Melina went to school the next day with her hair knotted, forming a high ponytail the same as she had worn the day before. Only instead of wearing jeans and a tee, she wore a floral sleeveless sundress. Other students stared at her as she made her way down the hall at the start of the lunch break. She could see both Signorina Givanni and Nara standing outside their classroom doors chatting. Melina approached the teachers and eyed the other students curiously as they eyed her.
“Guess they’re not too used to seeing Americans around here,” said Melina.
Signorina Givanni didn’t understand.
Nara laughed and said, “Or maybe they’re just not used to seeing someone like you.”
Signorina Givanni now eyed Melina just as intently. At first, Melina was afraid she might be dressed inappropriately, but Nara hadn’t told her otherwise, and she could now see a slight smile on Signorina Givanni’s face. So she must look okay after all, although Melina wasn’t entirely stupid either. She knew most considered her to be very attractive with her curvaceous figure, large eyes, full lips, and long, thick curls. She just didn’t want to stand out any more than necessary in a place she knew she already stood out in.
She turned to enter Signorina Givanni’s classroom but was just in time to hear an “Ooh” from a guy entering Nara’s class. Nara responded with, “Yeah, cute one, ain’t she?” Then she followed Melina into Signorina Givanni’s room and said, “Signorina Givanni needs to run some errands for a few minutes. For now, you can wait outside with the others, okay?”
“Sure,” said Melina. “Will you teach me to swear in Italian later on?”
Nara tried to hide her smile as she motioned to the classroom’s exterior door, which was propped open, and said, “Have a good day, Miss Melina.” Then she shut the door and returned to her own classroom, now with an obvious smile on her face.
Melina inhaled the slightly moist air around her as she studied the students who were enjoying the outdoors. She might as well too, for there’d be plenty of time for learning. It had been decided that she would arrive at the school at lunchtime, which was at 11:30, and leave two hours later at afternoon break. Not having much more money than what she needed for food, and not wanting to impose on Don and his wife any more than she had to, she hoped to find work, if only for a few hours a day, to provide some extra money for the rest of the summer, in which she planned to remain in Italy.
Melina noticed a student talking on a cell phone in English. When she hung up, she went over and introduced herself.
“Oh, hello to you, too. I’m Cindy. You new here?”
“Not exactly,” said Melina, and explained her connection to the president and how she wanted to improve her Italian.
“So you don’t really have any definite plans or know how long you’ll be here?”
“No. I’m pretty much taking it one day at a time, though I should be here most of the summer.”
“Lucky you. I wish I could live one day at a time. So you’re observing in Signorina Givanni’s class?”
Melina nodded. “I’ll be using the computer more than observing so long as no one else is on it. Are you in her class?”
Cindy nodded. “’ Fraid so. I wanted Miss Lorenzo, but got stuck with Givanni instead.”
“Is Givanni bad news or something?”
“Oh, no. Not at all. It’s just that Lorenzo has more of a sense of humor and makes learning more fun than Givanni. Givanni’s all business-like, you know?”
Melina simply nodded, then motioned to a block wall several yards away. “What’s over there?”
“That’s a residential area,” said Cindy.
A dog started barking in one of the yards behind the wall, and someone began to mimic it. So did Melina. Only she did a much better job of it and stirred up quite a round of laughter.
Someone suddenly tugged at her arm, pulling her backward. She turned around and found herself face to face with Signorina Givanni. The teacher then motioned her into the classroom.
Melina followed and took a seat at the computer. She dared a quick glance at Signorina Givanni, who eyed her with a friendly yet shame-on-you expression as she took a seat at her desk.
Melina returned her own caught-in-the-act expression to the monitor before her, donned the headphones, and began to study. Intermittently, she found herself wondering if Nara had ever told her that she’d sworn yesterday and that she was a lesbian.
Melina wasn’t exactly worried about Signorina Givanni learning that she was a lesbian. Not since she kind of looked the part herself. Melina couldn’t be sure of anything, but there was something about her short hair and facial features that made her wonder if she were a “dominant” lesbian. The so-called dominant ones had that certain look, whereas the non-dominant ones like Melina were usually just as feminine as your average straight woman.
