Author's Note:
Did you guys enjoy the start of the Culture Festival? As you might have read, the festival itself is a grand event at Venice High. Uh, take note, this is just my version of the school, I really have no idea how it works in Venice. Still, I expect them to take pride in their Art, nonetheless.
Chapter 17: My Famiglia Joins In!
There was a few minutes of silence before I came bursting from the waters of the two storey deep tank. "Ack! Cough!" I gave out, gasping for air as I kicked the waters restlessly. It wasn't because I couldn't swim, it's just it really caught me by surprise! And the water was cold, really cold! As I climbed back to my seat above, shivering and trying hard to warm myself, I could see a couple of girls, probably from another class, laughing at what happened. Johann was nowhere to be seen.
"Lord Amato! Are you all right?" I hear a familiar voice call out my name after I closed my eyes because of the cold. "... Kiera?" I muttered out, my voice still a bit shaky, my body shivering. I opened my eyes to the sight of Kiera together with a few of my Famiglia. Sera was with her with Vito trailing behind. Don't tell me she had members patrolling around the festival. "Wha-what are you guys doing here?" I nearly screamed out from my seat, surprised as I was. So surprised, that I didn't notice Vito smiling, making his way towards the students tending my stall.
"We are not banned from enjoying the festival, just as everyone else, right?" Kiera calmly explained herself, eyes closed as she did. "Well.. Uh.. I suppose you're right.." I gave her my consent after thinking it through. I don't see her shield, could they really be here to enjoy the festival? Still, Kiera always seems to pull that chunk of metal out of nowhere.
"Amato! Are you sure you're well enough to be a target for a dunk tank?" Sera asks out, looking really worried. "Nah, he'll be fine, more importantly, goodbye, boss!" Vito suddenly interrupted us before I could give a reply, with a sly grin on his face, twisting a ball in his hand like it was a balloon.
It's just that it wasn't just a ball, it was one of those Shots you use in Shot Put, metal and all! In an instant, he tosses the shot with one hand, with what seems like little to no effort at all. But, it flew at lightning speed, and one could hear the impact anywhere from the festival.
Once again, immediately after, I find myself falling through the mechanisms, grinding through pipes, falling against ridges, as well as spinning my way through twirls, before falling head first into the tank of water again.
Soon, I find myself sitting back at my seat after climbing up a second time. Twice the dunks had hit me hard, my body shivering uncontrollably because of the cold. Annoyance painted on my face. "Vito..." I dragged on, my voice, my words, now stuttering. Sure enough, he was already gone. "We'll be going around, looking at the showcases, we're particularly interested the bands this year." Kiera informed me, turning her head to see where the bands are located, Sera smiling and nodding to her words. "We'll be back later, goodbye, Lord Amato." Kiera gave out with a wave of her hand as she disappeared into the sea of people. "Bye, Amato!" Sera gave out in her usual soft tone excitedly as she followed Kiera's footsteps.
As I watched them chat and smile, a smile slowly appeared on my face. I guess it's okay, if anything, I should be encouraging them to do things like this more often. They are about the same age as me, mafia or not. Surely they enjoy some sort of leisure, every once in a while. These thoughts come and go as I sat on waiting for the day to end, staring at the afternoon sky.
...
...
"Slap!"
"O-ow!" I yelled out from my seat, shocked from the sudden jolt of pain. Well, it wasn't that painful, it was still surprising, nonetheless. "Seriously, you're the only guy I know who would let himself fall asleep even when he's the target for a dunk tank!" The voice called out, and as I hear it, I instantly knew who it was. I don't think anyone in our class would not be able to. I opened my eyes to have the President of our class standing beside my seat, holding on to the ladder up to my spot atop the tank. "Prez, you could've just called to wake me, you know!" I whined. Seriously, she always takes the more violent approach. "Why'd ya have to hit me?" I asked out, rubbing the left side of my face, now stinging with a slight pain. "Uh.. It's not like I wanted to touch you on purpose, you know!" She responded, looking away and climbing down the ladder.
