Chapter 24
Lina's POV
"Let's go, let's go!" Cecilia hooked her arm around mine, interrupting my thoughts.
Her body temperature was higher than mine. The force of her fingers clasping my forearm was very natural, as if we were friends who had known each other for a long time.
I instinctively tensed the muscles in my arm, but didn't pull away.
"Do you know how to get to school? Luca said it's nearby, but I have no idea about the route—I was looking at the GPS on my phone in the taxi just now, but the more I looked the more confused I got. New York streets are completely different from Rome. Rome's streets are all crooked, but crooked in a logical way. New York's streets are all straight, but being straight makes it easier to get lost. Don't you think?"
She said all this in one breath, with almost no pauses in between.
I barely managed to pick out a few keywords from her stream of words—Rome, streets, lost.
Then I gave up trying to understand what she was actually saying.
Maggie also talked fast, but Maggie's fast was predictable. I could roughly guess what she wanted to say.
However, Cecilia's fast was nonsensical. You couldn't guess at all what direction her next sentence would take.
"I'll take you," I said.
"You're so nice!" She tightened her hold on my arm a bit more. "I was a bit nervous in the car just now. After all, it's a new school and I don't know anyone—oh wait, that's not right. Now I know you! You're Luca's person, so you're my person!"
I'm Luca's person.
This sentence coming out of Cecilia's mouth felt completely different from when I thought it in my own mind.
She said it so matter-of-factly, so light and cheerful, like saying "the weather is nice today" or "I like this color."
What was I to Luca?
A protected person, a student, or a distant relative?
She didn't seem to bother defining it, just used a vague, affectionate "we" to circle everyone together.
I suddenly remembered what Luca said last night: "The old folks think I should have a 'proper female companion' by my side."
Cecilia was a distant relative of the Moretti family, someone "arranged by the elders."
She called Luca dear, but the relationship between them might be even more distant than mine with Luca.
And what exactly was hidden beneath that "dear" address, I didn't know.
But I chose to push this question down and stop dwelling on it.
Because Cecilia's words interrupted my thoughts again.
"New York smells different from Rome! The air in Rome has the scent of coffee and old stones. New York's air is cold, clean, like iced lemonade." She turned to look at me. "Lina, do you like New York?"
"It's okay," I said.
"It's okay?" She laughed. "That's such a New York answer. You know what? All New Yorkers say 'it's okay' when asked this question. I looked it up online."
I didn't know if she really looked up online "how New Yorkers answer 'do you like New York,'" or if she just said it offhand.
But Cecilia's tone was too sincere, sincere enough to make me feel it didn't matter even if she made it up.
When we reached the sandwich shop entrance, Maggie was already waiting there.
As usual, she was holding two sandwiches. She was about to wave when she saw me, but her arm stopped halfway in mid-air—because she saw Cecilia with her arm linked in mine.
"Lina! This is—" Maggie's voice carried a trace of hesitation and unconcealed curiosity.
"I'm Cecilia, Lina's new roommate!" Cecilia released my arm and actively extended her hand to Maggie, her smile extremely bright. "Are you Lina's friend? Then you're my friend! What's your name?"
Maggie was a bit dazed by Cecilia's rapid-fire self-introduction. She was stunned for a second before grasping her hand. "I'm Margaret, just call me Maggie. You're Lina's... new roommate?"
"Yes! I live next door to her!" Cecilia pointed in my direction, then looked at the two sandwiches in Maggie's hands. Her eyes brightened even more. "Wow, is this the best sandwich shop near your school? I want to buy one too! What flavor is best? Turkey breast, cheese, or beef? I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Airplane food was so bad—"
While talking, Cecilia had already pushed open the shop door and walked in. The bell at the entrance made a crisp sound.
I stood outside the door. Through the glass window, I saw Cecilia lean close to the counter. She tilted her head to look at the menu, her ponytail swaying lightly as her head moved.
The shop owner saw a new face and smiled as he introduced the signature dishes to her.
She listened very carefully, nodding from time to time, then turned her head to ask something, probably "which one do you think tastes best."
Cecilia's body language was rich and natural, not at all like a stranger who had just landed less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Lina." Maggie lowered her voice beside me and stuffed a sandwich into my hand.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, the corners of her mouth pulled into an uncertain line. "When did you get a roommate? How come you never mentioned it?"
"I only found out last night," I said.
"You only found out last night, and today she's already going to school with you?" Maggie blinked. "And—" She suddenly paused, shook her head, and her ponytail swung onto my shoulder. "And she's really pretty. I mean, really pretty. Like someone from a movie."
"Mm," I said.
Maggie glanced at me. Her lips moved as if hesitating about something, then she flipped over the sandwich she'd bitten in half and asked in an overly casual tone: "What's her relationship to you? Why did she suddenly move in next door?"
"She's Luca's distant relative."
"Oh." Maggie took a bite of her sandwich and chewed several times before swallowing.
"So, she's Luca's relative, then moved into Luca's apartment, and now she's going to school with you. And before, Luca gave you chocolate, gave you a scarf, waited for you at the school gate after school—"
"Maggie."
"I didn't say anything!" Maggie raised both hands. Her left hand was still clutching the sandwich, lettuce leaves trembling gently in the morning breeze. "I'm just stating facts. Stating facts isn't illegal."
The shop door was pushed open again. The bell rang once more.
Cecilia came out carrying a sandwich and a cup of coffee. She took a big bite, the cheese stretching into long strings.
She squinted her eyes in satisfaction. Her amber pupils turned into translucent gold in the sunlight.
"Delicious!" She exclaimed in Italian, then switched back to English. "This shop is really good! I'm coming here every day from now on."
Cecilia stepped to my other side, switched the coffee to her left hand, and naturally hooked her right arm around mine—the exact same position as when we left the apartment, the exact same force.
"Let's go, let's go! Show me the school!" she said.