When break time rolled around, most of the students went outside while others entered the hallway. When Melina stepped out into the hall, both Signorina Givanni and Nara had gathered to chat.
“Hey, you,” said Nara. “How’s it going?”
“Well, I’m making progress, although I think whoever decided Italian plurals should be done the way they are had to have been drunk at the time.”
Nara burst out laughing and repeated what she’d said to Signorina Givanni in Italian.
Signorina Givanni laughed too and said, “Io posso dire lo stesso con l’inglese.”
Melina laughed and said, “Io capisco. Buongiorno.”
“Addio,” said Signorina Givanni as Melina headed down the hallway.
“Arrivederci,” Nara added. And then Signorina Givanni told her about the barking incident.
The following few days passed uneventfully as Melina fell into the routine of studying and sightseeing.
She and Cindy had been discussing fitness and exercise right as class was starting, and Signorina Givanni took a seat behind her desk when Melina proudly flexed her bicep.
The teacher saw this, rolled up her sleeve and said, “Non è muscolo, questo è muscolo.” Then she flexed her own bicep, clearly bigger than Melina’s.
The students laughed, and Melina laughed right along with them, impressed. She wouldn’t have guessed that someone like Signorina Givanni would have such muscle. The teacher wasn’t very big herself. She actually came across as being rather meek and mild and totally harmless. The mousy type, some might say.
It was also the first time she’d seen her really smile and laugh. She had seemed to have such a “dormant” personality so far—quiet, lacking in humor, and just a boring person overall.
About a half hour later, the teacher was slowly weaving through the rows of desks on the lookout for cheaters, as her students took a test of some kind. At one point, she pointed out Melina’s nails while her hands rested upon the keyboard and gave a slight chuckle.
Melina studied her long, shiny, metallic blue nails and then grinned up at the teacher, who was obviously more used to a less bright and colorful world.
When lunchtime came around, she was the last one to leave the classroom, as usual, as she closed down what she had been working on at the computer and reset things the way she had found them. And also, as usual, Signorina Givanni was talking to Nara just outside the door. Melina now knew enough to be able to tell that they were discussing whether or not to go off campus for lunch.
Cindy was also present. In English, she commented about how long Miss Lorenzo’s hair was getting.
“Non è lungo. Questo è lungo,” said Melina, pulling her hair free of the knot that held it in its ponytail and drawing several surprised gasps when its true length was revealed.
“Oh, my God!” exclaimed Cindy.
“It’s almost past your tush,” said Nara.
“Mio Dio!” exclaimed Signorina Givanni in a shrill voice. “Come bella!” She fluffed some of the hair out with her hand.
“È molto pesante e io potrei tagliare i capelli, ma io non so quanto corti.” Then in English she said, “Maybe to here,” and motioned to her waist.
“That’d still be pretty long,” Nara said, while Signorina Givanni continued to eye her hair with amazement.
“Che colore?” Melina asked Signorina Givanni.
At first, the teacher didn’t seem to get the point of the question.
“Io non so che colore voglio. Che colore tu pensi, Signorina Givanni?”
The teacher pointed with both forefingers extended at Melina’s head, indicating that she liked her current color.
“Maybe I’ll leave it this way then,” said Melina as she turned to leave.
“I think it goes best on you,” Nara offered, and then Melina was off, walking alongside Cindy.
When they were out of earshot, Cindy said, “You didn’t tell me Signorina Givanni liked you.”
“Liked me?”
Cindy nodded. “Sure seems to anyway.”
“I had no idea she did. I thought it was just the hair.”
“Well, the hair may be a trigger, although I swear she’s been watching you more and more in class lately.”
“Is she into women? Not that I would have a problem with that since I myself am into them. Some of them, anyway.”
“Are you?”
Melina nodded.
“My sister’s a lesbian,” Cindy told her.
“Oh, is she?”
Cindy nodded. “As for whether or not the teacher is, I can’t say for sure, but that’s the impression I get.”
After a few more minutes of small talk, mostly about the weather, Melina began the pleasant walk back to Don’s house, meeting Marnie along the way.
“Where’s Annabelle?” she asked her.
“She took off to do some sunning in the park not too far from here. The one we were at over the weekend.”
Melina asked, “Something wrong with Don’s backyard?”
