Summer Nights - Luca

❣ 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩

The next morning, the boys were out fishing with Massimo and Giulia and Cecilia were delivering fish.

Everything was the same old, same old except when Cecilia asked her friend, "Hey, Giulia?"

"Yeah, Cec?", she replied.

"... What do you think about Alberto?", she asked.

"What about him?", Giulia repeated.

"Like, he's pretty great, isn't he. He's, like, funny and cool, y'know?", she said in a way Giulia knew all too well.

"Santa mozzarella", she groaned, "Don't tell me you like him now!"

"What?! I'm just saying he's nice!", she deflected.

"You just got over your crush on Francesco and now you're all over some guy we just met?!", she exclaimed.

"I'm not-!...", she sighed, knowing there was no use in convincing her friend that she didn't have feelings for the runaway, "Well, it's just a possibility! It's not like I'm crazy about him, I'm just considering!"

"You are too fickle, woman", Giulia sighed as they continued the ride around town.

- ♡ -

At around midday, the boys came back from fishing just as Giulia came down the hill and back to the square.

Cecilia checked her stopwatch and told her friend, "New personal best!"

"Yes!", Giulia cheered.

The duo's eyes went towards the boat that was just docking into the port. The boat that was overflowing with fish. Massimo and Luca were stepping off, preparing to unload all the fish while Alberto was standing proudly on the pile of fish, trying to look cool while swatting away a seagull.

The two girls rushed down to the dock and Massimo said to his daughter, "Your friends do know fish."

"AAA! Benissimo! Let's go sign up!", the redhead excitedly said.

The kids ran across the plaza towards where they could sign up for the cup.

Signora Marsigliese was on a stage, doing her little 'bit' before the rules would be announced, "Fellow Portorossans, it is I, Giorgio Giorgioni! Slayer of sea monsters and beloved purveyor of pasta!"

"Slayer of sea monsters?", Luca nervously asked.

"That's just Signora Marsigliese. She works for the sponsor for the race", Cecilia reassured him.

Giulia groaned, "This is gonna take forever."

"The finest pasta in Liguria at a price every family can afford", Signora continued.

"Get to the rules!", Giulia shouted out.

"Enthusiasm! Love to see it!", Signora said, "To win my famous race, your team must be the first to brave the treacherous waters of the bay, devour a mystery bowl of my delicious pasta, and ride to the top of Mount Portorosso and back!"

"That sounds pretty hard", Luca nervously said.

"Yeah, hard to lose! We're going to win!", Alberto confidently said.

Cecilia told him, "I love your confidence but don't forget, we're gonna have to go through..."

Her sentence was interrupted by Ercole bursting in and saying, "Champion coming through!"

The two girls groaned, "Ercole."

"You might want to save your money, ragazzi", Ercole boasted to the crowd of children, "This year, Ercole's gonna break the record and make it six in a row."

"Yeah? Well, how do you know?", Cecilia challenged him.

He looked at her confused, "Because... I'm the best. I haven't lost the Portorosso Cup once."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about this year", she said, gesturing towards her three friends.

Ercole laughed, "Oh, I don't believe it. Spewlia, you teamed up with these vagrants?"

"Ignore him", Cecilia told a fuming Giulia.

"Oh, I wish for you that you could", Ercole said cockily, "And I'm afraid your friends still need to pay the out-of-town-weirdo-tax."

He snapped his fingers and his lackeys, Chicco and Guido, stole the trio's entry fee.

"Hey! Ercole! You have to give it back!", Giulia shouted.

"Ercole doesn't have to do anything", he snarkily replied, "He's the Portorosso Cup, number one. And number two, his life is amazing and everyone loves him."

Cecilia scoffed, "They don't love you. They're afraid of you."

Ercole scoffed back, "Raise your hand if you love me."

All the kids who were there fearfully raised their hands with the most frightened expressions ever, discreetly proving Cecilia's point.

"See? Everyone! Even you!", Ercole repeated, ever confident, before booping Cecilia's nose.

Finally having had enough, Alberto said, "Oh, that's it. C'mon, Luca", before raising his fists, preparing to fight Ercole.

"Hey! The vagrants want to fight!" Ercole laughed.

"Alberto?", Luca pleaded, trying to get his friend out of trouble.

"Silenzio, Bruno", Alberto told him, "Remember, this is for our Vespa."

"Stop. A Vespa?", Ercole scoffed, "Trash like you can't ride Vespas."

"Ercole, you're just afraid we're gonna put an end to your evil empire of injustice!", Giulia protested, getting undermined by Ercole when he called the ending of her sentence.

"Got anything new?", he asked mockingly.

"Yeah! Here's a new one! You look like a...!", She trailed off, realising she hadn't thought that far.

Luca whispered to her, "A catfish."

"A catfish!", she repeated.

The crowd looked at them confused so Luca elaborated, "They're bottom feeders. And they also have two sad little whiskers."

Cecilia was shocked the little guppy could throw shade like that, "Damn, Luca!"

The crowd burst into laughter before Ercole shouted at them, "Shut up!"

"Listen, piccoletto, I eat kids like you for breakfast", Ercole warned the boy, "I dunk them in my cioccolata and NYAM! Finiti!", he dragged his finger across his neck while making a death sound, "So here, sign up. I'll make it my mission to destroy you."

He started walking away as he said, "It's gonna be some race, huh! Sorry, no autographs today."

"Ha-ha! Luca! Bravo! We did it", Giulia cheered.

The three signed up before going back to Giulia's house to begin training.