Getting the Boot Read online

  He continued with a bunch of everyday stuff—Internet use, laundry, cell-phone rentals—plus house rules and curfew time, which was eleven o’clock weeknights (or twenty-three hours, as they put it in Europe) and 1 A.M. weekends. Not too bad.

  Then it was time to meet the resident staff members. While many of the program instructors lived off campus, a few, along with Dr. Wainwright and Signor and Signora Peretti, the janitor and the cook, lived in a smaller building just behind the school. Kelly wondered whether their rooms had air-conditioning.

  “This is my A-team,” Dr. Wainwright said. “They will accompany you on field trips both inside and outside Rome, and will be available, along with me, to provide you with any advice and assistance you need.”

  Each person stepped forward modestly as Dr. Wainwright introduced them.

  The first was Steve, a jovial, red-haired guy from Wisconsin who looked like a grown-up frat boy. He would be teaching classes in ancient history and archaeology. Out of the corner of her eye, Kelly could see Sheela nodding approvingly; archaeology was totally her thing.

  Next up was Marco, the language instructor. He spoke English with a charming British-Italian accent, and he had really nice, shiny black hair. Too bad he was a teacher—a cute, smart Italian guy was exactly what Kelly was looking for. Maybe she’d hold off on the blond dude for a little while; it would be so much cooler to date a European.

  The third person caught Kelly’s attention immediately. This was the sort of chic, striking Italian woman Kelly wanted to emulate. She had large gray eyes, reddish-brown curls that tumbled just to her shoulders, and a warm smile. But her perfect posture and regal bearing also gave her the air of someone you didn’t want to mess with. When she introduced herself as Andrea (pronounced the Italian way, on-DRAY-uh), Kelly was surprised to hear a plain old American accent. Andrea was finishing her Ph.D. in art history, and was teaching classes not only in that, but also in studio arts. Now you’re talking, Kelly thought. Sitting in a shady park, painting the pretty scenery, or sketching in some nice, cool air-conditioned gallery.

  Dr. Wainwright stepped forward again. “We have many other teachers who live off campus, and guest instructors will come in frequently to give lectures and workshops on subjects ranging from cooking to architecture to Mussolini. Also, summer classes are open to students who attend this school during the year, so there will be around twenty other pupils in class every day. That will give you a nice opportunity to meet kids from all over the globe.” Hanging out with the jet set! Exactly what Kelly had in mind.

  “That’s it—intros over,” Dr. Wainwright finished. “Let’s go get some of the best Italian food you’ve ever tasted!”

  The entire group walked over to a restaurant in the neighborhood, where Dr. Wainwright had reserved a back room. Kelly quickly noticed a couple of empty spaces near Cute Boy. But first, she headed over to Sheela, who was waving at Kelly to join her and their suite mates.

  “Thanks for saving me a spot,” Kelly said, “but there’s someone at the other end of the table who requires my attention.”

  Sheela shrugged. “I guess he’s cute, if you like that type. But I thought you had your heart set on a native.”

  “Just keeping my options open.” Kelly smiled and swung her hair over her shoulder. “Buon appetito.”

  Kelly strode confidently toward Cute Boy, noting that his broad shoulders looked just as good from the back as they did from the front. “Mind if I sit here?”

  C.B. shooed the guy next to him down a seat and patted the chair. “It’s all yours. I’m Joe, and my roommate here is Rodney.” Rodney, an almost-as-hunky African-American guy, nodded absently, already deep into his first plate of pasta.

  Kelly gestured toward the buffet table. “Back in Chicago, my favorite Italian food is deep-dish pizza. I don’t know what half this stuff is.”

  Joe flashed a smile. “I don’t even care what it is, as long as it’s pasta. Where I come from, carbo-loading is practically against the law.”

  “And where is that?” Kelly asked.

  “Southern Cal,” Joe replied. “Malibu. The surfing is great, but there’s only so much sashimi and tofu one person can eat.”

  Kelly wrinkled her nose. “I hate that kind of stuff.”

