The survival lesson had finished and students were at the Zone having fun. The zone was an entertainment zone within walking distance at the back of the school that was located within O'Neil properties solely for entertainment of students. Students ended up partying after their survival lessons on Fridays letting out steam. They finished school much earlier on fridays as timetable was different. It gave them time to hang out for longer having fun.
The girls were mostly in the winter building playing on the ice rink. The boys didn't join them ice skating and mostly spent their time roller skating. There was an arcade where the students could play games and the boys only Dome Endurance where boys had their own secretive entertainment where no girls were allowed. The girls had a place that was just for girls too, the Dome Beauty Parlour where they just had access for make up and accessories to experiment with. Where students were hanging out depended on their mood.
The girls were now sitting on the grass in front of a set of colour changing fountains eating gelatos and candy floss as they glanced between the fountain show and the boys playing on their skateboards showing off in the adjacent skating rink. The girls had just finished skating on the ice rink so they were just relaxing and discussing gelato tasting and candy floss tasting.
Letizia had a mixture of different flavour gelatos on her tub. She couldn't tell one of the flavours. She turned to the others who were sitting on the grass alongside her " What's this flavour? I have never tasted this kind of gelato... I recognise the rest...."
Azurine laughed " Oh same here. When I arrived from Italy I thought I had tasted all flavours. That one is Irish cream flavour. Mr O'Neil has Irish cream with everything, bagels, pan cakes, whiskey, cocktails...."
Letizia raised an eyebrow " Interesting....." She then looked around and at the roller skating rink " Do you guys always come here after Fridays?"
It was Vanessa who responded " Sure. It's nice to relax after the long exercise at survival camp. It's good to let off some steam in the rink. Skating is good for coordination too."
Letizia turned to Vanessa " I have never had lesson like that before. Seriously, are your parents ok with you have three hours of strict army style training every week? The physical training is fine for me but this authority nonsense is something that's hard to get used to. Calling people, sergeant and corporal is just over the top."
Clarissa shrugged " It's only three hours a week. It's your first day. That's why it bothers you a lot. Also you got disciplined so you were shouted at and sanctioned so it must not be a good feeling. When you don't cross the superiors, it's fine. Next week you won't feel so annoyed."
Letizia argued " Its not just that. It just doesn't add up how all of you were singing and dancing in the changing room after finishing acting so cheerful after finishing the session. How can you just be ok? No one has ever complained..."
Azurine suggested " You will get used to it. Don't worry. It's not a big deal. Not any more. At the start of the term I know Vienna's mother wasn't happy for this lesson to be on her timetable but she was convinced by Vienna that it was ok. Vienna's mother wanted to pull her out. Vienna's father helped in designing part of the course so Vienna felt it also wasn't fair that everyone did the course and she didn't even though her own father helped put together the course. Apart from that our parents don't mind. They have read the rule books and it's safe. Only when Vincenzo and Tristan shout at you and sanction you then it takes a while to get over it for a while. If you don't make any mistakes, it's alright. I promise you. We don't enjoy it. It's tough, but it's only once a week. You will get used to it. Trust me."
Letizia sighed " If you say so...." Letizia was looking into the distance at the candy floss stand where Vienna was. She was trying to choose a new flavour and talking to other girls. Her golden hair was glowing in the sun. She was smiling and joking with the girls with her usual elegance. Letizia wondered if Vienna had any idea how the boys from the skating rink kept staring at her now that Tristan wasn't around. They dared look at her and she was just too innocent to notice what she did to the boys.... Vincenzo wasn't around too and neither was Viggo and many of the alpha boys.
Letizia turned to the girls " Where are the sergeants and corporals? The boys basketball team is missing here... I don't see them skating."
Vanessa rolled her eyes " They are either at the arcade or the dome. My guess is they are at the Dome which is a no go area for us girls. Don't ever go to that building."
Letizia raised an eyebrow " What is the Dome? What do they do there? What top secret activities do they have?"
Azurine shrugged " We don't know. They don't tell us."
