Preparation was everything to Giovanna. She sometimes would over-prepare for an exam and end up with anxiety attacks that lead her straight to the hospital. Today had been one of those days, after suffering from an intense anxiety attack that left her bedridden as her balance was knocked and standing for even a moment made her nauseous.
Giovanna couldn't even remember why she had gotten herself so worked up about, however Helga had a slight suspicion that it was the mock examination in Greek History that was the main cause, as it was her most hated subject and she feared failing in it. Magnus had the very same suspicion, though his was also more of knowledge rather than an assumption, but he had left Giovanna to do what she wanted, until it turned, almost, fatal.
Back when she was in Greece, she would often have these 'episodes' as her Papouli called them, but she could never figure out a way to prevent them or make them less scary.
The first ever anxiety attack she had was on her way to the airport with her father, but of course Gino didn't know how to handle it, nor did her grandmother, Yekatrina. Luckily for Giovanna, both her Aunty Nia and her twin Mia, on her fathers side, knew exactly how to deal with situations like that.
The schools nurse had said very little in English, however placing strict guidelines down, though thought not to discuss any of them with Giovanna herself, but through the likes of Helga and her brother Magnus, who had agreed on her behalf.
She had found herself cooped up in her bed for the entire week, each day consisted with watching boring and repetitive films with a hot water bottle placed onto her stomach and a cool flannel placed on her forehead whilst eating noodle soup, despite her having no headache nor stomachache. Though, Giovanna was deeply grateful, but her gratification was hard to notice to those on the outside. Many could think she was ungrateful and bossy, but she meant well to her loved ones, especially Magnus, who she had formed a slight bitter-sweet hatred towards. She grew annoyed when she wasn't allowed into the botanical gardens on the school grounds, and more annoyed when she wasn't even allowed down for food by herself.
After ten minutes of constant bickering, Magnus had finally agreed to accompany her to the gardens, under the condition that she was to wrap up warm and stay next to him. Without any further hesitation or questioning, Giovanna had already grabbed her unfashionable dressing gown, fluffy slippers and a warm hat before Magnus had any chance of getting his own shoes and coat on.
"Come on, I've wanted to see the outside world for the last seven days and twelve hours!" Giovanna exclaimed, her hand gripping the door handle so tight that her knuckles began turning white. Her excitement only grew further the longer it took Magnus to stand up from his seat.
Magnus didn't speak, he simply just rolled his eyes and let Giovanna practically run out of the door first. He unintentionally laughed at her actions, which gained him a very unenthusiastic glare from her. The elevator had seemed to take years, which made Giovanna grow ever so impatient, which then was turned to blame on Magnus for not pressing the button earlier.
Before the elevator doors could open, Giovanna continued to press the button more and more until she heard the unforgettable ding of the doors and considering she was practically lead on the doors, she fell forward inside, which made her laugh immensely.
"Must I always warn you to be careful, Giovanna?" Magnus spoke, rolling his eyes at her. Magnus loved Geo like a little sister, but she could be so clumsy.
"Sorry Mister Ludbroak, I promise not to do that again." She replied robotically, sticking her middle finger up at him. Instead of copying her, Magnus grabbed hold of her finger and pulled gently, which only earned him a slap on the hand and a dramatic sigh from Geo.
As each floor went down, the atmosphere grew more lively, Geo grew more giddy and Magnus grew ever so impatient and bored. Giovanna was acting like a child, which wasn't usual, but Magnus simply put it down to a lack of fresh air and sunlight for a week to be the diagnosis.
The doors swung open on the ground floor and without a second to prepare himself, Magnus was dragged by both wrists out of the elevator and towards the door. Giovanna had a lot of people glaring at her and sticking their noses up, but she didn't care. It had been the first time in a long time where she cared very little about the opinions of those around her, she was just... happy.
"Calm down, Gee! People will think I'm whisking you off on a date!" Magnus whispered quietly into Giovanna's ear. She shrugged as she continued to pull Magnus out through the one man door and towards the botanical garden.
As soon as a gust or wind hit Giovanna, she was almost taken aback. The intense change of temperature had made her glad that she was dressed for a blizzard, though Magnus had instantly regretted his poor choice of a thin leather jacket and no scarf.
The walk to the botanical gardens was short and full of meaningless chit-chat, however neither Magnus nor Giovanna could think of an interesting conversation starter to fuel an actual conversation. The gates had iced over slightly, causing Magnus to struggle for a moment to open them. As they opened, he extended an arm, allowing Giovanna to walk through first.
Giovanna hadn't noticed the true beauty of the gardens, the bright colours were still vibrant in the middle of November, they didn't look like they were ready to fade any time soon either. It reminded her of all of her time spent on the island of Gozo on holidays with her father, and even made her think of her mother.
"This place is so beautiful. I have never seen something that has such a natural beauty in all of my life." Magnus mentioned, bringing Giovanna out of her trail of thoughts. Instead of answering, she nodded agreeing with his statement.
"So romantic, as well!" She exclaimed, taking a seat on a cleared bench. There was little snow settled around her, but the soles of her boots were visible on the ground.
The rusty squeaking sound of the gate startled both Magnus and Giovanna, which caused Magnus to jump up and stand in front of her. The sound of what she could only think of to be three pairs of feet hit the ground confused her. Why ever would someone come to the gardens; apart from her, at night?
"Listen, Roman said we had little time to do this, and I've ran out of ideas!" An annoyed sounding French man said quietly to one of the others.
Giovanna and Magnus both remained incredibly quiet, but her mind travelled onto who this Roman could be, and why they had a time limit to accomplish something.
"I'll corner her soon and let the plan fall out naturally! See, Rufus is shit with ideas, I'm the man to come to!" Another, who sounded like he was from the Ukraine, said. This had apparently not gone down well with the others.
"Are you stupid, Maksym? She's always around that brute woman who'd break you in half!" Giovanna could only guess this was Rufus speaking.
"Now, now boys!" A female voice piped up, it had startled Magnus so much he snapped a twig, causing everything to go so very silent. Instead of running away, or hiding; both of them began to use the little sign language they had learned to stay and listen in.
"If anyone was to help Roman out, it'd be me; considering I am his girlfriend." The girl said, which caused the boys to laugh.
"More like friends with benefits."
This had made Giovanna snicker, causing both Magnus and her wanting, no, needing to leave.
As soon as they were out of an ears reach, Giovanna burst out into fits of laughter, it was going to be a brilliant story she could tell to Helga when they returned.
The thrill of escaping those people made both of them giddy, however Giovanna was more than giddy. It was as though she had pure ecstasy running through her.
She wanted to know who was the girl this Roman was trying to get, and why his so called girlfriend was wanting to help him.
