The gust of icy wind that hit Marco full in the face convinced him to zipper up his jacket until his neck was completely covered by his lapel.

Meanwhile, the five middle school kids in front of him kept walking back and forth across the dirt field past the row of linden trees, pointing their Smartphones in the most absurd directions. Now near a rock, now on the trunk of a tree, then in the air or even on the shoulders of one of their classmates.

Although it was a terribly childish pastime, seeing that close-knit little group going in search of some invisible animal still made him very nostalgic. He, too, had once loved playing with them. Who knows when the last time he had done it?

"Hey.

That unexpected call made him jerk in fright, although when he turned in the direction of the voice he already knew who the author was. Alessandro stood beside the stone bench where he was sitting, keeping his hands in his pockets and his gaze downcast.

In any case, even before his sudden appearance, the thing that struck Marco more than anything else was another. Compared to their last meeting, his friend's face now looked noticeably different.

The pustules on his face had completely disappeared, the acne almost halved, while the rosacea with which he had long since come to associate was still there, but it was much less flaring than usual. In fact, the change was so striking that for the first two seconds he almost struggled to recognize it.

However, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of showing amazement, Marco broke eye contact almost immediately.

''Hey,'' he replied dryly.

"May I sit down?" asked Alessandro cautiously.

Marco shrugged his shoulders.

''It is a free country''

Once he had taken his seat on the bench next to him a few seconds of awkward silence passed, but just as Alessandro seemed about to open his mouth, Marco beat him to the punch.

''If you want to ask me for food, know that I have nothing, however, I can give you money for the machine.''

Alessandro did not know whether he was talking seriously or simply teasing him, but as long as he did not want to create any opportunity for conflict he decided to play along.

''I'm not here for that,'' he retorted quietly.

Since Marco said nothing, Alessandro continued.

''Look...I'm sorry,'' he confessed in a heartbroken tone. ''I shouldn't have acted that way last week. I was a real jerk.''

''Two pretty bad things had happened to you,'' commented Marco diplomatically. ''I probably would have reacted the same way, too.''

''I shouldn't have anyway,'' Alessandro insisted contritely. ''Excuse me.''

Before speaking again Marco preferred to let a few more seconds pass than necessary. Just to keep him on his toes a little longer.

''Don't worry,'' he said finally. Alessandro immediately crossed his gaze, just in time to see his friend flash him a smile. ''All forgotten.

Alessandro smiled in turn and then slipped his hand into his coat pocket.

''I have something for you,'' he announced affably.

And he handed him the silver bracelet he had lost in the caddy the previous week.

''Were you able to get it back?" asked Marco incredulously.

''I would say yes,'' confirmed Alessandro nonchalantly.

''Gee, thanks.''

''You're welcome''

Marco put his hand in his pocket and showed his friend what it contained, which was a bracelet perfectly identical to the one Alessandro had just handed him.

''If I had known, I would have avoided buying another one,'' he admitted, sketching a smile.

With his face paralyzed in a stolid expression, Alessandro stared at both bracelets, blinking a couple of times, and then shrugged his shoulders.

''Well, you can always give them both and say they're a set,'' he proposed encouragingly.

''Yes, I think I will,'' Marco said, putting the jewelry back in his pocket.

He had just retracted his hand when Alessandro placed a candy bar still wrapped in its wrapping under his nose.

''Snack?" he asked affably. ''Coconut and caramel.''

''Remind me to piss you off more often,'' Marco commented, grabbing the candy bar.

Pleased to hear him say so, Alessandro pulled out another snack and began to unwrap it in the company of his friend. Meanwhile, one of the kids who was still playing at the edge of the playground pointed his own Smartphone at the boundary wall and then let out an astonished exclamation.

''I found Shirogane!'' he squealed elatedly, waving his free arm in the air. ''Quick, come and see!''

''You're kidding, right!" one of his friends replied, running up to him.

Marco watched the young boys set off in the direction of their comrade, but just as they too had reached the base of the small wall, Alessandro brushed his elbow.