Vanessa stated " Alexander told me they do cage fighting most of the time and things like that. They have a high ego. They need to show off.... oh here they are coming out with their skateboards. Count how many seconds it takes for the rink to get deserted. Those boys on the rink will probably go to the arcade to open space for the basketball team showing off."
Letizia watched as from a distance the boys were coming. They had no shirt on and wearing jeans. She made a face at Vincenzo who blew a kiss towards her and winked from a distance. He was just so handsome. Too bad he was so uncivilised and did not have as much manners as she would have liked. It, then turned serious as the boys reached the now deserted skating rink. Poor Edward Blake was the last one to slip out with his skateboard under his arm. Then their showing off session started. They boys were quite professional in skating. They rolled easily from one side to another jumping the hill top obstacles in the rink. Tristan and Vincenzo were competing but it was light hearted. They were joking and laughing too. It was interesting to see how these kids could distinguish between different serious and relaxed situations. One minute these boys were corporals and seargeajts, the next they were having fun acting like teenagers.
The boys became occupied skating and glancing at the girls from time to time. Tristan was jumping over obstacles and following Vienna with his eyes. She had a pink candy floss in her hand as she was talking to one of the girls. Tristan didn't really like candy floss. He didn't remember the last time he had one. Was he 5 or 6? He didn't recall..., But he was so tempted to taste that candy floss in her hand. Her lips were touching the floss and was making him wonder when she could feel ready to touch her lips to his. She liked candy floss by the looks of it. As the candy were melting in her mouth, she nodded her head at another girl next to her who had a different flavour candy floss in her hand. Her lips touched the candy floss for longer this time as she had a bigger portion this time. Tristan felt a tingling sensation on his mouth. The candy floss was melting in her mouth but she was melting his heart. She felt like he was missing something. That was it. He missed her. Being close to her at the camp was amazing. He couldn't wait for next Friday to come. He had make sure to put er in all his sessions. Vincenzo didn't mind. Her big brother trusted him to protect her. Too bad her younger brother wasn't so accepting arguing with Vincenzo about why he let Tristan take over groups where Vienna was. Vincenzo laughed it off telling him to stop over reacting. Why couldn't her younger brother accept him. He couldn't understand. Vincenzo's response to his younger brother had also surprised Tristan. Vincenzo had been fed up of arguing with Viggo and had simply stated that Tristan was more protective of Vienna than you and I. It sounded impossible but true. Viggo had rested his case but it wasn't over. Tristan couldn't wait to get him back for trying to ruin his chances of being with Vienna. Back there with his older brother present he was tougher. He was going to back him into a corner and make him pay up. He tried to throw obstacles his way, fair enough. He was going to return the favour.
Ironically Vincenzo was on his side on the matter. Even though Vincenzo had a go at him for disrespecting his girl when they were alone and they exchanged harsh words but that was the end of it. Vincenzo didn't mix issues together. He may have been a head case but even he couldn't deny the truth as much as his younger brother tried to convince him to do so. Vincenzo was a head case but was an intelligent one. Vincenzo knew Tristan enough to understand his intentions towards his sister. Vincenzo saw Tristan as an ally for himself in helping protect Vienna. But Viggo had a hard time accepting that. Too bad. Tristan was going nowhere and he was surely not backing off. His girl was his only.
As he was jumping obstacles, he stopped as he heard his name being called. It was Alton. He turned to him "What?"
Alton rolled towards him " When is this coordination exercise finish? I am bored. Its too hot... Lets do something to cool off indoors?"
Alton didnt like skating much. He only did it for the benefits of helping his coordination and also because the other guys did. Tristan nodded "Go and jump in the fountain pool then."
Then Tristan noticed the boys stopped playing and were whispering. Alton went to join them....They were pointing at the girls. He looked at the girls and saw where they were moving onto now. Vienna now had finished her candy floss and had joined the others. The girls were making their way to the Karting Arena.
Vincenzo rolled closer to Tristan "Are you thinking, what I am thinking Tristan? Should we go, teach them not to play with what they cant handle? That was our next stop. Well, lets go teach them how racing is done."
