Chapter Text
Oh, Italy…
Land of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, wine, Gucci, pasta and many other wondrous things…. Every little enchantment on this country would be marvelous for you to enjoy…
That’s if you weren’t looking for a job for weeks here.
Italy is facing a recession and being new on the job market is not a good sign. Just thinking about that last phrase makes you feel nauseated; probably for hearing it over and over again from the hotels, stores, fishmongers… all justifying how ‘your services are not needed on the moment’. But your family needs the money to survive these horrible times and you WILL save your family, no matter what.
Today you try your luck in Venice early in the morning to not waste any time, bringing copies of your CV with you. You wear a simple black dress and heels to cause a good impression (‘hells’ would be a more appropriate name for these things; you are wearing them for minutes and your feet already hurt). The salty breeze of the Venetian Lagoon invites you to relax on a gondola, but you must not forget why you are here. You take a deep breath in sadness for not being able to appreciate this now, but you stand determined on your steps towards every restaurant you could find, bumping into some tourist along the way; you can feel sorry later, now you have really important things to do.
“We are not hiring right now”
—Ok, thank you for your time.
“We are not interested in more employees at the moment”
—Ok, thank you.
“Your qualities do not fit in what we are looking for”
—Ok.
“You know, we’re out of jobs, but if you really want some money, I know a guy who would be interested on buying your ‘body services’, if you know what I mean…”
—…
The little hope you have gets crushed every time you hear one of these. It’s already midday and you made no progress at all; you keep your head high on the outside, but you can already feel your legs weak and that burning on the back of your throat for holding your tears. What are you going to say if you come back home still unemployed… again? You parents would be disappointed? Is your fate to struggle even when there is no chance?
You stop for a moment and feel your legs get wobbly, the sudden hush on your heart and the feel to pass out. You need to sit down and think properly; maybe it’s just hunger; after all you didn’t eat today since you left your house this morning. You look to your side and see a small café with a few green tables outside. You hush to them as quickly as your body manages at the moment to sit. The chairs are really uncomfortable and hurt the back of your thighs, but you can’t be bothered right now, because your mind is a whirl of thoughts and bad feelings.
You look at the small menu on the table, yet unable even to concentrate to read. So you take your time on deep breaths to calm down first, admiring the birds and trying to empty your mind.
—What am I going to do?
On your distractions, your hear the table in front of yours; sitting there, a dark haired boy wearing an orange bandana who stares with eyes wide open to a piece of paper, sweating bullets, holding his head with both of his hands. Analyzing further, you notice it is a bunch of math exercises. Well, each single human being has its own hell. You observe him more as he touches the paper with his pencil, but doesn’t write anything. He is clearly afraid to write anything at all. He bites his lower lips, looks angry at the numbers as if trying to thread them and make they tell the answer. After some seconds, he slams his head against the table with a grunt, showing his frustration and will to give up. You giggle a bit. Poor guy… Maybe you both could use some talk.
You get up, supporting your weight on the table for still feeling dizzy and walk towards the boy. He’s still with his head on the table, so he didn’t even notice your presence.
—Hm… Hi.
He suddenly raises his head clearly scared and for a fraction of a second he looks like he was about to cry, but the bandana boy quickly changes his expression to a surprise one when his eyes meet yours.
—Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. May I sit with you?
He clearly feels uneasy. Sure, it isn’t every day that a stranger asks to sit with you in a café, but you don’t know if this feeling is exactly because of you, still he is receptive.
—Y-Yeah.
You sit in front of him and in this period of time, he looks to the sides, waiting for something.
—Having trouble there?
You look at the paper and analyzing it closer, there was a lot of eraser marks, some areas even looked like they were about to tear apart from so much friction. The despair and rage are back on his face.
—Numbers are bullshit! I don’t need these!
—Oh come on, don’t let them frighten you. Try the first one, it looks easy.
—But what if I make a mistake?
—Well… I guess you have to try again then until you get it right.
For the look on his face, he just had an epiphany. Probably no one ever told him it’s okay to make mistakes and try again… And you know it more than no one else how you try it. He gulps and turns his face back to a simple ‘30x10’ mathematical problem on the table. You can see the sweat forming on his temples and the veins popping on his neck. Wow, this kid is really trying hard. After about half minute, he finally writes and shows you: ‘30x10=310’.
—That’s not the answer, but hey you got pretty close! So I’ll give you half a point for getting this far and for giving your best.
You’re not his tutor or his parents, but his eyes sparkled with happiness for getting a compliment. He got up form he chair and started jumping with joy with his hands in the air.
—YEAAAAHHH!! I’M GETTING BETTER!!! SUCK ON THAT, FUGO!!!!
He sure is excited to keep trying. At least your day won’t be all of a failure; you made someone happy today and it was enough to make you smile today. When he finally finishes his celebration, he sits down again.
—Thank you for the help! My name is Narancia! Nice to meet you!
You feel your stomach ache with hunger now; the intensity so big you don't even answer him. Narancia notices your look of discomfort right away.
—Uh? Something wrong, miss? You don’t look so good.
You try the best poker face you could.
—No, I’m okay.
He looks at your face suspecting of your answer.
—Look, I’m dumb in math, but I’m no fool. You look pale and ready to pass out. Let me at least pay your help with a good meal!
Narancia got up from his table again, but this time his hands reached out for yours. You didn’t want him to pay for anything, but didn’t want to be rude either. So you gave him your hand, and so he guided you inside the café.
—Oi, Mista! Can I borrow some money from you? This girl deserves some pizza!
And there, sitting on a table, was a blonde man, a goth, a guy wearing a strange hat and a man with a red suit full of holes.
……What have you got yourself into now?