''So how was the weekend?" she asked him a moment before taking a bite of the coconut bar.

''Good,'' he replied, nodding, ''just fine.''

''Didn't your parents fight?" asked Alessandro with a hint of astonishment.

A wide smile surfaced on Marco's face.

''Mom arrived half an hour early, and a crazy brothel broke out,'' he confessed quietly.

Alessandro looked at him as if he had gone mad.

''And this would be good?" he asked cautiously.

''No, not at all,'' retorted Marco casually, ''in fact, I wasn't talking about that.'' And he took a bite of the candy bar.

As his friend continued to show confusion, Marco decided to explain himself better.

''Last night Mom allowed me to go out with Maria,'' he revealed as he stared at the ground beneath his shoes. ''We went out for pizza downtown.''

''Ah, okay,'' Alessandro said, trying to appear neutral. ''So, you liked the pizza.''

Marco hinted at a smirk.

''Yes...pizza.''

At the sight of Marco's dreamy expression, Alessandro almost made his snack go sideways. This could not be true. There had to be an alternative explanation. Perhaps he had misunderstood.

''No,'' he said shaking his head, ''no, that's impossible. I beg you, tell me that I am completely off the Marco and misunderstanding everything.''

Marco merely gave him an understanding look.

''I'm sorry,'' he said in a gentle tone.

Alessandro closed his eyes and covered his face with his hand.

''Oh, fuck,'' he commented distraughtly as he leaned forward.

''Your time will come, too,'' Marco consoled him.

''It's not that,'' blurted Alessandro, straightening his back in a jerk. ''It's just that...''

He clenched his fists and grimaced. His tongue seemed to have tied itself in knots.

''Losing...with that there...like that...ah!''

Not knowing what else to say, he vented by shoving the whole coconut-caramel bar into his mouth, chewing it sullenly.

''Maybe it wasn't very romantic, but...it happened,'' Marco said with a shrug. ''It had to happen sooner or later.''

''Considering the guy, maybe it would have been better then,'' Alessandro retorted piquantly, stuffing the bar wrapper into his pocket.

''Don't you want to know how it went?" asked Marco hopefully.

''Spare me,'' Alessandro replied coldly.

Although clearly disappointed Marco merely bowed his head without protesting, and then set about chugging the candy bar. However, after only a few seconds, guilt made it almost impossible for Alessandro to continue with that closed attitude. Then again, even a blind man would have understood that his friend was dying to tell someone.

Before uttering the fateful question, Alessandro gave a long sigh while rolling his eyes.

"How did it happen?

''We were in her minicar and were on our way back from the pizza place,'' Marco immediately replied, displaying surprising readiness. ''At one point she pulled into an isolated parking lot and turned off the engine. Before I could ask her why she had stopped there she started kissing me, and after lowering the seat she came on top of me...''

Although it was now obvious where this was going to go, Alessandro had no idea how to stop the narrative. Marco was talking in a machine and his nervousness was such that he hardly seemed to catch his breath between pauses.

''...I could feel my heart pounding. I was shaking like a jerk and even though I kissed her too I actually didn't even understand what I was doing. Then she took off her jacket, unbuttoned my pants and ...''

"Stop!" blurted Alessandro in panic.

To his enormous relief, Marco fell silent.

''I understand. I understand,'' Alessandro said, raising his hands. ''All very clear.''

Marco took a deep breath.

''It was...nice.''

Although he said nothing Alessandro was infinitely grateful to him for not adding more. Indeed, if there was one thing he wanted to avoid at all costs, it was knowing details capable of imprinting on his mind the image of his friend while he was having intercourse with Mary.

''For the fifteen seconds it lasted,'' Marco pointed out in one breath.

Alessandro instantly took it all back.

''I would have survived even without knowing this detail,'' he hissed while keeping his eyes closed. ''Couldn't you have kept quiet?''

Before Marco spoke again, a few moments of silence followed.

''I read that it happens to many''

''Say another word and I'll punch you,'' Alessandro threatened him while remaining impassive.