Tristan wasnt inetrested in showing off. Basically engineers were better at this race because they knew how the karting engines worked. Maybe if the girls took up the Racing Car project hour that were being offered during some personal study periods that all boys did, they could do better and didnt crash every five seconds and didnt go too slow to lose. Most girls ended up changing gears too soon or putting pressure on engine making accidents happen and made many mistakes reducing their speeds. Tristan sighed as he turned to Vincenzo " You want to go now?"
Vincenzo shook his head "Oh, yes... We are going now." He then blew a whistle and got the guys around "Lets go karting guys. lets show them what happens when they play with what they dont understand. Grab the uniforms and we go."
Tristan didnt want to teach the girls any lessons. He just wanted to be close to Vienna so he followed. The boys wore special uniforms and they made their way to the arena.
As the boys entered the karting arena, they saw the girls getting inside the karts... Vincenzo walked ahead and stated "Are you up for a challenege. We will race you and if you lose, each one of us will pick one of you to make as many sandwhiches for us as we want with topping choices by us at the arena cafe and sit there while we eat it. We do the opposite if we lose." He had this idea in mind because he wanted a date out of Letizia in public and the idea of her making him sandwhiches turned him on especally if he took his time ordering her what he wanted.
Tristan sighed. This was a great bet and too good. He didnt think the girls would accept. Why would they? They knew how good they were. So he almost choked when the girls said yes after talking amongst each other in whispers. They were just too proud to say no and also they knew Vincenzo played dirty. if they said no, he made sure he embaressed the girls and called them cowards in school non stop and Vincenzo was going to increase the bet's difficulty next time too. That was his especialty in coming up with crazy bet ideas. The girls prefered the bets rather than playing truth or dare with the boys. they never dared say yes to that. How could they when they knew Vicnenzo had such a complex imagination with bets.
The girls were determined to show they could try their best.
Tristan got into his kart and when Stefano as the judge put his flag up, he started up and quickly got in front of Vienna controlling what was going on around her. He even bumped some of the boys karts delaying them and gibing them threatening looks. That taught everyone to keep a safe distance from Vienna.
In the end as the girls and boys all reached the finish line, they got off their cars and Stefano came with his clipboard as he was doing calculations. He announced "The top 10 racers count. Amongst the girls, only Vienna was in top 10. So 9 boys were in top 10.... Boys win..."
The girls started complaining saying they were bumped over and delayed... giving excuses but of course they got retorts back from boys. Then the boys started choosing which girls were to make them sandwiches of different toppings.
Vincenzo walked to Letizia "I choose you to make me sandwhiches if it wasnt obvious.... Dont worry, I will tecah you how to kart. i will give you rpivate lessons tonight in my house if you decide to show up."
Letizia narrowed her eyes "Go to hell."
Vincenzo laughed "I will help you win. Just let me tutor you. All you have to do is ask. We have a long time to talk about it while I eat what you make me at the cafe."
Letizia made a face at him and followed him to the cafe.
Vienna was standing looking at Tristan who was walking to her with a knowing glint in his eyes. He reached her and said "You dont have to make me sandwhiches Vienna....." Even though he wanted to spend time with her he didnt want to make her do anything if she didnt want to... He was going to love it though.
Vienna shyly smiled as she blushed "No. I should... Thank you for .... keeping me safe out there... I noticed you bumped the boys even who are on your team."
Tristan couldnt believe how she was tempting him to take the opportunity. He had taught her to take any chances he gave her. She didnt take her chance... he was going to make the most of it now... He whispered "Lets go then... Can I take your hand?"
Vienna didnt mind his touch. He was so gentle, she didnt think much of it. She held his hand as he lead her up the stairs as he was feeling like he was in heaven... He lead her up to the cafe on the second floor above the stands as she slwoly followed.
Vienna found him so graceful and respectful. She wasnt ready to have a relationship and she liked how he gave her space...He still made her feel fear. Especially after seeing his harsher side or rather a glimpse of how strict he was, the thought of being his girl scared her abit. He was so handsome. He was gentle. But he was who he was. A future leader of the O'Neil and Giovanni business empires.
As they reached the cafe, they walked to the self service counters. Tristan whispered to her "Actually I feel like a hot dog first..." Vienna turned to him "ok."
