Heart of spades

Max

Florence, Italy
Every morning, I wake up at 5, run downstairs and eat breakfast only to sprint back into my room and get dressed. I head out at 5:30 and hop on my bike to go to town. It's usually still dark outside when I'm in the fields. Breathing in the fresh air and feeling the breeze brushing trough my hair is a normal thing for me. It's part of my routine. Finally, once I'm in town, I usually stop by the big central monument to watch the tourists. I swear it isn't creepy at all, I just like catching glimpses of conversations to try and decipher what they're saying and all that. I believe it helps with my English as well. I know this town so well I might as well become a guide of sorts. My favourite part of the day is when the morning sun appears and gives a golden glow to every building in sight. That's when I depart and head towards Roma High School. Today's just another day like the others where we students have to spend 8 hours straight staring at a green chalk board. Charming, right? Summer is approaching and school will be over soon anyways.
As I enter my classroom, I can't help but notice its emptiness. There's usually three or four other classmates waiting or blabbering near the teacher's desk. Silently, I brush past a wall, placing my backpack on my chair. My seat is near the windows, so there's a view of our school's little parking-lot. Suddenly, I hear foot steps approaching.
"Sup early bird! You're here sooner than usual."
That's Sofia.
"There you are! I've been searching for you all over town. Still stalking the tourists, Maxi?"
That's Romeo.
"Idiot, get a life! And yeah, I took a different pathway. Anyways, I've been meaning to ask you guys, what are you doing this summer?"
"We're going on a road trip to Marseille, but we also heard the beaches in Barcelona are gonna be hotter this year."
"Cool. I'll probably visit my cousins in Nice or something."
The truth is, I have no plans. I miss biking  trough the small crowded streets of Florence, discovering small ponds near my small hometown and playing soccer with my peers near school grounds late at night. This summer, I'll be staying here. I don't know what it is, but something tells me I should.
"Yo!"
Carlos. He's Sofia's boyfriend, but I hate his guts. She may not know this but I'm pretty sure Carlos cheated on her multiple times already.
"Sofia, darling."
He smirks as he approches us, suddenly grabs Sofia and proceeds to kiss her thoroughly as he stares me deep in the eyes. Weird. Romeo and I exchange a glance, not even surprised by their little show.
"Get a room you two!", he finally splurges.