Turns out, it's just another 15-minute walk from the apartment to the school.

The streets are even more beautiful in the very early morning.

"Have you prepared yourself?" Giulia asked me. She still sounded excited, but also a little concerned.

And I answered honestly.

"Well... I hope I am."

I have to admit, with every new step, my heart did beat just that little bit faster. I might have been slightly nervous.

And Giulia may or may not have noticed that.

But soon enough, we took a turn around the corner...

And there I was.

A huge building, with lots of kids my age running around and talking and whatnot.

I was amazed. So many people to meet, so many adventures to go on with them...

So much homework...

That's something to worry about later.

As I entered the school, I was surrounded by a bunch of some more kids going around, someone probably working on some school project, someone else talking to an adult - probably one of the teachers - and so on.

"This way," Giulia said, as she pointed to my right.

The classroom must be that way.

A little further down the hallway, I heard someone's voice say:

"Giulia! I was worried I wouldn't see you today."

One teacher appeared in front of the two of us.

"Hi, Mrs. Bonucci," Giulia very quickly spoke back. "Yeah, I'm still doing the best I can," she reassured her.

Mrs. Bonucci is one of the few teachers Giulia told me about. She teaches chemistry, and she's the, uh, "main" teacher for Giulia's class, or something like that. Basically, if I have any real questions about school, it's her I should consult.

"And you must be Luca," Mrs. Bonucci then spoke to me. "It's very nice to meet you."

We shook hands.

It was the next moment, after I met my teacher, that would be the really difficult one.

Mrs. Bonucci, Giulia, and I got into the classroom almost exactly as the bell rang. We made it just in time.

All the other students, who were already in the classroom, rose.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bonucci," they all shouted at once.

"Good morning to you as well, children," the teacher said to them.

Giulia and I saw the only two remaining empty seats, so we took those.

Mrs. Bonucci continued:

"We will talk about how your summer was in just a minute, but first, there is a new student in your class."

At this exact moment, she ooked at me.

"Luca, would you please introduce yourself?"

Alright, Luca... this is it. No big deal... just introduce yourself... no pressure.

"Well, um... hi. My name is Luca Paguro..."

Mrs. Bonucci gestured to the students to respond with: "Hi, Luca!"

"I'm from Portorosso... I'm really good at cycling..."

Giulia got a "Really?" look on her face.

"And that's pretty much it."

Yes. That is all that they need to know about me.

For now.

"Thank you, Luca," Mrs. Bonucci said. "Now, let's get on with our work..."

That went well. For the rest of the day, maybe it's best I just remain at my seat and be silent.

School is more boring than I thought it would be.

Almost everything that we "learned" today, I already forgot.

Someone told me I would have to revisit it all at home. Yeah, obviously I will!

Not to mention that I almost fell asleep on the physics class.

Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little. But you get the point!

So... is this what every day of school will be like?

...

I'll handle it.

I was getting ready to get back to the apartment with Giulia. I had put all my books back in the backpack, and I was ready to go.

But just as I opened the school entrance door, a few boys from the class came up to me.

One of them, Giorgio, asked me a question:

"Hey, Luca, you said you were from Portorosso?"

"Uh, yes."

The boys muttered something among themselves for a moment.

Giulia and I exchanged worried looks on their faces. Is this what I think it is?

"Is it true that people think there are some kind of sea monsters in Portorosso?"

It is.

I was certain that I would spill the beans even if I were to answer just "Yes" and nothing else.

"What kind of question is that?" was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

"That's a yes," Giorgio told his friends.

I sighed in defeat.

"And have you ever seen one in person?" was his other question to me.

And he got me straight into a corner. Does he know? Has Giulia told them?

From the look on her face, I don't think so.

I had to lie.

"Yes."

...

That wasn't a lie.

"We're gonna be home late," Giulia suddenly interrupted us and grabbed my hand. We walked out fast.

We were both silent for the entire walk to the apartment.

Eventually:

"Well, how was school?" Mrs. Marcovaldo asked me as I was unpacking the books to my work desk.

In complete honesty, I answered:

"It was so boring."

"I completely understand you," she nodded. "Let me tell you; the sooner you get used to it, the better."

That wasn't as uplifting as she probably thought it would be.

I laid on my bed. The first thought I had were the questions Giorgio asked me.

Why would he be so interested in that? Has he been seeing some of the news about it? I guess he has.

But it seems to me he's gone no further than just seeing the news about it.

I hope it won't be every single day he asks such questions.

I overheard Giulia and her mom talking about something. I actually couldn't figure out a single word either of them said - the door was closed - but it sounded very comforting.

I suppose Giulia hasn't told Mrs. Marcovaldo about the awkward moment today.

The next moment, I heard knocking on my door.

"Hey, Luca," it was Mrs. Marcovaldo. "Will you join Giulia and me? For the game show on TV; we watch it every evening."

Yes, that might be a good way to get my mind off things. For a while, at least.

It was a fun show. I didn't know most of the answers, but it was still a good time.

See, this is a better motivation to try to learn stuff than school is.

I think I'll stick to that game show.

"Well, that was really fun, wasn't it?" Mrs. Marcovaldo spoke to us, as we ate dinner right after the show.

"Yes, that was awesome!" I exclaimed honestly.

"Although, that one question about boats or something was really tough," Giulia had to admit.

"Oh yeah, that was weird," I agreed with her. I know which question she meant.

The rest of the evening went peacefully. Sea waves could be heard from outside the window. That is a beautiful sound.

"Well, tomorrow it's all over again, huh?" Giulia pointed out. Which reminded Mrs. Marcovaldo:

"Did you do your homework, Luca?"

And I stopped eating. With my fork in mid-air.

Of course that's what I forgot to do.