The Romanov Diary

Chapter one

April 23, 2020

Milo stretches his arms in a big yawn.

6 am, way too early to be awake, if you ask him. He reaches for his glasses on his night stand and grabs his phone from the charger. Four new messages from The Late Late Chat, his group chat on snapchat with his three best friends; Theo, Ophelia and Ella. All four of them are in the same class in school and have known each other for years.

Theo and Milo are cousins and grew up together, but they see each other rather as best friends than relatives. Ella moved to their neighbourhood when they were five years old and their first encounter was on a playground nearby which bloomed into a friendship. She's a shy but very smart and kind girl with red hair and freckles, and Theo used to have a crush on her when they were children. Ella has always been a fighter for justice, and did not find any shame in telling off bullies in middle school. In 2017 a new girl started in their class, Ophelia.

She was transferred from Birminghamshire to their school Bradford Academy in Bradford, Yorkshire, to play soccer in the girl's team. But instead of hanging out with the "cool" kids at school she chose Milo's click, and she's been like a sister of his ever since. Her dark skin, dark eyes, curvy body and tall legs makes her look like something out of a fairytale. The number of guys who's asked her out can not be counted on two hands. She's absolutely stunning and she attracts boys' - and girls' - looks wherever she goes. But she prioritises her sport over useless high school romances. Her legs are definitely to her advantage when she's playing soccer and she loves the feeling of winning. She's super fast and very very talented, and her friends have gone to every single one of her games to support her.

The messages are all from Ella who raised up with the sunrise and seems excited about the field trip. Ella is, just like Milo, very interested in history. Today their class are going to the Royal Collection Trust in London to learn more about the royalties and their history. Ella's favorite royalty is Elizabeth I, "The Virgin Queen".

Other than that they are staying at a hotel overnight and get a whole day of exploring and shopping for themselves. Both Ophelia and Theo would probably much rather stay at home, but the trip is mandatory. Soon the notifications from The Late Late Chat have woken them all.

"Are you guys up yet? I'm sooo excited about the field trip! I just read that they have an exhibition about historical women, how cool is that?" Ella writes eagerly in the chat.

She loves female history and will more than happily give you a lecture about how men overshadowed women throughout history and she takes every opportunity to tell you about her biggest historical role models.

"Meh, I guess. I just hope we can go alone and not follow some boring guide who hates his job" Milo responds with a smiling emoji and rubs his tired and dusty eyes.

"How are you two even excited about this?" Ophelia yawns on the other side of the screen. She'd rather stay in Bradford to practice soccer or try new makeup looks in her bedroom. History - or school overall - bores her to death.

"At least we got two days off school, that's always something" Theo finally joins the conversation.

After chatting with his friends, Milo raises from his bed and puts on some clothes. Wide jeans, a dark blue vintage sweater and white sneakers will do for the 4 hour long drive with the bus. He packes the last things into his backpack and checks everything on his packing list. Charger, check. Book, check. Headphones, check.

Toiletries. Clothes. Computer.

Check. Check. Check.

Everything is there. Milo's room is covered in old LP's, posters of 80's bands and bookshelves full of fiction and literature. His favorite band is Queen, and he can almost hear Freddie's voices echoing from the posters as he looks around his room. The walls are painted in a dark blue colour and the room is located to the left of the staircase on the second floor.