[Luca fanfiction] Love in Portorosso

Chapter 12

Alberto sat there in his hideout, looking out the window. In the distance, he could see Portorosso. He knew the race was happening right now. The race that he was supposed to take part in along with Luca and Giulia. Yet, here he was. Sitting in his hideout. Alone. His eyes drifted to the sky above, and he noticed the dark clouds rolling in. A storm. With a storm came rain, Alberto groaned. But then he began to think of what Eimi told him the other night. She said, 'I love you' and that made him realized that Eimi is in love with him, a sea monster who wasn't so ugly.

"He's gotta be here somewhere," Daniela said, scanning the competitors.

Shea and Lorenzo are handing out cups of water. It wasn't easy because they are moving so fast. And frankly, they were still getting used to the sensation of moving around in the air.

"Thirsty? Water, anyone?" Lorenzo said, trying to do his job.

But the kids recognized them as the adults who had been ambushing and splashing them for days. They dodged the water cups shouting and yelling.

"Please, don't!"

"Not again!"

At last, Daniela spotted a kid at the end of the racers.

"That's him. That's him!" she cried, her voice rising. "Luca, stop!"

The couple lunged for him, but Luca screamed and swerved away from his parents. "Sorry, Mom! Sorry, Dad! I have to do this!" he called out as he pedaled on.

They ran after him, but Luca was much too fast.

"Get back here right now!" Lorenzo yelled.

Daniela was too impressed by her son's amazing bicycling abilities to yell. "Wow. He's fast."

Luca was tearing up the streets, making up the ground he lost from the swimming and eating portions of the competition. He passed one racer, and then another, and another.

There came a rumbling sound in the distance a dark cloud rolling in.. Luca allowed his eyes to drift upward for just a second. It looks like it was gonna rain. He hoped the race would end before anything happened. Then he trained his eyes forward and he saw Giulia, riding up in front of the pack. He could have sworn that he saw her cover her mouth like she was trying to prevent herself from getting sick.

That was when Ercole passed her. Adding insult to injury, he slapped the top of her helmet.

"Oops!" He said in a mocking tone. "Scusa."

Giulia growled. "I'll catch you on the....downhill!"

"Spewlia, you never even made it to the downhill," Ercole laughed.

Pleased with his performance and sure of his victory, Ercole slowed down for a moment. He even primped his hair in preparation for the cameras when he crossed the finish line first. So it came as an utter, horrible shock when he saw Luca pass him.

"What? Impossible!" Ercole screamed. "He's cheating! Arbitro! Arbitro!"

Luca said nothing. He just kept pedaling, heading up the hill pumping his legs as hard as he could. For the first time in the entire race, Luca thought that just maybe, he might be able to win. And then a drop of rain fell on his hand.

"Huh? No, no, no!" Luca said as he looked down and saw the scales appear.

The rain began to fall in the piazza, the onlookers took out their umbrellas and opened them up. Lorenzo and Daniela grabbed a cloth and covered themselves. Massimo was there, watching curiously as someone grabbed one of the larger cafe umbrellas. That was certainly unusual. Even more unusual whoever had taken the cafe umbrella was not headed down the street with it. He wondered what was going on. Eimi grabbed her two seat bicycle and pedaled off.