On the Road Again

Chapter 20

          "Wow." My mum sighs clearing a stray tear from her cheek. "That was hard." It had been only a mere fifteen minutes since we left our home country and all our family living there. And can I just say it has possibly been the most quietest fifteen minutes of my life. I have finally been let off driving duty as mum got plenty of practise driving on the right side of the road whilst in Croatia. It feels good not to have my fingers constantly curled around the wheel.

          I push my chair back to its full extent and throw my legs up onto the dashboard. My eyes are rimmed with red from the last night which we had spent out at a nice restaurant. We all had a brilliant time, but may have stayed up for a little too long. My hands soon make their way under my head and within the next couple of minutes, I am snoring away, louder than a trumpet.

          I feel a warm hand rock me gently back and forth. I quickly flip over onto my side and face the opposite direction in an attempt to ignore this person, whoever they are. But this mysterious sleep disrupter keeps going at it, now beginning to call my name as well.

          "Indi, come on sweetie, we're here." It's my mothers voice. I slowly sit up and rub my eyes. When my blurred vision finally becomes clear I can see that we are most definitely here.

          "Wow." I exclaim softly as I begin to examine the cobbled paths and historic looking buildings through the car windows.

          "That's not even a half of it sweet heart." My mum says from outside. I quickly scramble out of the car. I look around with a flabbergasted expression that I am unable to get rid of. The city of Rome is everything I ever imagined and more. Beautiful old buildings and warmly lit restaurants happily intertwine to create the perfect Italian mix of old and new.

          "Yep! This is definitely Italy!" I confirm as I walk around to the back of the Kombi and unload my belongings. At the front of the apartment which we have rented out, we are greeted by a man who looks to be in his mid twenties with black gelled hair and tan skin. He looks down at a slightly crumpled piece of paper which he holds tightly in his hand.

          "Is this you?" He asks, jabbing a dirty finger nail toward the name Indi Ripple, which has been scribed carelessly across the paper. I nod eagerly. The man's face instantaneously relaxes.

          "Welcome! My name is Antonio!" He introduces, a new smile immediately appearing on his face. He holds out his hand and I firmly take it. "Sorry for being so rude before, a lot of people have come and gone into the building and none of them were you, it was quite exhausting!"

          Within the next five minutes, Antonio has lead us through the building and to the elevator. Despite its small size, we all manage to cram ourselves in. I must say that the atmosphere once we are in the elevator definitely dwindles away into awkwardness. Antonio can sense it just as much as I can and makes an attempt to diminish the awkwardness.

          "Soo..." He starts and all our heads turn to face him. "How long are you staying here for?" I struggle to hide a laugh. He definitely knows how long we are staying here for as we are renting out his apartment. But at least its conversation and I am willing to continue if it means that there is less awkwardness in the air.

          "We are here for only one night." I answer. He nods and makes a sound of a approval. After a few more suffocating seconds of discomfort the elevator doors open and I burst out. Antonio leads us down the hallway to a door with the number eleven screwed to it.

          "This is your apartment." He says before unlocking the door and handing me the key. "I hope you enjoy your stay." After this, Antonio disappears down the staircase. We all make our way into the apartment. Thankfully, there are enough beds. This is including a trundle, the couch and a blow up air mattress, but I am still grateful.