  “Yeah, and staying off it obviously hasn’t done you any harm.” Joe grinned flirtatiously. “Ready to hit the buffet and break a few laws with me?”

  “Bring it on,” Kelly answered, beaming back into his tan face.

  Kelly filled her plate, inhaling the aroma of fresh basil and garlic. Cute boys, great food, and three months abroad. It couldn’t get any better than this.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Missing you

  Hi Kel,

  Just in case you’re wondering, the summer is going to be a total disaster. Tyffani and I went to the mall yesterday, but we could hardly bring ourselves to buy anything without you. Tyff has been moping NONSTOP. You better e-mail us with the scoop on Rome. It’s your duty as my best friend to tell me everything about the Italian boys you meet over there!

  Starr

  The first day of orientation, Marco took everybody on a tour of the Forum. Kelly and Sheela walked over the rutted cobblestones, looking at the ancient ruins in amazement. “This was the heart of ancient Roman society,” Marco told them. “In the Forum, Romans celebrated, worshiped, orated, and governed.”

  “This is amazing,” Sheela whispered to Kelly as they walked past the court buildings and temples. “So much history happened here. I’ll bet that’s where Caesar’s senators murdered him.” She pointed to a spot where several bouquets of flowers had been laid.

  Kelly winced. “I’ll tell you what’s murder; walking around on these cobblestones.”

  “And whose fault is that? Leave it to you to wear kitten heels to the Forum.”

  Despite her achy feet, Kelly laughed. “I’m proud of you! You correctly used an actual fashion term!”

  Sheela nodded modestly. “We nerds call it osmosis. After hanging around with you all these years, it was inevitable that something would sink in. Tell my friends at home and I’ll kill you.”

  “Hey, babe,” a voice behind Kelly said. An arm wrapped around her waist, and Kelly turned to find Joe.

  “Shh.” Kelly put a finger to her lips jokingly. “We’re supposed to be learning about the Forum.”

  “Yeah, right,” said Joe, playing along. He leaned forward with a mock-serious expression, pretending to hang on Marco’s every word.

  “The Romans also shopped, ate, drank, hung out with their friends, and went to the health spa here,” Marco said. “This was probably the first mall in the world.”

  “Where’s the food court?” Joe called out, giving Kelly a companionable elbow in the ribs. She cracked up, noticing from the corner of her eye that Sheela’s expression had turned to stone.

  Marco seemed equally unamused, so Joe continued his satirical running commentary in a whisper. But even at that level, Kelly could tell that Sheela was getting exasperated.

  “I’m going to catch up with Minnie,” Sheela whispered abruptly. She worked her way to the other side of the group before Kelly could answer.

  “What’s with her?” Joe asked, watching her take off.

  “Sheela’s really into history, that’s all. She takes this pretty seriously.”

  “Good thing we don’t have that problem, huh?”

  Kelly smiled mischievously. “Yes, a very good thing.” This place was interesting, but after a while Marco’s stories all started to sound the same. And the broiling sun wasn’t helping Kelly concentrate any more than Joe’s wisecracks.

  After what seemed like hours, the group left the Forum and made the short walk to the Colosseum.

  “This was the giant sports arena of ancient Rome,” Marco told them. “Those days, entertainment revolved around killing and mutilation. Gladiators fought gladiators, criminals were forced to fight each other to the death, a
nd wild animals often got thrown into the mix, for a little extra fun.”

  “What a bunch of sickos,” Kelly whispered to Joe, who obviously loved every gory detail. “Lisa must be having a stroke about the animal thing.”

  Joe shrugged. “She’s the one with hairy pits, right? Man, did you end up with a bunch of loser roommates. Maybe she’ll be so offended that she’ll have to go home. That would be a shame.”

  After lunch, Andrea took over for Marco and led the group for a walk along the Aurelian Wall, which surrounded and protected ancient Rome from invaders. Kelly’s ears perked up as soon as Andrea started talking. Andrea was dressed in a chic linen pantsuit that was perfect for the hot day.

