The Fall of Mangiatorvi

11: Training

The minute hand clicked to 1:05. Gemma let out an aggravated sigh. She watched the second hand on the wall run round and round in circles. The abandoned white halls of open field indicated this was when regular people ate lunch. Her stomach growled in protest, and she let out another sigh. She regretted not having breakfast with Madison. Luca demanded she meet him at 12:30, despite her complaints about lunch. Her texts went unanswered. The chair let out a screech as she got to her feet, ready to leave just as Luca strolled in. 

His hair was now lightly styled, unlike this morning. Luca maintained focus on a coned, triangular snack he brought. He took a seat in the chair Gemma just got up from. The cheese oozed from the corners of the trapizzino as he took a big bite.

"Are you kidding me?" she spat.

"What?" he asked, not even bothering to look up at her.

"I've been waiting for half an hour. I said we should meet at one and you insisted you had a meeting at 1:30."

"I was hungry," he shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" Gemma repeated, louder this time.

"Take a sit, I will be done in a minute."

Gemma, overwhelmed with animosity, thought back to breakfast. If he thought this was how the remainder of the semester would go, he was sorely mistaken. Taking a page out of Ian's book, she slapped the trapizzino out of Luca's hand. Luca rose quickly to his feet, indignant. Satisfaction filled Gemma as the look of pretentious nonchalance was quickly replaced by startled outrage. He looked her in the eye for the very first time.

"Do you know who I am?" he demanded, his voice a harsh whisper.

"I know who you are, and I know what you are- a brat," Gemma declared, standing toe to toe with him. She poked him in the chest. "I don't care if you're king of the universe. You don't get to go around treating people like they're minions."

"You-"

"I'm not done, asshat. I will be here at exactly four tomorrow afternoon, and so will you. Now if you'll excuse me, your majesty, I'm late for my meeting with a burger."

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Luca was bewildered. He absentmindedly rubbed his chest where she jabbed him as he watched her walk away. Only one other person in his entire life had ever dared speak to him in that manner. He could have her arrested for assault. Yet, his fury vanished as quickly as it appeared. Luca shook his head with a wry smile. The honors had its perks when he was a petulant child, but now he consistently found himself surrounded by grossly obsequious goons and starstruck fans. Everyone wanted something from him. This was borderline refreshing.

He gave his trapizzino, which was now a muck on the floor, a solemn send-off before walking a few doors down. A huge smile took over his face. His eyes landed on Haruhi, reading in the practice room. She sat with her knees tucked beneath her. The bare, white training room bore no windows, yet patches of flowers sprouted in the corner she resided in. He liked how the lavender morning glories matched the floral design on her blouse. Luca checked his watch, quickly fixed his hair and straightened his shirt. He knocked and entered.

Her pretty almond-shaped eyes narrowed. Luca tried to maintain his smile.

"You're early," she said.

"Uh, I can come back if you are busy."
"No, we can begin."

Two thick vines shot out of the white walls and ensnared Luca's wrists, suspending him into the air. Luca hesitated for only a moment before sending his lightning bolts from the top of the room. The hesitation was enough time for Haruhi's protective light shield to fend off the attack. The lightning reflected off the shield, shaking the room with a violent crackle. Her hair stood up on its ends, but she was unscathed. Luca quickly destroyed the vines with a blaze of fire, but as he turned to attack he was forced to shield his eyes from a harsh flash of light.