A Monstrous Mistake

Chapter 1: Homecoming

The small Italian town of Portorosso was often quiet and peaceful, especially in summer. That peace was shattered when a little girl, one of several swimmers at the town's beautiful beach, screamed.

"Help! Help!" As she continued to scream, a dark shape began moving under the water, closing in on the helpless little girl. She felt two scaly hands grab her around the waist...and playfully lift her in the air. 

She giggled as she looked down at the smiling face of the lifeguard, a purple sea monster named Alberto Scorfano. "Hi, Alberto." 

"You shouldn't have swam out so far." He lightly told her as her took her back to the shallows. She was a new swimmer, and had panicked when she realized that she couldn't touch the bottom anymore. "You only just learned how to tread water. Until you're a stronger swimmer, Francesca, you need to stay where your feet can touch." 

As he made it back to the shallows, he set her back into the water, and watched as she ran to her mother on the beach. Then, noticing all of the kids staring at him, he whipped his tail back and forth, splashing all of them. They all swam, ran, or dove for cover, laughing regardless.

It had been nine months since he and his best friend, Luca Paguro, had won the Portorosso cup. Since then, the people and sea monsters of the town had lived in relative peace. A few humans, namely the town bully, Ercole, weren't too happy with it, but their complaints went unheard. 

Alberto still couldn't believe that one summer had changed the town, and his life, so much. In that time, he'd left the island that he'd once called home, met his best friend in the world, and had been adopted by Massimo Marcovaldo, the father of his other best friend, Giulia. It was Massimo who'd suggested Alberto become the new town lifeguard. After all, he was perfect for the job, and hanging out with all of the local kids helped him to not miss his friends so much.

After winning the race, Luca and Giulia had gone to school in Genoa. Luca wrote letters or called often, telling him all about Genoa and how much he was learning. Knowing that Luca was having so much fun made him feel a bit better, but he'd been counting down the days until he and Giulia came home. 

"Alberto!" The sound of his foster father's voice caused him to turn towards the beach. Massimo, the town's best fisherman, was calling him, cupping his one hand over his mouth to make himself heard. "The train is coming!" 

A grin broke out over the fourteen-year-old monster's face, and he quickly made his way to the beach. Enrico, the other lifeguard, gave him a friendly wave as Alberto ran toward Massimo. As the sun dried him off, his purple scales disappeared. By the time he reached his foster father, he looked like a perfectly ordinary human boy. Massimo, having seen the change a million times, put his arm around his adopted son and led him to the train station.

---

Luca's nose was practically pressed against the glass. He'd seen so much in Genoa, but the thought of seeing Portorosso, his parents, and Alberto again filled him with joy. The small town was the last stop on the train, and his excitement had been steadily growing throughout the ride.

Giulia, sitting next to him with a book, smiled at her friend. He grinned back, and sat back on the seat. School had been so much fun. He'd been a little behind Giulia and the other kids, at first, but his eagerness to learn had helped him to quickly catch up. The other students, as well as the teachers, had been amazed to have a sea monster in attendance, so he, as well as Giulia, had been fairly popular. Sure, someone would "accidentally" spill water on him to see him change every now and then, but Luca didn't mind. 

Now that the school year was over, the two were headed back home. Luca had written his parents and Alberto numerous letters over the last several months, but he was still desperate to see them again. He wished that they could get there faster!

As if answering his wish, the conductor announced the train's final stop: Portorosso. Giulia sprang up, stuffed her books into her backpack, and motioned for Luca to follow. The excited thirteen-year-old practically shot out of his seat.  

"Luca!"

The first thing Luca saw when he stepped off the train was his best friend running to tackle him. The two sea monsters embraced. Giulia, who'd gotten off before Luca, ran to hug her father. Luca's parents, Daniella and Lorenzo Paguro, trapped him in a smothering hug the second Alberto had let him go. 

The humans and sea monsters walked back to Massimo's house, with the three kids catching up and planning for the next night. While Luca's parents wanted him home for his first night back in Portorosso, he, Alberto, and Giulia were planning on a sleepover for the next night. 

Luca, despite enjoying talking with Alberto again, fell silent as they walked into Portorosso. The town seemed a lot smaller after his time in Genoa, but it was still undeniably beautiful. Other than the fact that the pictures and statues of fishermen killing sea monsters were gone, the town hadn't changed. Fishermen were still on the docks, people were still gathered around the ice cream store eating gelato, kids were still running around playing. The thirteen-year-old hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. 

---

He hadn't thought it possible, but in the nine months since he'd last eaten it, Luca thought that Massimo's trennete a pesto tasted better. He had to stop himself several times from foregoing his fork and eating it with his hands (although Alberto did it once or twice when he thought no one was looking). Immediately after dinner, the three kids ran out to the backyard. 

To celebrate Giulia's and Luca's being back home, the three were going to spend the night in Giulia's hideout. It was Alberto's idea, although Luca thought he'd suggested it because Giulia had gotten upset over all of the Vespa posters he'd put up in her bedroom (which, in Alberto's defense, had been his room for the last nine months).

The trio spent the next few hours talking, with Luca and Giulia telling Alberto all about Genoa and their school, while Alberto told them about what had happened in town while they'd been gone. They then moved on to what they were going to do for the summer, which then dissolved into half-baked plans of how they'd get a Vespa or how they'd make Ercole miserable. 

Sometime during the night, clouds rolled in. A light but steady rain began to fall over Portorosso. As they got wet, Alberto and Luca turned into sea monsters. But none of them cared. 

As the night wore on, they all fell asleep. It would have been the perfect start of a fantastic summer. But then, in the middle of the night, they woke up to someone screaming.