  “Great,” Joe muttered in Kelly’s ear. “More useless information. I would so much rather be catching some z’s right now.”

  “Shush,” Kelly ordered. “I want to hear what she’s saying.”

  Kelly moved toward the front of the group as Andrea stopped in front of a small stone building.

  “This temple is dedicated to a great figure from mythology. See if you can guess who he is. His father was a god, his mother a mortal. In a fit of madness, he killed his own wife and children and was given twelve labors to atone for his deed. Anybody?”

  Kelly’s hand shot up. She couldn’t wait to show Andrea that she’d studied up for this trip.

  Andrea nodded at her. “Yes, Kelly?”

  “It’s obvious,” Kelly said. “The guy with the weird heel. The word kill is in his name. Achilles.”

  Kelly heard muffled giggles throughout the group, and her face flamed.

  “Good guess, Kelly,” Andrea said. “Anyone else?”

  Lisa’s hand shot up. “Hercules, son of Zeus,” she said smugly.

  “That’s correct,” Andrea said. She went on to explain the temple’s history, but Kelly was too embarrassed to pay attention. It was only when the group stepped inside a second little building that Kelly realized she recognized it. “Roman Holiday!” she burst out. Everybody looked at her like she was nuts, except for Andrea, who smiled.

  “You’re absolutely right. Has anyone else seen the movie?” A couple of kids raised their hands sheepishly. Kelly silently thanked her parents for renting it the night she finally got her acceptance letter from the S.A.S.S. program.

  “Why don’t you tell everyone what it was about?”

  Kelly used her practiced, drama-club voice. “It’s about this teen princess visiting Rome who gets sick of being royalty and runs away. Since she’s really chic and beautiful, naturally she attracts the attention of a hot young reporter, who takes her all over the city. Then, of course, they fall in love.”

  Kelly finished, looked up at Joe through her thick eyelashes, and smiled. For the first time all day, she felt smart.

  “This is the Bocca della Veritá, or the Mouth of Truth.” Andrea pointed to the fierce stone face mounted on the wall. “It’s most likely a two-thousand-year-old manhole cover, but medieval legend had it that if a liar stuck his or her hand into the mouth, it would get snapped off by this guy’s jaws.” She stuck her hand in the mouth and yelled in alarm. A couple of kids jumped. “That’s what freaked out Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, and it probably still freaks out at least one person every single day.” She removed her untouched hand and laughed.

  As the group filed out of the portico, Joe grabbed Kelly’s arm to hold her back. He placed her hand inside the Mouth of Truth.

  “So, Kelly”—Joe leaned toward her—“do you have a boyfriend?”

  Kelly laughed. That was another question she knew she could answer.

  “Not yet,” she said, and they both smiled.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Rome-ance

  Dear Starr,

  Wassup? I am so tired it’s ridiculous. The past few days, all we’ve done is walk, walk, walk. Our neighborhood is up on this hill, and it looks like we’ll be covering every inch of it.

  It’s really pretty here in Aventino. Last night the director, Dr. Wainwright (who’s very cool), took us to this public rose garden near our school for a concert. We got a private tour of the place first, which was okay, and then had to listen to boring classical music for an hour. Sheela loved it, duh.

  Luckily, Rome has a super-romantic atmosphere, because I met the most amazing guy!!! His name is Joe, and he’s gorgeous. Best of all, he’s a for-real surfer, from Southern California!!! We’ve been really busy with orientation, but I’ve gotten to hang out with him a bit. Hoping to hang out a lot more . . .

  Tell me EVERYTHING going on there. I miss you guys sooo much!!! Gotta go. Talk to you in a few days.

  Ciao,

  Kel

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: RE: Rome-ance

  Kel,

  You go all the way to Rome and fall for a guy from California? I guess that means more cute Roman boys for me when it’s my turn to go! I can live with that. Now let’s talk about something really important . . . how’s the shopping?

