her hands, immediately followed by other students.
Bo didn't realize that she was staring at Lauren with wide eyes and mouth hanging open until a not so gentle voice called her back from heaven.
"What are you staring at?" Tamsin said, suddenly serious.
"Oh, nothing...it's just...do you know that girl?" she asked nonchalantly, knowing excatly the answer.
"The teacher? I wish I would know her better..." the blonde grinned.
But her smile faded as soon as she turned to Bo again.
"You're not planning to ask her out, aren't you? She's my catch, and if you think..."
"No! I don't want to ask her out! I was talking about that...Lauren."
Bo remained unpleasantly surprised when Tamsin's look didn't change at all. In fact, it got even worse.
"Why would you go out with her?"
She was serious, and her clenched fists weren't reassuring at all. She had a slightly threatening look typical for some killers Bo had the chance to see in the movies that Kenzi used to rent on Friday nights.
"Well...I...why not? I mean, is she your friend?"
"Worse."
"Sister?"
"Worse."
Bo raised an eyebrow, uncertain about what to say next.
"Ex-girlfriend?"
Tamsin shook her head and mouthed her the same word like before, with the most dangerous ice-cold eyes that Bo had ever seen.
"Worse. I'm her best friend. And you better go home and take a cold shower. That woman is off-limits..."
"Tamsin!" Ms Foschi called loudly, slightly bored. "Can you please come here to sit in the front?"
Tamsin crossed her arms and smiled. "Nope, Miss. But you could come here to sit in the back."
Bo watched as Ms Foschi tried her best to hide a smile. The teacher shook her head and turned her attention to Bo, who was caught off guard by her request.
"Bo, can you come and sit over here? I have the impression that Tamsin might distract you."
The Italian woman pointed to an empty desk in the front corner of the class, and before Bo could say anything, Ms Foschi dragged it near the one where Lauren was sitting.
'Hell yeah', Bo thought.
But just when she was about to take her things with her -the stupid copybook and the pen- Tamsin's whisper reached her ear.
"If you'll try to do all Casanova with her, I will smash your pretty face against a wall. You have been warned, Bo."
The brunette gulped and slowly made her way to the desk, just to find out that the shitty grinning Dyson guy would sit right behind her.
"Nice..." she murmured as she sank onto the chair.
Now, the blonde's good smell was really distracting. It was something sweet and sad at the same time. Like the last glimpse of summer.
That scent was delicate, and yet it pervaded Bo's senses forcefully, leaving a strong desire inside of her to hug that girl and stay in that pose forever.
Bo was so lost in thoughts -again- that she didn't pay much attention to the blonde, who was now looking at her with slight curiosity.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked quietly as Ms Foschi was busy answering some technical questions.
The brunette gulped and shook her head. 'Well done, Bo. A good way to start.'
"So-sorry. I was thinking about something. Anyway I'm Bo."
She offered her hand, and Lauren shook it while smiling politely.
"Nice to meet you, Bo. I'm Lauren."
Before Bo could say anything else, Lauren buried her head in the copybook yet again.
There was no way that the blonde was turning her down just like that, Bo thought.
"So..." Bo said, making circles with her finger a few inches away of Lauren's forearm. "That was a very nice...thing you said in Italian."
Lauren stopped her maniacal scribble for a second and mocked.
"Thing? You would call one of the most beautiful Italian poems a 'thing'?"
She shook her head and kept on taking notes, ignoring Bo who was staring at her, both stunned and pissed.
"Well, 'excuseee me princess' if I can't boast knowledge about a culture I used to ignore for larger part part of my life."
It was Bo's turn to snort, as she turned to the other side and tried with all her might to force her pen to write. Of all the goddamn pens she could have taken, she chose the only one that wouldn't work.
Oh, cool, this was just great. The brunette took a mental note to bring more pens with her for the next time as she shook the one she was holding in her hand angrily.
"Did you just mentioned a Link quote from 'The Legend of Zelda?" she heard Lauren ask.
Bo was too focused on killing that damn pen than to look at her.
"Yeah, why."
After a moment of quietness, the blonde silently handed a pen to Bo.
"It's my favorite video game." Lauren murmured absently, observing the blackboard.
"Oh yeah?" Bo smiled brightly, "What other video games do you usually..."
Lauren waved her hand, stopping Bo in her track.
"Shhh, the lesson is starting!"
Bo, with wounded pride, took the pen and turned her attention to Ms Foschi, who was now writing a few words on the slate.
"Since this is our first day together, I'd like to spend this lesson to introduce to you the Italian language. This is a rather light lecture for tonight. But the hard stuff will come soon, don't worry!" she joked as the chock in her hand kept forming words on the black surface.
