He took the time to freshen up too, and his wavy chestnut brown hair is simply *chef’s kiss*, but I’d never tell him that.
Two women crowd in, hanging on his every word, but he’s paused whatever he was saying to look over at me.
I’m on a NYFW catwalk as I move to join the other chaperones. Don’t trip. Don’t stumble. Chin high. Pretend no one is watching.
I stop next to Noah because the enemy you know and all that.
“You’ve freshened up so nicely, Audrey,” Lorenzo tells me, smiling kindly.
I thank him before Noah flicks my money belt in a silent jab, and I shoot him a death glare.
“Audrey, this is Gabriella and Ashley,” Lorenzo explains. “They’re the chaperones from Trinity and they arrived just yesterday. They’ll be here for most of July as well.”
I recognize Gabriella as the woman who poked her head into the restroom earlier to give her commentary on Noah. She’s tall and lithe with a mass of soft curls and a delicate navy uniform skirt and blazer. Ashley is smaller, softer, blonde. She’s wearing the same uniform as Gabriella, only in a shade of blood red. They both wear coordinating cross ties beneath the collars of their crisp white shirts.
“It’s nice to meet you, Audrey,” they tell me with big genuine smiles.
We’re waiting on a few more stragglers from Trinity before our two groups can set out for lunch led by Lorenzo. It affords me just enough time to get to know our other chaperones better. Apparently, Trinity is a private school in New York City. Ashley and Gabriella teach Latin and history, respectively, and they both hold master’s degrees from prestigious universities. Ashley is engaged, but Gabriella is single, which is a fact pointed heavily in Noah’s direction.
“And have you both been to Rome before?” I ask.
Gabriella puffs out a breath. “Oh, sheesh. This is maybe my tenth or eleventh time here? What about you, Ash?”
“Oh, who knows? My family and I always fly into Rome when we summer in Italy.”
Well la-dee-da.
“And you?” Gabriella asks Noah.
He slips his hands into his pockets and gives her a tiny smile. “First time.”
I swear she licks her chops. “Well we’ll have to take you around!” Gabriella says, edging toward him.
“Ground rules,” I whisper under my breath.
Noah covers up his laugh by clearing his throat.
The two last stragglers enter the courtyard. They’re Trinity students, but they look like adults Hollywood cast to play middle schoolers. Jesus, does that one kid have a beard?
Our Lindale boys look like pipsqueaks in comparison, and to no one’s surprise, Lizzy, Kylie, Millie, and Alice make a beeline for the Trinity boys as Lorenzo claps his hands and starts to lead us out onto the streets of Rome.
The trek from the airport is long forgotten, washed down the drain with my blood and sweat.
Now, we’ve arrived, and I take in the Eternal City with fresh eyes. Not even Noah can ruin my buzz.
All my preteen screenings of Roman Holiday didn’t prepare me for the beauty of this place. In the middle of the afternoon, the city is a sunset. Stucco walls are painted in yellows and pale pinks and dark rusts and oranges, their roofs a hodgepodge of terra-cotta tiles. Plants grow up from nothing, covering whole swaths of buildings with thirsty vines.
Lorenzo leads our large group along Via in Arcione and we pass clothing stores and restaurants, and from there, we continue onto Via del Lavatore.
The streets are narrow and the black cobblestones under our feet have been worn smooth over time. We pass a gelato shop and the kids beg us to stop, but Lorenzo waves us on with a look of pure joy in his eyes. I realize what he’s done when, a moment later, Via del Lavatore curves slightly right and we’re spit out right onto Piazza di Trevi. Just like that, we stand in front of one of the world’s most famous landmarks.
The Trevi Fountain is blinding white in the afternoon sun. The crowds are dense and loud, impatient for their chance to get close enough to throw a coin in the water to ensure a return trip to Rome. It’s pure superstition but definitely worth the wasted quarter on the off chance the wish comes true.
Lorenzo corrals our students to a spot in the center of the piazza, in the middle of the crowds.
“The center sculpture you see there in the Trevi Fountain is the Greek sea god Oceanus,” he begins to tell the students. “Unlike Neptune who carries a trifork and is often depicted with a dolphin, Oceanus is accompanied by seahorses and Tritons who are half men, half mermen. The fountain is filled with symbolism. See how Oceanus is on a shell-shaped chariot pulled by two horses, each guided by a Triton? One horse is calm while the other is unruly, and they each represent the different moods of the sea.”