Carpe Aestatem (original)

Chapter 25

Olivia

Jan and I were greeted at the door by a cat that looked like Jenna's cat, Mittens. "Awww, he's so cute!" I gushed. "Is this Igor?"

"Yes it is." Jan replied. "He's really friendly."

"Including that one time when he made biscuits that made your phone fall over while you were playing guitar?"

He then looked at me and we laughed so hard. "So far from what my mom has told me about you is in fact correct." I said.

He then led me to my room. "Make yourself at home. There's a connecting bathroom, a comfortable bed, and I even got you a guitar stand."

"Hvala lepa, Jan."

"Ni za kaj." (You're welcome)

I then began to get settled in, then my mom texted.

Mom:
Which band member are you staying with?

Olivia:
I'm staying with Jan. He's pretty chill.

Mom:
You're going to like him.

Olivia:
Although I have a higher probability of being late.

I then set the guitar on the stand that Jan had set out for me and opened my suitcase. I had a few dresses, some jeans, some shirts, most of my Joker Out shirts and hoodies, my mom's University of Ljubljana sweatshirt, my PJs, some UCLA merch, my Urban Outfitters clothes and some of the graphic tees my mom gave me when she was at a conference in DC last year. I then emerged from my room. Jan was making some tea. "You want some?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"How's your mom?"

"She's good. Recovering from the month in London. Too bad she didn't see me graduate high school."

"Yeah."

I followed Jan to the balcony, with Igor following us. "How is everything post-ESC?"

"It's been alright. Got some time off for a bit before Umag on Friday."

"We're still on our high from playing the Opry in Nashville last week. Then getting onto one of Nashville's most popular radio shows the day before we left."

"I still remember the high we were on after EMA internally selected us, and then we were off to Hamburg after we laid the demo. And we all sounded not the best."

"But brought it together in the end."

"You're half-Slovenian?"

"Yeah. My Babi and Dede are from Maribor. My mom was born and raised in Chicago. She then came to Ljubljana to study journalism, then she got a job at the Tennessean, then she met my dad, they got married and had me. So I do know Slovenian, but I'm not the best at it."

"Do you have any pets?"

"I have a Frenchie, Lola. We got her when I was sixteen, I think. She's nearing two years old now, but she still acts like a puppy sometimes."

Igor then curled up by my feet. "He likes you." Jan said.

"You studied math, right?"

"I did."

"How did you do it? I barely survived AP Calculus! And I probably got a 1 on the AP exam. Which I will find out while on this tour."

"Although math makes about 80% of people want to throw their calculators at a wall, I'm one of the few who actually enjoyed it."

"Why?"

"They had donuts at the Open House."

"That's the reason you decided to study math?"

"Part of it. I also like it because it came more naturally to me. Although I love playing the guitar, I also love math."

"Maybe you could have helped me with AP Calculus." I giggled.

"If I knew your mom sooner." He added as Igor climbed into my lap.

"I wish. I've been a fan for the past six months, and my mom, since you released 'Gola' back in 2019. And I've been playing guitar since I was eleven. How did you meet Bojan?"

We then talked about the most random things: how he met Bojan, his passion for math, all of the instruments he plays, and how much he likes to cook. As the sun began to set, we headed inside and turned on the TV. "Can you teach me how the play the ukulele at some point?" I asked.

"Of course. We bought that ukulele in Amsterdam."

Then we went and watched a bit of Heartstopper, my favorite TV show ever. "Do you have a nickname that I can call you?" Jan asked.

"My dad calls me Liv and my friends call me Olivia. But my mom calls me sonček."

"Sonček. I like that."

Then we watched some TV. "I'm getting a little tired."

"Good night, my sonček. Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?"

"That'll be nice."

Jan and I spent an hour on top of my bed until I got tired. "I loved meeting you today, Janči." I said as I sunk deeper under the blanket.

"I loved meeting you as well. This is going to be a great tour." He said, rubbing my shoulder.

Igor then hopped onto the bed and curled up right next to me.