"C'mon, get down, your job's done." She announced as her tone simmered. But, what did she mean? Asking for the time, I found out that it was only one o'clock. The festival doesn't end till four.
"Look.. I'm sorry.. for putting you up to this.. I didn't know you were out of school for three weeks because of injuries..." The Prez meekly gave out, averting her eyes with each word. I wanted to rub my eyes to see if this was really happening, but I couldn't bear to lose sight of this! The Prez, known to the school as the 'Roaring Tigress', is apologizing to me! "We can't stop your participation, but you'll be able to stop early for this three days..." She continued, looking genuinely sorry.
"It's okay." I gave out as I patted her head. "I'm glad you're taking such good care of me." I informed her with a smile. The Prez was so surprised at my action that she blushed furiously and even took a step back. I'm surprised she didn't punch me right there. "I'm.. I'm just looking out for my classmates! It's my duty as Class President!" She gave out stammering as she turn around and begin walking, returning to her duties.
Well that was... interesting. I couldn't recall when was the last time the Prez actually showed emotions like that. As I scanned around, I could see that the festival was still as crowded as before, chatter and laughter everywhere. Good, everybody seems to be enjoying themselves. That was when a growl, loud and obnoxious as it is, erupted from my stomach. "Ugh... I haven't had lunch yet..." I called out as I grimaced, rubbing my tummy. Suddenly, my nose was assaulted by a wonderous smell.
A few minutes later, I find myself sitting on a bench near the dunk tank. In my hands was a treasure that glowed under the sunlight. It's creamy texture looked scrumptious, only rivaled by the scents it gave off. The smell of garlic, onion, cheese, beef and peas filled the air, dancing around me and arousing my hunger. The crisp, golden rice, crackles as I held it close, even when it had been removed from the heat. Even now, I can feel my taste buds gearing up to chomp down on it. "Risotto!" I cried out like a kid as I grabbed my fork. "Time to eat!"
"Lord Amato!" I suddenly hear Kiera's voice calling, and halted my lunch.
As I saw Kiera walking towards me with Sera and Vito behind her, I stood up from the bench with the Risotto bowl still in my left palm. "Hey! Over here!" I called out, my footsteps now moving towards them. That was a mistake. Suddenly, a shadow loomed before me, knocking into me from my right. In that instant, I watched with horror as my bowl flips from my hand, and fell to the ground. I could only stand with my face in shock at what happened. Standing beside the tall man was a girl in a white suit with orange linings. "Aria?" I called out, before turning and saw that the man was the same man that came for her that night.
A few seconds of silence went by as Kiera and the rest made their way before me, as I stared down on my bowl of untouched Risotto, now splattered on the stonefloor.
"Crunch, crunch, gulp..." The sounds just burst forth from my mouth as I chowed down on my second bowl of Risotto. Kiera, Vito, Sera, Aria and the guy she called Gamma was standing around me. "Calm down, Lord Amato." Kiera called out, looking worried as I gulped down without chewing much. After I was done, I sat back on the bench, puffing out a breath. "Strange, I imagined it to be way more tasty..." I muttered. Looking towards my Famiglia, I see them looking towards Aria and Gamma. "Sorry, Kiera, Vito, Sera, this is-" Just as I was about to introduce Aria to them, Aria interrupted me. "Kiera!" She cried out with a smile, jumping towards her and hugging her.
Then, I saw Vito and Gamma locked in their sights with each other. Suddenly, Vito pulls out a combat dagger out of nowhere, and clashes with Gamma and his baton, which he also pulled out of nowhere. Then, just as quick, they put them away. "Long time no see, Gamma..." Vito say out with a snarky tone. "You too, Vito.." Gamma surpised me with words of his own.
"Wait, you guys know each other?" I called out in my own confusion at what was happening. "We'll explain later, there's only two hours left till the Festival closes, so let's hurry!" Aria gave out with a smile as she pulled me along. In the end, we went as a group to check out some of the stalls my class had set up.
