Lost Lombardi

Chapter 21

After Tia finished the paperwork and showed them everything they needed to know, Dino and Helio separated to go to their classrooms. Helio pushed Dino for no reason before they parted. Dino was surprised that Helio did that out of the blue. Helio was bigger and stronger, and Dino realized why he was big. Helio was a rugby player. He looked older than his age because of that.

Dino went to his classroom and saw some students looking at him. Their eyes followed him as he walked in. The room was noisy with chatter. He looked around and found an empty seat. It was next to a boy with messy brown hair. "Is this taken?" Dino asked the boy, pointing to the empty chair.

"No, you can sit there," the pale-skinned boy with messy brown hair said with a welcome smile. His gray eyes looked friendly. "Are you new?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yes," Dino said, nodding. He felt a bit nervous.

When Dino put his bag on the chair, he heard some boys laughing from the back of the classroom. He turned and saw a group of three sitting in the corner.

"Oh, he's going to sit next to Kacper," one of them roared. His voice was mocking.

Dino looked at the laughing boys, feeling confused. Then he turned back to the boy next to him. He realized this must be Kacper. Kacper was now looking down at his desk, his shoulders slumped. His face had turned red, and he seemed very sad. Dino felt sympathetic for him, wondering why the other boys were being mean.

"Hi! I'm Dino," Dino introduced himself to Kacper. Dino wanted to make Kacper feel that he had no intention of ignoring him because of the bullies.

"Hi! I'm... I'm Kacper," he said, still looking down. His voice was quiet and shy.

"Nice to meet you, Kacper," Dino said with a friendly smile. Kacper looked up at Dino. Dino saw Kacper had freckles scattered across his face, like tiny stars.

"Nice to meet you too," Kacper said. A small smile appeared, and he seemed to relax a little.

Dino sat on the chair. Suddenly, the boys who had laughed earlier came over to him. Their footsteps sounded loud in the noisy classroom. Dino felt his heart beating fast, like a drum in his chest. He wasn't ready to get hit on the first day of school. Dino looked up at the boys, trying to stay calm. His hands felt sweaty.

"So, looks like you have a crush on Kacper," a boy with tan skin and dark hair said, staring at Dino. His eyes were narrow, and his voice sounded mean. He had a small scar on his chin and wore a shiny watch on his left wrist.

"I just wanted an empty seat to sit," Dino said. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it came out a bit shaky. He gripped the edge of his desk tightly.

"What's your name?" another boy asked. This one had brown hair and blue eyes. He was taller than the others, with broad shoulders. A silver necklace peeked out from under his collar.

"Dino," Dino said. He looked at each boy, wondering what they would do next. The air felt tense around them. In the background, Kacper sat very still, trying not to be noticed.

"Dino? It's a funny name. Isn't it?" The boy with red curly hair said, laughing. His freckled face wrinkled up as he snickered. The other two boys joined in, their laughter echoing in the classroom. Dino felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.