No, Melina later told herself, unable to get Signorina Givanni off her mind. It can’t be. It can’t be that this teacher, God only knows how many years older, could possibly like me. I’m just a young foreigner who doesn’t know where the hell she’s going in life. So how could she possibly like me?
Yet it was a fun thought to entertain, and entertain it she would for as long as she could.
“What’s got you humming so happily?”
Melina looked up, startled by her friend’s voice. “Oh, Annabelle! I didn’t hear you come upstairs.”
“What’s up?”
“One of the Italian teachers.”
“Huh?” asked Annabelle, face full of confusion.
“You know the teacher whose computer I’ve been using?”
“Yeah. What about her?”
Melina grinned mischievously.
“Oh, my God, you like her!” Annabelle said with a laugh.
Melina nodded and said, “There’s just something about her. What do you think?”
“I don’t know her on the inside, but on the outside, I’d say she’s just there. Sorry.”
“That’s ok. I can see where some would find her a bit ordinary.”
“But if you like her, that’s cool. Does she know it?”
“Of course not, but here’s the catch.”
“What’s that?”
“One of her students—the one I told you about that speaks English—thinks she likes me, too.”
Annabelle’s smile widened. “Oh, that’s awesome!”
“What’s so awesome?” asked Marnie, who had just come into the room.
Melina told her about Signorina Givanni.
“Hey, wow! That’d be way cool if she did like you. Especially since you said you might want to stick around a little longer.”
“Is she part of the reason you might want to stick around longer?” asked Annabelle.
“She could be. Especially if there’s a chance the feeling may be mutual.”
“Well, go for it, girl!” said Marnie.
Footsteps sounded just outside the door in the hallway. A moment later, they saw Annabelle’s uncle.
“Hi, Uncle Don,” said Annabelle.
“Hiya, girls. How goes it?”
“Good,” said Marnie. “Melina has someone she may want to stick around for.”
“Shhh!” hissed Melina. Then she said to Don, “Well—uh—there is someone I kind of like, but I really like Italy so far, too. I know Annabelle and Marnie are thinking of leaving soon, but I’m thinking I just may sell my ticket back home and apply for that work visa we talked about the other day.”
“Oh, ok,” said Don. “Well, think about it for another week or so, and then if you still feel the same when these two head home, we can definitely consider it. Until then, Serena will be serving up her famous spaghetti and meatballs in about ten minutes.”
After Don left, the girls made plans for that evening and then headed down to dinner.
As was getting to be the case more and more lately, Melina felt her heartbeat speed up as the school came into view the following day. Butterflies rippled through her belly as she anticipated seeing Signorina Givanni. She also felt a surge of self-consciousness she didn’t usually feel unless she was around someone she really liked.
She wore almost no makeup. Just a touch of lip gloss was all she wore. Her long mane hung loose, completely covering her back, though she had the sides pulled back to keep it out of the way.
She was dressed in a floral top that had hot pink flowers against a bright white background and shiny silver trim that matched her silver nail polish. The material parted in front just under her chest, leaving most of her midriff exposed. She also wore denim shorts that went midway down her thighs and wedge sandals with a bit of a heel.
She entered the surprisingly deserted building and threaded her way through the corridors until she came to the one that led to Signorina Givanni’s room. Her heartbeat quickened even more once she reached it and saw the teacher speaking with Nara just outside their doors.
Signorina Givanni saw her and eyed her intently. Was it with approval or disapproval? Then she smiled apologetically and said, “No, no.” Then, using gestures, she explained in the only language she knew that her stomach had to be covered and that shorts weren’t allowed. “È bene per oggi, ma non per domani,” she added.
Melina apologized as the teacher checked out her silvery nails and Nara told her she looked nice otherwise.
“Grigia metallizzita?” asked Melina, unsure if she had the right words for ‘silver.’
The teachers laughed.
“Grigia metallizzata,” Signorina Givanni corrected.
“I’m gonna be a tough one to train,” said Melina with a mock warning.
After Nara interpreted for her, Signorina Givanni said something she didn’t understand, and she looked questioningly at Nara, who said, “She said that’s ok, she can handle you.”
“Ooh, you’re tough,” Melina said to Signorina Givanni as she entered her classroom, knowing Nara would interpret that, too.
A few minutes later, Signorina Givanni entered the room and, in slowly spoken Italian, she told Melina to wait outside because she had to go somewhere. “È solo per dieci minuti. Hai capito?”
“Si, va bene,” Melina said, letting the teacher know she understood she’d be gone for ten minutes. She gathered her purse and headed outside.
“Grazie,” the teacher said with a smile as she shut the door so the students couldn’t snoop through her desk unattended or go places they shouldn’t be going on the internet.
Melina wasn’t sure what to do with herself as she waited for the teacher to return. She leaned casually up against the building and watched a few people playing volleyball nearby, even though they didn’t have a net and were using what looked like a child’s pool ball.
Cindy spotted her and strode over to where she stood. “Hey, girl. I’m surprised Signorina Givanni let you in wearing that.”
“She told me it wasn’t appropriate, but that it was ok for today.”
“Lucky you. She must’ve decided she liked you in it enough to make it not worth sending you home for.”
Melina laughed.
“So how goes it?” Cindy asked.
“I don’t know if you’re right or not about her liking me, but I sure do know that I like her.”
“Really?”
Melina nodded. “Really. There’s just something about her.”
“Oh. Well, I’d be careful if I were you.”
Melina was just about to ask Cindy what she meant when the ball suddenly shot up onto the roof. She didn’t have to know much Italian yet to know the kids weren’t too happy about it either. She stepped away from the building and could see a ladder extending down from the roof which stopped about five feet above the ground.
“I might be able to get up there,” she said.
“Be careful!” Cindy warned.
“Don’t worry. It’s not that high.”
She grabbed the lowest rung of the ladder and pulled herself up to the next rung, and then the next, and the next, until her feet could reach the rungs as well. A few students gathered below to watch. She hoisted herself onto the rooftop and scanned the roof until she spotted the ball about fifteen feet away. She walked gingerly, as if the roof might cave in under her weight, and scooped the ball up. Then she headed back to the edge of the roof and threw the ball down—just in time to see that it would land on Signorina Givanni’s upper back, giving her quite a jolt that sent the group of students into a hearty fit of laughter.
The stunned Italian literature teacher spun around and looked upward. Her eyes bulged with shock and concern. “What are you doing up there?” she exclaimed in Italian. “Get down from there now!”
Laughing, Melina slowly climbed down from the roof just as Nara came into view.
“What in the world is going on out here?” she asked.
“They were playing, and the ball ended up on the roof.”
“And so, you went up and got it?”
“Sure. Why not?”
Nara shook her head in amusement, and Signorina Givanni shook her by the shoulders, though she could see by the way she smiled that she wasn’t upset with her.
“That was very kind of you to rescue the ball,” said Nara, “but in the future, you might not want to bother taking such risks, ok?”
“Ok,” Melina said with a smile.
Signorina Givanni quickly ushered her indoors.
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.