Many people laughed at the statement, including Bo, who took advance of the regular short interruptions to glance at Lauren.
The woman was struggling with her hair since every time she bent her head to write, a few golden locks used to fall into her face, tickling her nose.
Bo smiled and almost asked her if she needed help, when a little paper ball hit her back, making her turn in the direction of the blond man sitting behind her.
"You know, Italian won't be the only hard thing in this room if you keep wearing those tight pants..." Dyson grinned, licking his lips.
Bo raised an eyebrow.
"Well, thank you for the information. Now, if you don't mind..."
The sound of a desk moving closer caught her attention again.
"Why don't we go out after the lesson? I could be your personal tutor...How do Italians say? Maeso?"
Somebody snorted with laughter. Bo turned to where the sound had come from and could see Lauren grinning and shaking her head, never taking her eyes off of the blackboard.
Dyson must have heard her as well, because his smile died on his face, leaving only an arrogant look.
"What are you laughing at, weirdo?"
"Nothing. But since we are talking: it's maestro. Not maeso. One more reason to pay attention and not harassing a woman."
Lauren didn't wait for any answer of the man, who slowly retired to his original position. Bo suppressed a laugh.
"You surely know how to put someone in his place." the brunette observed.
"Can I show you my gratitude by offering you a beer?"
Lauren kept writing on her copybook. "You should pay attention to the teacher too, Bo."
"Is that a yes?"
Lauren laughed. "It's clearly a no."
Bo opened her mouth and gave her an offended look. "Well? You know what? Forget it. Now I don't want to invite you out anymore."
The blonde licked her lips as she looked attentively to the words written in Italian in front of her.
"Still not paying attention..."
Bo grunted and flipped a random page of her copybook open.
"You're mean."
Lauren smiled subtly, but said nothing. The lesson was much more entertaining.
…
An hour and half later Bo escaped from that madness. Ten month of that? Seriously?
Between that idiot, Dyson, the bothersome desk mate Lauren and her best friend Tamsin -who, by the way, seemed to come right out of prison- Bo didn't know how she would learn any Italian.
What about the first lesson? If that was easy, the teacher must have really weird standards. Why would Italians need that many greetings? Her first page -the only page she had actually managed to write- was full of words. Without meaning to her.
And that stupid Lauren? She wrote something like five pages? Five pages of what!? Every time Bo got closer to her during the lesson the blonde used to cover her copybook with her hand.
What a child! What a stupid, childish-
"Fifty shades of Bo! You're home, finally!" Kenzi squealed, making the brunette jump on the spot.
"Kenz, you scared the shit out of me!"
The young girl took off her aviator glasses and hugged her.
"I made you some pizza."
Bo raised an eyebrow as she took off her jacket. "You 'made'?"
"All right, all right! I bought it. Big difference...speaking of Mexican food...How was your course?"
Bo sat on the couch and took a bite of pizza. "Pizza's not mex- aaah, I don't have time for jokes. Horrible. Simply horrible."
The brunette leaned forward to take her copybook and handed it to her best friend.
"Full of strange, difficult words..."
Kenzi gave her a skeptical look and raised the open copybook.
"These words? Difficult? Bo these are greetings. 'Ciao, Buongiorno, Arrivederci, Addio'."
A grunt escaped from the other woman, who took a sip of beer and threw a boot on the other side of the room.
"I know! I...I don't know. That course is full of weird people. I got distracted a lot."
Kenzi raised her hands and stood up.
"Hold on. Distracted in a good way?"
Bo seemed to think about that.
"I don't know...I would say...no?"
"What kind of mean person answers to a question with another question?"
Kenzi stated. "Come on, BoBo! What happened? You fell for an Italian plumber?"
"Not exactly..." Bo murmured, taking another slice of pizza.
"Is he hairy? Because we can fix that."
The brunette laughed and motioned for Kenzi to sit.
"I'm not falling for anyone. I had a...weird encounter. And she's not hairy at all."
"She?"
Another long sip of beer. "Yep."
Kenzi nodded and fixed her look on the television. With the mouth full of pizza she managed to say: "I've heard that Italian women have mustaches."
Bo scoffed.
"That is so not true! Plus, she's not Italian. She's one of my classmates. And you know what? Forget it. She's a stubborn brat, always focused on her stupid copybook, with her shitty manners and her shitty fancy pens..."
Bo sighed. Why was she even thinking of her now?
"BoBo?"
"Yes, Kenz..."
"You're totally falling for her."