“Yeah,” said Marnie. “It lacks people to check out.”
A few days later, Melina was seated at the dining table with her friends, Don and Serena. They were enjoying a midweek roast chicken dinner. It was important to Serena that they all eat together at the table as a “family” at least a few times a week, she told them.
Annabelle and Marnie were discussing how they were starting to miss home.
“I’m having a blast, Uncle Don, don’t get me wrong. But there’s still no place like home,” said Annabelle.
Marnie said she agreed and asked Melina how she felt about going home.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to leave just yet. It’s really turned out to be a far more interesting experience than I ever expected. Even all this rain is a nice change. Plus, I still want to learn as much Italian as I can, even if I never have much use for it. But I don’t see how I could stay any longer than we already planned on.”
“Well,” said Don, “you’ve proven to be as knowledgeable with computers as we’ve heard you are, so maybe I could set you up with something at the school—though you would have to apply for a work visa first.”
“That’d be great! Then I could save up for a place of my own.”
The others laughed, and Marnie said, “You know your folks just might have a heart attack over the idea of you not returning home.”
Melina shrugged and said, “Well, it wouldn’t have to be forever.”
“Nothing wrong with considering it, though,” said Don.
“Yeah, it’s up to you, girlfriend. You’re an adult. I’d just think you’d get sick of it in a few months,” said Annabelle. “You keep saying how you don’t like the cooler weather. Especially the humidity.”
“The dry heat might be something I’d miss,” Melina agreed.
“You’re young,” said Don, “so just take it one day at a time.”
Later on, in her room, Melina worked on her laptop, thankful for Don’s wireless connection. The sun had fully set, and the others were going about their usual evening routine. The subtle sounds and movements around her kept her from feeling alone. She liked how Italy seemed quieter, more laid-back. Most places around her home in the desert were crowded and noisy in a way that was irritating and distracting—not soothing and comforting.
Signorina Givanni.
Now, why had the teacher’s smiling face suddenly popped into mind?
Again.
Could it be that she was developing a crush on the lovely Italian teacher, whether she liked her as well or not?
Nah, she told herself. Signorina Givanni is so just there. Wasn’t she?
Melina replied to an email message from her mother back home, making sure to show off some of the Italian she’d learned so far.
Signorina Givanni again.
Maybe she wasn’t so ordinary after all. Would she keep coming to mind if she were? Melina almost couldn’t wait to return to class just to study the teacher more intently, to see if she could figure out what it was about her—and if she’d feel any different. Not that she didn’t recognize the slow yet sure feelings developing within her. She’d had a few crushes before. Only problem was that one girl was straight, one was taken, and one was a celebrity.
Why bother? she argued with herself. What’s the point in starting something you may not be around to see through? Besides, you don’t even know if the feeling’s mutual in the first place—just because Cindy said it might be.
But this didn’t stop Melina from going to bed that night with thoughts of possibly staying in Italy.
And of Signorina Givanni.
Melina was pissed. She’d missed the lunch break, which was the best time to catch Signorina Givanni alone—unless she ate elsewhere—but she had to take care of a problem she was having with her laptop first.
She didn’t arrive at the classroom until class was just starting.
Signorina Givanni was just sitting down behind her desk when the heavy beaded necklace she wore swung outward and into what remained of the salad she’d eaten, scattering the greens around her desk. Melina, who was right in front of the desk at that instant, laughed.
The teacher sighed with frustration, looked up at Melina, and curtly said, “Seduti.”
A ripple of laughter erupted throughout the room. Then the teacher spoke louder and more sternly.
Great, thought Melina as she hurried toward the back of the room. Way to go, you stupid fool!
Deciding that Signorina Givanni didn’t like her the way she was coming to like her, she made herself comfortable at the computer and concentrated on learning more vocabulary. Yet, as if she hadn’t already given the sexy teacher reason enough to be annoyed with her, she had to go and accidentally pop her bubble gum too loudly.
She glanced toward the front of the room at Signorina Givanni, smiled, and said, “Mi dispiace.”
The teacher responded by pointing to the trash can.
Melina took off her headphones and walked to the front of the room, her long braid swinging behind her. Once again, she smiled apologetically. The teacher gave her a quick, half-assed smile and nod as she spat out her gum, but that was okay. She didn’t even expect that much.
