Alessio was far more anxious than Giulia on her first day at kindergarten.

He hasn't been this nervous since his wedding. A pit was forming in his stomach as he dressed up Giulia in a clean, unwrinkled green dress and tied her hair into two little pigtails with minty ribbons. This feeling didn't go away as he worked on the lunch boxes, one for Pietro and one for Giulia. He finished the former's just in time for his son to go catch the school bus, leaving Alessio alone with his daughter.

"Y-You know, Giulia… it's okay if you don't want to go yet. We can wait till next year."

To his dismay, Giulia grabbed his sleeve and tried pulling him to the door. Alessio sighed.

The anxiety intensified as he drove to the kindergarten half an hour later. Arianna and Maria were already there with their respective parents. The former clung to Jawns's leg while Cecilia tried to pull her away. Alessio glanced back at the backseat. Giulia's tail was wagging happily as she spotted her cousin and friend. He sighed again.

"About time, Ale! We were thinking you got the cold feet!" Sven teased him as he and Giulia joined them at the gate.

"I had to see Pietro off at the school bus." Alessio retorted.

Cecilia bent down to greet Giulia. "Hi, dolcezza! Are you excited for your first day?"

His stomach sank when Giulia nodded eagerly.

"See, Ari? Even your cousin is happy!" Cecilia tried and failed—again—to pull Arianna away from Jawns's leg.

"No! I don't wanna!"

"Ceci, how about we wait one more week? It wouldn't hurt…" Jawns went silent as Cecilia threw him a glare. "Never mind."

Amanda, Sven's wife, rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be an adult, Jawns. The girls will be fine. This will be good for them."

At last, two of the teachers came to take the girls to the classroom. Jawns looked like he'd break into tears at any minute as Arianna was finally pulled away and led into the building. She cried all the way inside, reaching out for her father. On the other hand, Maria grabbed the teacher's hand and followed her inside.

The anxiety multiplied tenfold when the remaining teacher came for Giulia. His hold on his daughter's hand tightened. He didn't want to let go even as Giulia tried to slip her hand out of his grip.

"Ale, what are you doing? Just let her go."

At last, his grip on Giulia's hand faltered, and she left with the teacher without looking back. Alessio reached out, but Amanda placed a stern hand on his shoulder.

"Let her go," she said simply.

Alessio swore his eyes would tear up as his bambina disappeared through the door. Jawns lacked the same self-control and soon burst into silent tears while leaning into Cecilia.

Under other circumstances, Alessio would have rolled his eyes.

"Like I told you an hour ago, Mr. Carouso, if something happens you'll be the first to know."

The teacher didn't bother to finish the call cordially. She just hung up. Alessio sighed.

"What did they say!? Is Ari okay?!" Jawns asked.

"The usual reply: 'if something happens, we'll call you'."

Crimson scoffed. "You two are so pathetic."

Try as he might, Alessio couldn't stop thinking about his daughter and whether she was fine. Or if she's getting along with the other children. What if they pick on her? Jawns was on the same page as him, and so they began calling the kindergarten every half an hour or so. At least until Crimson had their phones confiscated so they would concentrate on work.

"You two should really stop acting like pups! They'll be fine. They're probably making drawings and eating candy or something like that." Crimson murmured.

Alessio frowned at him. Easy for him to say, he never sent Moxxie to kindergarten. Or to school, for that matter.

With no other choice, Alessio tried focusing on work, but the day still went by slowly. At last, Crimson 'decided' to go to bed early, giving his consigliere and underboss the rest of the night. The two sharks immediately rushed to their cars and followed Sven to his house; Amanda had picked up the girls, and they stayed with her while their fathers worked.

They found Arianna eating cookies with Maria and Amanda while watching TV.

"Daddy!" Arianna was the first to sprint straight into Jawns's arms.

"Hey, princess! I missed you!"

Alessio looked around but didn't find his daughter. "Where's Giulia?"

"She fell asleep a while ago. The poor thing was exhausted." Amanda explained, leading Alessio to the guest room downstairs.

Much like Amanda said, Giulia was curled up in bed, sound asleep. Alessio quietly began checking her over for any bruises or any signs that she might have gotten hurt.

"She went to kindergarten, not a boot camp." Amanda pointed out.

"The other kids might have picked on her. I need to be sure…"

"Even Bianca wasn't this clingy when Pietro went to kindergarten."

Alessio sighed. "I know. I just…" he stroked Giulia's hair. "It's the first time I've been away from her for so long… What if something did happen to her?"

"You can't always be there, Alessio. Giulia's growing up; you must let her do so. Let her learn new things on her own accord."

Another sigh. It pained him having to wake her up, but they better get going.

"Giulia. Wake up, bambina," he whispered, gently shaking his daughter's shoulder. Giulia stirred and tried to go back to sleep, but he insisted until she opened her eyes. Alessio smiled. "It's time to go home, my little dolphin."

On the ride home, Pietro excitedly told them of his first day in 5th grade. Turns out he and Vito were in the same class. And the teacher didn't leave them homework this time around, much to their relief. Amanda had made dinner for the children a bit earlier, so all that was left to do was a shower before bedtime. Alessio helped Giulia with her bath first and then took her to her room to put on her pajamas while Pietro used the bathroom.

"How was your first day, Giulia? Did you have fun?" he inquired. Giulia nodded happily. "That's good. Did you make any friends?"

Giulia went to her backpack and took out a paper sheet. It was a crude drawing depicting her with Arianna and Maria, alongside a few implings and other young children. Everyone was holding hands except for one who was drawn on the corner with a deep frown.

"Nice. Did you draw it?" Giulia nodded. Alessio ruffled her hair. "How was the teacher?"

This time, Giulia grabbed a pencil from her backpack and scribbled something on a notebook. She was still getting the hang of writing, but Alessio did manage to read what she wrote.

Mrs Blum wuas nise. Shi told the clas mai name and helped me drau.

"Is that so? She does sound like a nice teacher," Alessio picked Giulia up as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Alright, time to go to sleep, bambina."

Alessio tucked his daughter into bed alongside Mr. Flippers and kissed her head, wishing her good night. As he turned off the lights, he remembered to pick up the drawing on the way out of the room.

It deserved a good spot in the fridge.