Chapter five

To my surprise, Claudio acted like a perfect gentleman and did not tell anyone about the case. I, too, avoided embarrassing him and kept it to myself. Mom came back from her vacation and looked like sweet baked buttermilk; she walked around with a constant smile on her face with an exaggerated blush on her lips. My love for Claudio faded from day to day, and when school started, I spent most of the time studying, and I no longer thought of him.

At the end of the year, I was selected from the hundred best students as the outstanding student of the whole school. In addition, I received a scholarship for a particular progressive class operating near the University of Bologna. I did not fall asleep from excitement, and mother poured me a cup of chamomile tea; when that did not help, I swallowed one of her sleeping pills, so the next day I did not wake up until mid-day.

I had no close friends in my class, though they all swarmed around me like chickens. I was the queen of the course, and everyone wanted to be near me.

A large ad posted on the board in the hallway caught my attention; the coming weekend, there will be a concert by Adriano Celentano - Il Ragazzo di Via Gluck. So I decided to go to the show to be held at the football stadium in the city. "Ciao Giusy, I see you're interested in the concert; I have tickets," said her classmate Patrizia. "Do you have an extra ticket?"

"Yes, my sister was supposed to come with me and got sick; if you want, I'll sell you a ticket, and we'll go together."

"Sure, I'd love to buy it and go with you."

"What fun," Patrizia shouted, hugging me.

"I heard you were accepted to a university preparatory program; how nice. What did your parents say about it?"

"My mother is pleased," I replied. The truth is that my mother did not react at all to me winning the scholarship; if I had won the lottery, she would have jumped off the balcony, but winning a scholarship did not excite her at all.

Our financial situation was not bad. After a year of delays, mom started getting dad's support allowance from his place of work. So, in addition to what she earned, which was not a bad salary, we were satisfied.

Saturday came, and I was supposed to go to the concert in the evening, so I asked Mom for one of her tight dresses. Mom was thinner and taller than me, and luckily the dress seemed to be sewn for me. Fortunately, the gray color matched the color of my eyes, and with the high heels, I looked older than thirteen.

Patty, (this is the name Patrizia allowed me to call her) was a very handsome girl almost a year older than me. She already had sexual experience, according to rumors circulating in our class. Still, I did not have a level of friendship with her, so that she would tell me intimate matters - but this will come later. Her big brother drove us in his car to Piazza della Pace, and before we entered the stadium, we bought two large cardboard boxes full of popcorn. After grabbing our seats, we looked around at the crowd. "Look, from here, you can see San Luca's sanctuary. Have you ever been there?"

The truth is that I never did visit there, but I wanted to show off and make an impression.

"No, I was not there, and I do not think I will be; what to see there?" She asked.

"From above, on a clear day, you can see Paris," I said, smiling.

I do not know if she took my words seriously, but she certainly did not smile but nodded understandingly.

"How high is this mountain on which the church stands?" She suddenly asked.

"About three hundred meters, but the covered corridor leading to the mountain is the longest in the world, 3.5 km walking. if you want, I can sometimes walk with you there."

The orchestra began to warm up for the show, and the stadium was surprisingly filled with many adults as well.

"Can I have some popcorn?" I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around and saw a guy about twenty in a soldier's uniform. "Serve yourself, why not?" I handed him the box. "Hey, give me some too" His friend, also a soldier reached out and grabbed a handful.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"We are from Sicily stationed in Bologna," the first replied, "My name is Rosario, and my friend is Salvatore."

"It's very nice to meet you, soldiers, I'm Giusy, and my friend is Patty," I replied.

"See you after the show; maybe we'll go for a drink," Rosario said.

"We'll see," I replied.