A half hour later, the teacher was slowly threading her way through the aisles, glancing at everyone’s desk. Melina dared glance up at her as she came toward her and was surprised by a more genuine and energetic smile. Melina smiled back, then continued to study the woman as she headed away from her and down the next row of desks. Olive-gray sweater vest over an equally dull-colored crème blouse. A knee-length wool skirt in the same drab greenish gray, with brown loafers to top it all off. Nothing Melina would be caught dead in. Yet despite the dull attire and lack of makeup, there certainly was no denying that there was something appealing about the woman. Melina wasn’t sure what it was. Was it her body? Was it her voice? Or could it be the way she moved?
She went from trying to figure out what attracted her to the teacher and on to trying to guess whether or not she could be a lesbian.
Yeah, she could be. She had “that look.” But she could also be just about anything at the same time. She could be a housewife. She could be a mom. She could be a secretary. She could even be a doctor or a lawyer.
Melina turned away as the teacher began to face her direction, catching an impish grin from Cindy, who’d seen her checking her out. She couldn’t help but grin too, as she faced the monitor before her. She doubted the teacher had been aware that she was observing her, but she probably caught the knowing grins she’d exchanged with Cindy.
When the classroom emptied out for afternoon break, Melina took as much time as she could in preparing to leave. Much to her pleasure, though, the fine-looking teacher herself lent a helping hand at making sure she didn’t leave in too much of a hurry by striking up a conversation.
“Come stai?” asked the teacher as she approached her.
Melina thought a moment, then looked up the word she wanted to say in the computer’s English-Italian dictionary. When she found the word for slow, she said, “Lento.”
“Oh,” said Signorina Givanni.
Very slowly, and perhaps with some poor pronunciation, Melina said, “Il vocabolario è progressione bene, ma io avendo difficoltà con la grammatica. La maggior parte è simile allo spagnolo, ma alcuno non è lo stessi.”
From the corner of her eye, Melina could see that a tall person had filled the doorway. She assumed it was Nara.
“Se tu disposta a rimanere durante la rottura, io sto felice di aiuto.”
Melina was confused. “Che?”
Nara stepped into the room. She wore her usual more colorful attire—a bright white top with a long, flowing abstract-designed skirt of many colors. Her hair, parted at the side, fell in soft, wavy layers nearly to the middle of her back. Her eyes were made up nicely, and the cranberry-colored lipstick she wore on her full lips went well with her glossy black hair. “She’s offering to help you if you can stay through the afternoon break.”
Melina smiled gratefully and rose from her seat, slinging her purse over her slender shoulder. “Oh, grazie! That’d be wonderful.”
Nara said something to Signorina Givanni in Italian.
“I really do appreciate—”
“No. No inglese,” the teacher interrupted. “Dovete parlare solo in italiano.”
“Io...” Melina struggled to think of the word for appreciate “…falice,” she concluded instead.
The two teachers laughed, and then Signorina Givanni noticed her nails again. She took hold of one of her hands and laughed at the now blood-red nails with tiny white polka dots.
“Io sempre fare cualcosa differente con la mia una.”
“Le mie unghie,” Signorina Givanni gently corrected, then pointed out her own very short and unpolished nails, saying something Melina didn’t understand.
“Che?”
“Le mie unghie e i miei capelli non sviluppano veloce.”
That time, Melina understood that she was saying her hair and nails didn’t really grow much.
Then she said something else in Italian that Melina didn’t get. She glanced at Nara.
“She said it takes her a whole two years just to get her hair past her shoulders.”
Melina cracked up with laughter. “Due anni?”
Signorina Givanni laughed too and nodded. Then she asked a question. Melina didn’t get that one either and again turned to Nara.
“She’s curious as to why all the makeup.”
To hope to turn you on, Melina thought devilishly.
“Uh, why not?”
“Perché no?” translated Nara.
“Ma tu non ne hai bisogno della truccata.”
“I don’t look good in it?” Melina asked Nara.
“No. You don’t need it, she says.”
“Oh,” Melina said with a smile. “Mi ricorda quello.”
After Melina had thanked Signorina Givanni once again, she was gone.
Holy shit! I think Cindy might have been right!
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.