[Luca fanfiction] Love in Portorosso

Chapter 7

All though dinner, Eimi had been quiet. Alberto was thoroughly disappointed that he had to eat dinner with a fork. He was in no danger of earning the title Fork Master, which wasn't even a real title, but was getting better. After dinner, Luca and Alberto returned to Giulia's hideout in the tree.

"Uh... Alberto?" he murmured nervously.  "I think I might've seen my parents."

"No way," Alberto declined. "I told you, they're not coming here."

"But what if they did? They're gonna send me to the deep."

Alberto shook his head. "Listen, relax. It's never gonna happen."

Giulia then appeared. "All right, boys. Pretty good today, but let's talk technique."

In the yard below, Massimo looked up at their hideout. "Hey, ragazzi!" he said. "I need some help with the nets." He pointed at Alberto. "You. The big, strong one. Andiamo."

Alberto didn't want to leave, but realized he had to.

"I'll be right back," he said. He then jumped off the platform and down the tree. He followed Massimo out of the yard. Giulia could see something off with Luca. Eimi climbed up.

"Hey, we're gonna win. And you'll get your Vespa," Giulia said.

"Why do you want a Vespa, again?" Eimi asked.

"Oh," Luca said, pondering the question. "Because it'll be amazing. Every day, me and Alberto are gonna ride someplace new. And every night, we'll sleep under the fish."

He pointed up at the sky.

Giulia arched an eyebrow.  "The fish?" she said, playing along. "Heh. Good."

"That's a funny joke," Eimi snickered.

"How about you? What'll you do when you win?" Luca asked.

Giulia smiled. "Ah! I'll get up in front of everyone and say, "Told you I'd win!" "

"Yeah," Luca cheered, then look confused. "And then what?"

"Well, that's it," Giulia said. "Look, during school, I live with my mamma in Genova. And every summer, I come here, and everyone thinks I'm just some weird kid who doesn't belong."

"I think I know how you feel," Luca said.

Giulia was relieved to finally have someone to talk to. "Right? That's why we gotta win. The town will cheer our names. Ercole's life will be ruined! Sorry. Too much? My mom says sometimes I'm too much."

"No way," Luca said. "Not for me."

Giulia laughed as they looked up at the stars together. "You know those aren't fish, right?"

"Of course they are," Luca insisted. "Alberto told me all about it."

"That's dumb!" Eimi laughed.

"Come with us," Giulia said.

They left the hideout and a few minutes later, Giulia had them climbing up onto a rooftop. Then she and Luca began to walk along the rooftops of Portorosso. Eimi begin to follow after them. She jumped forcefully from one to the other. Luca, afraid at first, followed, surprising himself.

Coming to her neighbor's house. Giulia and Eimi eventually took Luca to a rooftop that had a little platform. And on that platform was a long metal tube on three legs.

"This is a telescope," Giulia explained. "Old man Bernard lets me use it. It makes faraway things seem close. Look."

She directed Luca to the telescope. He bent and peered through the opening. Inside, he saw a cluster of brilliant lights in the sky, none of which resemble red fish in the slightest.

"See any fish?" she asked.

"Then what are all those?" Luca asked.

"Stars," Giulia said. "Like the sun. Giant, raging balls of fire!"

"It's way up in space somewhere," Eimi explained.

Luca thought for a moment. "So, Alberto was wrong."

"Of course. Sometimes, the stars look like dancing fish." Eimi was right. Sometimes stars are like moving fish in the ocean.

"And stars are circled by planets," Giulia continued.

Luca was beyond excited. He stared up at the sky trying to take it all in. Then Giulia handed him a book called L'Universo. It was filled with brilliant pictures of the stars and planets. Turning back to the telescope, Giulia searched for something in the sky,

"Look," She said, showing Luca. "That's Saturno. It's my favorite. It's the lightest of the planets."

The planet appeared to have rings around it. Eimi smiled about what it was like beyond the stairs. "They say if there was an ocean big enough to hold it, it would float in it! Come on, Luca!"

Eimi giggled as she and her friends left.

Later that night, Luca sat down in Giulia's bedroom, looking over her schoolbooks. He couldn't believe all of the amazing facts they contained.

"So, this is how machines fly?" Luca asked.

"Sì."

"And there are big towns called cities, even bigger than Portorosso?"

"Like Genova! Literally twenty times bigger," Giulia said.

"And we're all on a big round rock, floating around a star in the "solar system"?" Luca asked paging through one of the books.

"So cool, right?" Giulia said.

"And is there anything beyond the solar system?"

"Only a galaxy full of solar systems."

"Then what?"

"A universe full of galaxies!"

Luca laughed excitedly. "HAHAHA! And then what?"

"And then... " Giulia said. "I don't know. But next year in Advanced Astronomy, I'm gonna use my school's telescope. So, maybe I'll find out. That thing's huge. I wish I could show it to you."

Luca grinned and stood up. "Just promise you'll tell me everything you see!" he said, and in his excitement, he sounded like Giulia.  "Sorry. Too much?"

"Never," Giulia said, and she meant it.

"Usually, I loved living in Portorosso because of the sea," Eimi explained. "I used to see it every day. One time when I sat upon a rock staring into the open sea, I sing. It's my special thing I always like."

"Whoa. No wonder you love the ocean," Luca said.

"Hey, Luca," Alberto said, standing outside the window. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Oh, sorry," Luca said, and he noticed that Alberto was glaring at him.

"Just come on. Let's go," Alberto said tersely.

Staring at the book in Eimi's hands, Luca turned to GIulia. "Could I maybe borrow this? Just for tonight."

Giulia took the book from Luca's hands and picked up a pen. She scribbled something on the first page and handed it back to him. Starting at the page, Luca saw that she had written something.

"You can have it," Giulia said. "Ha-ha! The universe is literally yours!"

"Wow," Luca said, amazed. "Thank you!"

Alberto popped up once more and said, "Luca!"

"Okay," Luca said, not wanting to leave. Eimi and Luca went out of the window and joined Alberto.