MOZAIK

15

The ringing of my alarm pulled me out of my restless sleep.

Dazed, I gathered my things and stomped down to the bus. Damn, my watch already showed 2 minutes past our agreed time. I entered the bus and, to my surprise, wasn't reprimanded by an irritable Kris.

Yes, the bus was still quite empty. There was a vacant seat next to Jan and another next to Ethan. However, it seemed Vic had now taken a seat next to Damiano. But, I didn't really feel like sitting next to her as I usually would anyways.

"Where are Kris and Bojan?" I asked, surprised, turning my gaze to Jan, who had shared a room with Bojan. And after all, Kris was never one to be late.

"Bojan wasn't feeling well this morning and wanted to rest for a bit longer. But if he doesn't show up soon, I'll check on him again.", Jan explained.

At that moment, the two of them entered the bus. Bojan looked extremely pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and he had wrapped a thick scarf around his neck. Kris appeared even more pallid, with his hair hanging stringy from his head.

"Oh wow, you two really don't look good.", I blurted out. "Thanks a lot.", Bojan shot me a wry smile, which turned into a fit of coughing. "Yikes." I grimaced, that was definitely not good.

"Let's just say Bojan and I are a bit under the weather.", Kris said in a hoarse voice as he settled next to Bojan in the back row of the bus.

"Only because you wouldn't give me your jacket in Barcelona, Janči.", Bojan teased his friend.

True, even though it felt like the night in Barcelona was ages ago, only one week had passed. So, it wasn't that unlikely that they caught a chill during our late-night swim.

"Hey Bojan, you better keep your mouth shut so you don't spread your germs all over the bus.", Jan retorted.

I was still standing in the aisle and decided to take the open seat next to Jan since I was practically right next to him.

I could feel Vic's glare boring into my back, but we had different problems now than our silly little feud. If Kris and Bojan were indeed sick, we needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

The journey to Copenhagen surely took around 10 hours with all the stops we made, yet time flew by. Jan shared so many funny stories and anecdotes from their last tour that I couldn't stop laughing. He was so cool and laid-back; it was a shame I only fully noticed it now.

"You absolutely have to come to Ljubljana, and I'll make you Žlikrofi. It will be the best thing you've ever eaten.", he insisted. "Oh well.", I laughed. "Nothing beats Italian pasta, my dear.", I added. "Your dumplings can't compete with that. We have everything.", I said, listing various types of Italian pasta: "Fettuccine, Rigatoni, Farfalle, Orecchiette, or if they are to be filled, Tortellini, Ravioli, Agnolotti or Mezzelune."

"The Italian nation only defines itself through its cuisine.", Jan laughed.

"Well, at least we have something that earns us international recognition.", I grinned cheekily.

"What about Slovenia?" I raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Slovenia has Joker Out to receive international attention. That's more than enough.", he laughed in an ironic tone with just a little bit of pride in the undertone.

The first thing I saw were the colorful fisherman's houses. It had been far too long since I was last in my mother's hometown. I couldn't wait to finally get off the bus and let the cold, salty sea breeze touch my nose.