"I can't believe it's already been a month since we arrived in Portorosso!" I laughed happily to my friends. Luca and Alberto were lounging in their treehouse, so I decided to invade their 'boys' den' and hang out with them there. It was late at night, and we were supposed to be asleep but none of us really cared. Papa was already snoring like a pig in his room downstairs.

"The stars are pretty," Luca commented. "But if a Mew-Two were here—"

Alberto rolled his eyes, "I wish we could all play guitar right now but we can't—"

"I can't even sing—" I interrupted both the boys.

"Santa Pecorino!" I shouted. We were all talking about different things. "Not even the Vespas anymore, you both?!"

"That's in the past," Luca waved his hand, and I dodged to prevent my face from being slapped.

"Be careful." I narrowed my eyes at Luca. "Next thing you know, you might get intentionally electrocuted by a Pikachu."

Luca looked at me, dumbfounded. "You read my book?"

"Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't understand a single thing you'd be talking about all summer long!" I retorted with an air of superiority.

"It's late. We should go to sleep." Alberto waved his hands to strum an air guitar. "Besides, I need to get up early to practice my guitar before the trumpet solo—courtesy of Giulia—wakes us all up!"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, someone's gotta make sure Papa's breakfast gets eaten up. Don't tell me his cooking isn't amazing."

"There's an encyclopedia that I reserved at the bookshop downtown, so I'm definitely getting up early tomorrow," Luca interjected.

"Let me guess—a Pokémon encyclopedia," I groaned.

"That's right!" Luca jumped up and down excitedly. "I'm going to memorize all the one thousand and counting Pokémon names! I hear there will be trading cards coming to Portorosso soon—"

"Enough!" I shouted, and my voice echoed off the outer walls and the stone fence of the Marcovaldo residence. "Go to bed, you both. You have a fun-filled day tomorrow with your obsessions. Meanwhile, I have to finish giving out Papa's deliveries."

"Goodnight," Luca and Alberto chorused.

"Sleep tight," I answered.

The boys were a handful, but they were my best friends. There was a reason why they were all so crazy, and it most certainly didn't have to do with me.

At least I knew what birthday presents to buy for them this year!

Stay crazy obsessed,
Giulia Marcovaldo