Perfect Disaster-Charles Leclerc

four

APRIL POV

"Niccolo what the fuck are you babbling about?"

I had never been this angry, never looked at him with these eyes, immediately fell in love with him like a fool: the little girl good at basketball and school, but without a big future to contend with

"I have the finals of the A playoffs, of your women's final of a minor category, it doesn't matter the same, get it through your head!"

Shouting those words from the other side of the couch, I push back the tears in the eyes of someone who has finally realized who she has been engaged to for the past year.

" you're right, in fact we don't matter either, we're mediocre and"

I take a pause, a breath, I don't look away, I carry all the disgust in the words I'm about to spit out like a river in flood, take a few steps toward him before finishing my of speech

" I can't stand mediocrity. It's not worth it. Now, excuse me, but I have a career to pursue."

I take my bag, take the keys from his apartment out of mine and leave them in his hand, take my bag and walk out of that mediocre apartment that I nevertheless loved so much....

"Tell me you're still in downtown Bologna,"

I whisper into the phone to my friend, as tears begin to fall without stopping, my breathing is short, I can't regulate it "tell me where you are now".

It seems like hours since the phone stopped transmitting my best friend's voice on the other end, and it seems like days since, finally, she appears before me. She takes one of my hands, brings it to her chest

"breathe, you can do it April, do it with me"

she also takes the other one and puts it on my chest

"good, slowly, you see"

she continues to soothe me, she has realized it too what happened, this has been going on for days

" I had really fallen in love, this time"

I manage to sob between breaths, between tears that now however weighed less

"oh, baby, I know. I know"

she wipes away my tears and holds me close as the floor of one of Bologna's many porticoes, begins to seem more comfortable than life's misfortune and the sound of my phone's ringtone begins to play like a noteworthy soundtrack

"what is it? She is not available at the moment,"

she replies for me, but I know exactly who he is from her tone and I make myself even smaller next to her chest, my strong point, my staple.

He keeps stroking my head to reassure me

" look, Niccolo, I think I've heard enough in the last few days. Your life is the priority, but history is made by those who make a difference on the court and off, you know? She will be at the palace if she wants, but not next to you. Now if you'll excuse me"

I move for the first time and look at her

" I'm fine, l'lI be fine"

she looks at me with her wary air, her usual air when I say those words

" you cunt, you have to be fine, we have finals to win and excuse me, but I'lI make you fine."

I look at her lifting myself up off the floor with enough agility that she exclaims one of her lines

"like new, jog?"

Bursting out laughing, as I said: she is the solution, along with basketball and running.