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cue: mood by porches
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merriam-webster dictionary defines summer as - : the season between spring and autumn comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of june, july, and august or as reckoned astronomically extending from the june solstice to the september equinox.
but i, emeline carlotto, define summer as two words: a dream.
two extravagant months spent in the lovely italy, in which i will experience walks through the city, drives along the coasts, hot summer sun-rays, warm moon-lit nights - and not to forget, amazing food.
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my heavy eyes began to slowly rise and fall as i sat at the dining table. in front of me, an array of breakfast foods, ranging from crepes to coffee. i rested my head atop of my hand, which was propped up by my elbow and the table.
"emeline." a distant, unclear voice called. i scrunched my face to the right, shutting one eye.
"em, are you even listening to me?"
i began to blink my eyes rapidly, in hopes of keeping myself awake, a soft 'hmm' vibrating in my mouth. my mom placed her baby-blue mug onto the table and took a seat beside me. i smiled at her softly as she raised the mug up to her mouth, taking a sip. she glared at me with a raised eyebrow before reaching her arm out to hand me the mug she had gotten for herself.
my dad peeked his head to the side of the newspapers he had his face buried into all morning, he shook his head and wagged his finger to me, "too young." he stated, motioning to to blue mug i head between my dainty hands. i tapped my ring against the mug softly, and watched out of the kitchen windows that faced the backyard. the trees swayed slightly in the early hours of the morning, a faint sound of a lawn-mower played in the distance as we sat quietly.
"we need to leave here in an hour or so." dad said, taking a look at the clock that hung above the console-table. "passports, i-d's, wallets." he listed off as a reminder. my mom kissed him on the cheek, before beginning to clear the table from the clutter of food - leaving a plate with a variety of food in front of me. i stared down at the plate, before looking up at her. "skin and bones, la mia bellezza! you need to eat."
this has become a morning ritual - my mom makes amazing breakfast, but doesn't understand i'm not always my hungriest when i wake up, so i only drink coffee out of my mom's baby blue mug. which results in her claiming i "don't eat enough," but in reality - i make up for it throughout the day.
i flashed a giant smile at her, grabbing a piece of toast from my plate along with the blue mug. i winked at my dad and hurried off upstairs. i glanced around my room, looking for any last minute items that may need to be packed, in doing so - i passed the mirror that was resting against a bedroom wall. i widened my eyes, and walked backwards slowly until i faced the mirror again. my jaw dropped, and now in the way i had hoped. "i- who is that?" i questioned myself quietly, approaching the mirror closer to better examine myself.
"this will just not do," i said in a slightly british accent, "oh no, no, no." prancing around my room to my closet.
"emeline, honey. did you say something?" i streched the corners of my mouth, stopping in my tracks before opening my bedroom door and peeking my head out slightly. my mom stood outside the door with a laundry basket resting on her hip. "just, ya know. talkin' to myself." she furrowed her eyebrows at me before nodding once and walking away, shaking her head. i stood upright and shut the door once again, before finding an outfit to travel in - a black, half-zip sweater, grey nike sweatpants (which actually belong to kairi,) white nike socks and a random pair of vans. i brushed my long, brown hair quickly before applying a light face of makeup. i grabbed all of the things that would be going to italy with me and walked downstairs. "passport, i.d., wallet." i said quietly to myself before checking my carry-on bag for each. i sat on the stairs, before hearing my dad yell "let's go" from the living-room. in no time, we all were out the door. we all stood by the back of the car, putting our bags in before a loud yell was heard from behind us. "wait! don't leave!" a group of five boys came sprinting at us from the house across the street. i smiled widely, seeing the boys.
"em-e-line," alvaro said in between breaths, "i've neve-r ran so fas-t." i glanced across the street, before glancing at alvaro. the distance between my house and kairis house wasn't far at all, i chuckled before giving him a soft hug, moving onto each of the boys before mattia stood in front of me with a small, white flower in between his fingers, along with a folded white piece of paper. he placed them in my hand with a smile. "did you just pick this?" i looked at it closely, before looking up at the tall figure before me. he nodded, "kairis front yard actually, thank you kai." kairi nudged mattia softly, pushing him out of the way.
"nice sweats." he glared at them.
i looked down, "your nice sweats."
"i'm nice sweats?" we both gave each other a side smile, chuckling softly before hugging. in unison, they began to say their farewells, motioning me into the car. i turned on my heels, before opening and closing the car door. the boys stood on the sidewalk in front of my house to wave me off. my dad backed out of the drive-way slowly, driving along the street. i rolled my window down, watching each of the boys with a smile as they raised their hands and waved at me. soon, the boys became too blurry to see. i raised the window before looking down at the tiny flower and the tiny piece of paper that i held. i placed the flower in the sleeve of my passport, before i put it away and grabbed the paper.
the out portion of it read "m.p." i ran my thumb along the handwritten letters that were marked on the front before i began to i unfold the creases of the paper, reading -
"linny, why wont anyone tell me where you're going? better yet, why wont you tell me? text me now. please? - mattia"
i smiled at the paper, placing it into my bag.
"that's very nice of your friends to stop by." my mom said, looking at me. i smiled at her, nodding in agreement. "it was."
italy, do me well.