Marco bit his lip as his cheeks turned bell pepper red.

''Sorry, but I had to tell someone about it,'' he admitted embarrassed. ''Who else could I talk to about it if not? With my mother?

''Look, I appreciate you confiding in me.''

Fearing that he might be misunderstood, Alessandro immediately turned back to Marco.

''I mean from a point of view of trust and all that, eh? Not because I cared to know any rough details,'' he clarified by putting his hands out. ''Just...I'm afraid I'm not very suitable as a sexologist. For that I'm afraid you'll have to rely on those who have slightly more experience than yours truly.''

He chuckled bitterly.

''I suppose it shouldn't be too difficult. Then again, above absolute zero there is a whole world.''

Marco smiled at the joke but did not rage.

''The only advice I can give you is to try harder, and if it really doesn't work...''

He contracted his facial muscles in a pained grimace, as if what he was about to say was a source of great discomfort to him.

''Try something else,'' he concluded in a whisper.

Having anticipated his friend's reaction, Alessandro anticipated it before he had even managed to open his mouth.

''You won't get one more word out of me on the subject. Not even under torture,'' he blurted out while keeping his gaze down. ''If you want answers there is the Internet.''

''Thank you for the advice,'' Marco said politely. ''Although I don't think it will work with Maria.''

''A défaillance can happen,'' Alessandro pointed out to him, shrugging his shoulders. ''Do you really think she's going to ditch you after the first date?''

''No, it's not that,'' Marco retorted, shaking his head. ''Or rather, not that she was really happy, but there are other problems.''

"Like what?

''We have nothing in common,'' Marco confessed offhandedly. ''Musical tastes, favorite subjects, outlook on life, political ideas, nothing!'' He huffed. ''We didn't think alike about pizza either. I ordered a margherita and she...''

"A tantrum?" Alessandro interrupted him.

''French fries and frankfurters,'' Marco pointed out, shooting him an eloquent look.

''De gustibus,'' Alessandro commented, shrugging.

''We are like ice and magma. It will never work,'' Marco said dejectedly. ''Unless I completely cancel my personality and become a doppelganger.''

He bit into the bar, but while he was still busy chewing on the coconut-caramel filling, Alessandro intervened: ''Will you leave it then?''

Marco swallowed the morsel and looked away.

''I don't know,'' he replied vaguely.

Alessandro's eyes narrowed to slits.

''You don't just want to take advantage of it to practice and try to improve your record, do you?" she coldly pressed him.

''No...'' stammered Marco nervously, ''that is...''

Gasping in embarrassment the boy tried to mumble a satisfactory answer, but already after very few seconds it became clear that he did not know how to respond either, prompting Alessandro to turn his head away.

''From you I never expected it,'' he sentenced frostily.

''Look, she thinks the same,'' Marco retorted, trying to regain his confidence.

Alessandro reestablished eye contact.

''Does he know it's just physical?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

''She didn't say it to my face, but she's not dumb,'' Marco replied dryly. ''She is perfectly aware that nothing can ever spark between us. The truth is that she is using me as a pastime.'' He shrugged his shoulders. ''That's all.''

"And you're okay with that?

''Either that, or I go back to basking in my gilded and morally upstanding solitude,'' Marco reminded him, spouting sarcasm. ''You will at least agree that the alternative is not that great.''

''I suppose so,'' Alessandro admitted with a sigh.

In the meantime that his friend finished the candy bar and shoved the wrapper into his pocket, Alessandro was attracted by the cackling of the kids, who had now for some reason begun to argue. Not even a minute had passed since their last exchange of banter when Marco suddenly broke the silence.

''She says one of her friends is single,'' he revealed point blank. ''She proposed that you meet her.''

"Really?" asked Alessandro in amazement.

''We were talking about the fact that we always stay on our own and don't get approached by the other girls, until it finally came up,'' he explained casually. ''She showed me the picture on the smart phone.'' She nodded alluringly. ''She's pretty.''

