Sink or Swim - Luca x Alberto

Luca's Secret Crush

Luca's POV

"Okay, here's the plan," Alberto says, flopping down on his bed as me and Giulia follow him into the bedroom. "When I'm older, I'm going to be the most richest artist in the world, and I'm going to buy a giant mansion with lots of kitchens and a garage full of Vespas. And I need you guys to be my workers. Okay?"

I sit down on my own bed, hugging one of my pillows. Giulia sits beside me, chuckling dryly. "Why would we want to do that?" she asks, rolling her eyes.

"I'll be honest with you: I don't feel like doing that boring cleaning stuff. Come on, I'll pay you guys."

I look down at the pillow I'm holding, then chuck it at him. He yelps and covers his face, making Giulia and I laugh.

"Ha-ha," he says sarcastically, throwing the pillow back at me. "I guess that's a big fat 'no' from both of you?"

"Pfft, yeah," Giulia replies.

"If you ever get a place like that, I'd rather live in it," I say, hugging the pillow again.

Giulia giggles, but Alberto goes quiet for some reason.

Then, we hear the door creak open some more. We all lean over and see a little black nose come into view, then Rosana peeks her face through the doorway, meowing. "Ohh!" Alberto says, and all of us smile big. He gets up and walks over to her, scooping her up. "Hi, Rosa."

We watch him bring her back to the bed. "She's so cute. How old is she?" I ask.

Alberto glances up at me with a very loving, proud cat-owner smile. "She's almost five months old," he explains, gently scratching between her ears. She makes a sound like a bird, and rubs her head against his chest. "She's a very sweet cat. Probably the sweetest of Machi's kids."

Giulia sighs happily. "I still can't believe he's a dad now." She turns to me. "Machiavelli is a huge loner, and usually doesn't like other cats, so it was a huge shock for all of us when he fell in love with that Greta kitty."

It was definitely surprising to get that letter from Alberto. I could hardly believe it, but he'd attached a photograph of him and Machiavelli's family as proof.

"Well, I'm going to be thanking him for the rest of his life." Alberto lies down on his bed, holding Rosana up in the air with a smile. "Because this little kitten is my entire life now. Aren't you?" He moves her down and gives her a kiss on the nose. "Mwah."

I blush, scooting back on my bed and hugging my legs. "Does Massimo like her, too?" I ask. I know he probably prefers tough, mean cats. That's why I'm surprised he let Alberto keep Rosana.

"Oh, yeah. He loves her." Alberto sets Rosana down on his pillow then, but doesn't sit back up. He spreads his arms out, sighing deeply as he stares up at the ceiling. "I'm bored."

Giulia huffs a laugh. "Bored? This is our first sleepover. It can't be boring."

"Yeah, you're right." Just then, Alberto gasps, and he sits up quickly (which startles Rosana a little). "I know what we can do!" He holds up a finger at us, hopping off his bed. "Sit tight. I'll be right back."

He rushes out of the room. A few moments later, he comes back in, but this time with some pencils and a sketchbook. He sets them down on the floor, then sits on his knees.

"I keep these in the living room because I like to sketch while watching my shows. But my colored pencils are in my desk drawer." He looks up at me. "Luca, can you get them for me?"

"Oh! Sure!" I get up and open one of the desk drawers, not even knowing if it was the right one. But I do see a box of colored pencils in there, so I grab it and shut the drawer.