The hot dog counter was in a deserted corner of the room. Tristan was an athlete and ate alot like most boys so Vienna knew it was going to take a while for him to finish. She went to the hot dog stand and opened a bun for him as he watched her delicate fingers opening it. She put a roasted hot dog inside the bun and turned to him who was standing behind her "What sauce would you like?"
Tristan stated "Any sauce you like... You will be eating half of it... I like sharing when it comes to food." He only liked sharing food with her of course.
Vienna questioned "But..."
Tristan stated "Put any sauce you want on it and cut it in half please..."
Vienna turned and put some plain tomato ketchup on the hot dog even though there was arange of choices there. Others added all kinds of ketchup. She turned to TRistan "I only eat ketchup so I can taste the hot dog." She then turned around and cut the hot dog in half. Before she could carry it, Tristan grabbed the plate and stated "Lets go to the next level up where there is the best view through the glass windows." That was the private eating area. Tristan liked his privacy. For him it was not about the food but getting her to open up. Now she looked into his eyes shyly but she was getting used to trusting him slowly enough to look at him. But that wasnt enough. He wanted her to get to know him.
Vienna followed Tristan as he carried the plate one level up the stairs to a private suit with a good view of the grounds.
Tristan pulled out a chair for her to sit down at a table next to a window which was a really a sofa. She sat down "Thank you."
Tristan sat opposite her and put the hot dog plate in the middle. "I have alot of questions for you Vienna. Dont you have any questions for me."
Vienna looked at Tristan and then looked outside "I have no questions..."
Tristan didnt like that she looked away from him. He spoke "I have plenty... Tell me... Are your brothers treating you well at home currently?"
Vienna looked at him with surprise "Of course they do."
Tristan took a deep breath of relief. She didnt lie. She sounded honest.... He spoke " Tell me... why is Viggo so frustrated by the idea that you are my girl?"
Vienna looked at Tristan " He doesn't trust you because you are a Giovanni."
Tristan nodded in understanding and spoke seriously " He doesn't make it easy for me being with you...If he keeps coming between us, I will not be able to show as much patience as I am showing now..."
Vienna felt the meaning behind his words. He was going to teach him to stay out of his business the hard way. She was going to talk to Viggo. Not that he listened. She looked away out of the window not being able to look into his eyes. Those eyes held threat in them for her brother. It hurt her to feel the danger for her brother. She took a deep breath and looked at Tristan. She couldnt plead to him. He had made it clear that wasnt a long term solution. She had to convince him.
Vienna spoke sadly "Look. Viggo is going through a hard time. She is in love with this girl that he is not allowed to talk to."
Tristan dismissed that "Nonsense. Thats impossible. He can have any girl he wants except for ...." And then it sank in.... "What, he wants Angelia..."
Vienna's eyes widened. Maybe she shouldnt have said that. She looked around and said "Please dont tell anyone... "
Viggo was doomed already. Tristan wanted to laugh but he couldnt. Not in Vienna's presence... Who would have thought a Rosario ever could fall for an Andovini? He felt frustrated... He wanted Viggo to pay up but he wasnt going to play dirty just because his sister had told him in confidence who he loved, he wasnt going to exploit that. Maybe he was going to enjoy watching him be taught a lesson by others now. He smiled at Vienna "Ah, dont you trust me?"
Vienna looked at Tristan "Yes... but..."
Tristan stated "You either trust me or you dont... Now tell me... has anyone else in school has asked you to the prom after you said yes to me?..."
Vienna gulped... How could she tell him? Edward Blake had written a love letter letter to her asking her to prom. He had been so honest and sweet and she had to say no. He was so sweet as a friend but not her type... Whe she had told him she was going with Tristan, he had given her such a heart breaking look. She felt sorry for him. She wished he found another girl for himself. She swallowed hard and spoke "Dont you want to try the food?" That was the only thing that came to her mind
Tristan stated in a firm tone "I take its as a yes. Interesting. Vienna I know your guilty look." He surely had to step up his threats to the boys so they didnt dare mess with his girl. Maybe he had been too nice sometimes.