"And what kind is he?

''She didn't tell me much in that sense, but since they've been dating for a long time, kind of like her I suppose.''

''We're off to a good start,'' Alessandro commented, raising his eyes to the sky.

''In any case, I don't think he wants a serious affair.''

''Then I don't care,'' Alessandro sentenced in a lapidary tone.

Marco frowned.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

''There is no point in carrying on a relationship knowing that the only thing holding everything together is sharing a mattress or a car seat.'' He shook his head disapprovingly. ''It's too sleazy.''

The dirty look with which Marco glowered at him forced him to correct his course.

''I don't want to judge you,'' he said defensively. ''It's not like I think I'm superior or expect everyone to be like that. That's my thing.'' He bowed his head dejectedly. ''I can't be with someone just because of that. I want to....''

He took a peek in the direction of the friend on his left.

''I want more, you know?''

''To find someone who thinks like you might take some time,'' Marco pointed out to him, softening his tone. ''Maybe quite a lot.''

''It will mean that I will wait.'' Alessandro curved his lips into a bitter smile. ''Acting like a Latin lover wouldn't get me anywhere anyway. Except making a fool of myself, that is.''

''And the...''

Marco suddenly interrupted himself before he had finished his sentence, although the eloquent look she gave him immediately afterwards made the subsequent clarification almost entirely superfluous.

''You got it, come on.''

As he returned to staring at the field, a long sigh came from Alessandro's mouth.

''First I find the right girl and the rest ... the rest will come with time.''

"Three-date rule?" asked Marco ironically.

''I certainly won't tread lightly to comply with a precept invented by who knows who,'' Alessandro replied, waving his finger in the air. ''I have endured seventeen years, I will survive a few weeks of abstinence.''

''Did you feel erotic urges even in the cradle?" joked Marco, hinting at a smirk.

Alessandro crossed his arms, emitting a resounding snort.

''How fussy you are sometimes,'' he grumbled sharply.

Marco smiled.

''Don't be offended, but maybe you are too old-fashioned as a way of thinking about girls.''

''They say Leonardo was born in the wrong era,'' Alessandro said thoughtlessly. ''It's probably the same for me.''

''Do you now consider yourself a misunderstood genius?''

''More like a demented person who was born a hundred years late,'' Alessandro retorted sadly.

This time it was Marco who huffed, raising his eyes to the sky.

''Always with self-esteem under your shoes,'' he commented impatiently. ''Look, there are also other ways to say you are different without humiliating yourself.''

Struck by those words, Alessandro returned to cross his gaze with him, then curved his lips into a conciliatory smile.

The sound of the bell, coming from across the field behind them, abruptly brought both of them back to reality. Early afternoon recess was over.

"So. Marco uncrossed his fingers spreading his arms forward. ''Ready for the test?

"The what?" puzzled Alessandro asked, tilting his head to the side.

''The biology test,'' Marco pointed out nonchalantly.

Initially Alessandro did not react in any way to the news, merely blinking a couple of times more than necessary. A handful of seconds later, however, as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall back into place, his eyes widened to improbable levels, and a grimace of sheer terror shocked the features of his face.

''Pig of that gigantic...'' And without adding anything else she hid her face in her hands.

''I'll take that as a no,'' commented Marco calmly.

''Take it for a: bury me, you would be doing me a favor,'' Alessandro pointed out, continuing to keep his face covered.

''A little something you'll know,'' speculated Marco hopefully.

''I know a pipe,'' retorted Alessandro distraughtly, ''a bloody, filthy pipe.''

A somber silence fell over them, but already after a few seconds Marco decided to end it.

''Half the test should be multiple choice,'' she reminded him in an encouraging tone. ''If you have luck with the X's and can put together a line or two for the open-ended questions, maybe a six minus will get it.''

Despite his friend's efforts to console him, when Alessandro finally decided to uncover his face his expression was not that dissimilar to that of someone whose liver had just been removed without even bothering to give him anesthesia first.

''Come on, go,'' he whispered as he stood up.