  Starr

  Classes were starting the next day, and Kelly had convinced Sheela to go shopping with her for school supplies. In the first hour, Kelly bought an adorable pair of strappy sandals (no heels this time!) and a baby tee from a street vendor that said CIAO on it. When Sheela finally pointed out to her that neither strictly qualified as a “school supply,” Kelly relented and agreed to go into a stationery store.

  The first thing Kelly grabbed was a handful of brightly colored pens. “Aren’t they perfect? I’m getting a different color for each class. That way all my notes will be organized.”

  “Speaking as your oldest friend and roommate,” Sheela said, “it’s going to take a lot more than colored pens to keep you organized.”

  “Well, whatever. Maybe the bright colors will keep me from nodding off in history.”

  Kelly scanned her class schedule to see what else she needed. She had assured her parents she would work hard this summer, and it was important that her course load look serious. But she was hoping looks could be a little bit deceiving; she wanted to fit in as much fun as possible. Unless students specifically wanted school credit, math and science were optional. This suited Kelly just fine; she would rather have scrubbed toilets all summer than dealt with math equations. Kelly liked to draw, so she had chosen Introduction to Art History and Studio Arts; it was an added bonus that Andrea, her new favorite teacher, taught both. She was also pleased to discover that Marco the cute professor was her Beginning Italian teacher. She had rounded things out with the History of Ancient Rome, which Dr. Wainwright and Steve were teaching together.

  Sheela was busy loading up on notebooks and folders for what seemed to Kelly like dozens of courses. Back home, Sheela only took accelerated classes, and things were no different in Italy: Sheela had approached class selection like a starving person at a buffet. She enrolled in everything from ancient history to volcanology. And instead of a fun elective, she chose Latin.

  Sheela consulted a long list. “I still need to swing by a bookstore to pick up some books for Orations.”

  “What’s Orations?”

  Sheela smiled. “It’s a nerd thing; you wouldn’t understand. After that, wanna head back? I’m starving.”

  Kelly collected her pens and notebooks, and threw some colored pencils and a large drawing pad onto her stack, too—sketching in the park seemed like a good way to meet the locals.

  “Hey, how about a gelato?” she asked Sheela as she paid for her things. “I still owe you one, remember?”

  Sheela grinned. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for it since we landed!”

  Two gelatos and an hour of people-watching later, Kelly and Sheela dropped their shopping bags on the floor of their room.

  “Why is shopping with you so exhausting?” Sheela said, collapsing on her bed.

  “When you shop with a master, the pleasure is worth the pain,” Kelly replied.


  “Not to me. I’m ready to pass out.”

  Kelly launched a pillow at Sheela’s head just as someone knocked on the door of their suite. She jumped up to answer it, narrowly escaping Sheela’s counterattack.

  “Hey, babe,” Joe said when Kelly opened the door.

  Kelly’s heart flopped. “Hey yourself.”

  “Rod and I are hanging out in the lounge, having a little preclass celebration. Wanna join us?”

  Kelly shot a glance back at Sheela, who had pointedly buried her nose in one of her new book purchases. There was no hope for social entertainment there.

  Joe nodded toward Sheela. “Do you really want to spend your last night before class watching her study?”

  Kelly turned back to Joe with a smile. “What’s in it for me?”

  “Come and find out. I dare you.”

  Rodney was playing his guitar when they walked into the lounge. He offered Kelly a water bottle. “Want some?”

  Kelly put the bottle to her lips, then put it down again. “Ew, what is this? It smells like turpentine.”

  Joe laughed. “Grappa. It’s great—it’ll knock you flat on your ass.”

  “When you put it that way, it sounds so appealing. I think I’ll pass.” Kelly curled up on the couch and watched Joe pull a guitar out of its case. “I didn’t know you played.”

  “I guess I’m full of surprises,” Joe said.

  Joe didn’t just play—he was seriously talented. And he and Rod made a good team, improvising and riffing off each other. Kelly shouted out requests, feeling like she had a front-row seat at her own private concert. She was so wrapped up in the music she lost track of time.