Sera wanted to check out the 'Test of Luck', so we went there first. It was something simple, like drawing lots that had your luck written on it. Sera, Kiera and Aria got 'Best Luck', while Vito and Gamma got 'Average Luck'. Gina said I'm the only one today to ever drew a 'Worst Luck'. I gave out a sigh before tripping on a crack on the floor.
The next stall is the 'Test of Strength', and this time, Kiera was the one going for it. Everyone in the group took a step back as she lifted the wooden mallet. "What are you guys doing?" I ask out as I saw them move. In an instant, Kiera brought the mallet down at inhuman speed, so much that the force pushed the wind and messed up my hair. The stall tenders stood in shock as Kiera took the largest plush toy they had, a turtle in a chef uniform, for herself.
Gamma kept looking, or rather, studying, the 'Test of Wits'. The test was a match of Chess with Sergio, and from what I have heard, no one has beaten him yet. He didn't take the test, though.
Vito always had a very sweet tooth, so often I would find him disappearing and reappearing with desert or confectionery in his hands.
All in all, nothing out of the ordinary happened at the Festival. We spent our time there until the Festival ended, and Kiera invited Aria and Gamma to our mansion for dinner. Nevertheless, I was quite relieved. The thought of an attack from rival famiglias, though small, was always at the back of my mind.
At home, as I walked out of the shower with the towel in my hand, I can hear what I think is Kiera and Aria chatting in the lving room, that is, until I got close. "...There is no doubt, the attack will occur tomorrow." I can hear Aria's tone unlike anything I've heard before, almost like she had a complete personality change. As I got close, I find myself hiding behind a stone pillar. "Very well. Then the patrol will continue tomorrow as well." Kiera responded, her tone calm and dry as Aria's. There is no doubt this is serious, but what's this about an attack? I can see Gamma and Vito leaning against the walls at opposite sides of the room. They seemed to be listening to what Kiera and Aria was discussing.
Then, Aria stood up. "And here's the status report on Luciano Zanna..." That statement shook my senses, and I find my footsteps moving me towards them. Aria has news on my Dad? He's still alive?
"You know where Dad is?" I blurted out as I stormed into their conversation, surprising the four of them that was present. Aria then answered me with a sad look on her face. "Sadly, no. The status is still the same. We still can't find any information on what happened to him.." The answer pushed down the hope that had risen. "Searching the area where he was last seen has yielded no results.." What followed was a moment of silence. I guess no one knew what were the right words to say.
"Lord Amato." Kiera cut through the silence. "I assume you were not given the proper introductions yet." As she went on, I was still sullen with the news I just heard, so I found it hard to listen. "This is Aria, Boss of the Arcobaleno.." I could see worry in her eyes as she say those words. "As well as Boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia."
"Wait.. Giglio Nero.. Black Lily.." I uttered, before my eyes flew wide open with surpise. "Aria, you're Mafia?"
So after much catching up, Aria giving me the details of who she really was, the two of them left. Vito went back to his room, and I was left at the dining table, eating dinner with Kiera standing behind me. As I looked at the seat where Dad used to sit in, I find it difficult to eat, especially after all that. "Kiera, would you sit down in this seat beside me?" I asked out quietly. Upon hearing it, Kiera was surprised at my question. "But, that's your father's seat.." She voiced out hesitantly. "Please?" I asked out meekly once more. Kiera was hesitant still, but soon, she did as I asked and sat beside me. I continued my dinner quietly after that.
I don't know why I asked Kiera to do that. Maybe I just needed someone to sit there beside me. Maybe I just needed family.
All right, the end of the first day of the festival, and the second chapter of the arc itself! What meaning does the last sentence say? I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter. I felt like I had been asking for reviews alot, and I feel like it's starting to sound like a nuisance, so I'll stop. Still, I welcome any reviews you guys are willing to give, if not, I'm just happy you guys read the chapter!