Ariane woke up from her slumber when her phone’s ringtone filled every corner of the room.

Ariane immediately picked up her phone, and she checked the caller ID while she was still lying on the bed. And as soon as her eyes settled on the phone screen‚ she couldn’t help but frown when she read Christine’s name on the screen.

“What?” Ariane asked with so much irritation in her voice as soon as she answered the phone call.

“How’s your stay there? Have you explored the place?” Christine asked in a serious tone.

Ariane rolled her eyes in annoyance. She can’t really help but roll her eyes every time Christine acts like her mother, who can’t almost breathe when unable to check her out.

“Not yet. I still have jet lag. Maybe I’ll start roaming around the area tomorrow morning‚” Ariane answered.

A yawn immediately escaped from Ariane’s mouth after she finished her sentence.

“Oh, okay. How long will you stay there, by the way?” Christine asked again.

“One month, I guess‚” Ariane answered with obvious uncertainty.

“And then after that‚ are you going to fly to another country?” Christine asked for the third time, which made Ariane frown again.

Ariane could feel it. Christine has something to say. She’s not the type of person who will ask too many questions without any reason. But instead of directly asking her‚ Ariane just shrugged it off and let Christine tell her what she had to say on her own.

“Yes. I’ll go as planned‚” Ariane answered with a plain voice and moved a little to lay on the bed on her side so she could let her phone rest on her left ear without holding it.

Ariane is still sleepy. And it was all Christine’s fault and her lame idea of throwing a party for her the night before her flight, which was the reason why Ariane ended up awake all night‚ unable to rest and prepare for the punishing jet lag.

“Where’s your next stop?” Christine asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Ariane yawned at their unchanging topic before replying. “Canada‚” she lazily answered.

A moment of silence enveloped them. No one said a word from the other line of the call, so Ariane checked the screen. And she can’t help but frown when she noticed that the call is still ongoing‚ yet Christine is unresponsive.

“Hey. Still there?” Ariane asked and waited for Christine’s response, but no one answered.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” Ariane asked once again, and this time‚ Christine finally answered.

“Yeah. Sorry. I just thought of something‚” Christine said in an apologetic tone.

Curiosity started to consume Ariane’s whole being when she heard Christine’s explanation.

“What is it?” Ariane asked‚ genuinely curious about what Christine was thinking a while ago.

“My boss promised to let me have a one-month vacation after a month or two‚” Christine answered‚ making Ariane frown even more.

“What about it?” Ariane asked‚ profusely confused.

“What if I make use of it and join you on your trip to Canada?” Christine suggested‚ waiting for Ariane’s approval.

Ariane abruptly got up from the bed with her eyes wide in surprise as she held the phone in her left hand.

“Are you serious?” Ariane asked in a loud voice, and she almost squealed out of excitement.

“Yes!” Christine answered energetically‚ a sign that she’s pleased to hear Ariane’s reaction regarding her suggestion.

“Kyah! I can’t wait!” Ariane giggled in so much excitement.

Christine chuckled on the other line while Ariane coughed to clear her throat and to refrain from giggling like a child.

“Okay. So‚ what’s the plan?” Ariane asked. This time‚ her voice is back to its normal pitch.

“Enjoy your stay in Italy and give me a call before your flight to Canada. I’ll book a flight to Canada a day before your flight. I’ll be waiting for your arrival in Canada if I can travel ahead of you; otherwise, you’ll be the one to wait for me‚” Christine answered.

“Okay‚ okay. Noted‚” Ariane said while nodding her head as if she were having a face-to-face conversation with Christine.

“I have to go. My boss is giving me another pile of documents to work on.” Christine sighed on the other line. “Bye. Take care. Call me when you have a problem.”

“I will. Bye. Don’t stress yourself too much‚” Ariane reminded Christine, like she always does.

Unlike her‚ Christine doesn’t have much time to travel around the globe or enjoy her life at the age of twenty-seven. She’s entangled in her pile of paperwork. Being the secretary of a multi-billionaire and a bachelor in town who directs the most popular chain of companies that produce branded clothes‚ accessories, and jewelry all over the world is such a pain in the ass. She was only given the privilege to enjoy life and take a vacation once a year, and it only lasts for a month.

“Tell that to my boss‚” Christine answered in a sarcastic voice. And even though they are miles apart and Ariane can’t see her‚ Ariane knows exactly that Christine had the nerve to roll her eyes.

“As if I could‚” Ariane answered in a mocking voice, followed by a chuckle. “I’ll end the call now. Bye.”

Like Ariane said‚ she ended their conversation. And as soon as the call ended‚ a smile made its way to her lips when she remembered their conversation. She can’t wait for her trip to Canada with Christine.

Christine is like a sister to her, and it would be their first time going on a trip together, which is why she’s so excited about it. But before that‚ of course, she must enjoy her stay here in Italy first, as she has planned. And to make that happen‚ she went to the closet and looked for her notebook, which serves as her planner. She wants everything to go as planned. She’s a very organized person‚ which is why she always plans everything beforehand.

Ariane went back to the bed with her notebook and laptop stuffed in both of her hands. She sat on the bed and started writing something in her notebook while gazing at her laptop to surf the net‚ looking for tourist attractions here in Italy. She’s making a schedule for tomorrow. But she did not dig deeper. She just searched for the list of top-rated attractions in Italy with their pictures and short descriptions... and that’s it. Everything that piques her interest‚ she would include in her list without searching for further information about the place.

Ariane has this attitude wherein she doesn’t want to believe or pay too much attention to things written on the net. She wants to see the place with her own eyes. She doesn’t go around imagining things after reading something about it.

Ariane started listing every tourist attraction that she thinks is worth her time‚ money, and effort.

•Venice Canals
•Leaning Tower of Pisa
•Lake Como
•Florence Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore
•Cinque Terre
•Vatican City
•St. Mark’s Basilica
•Roman Forum
•Milan Duomo
•Capri

After listing the places she wants to visit‚ Ariane realized that a day wouldn’t be enough to finish exploring those places. So‚ she decided to make another schedule that is intended only for tomorrow.

Ariane made use of her laptop to search for the best places in Tuscany. She made up her mind. She would start wandering around the area first since she’s in the central region before visiting the northern and southern regions of Italy.

When Ariane clicked the search button after typing in the search bar what she wanted to find out‚ lots of websites popped up on her laptop screen. And without hesitation‚ she clicked the first link, and she was about to read the whole article when she felt hungry all of a sudden.

Frowning‚ Ariane turned her gaze at the lower right corner of the laptop to check the time.

Ariane’s eyes widen in surprise when she sees the time displayed on her laptop screen. It’s past noon, for heaven’s sake!

‘How long did I sleep?’ she asked herself.

‘How long have I been surfing the net?’ she asked herself again.

Ariane kept asking herself some random questions. But since she can’t find any answers to her own queries and she’s really hungry‚ she saved the article so she could view it offline and did the same thing to the other links that popped up before closing her laptop.

“I’ll just continue making a schedule later on‚” she mumbled to herself.

She then took a bath‚ ordered food from a restaurant‚ had her lunch, and logged in to her Facebook account using her mobile phone to kill time.

A/N: I’m drained. Haha! Trying hard much.