Beyond The Coral (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 9- Luca's Crisis

It was quite unusual for Giulia to be up so early. The clock upstairs read 8:00 AM as she buckled her belt and shoved on her shoes, running over to Luca and Alberto's room at the end of the hall. After listening to all of the speeches the previous night, the group had gone home and all seemed to fall into slumber almost instantly. Everyone except Giulia. She could not fall asleep, and as a result, she had only gotten a few hours of sleep that night. But there was a reason for her anxiousness, and she couldn't stop thinking about it as she quietly opened the door to Luca and Alberto's room.

Class registration! Woohoo!

Giulia had gone through the process many times before. Luca had once as well. And Alberto had no idea what to expect. If Giulia was being honest, she was most excited about Alberto experiencing it for the first time. Class registration would involve going to see the school for the first time and getting to look through the endless list of classes. And after all that, Giulia would get to hang out with her two best friends all day, every day, for the rest of the school year. She couldn't be more excited. The previous school year with Luca was nice— there was no doubt about that. But it always felt slightly empty without Alberto. The underdogs were not complete without all of their members. Now it would be complete once again.

Giulia thought about peacefully waking the two boys up. They were fast asleep in the bed they still shared, packed together under a blanket that covered everything but their faces. Luca's hair was a wavy mess of brown, while Alberto seemed (somehow) less messy. Maria said she would get them another bed at some point, but Giulia had a feeling they didn't care. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if they liked sharing a bed.

Bunch of lovebirds, that's what they are, Giulia thought.

But I love them for that.

Ultimately, Giulia decided to go with the classic wake-up call that she always used to use back in Portorosso. She turned on the radio and turned the knob up to the loudest volume as it played an iconic trumpet fanfare that could wake up anyone. It was normally only used in the military, but Giulia always liked its effectiveness, especially since she was a hard sleeper. She sang along to the tune slightly off-key as Luca and Alberto shot up and rubbed their eyes.

"Come on, sleepy-heads! You know what day it is!"

"Giiiuliaaa, registration isn't until 10:30," Luca groaned.

"Wait, what now?" Alberto croaked, still half-asleep.

"Class registration, Alberto. Today. Now get up! Come on! We gotta get ready!" Giulia responded. She walked out as quickly as she had entered, leaving Luca and Alberto alone.

"Luca, what was she talking about exactly?" Alberto asked.

"We'll be going to school to choose our classes, Berto. That's all."

Alberto nodded hesitantly.

Luca looked at him admirably, "Are you a little nervous?"

"...Maybe..."

Luca scooted in closer, "I was too. Trust me. Giulia had to practically drag me outside."

"And then what happened?"

"Then I accidentally crossed the street and almost got hit by a car," Luca admitted. "It's a... long story."

Alberto laughed, especially since Luca was usually so careful.

"Anyway, school might seem a bit... weird... but it's gonna be so much easier after you get used to everything," Luca continued. "And me and Giulia will be with you every step of the way."

Alberto smiled, "Thanks Luca."

Leaning in, he planted a small kiss on Luca's forehead, accidentally catching a lock of Luca's hair in his mouth. He spat it out instantly and fell down on the bed.