Ten

< Nina >

“Do you mind eating Italian pizza?”

I shake my head, my thoughts are more focused on finding a payphone. As we enter the pizza parlor, my eyes are scanning for a payphone in this area.

“Are you looking for something?”

I hesitate, looking down on the helm of my hoodie as I say, “I’m just looking for a payphone so I can call my friend.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” he chuckles, and then he hands me his phone. “You can just call your friend using mine.”

“B-but, I can’t do that! What if you have some emergency calls from your job or something?” Like Luca checking up on us or something like that.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a phone call.”

“Are you sure?” I ask reluctantly.

“If you are going to be Luca’s family, then I’ll treat you as family. So, be a good kid and just take it.”

I smile and give him a thank you before accepting his phone.

“You can call and wait on that available table there,” he says, gesturing to the table farther from the cashier. He is definitely being considerate of using his phone in an area with less noise.

“Thanks, Yu!”

“Anytime, kid.”

Yu seems like a good guy. He smiles a lot despite looking more intimidating if he doesn’t. And he is sort of like a brother figure that I never experienced as an only child.

As I reach the farthest table, I’ve realized that the noisy chattering has diminished and it feels like the perfect place for a private call.

Without hesitation, I immediately dial Gene’s number.

There’s the dial tone. Good, that means his phone is intact.

I’ve waited for a while, hoping everything is alright there.

Click. “Hello?”

Relief is the first feeling I have after hearing his voice again then I smile. “Hey, Gene. It’s Nina.”

“Hey, Nina,” he says with his usual low monotone. “Told you that you find ways.”

“Well, Luca’s right-hand man was the one who picked me up. His name is Yu and Yu’s nice. I know you’ll like him.”

“I was about to ask if you’re stating pronouns but you’re actually talking about a guy named Yu.”

“Well, that’s because he’s Korean, I think? He just gave me his phone and I decided to call you.”

I hear him groan a bit from the other line.

Immediately, I feel my panic kicking in. “H-Hey, are you all right, Gene?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” was his quick answer. “My arm is just tingly.”

“I, I see,” I say. Something tells me that I should ask more but knowing Gene, he’ll just change the topic. “But did you go to school after lunch?”

“Nope, I just went home, I was with Beatrice the whole time.”

“Beatrice? What did you guys do?”

“The usual, lecturing and all. You do know her lectures lasted for hours.”

Ah, the name itself makes my face pale. I didn’t have many fond memories with her growing up as for some strange reason, she is often stricter when I’m around Gene.

“How’s the city?” He asks.

“It was dark when I arrived. I didn't expect the sun to set down before 6PM. I will see the city tomorrow morning.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

I smile. “A bit, but I’m more hungry than tired.”

“And you haven’t met Luca de Milano yet?”

“Nope, I’m going to eat dinner with Yu first. He’s ordering Italian pizza and will be coming here soon.”

“I see. Sounds like Yu is a good guy. I think...that’s a good start.”

I chuckle. But when I place my hand on my coat pocket and touch the small box inside, I almost have forgotten something.

“Gene, about the…” I cut my words short when I see Yu heading towards here.

“Oh, sorry, Yu’s coming back, can I call you again sometime?”

“Sure, I’d love that.”

We said each other’s goodbyes and at the moment Yu sat next to me. “So, are you done talking to your friend?”

“Yes, thanks for lending it to me.” I hand his phone over.

“Where is your phone, Nina?”

“Uhm, I lost it.” I give him a sheepish smile as my cheeks redden with embarrassment.

Without hesitation, he says, “Then you can keep my phone.” He starts slicing the pizza and serves it on my plate.

“I c-can’t accept that!” My cheeks redden as I exclaim and I feel like my eyes bulge out from the shock.

Besides, he just handed me over his iPhone. This is an iPhone, right?

“Sure you can, I have two phones,” he says as he takes a bite of his pizza. “Besides, Luca’s phone number is there so it won’t be a big problem.”

“What about your important files?”

“Sure you can,” he says as he takes a bite of his pizza. “Besides, Luca’s phone number is there so it won’t be a big problem.”

“What about your work files?”

“Kid, it’s my personal phone. The only contacts there are your “future” stepbrother and some of our friends. They rarely call using that phone, really.”

I have a feeling that Yu doesn’t take no for an answer. After all, he’s the CEO’s right-hand man. Clearly, I will definitely lose if he starts negotiating.

“Err, thanks, Yu,” I say as I place the phone inside my bag.

“Anytime.”

We eat in silence for a while, as I continue to eat the huge slice of pizza he gave me. I am not really a big eater but I tried not to leave any leftovers because I thought that would be a waste.

“So, what’s your story?” He suddenly asks as he drinks his can of beer. I didn’t know that pizza parlors sell beer.

I ponder to myself. What kind of story should I tell him? That I get bullied all the time? That I always keep an eye on Gene if he gets hurt or anything? That I am actually scared of his boss?

“My coach told me that I can run fast.” Yeah, we can start with that one.

“I didn’t expect that. I was hoping if you’re going to tell me about that eye pad you are wearing.”

“Ah,” I laugh, nervously. “I had a dodgeball accident, that’s all. It will take a week or two to get it healed.”

He looks at me for a moment, as if he’s trying to decipher something. “Well, we need to have it checked just to make sure it’s not infected.”

“However,” he muses, swaying his can of beer a bit. “I don’t mind a little pirate in the vicinity.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at that statement. Yu is...really a comfortable person to talk to.

“By the way, see that boulevard outside,” he says, pointing to the glass window where there is a long line of huge trees. If it weren’t for the street lights, it wouldn't be noticeable.

“It’s the path to your school: Dawn Peak Academy , this pizza place isn’t very far from Luca’s home as well.”

I nod, unsure what to say.

"Tomorrow is my day-off. We're going on a tour in your school."

"R-really?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

I smile and nod.

Then, he continues to talk about the school and some of the terror teachers to avoid and afterward, once we are done with our meal, we head back to his car.

Just as Yu said, Luca's place isn't too far from the pizza parlor as we turn in one corner, we are now in the residential area. At the corner of the street, there, I can see the parking lot.

As expected, all the cars are expensive. This is Dawn City, after all.

Just when I come out and look at the building, it’s different from what I’ve imagined: A worn-down building that has probably been around for more than a decade based on the fainted light brown on some of the old cobblestoned pillars. There are only two floors of the building yet it is big enough to fit more than fifteen households.

Frankly, it’s no different from a typical apartment but this building has its own unique aesthetics based on its Spanish architecture.

It really makes you think of Spain. Honestly, I always picture Luca to be living in some fancy mansion and not in an apartment.

As if he read my mind, he informs me, “This is the first apartment Luca moved into when we were studying in the university. For Luca, who uses his own money instead of his mother’s, this is considered his pride and joy.”

I only nod, unsure what to say and as he goes upstairs and I only follow him, we head to the farthest left corner of the second floor.

I gulp, my hands have already been sweating since coming upstairs. My heart races as images of Luca gripping my collar continue to haunt me.

“Here we are.” In front of us stands a dark brown fiberglass door. So this is it. Any moment, I'm going to see Luca de Milano again.