"My purpose is to graduate," Norman said, trying to avert a tragedy with the simplest resolution he could find.

“But this could happen in March of the following year, it's not a resolution for this year!” Amabelle pointed out to him, a little disappointed by the simplicity of the resolution.

“Then my intention is to graduate earlier than normal, this upcoming year” Norman shrugged. His studies were progressing well, and he was up to date with his exams.

“I think that with the way you are progressing, you could do it without problems” Mirren encouraged him, with his tutor's voice.

Norman smiled gratefully at him.

“Booooooring!!” Amabelle complained, but she didn’t have any other objections to make about it “Petra, what's your resolution?” she then asked her friend, coming a few centimeters from her face.

Petra didn't blink.

"Staying alive," she said confidently.

“Ambitious” joked Felix, giggling, and clinging closer to Mirren, shivering.

“Always better than your probable ‘postpone my graduation for another year’” Petra, annoyed, decided to throw him some snow but missed and hit Mirren instead.

“Hey!” they both complained.

“We'll come back to Petra, but you two... how about getting married?” Amabelle turned mischievously to Felix and Mirren, pointing at the way they were close to each other.

Mirren seemed to realize the situation only at that moment, and hurried away from Felix, crossing his arms.

“As you’ve been known for at least five years, this will never happen” Mirren shook his head, trying not to show his irritation at the fact that Amabelle was constantly trying to put him together with the one he considered only and exclusively his best friend. “I would suggest you to stop smoking, Durke” he then turned to the aforementioned friend, removing from his nose the smell of the cigarette, now practically finished in Felix's hands.

“Come on, I don't smoke that much. It's just to relieve me of stress” he got defensive, extinguishing the cigarette in the ashtray he had taken with him on the wall and warming his hands.

“Do you have a better idea in mind?” retorted Mirren.

Felix hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting in every direction, seeking a hint. They stopped on Norman.

“Graduating?” he suggested, copying the previous resolution.

“Considering that all you need is the final essay, it's not a resolution, but a moral obligation, especially towards your poor parents who pay your tuition” objected Mirren.

“Well, then…” Felix hesitated further, without ideas.

“And stop smoking it is!” Amabelle decreed.

“I never consented!” Felix tried to draw back, but the die was cast.

“Come on, you've been saying you want to quit for years. Now you have us who will help you to do it” Max's encouragement sounded more like a threat.

“Okay, but if I stop smoking, Mirren gets his driving license” Felix threw a defiant look at his best friend, who nearly choked on his saliva.

“What? Driver's license? Are you kidding me? My bicycle is fine” he tried to object.

“Yes, nothing against ecology, but you are twenty-five years old, you work and in your conditions a driving license can always be useful. You can't always count on a private chauffeur. What if he has sudden pain? You'll have to drive him to the hospital” Felix tried to convince him, with twisted reasoning.

"Or call an ambulance," Petra muttered to herself.

“I think it's a good idea. Two good resolutions” Amabelle clapped her hands together, smiling. It was done.

Mirren, who knew this tic, sighed.

“I don’t think I’ll need it, but I guess I could add it to my resume. As long as Felix isn't my teacher” he teased his friend, who limited himself to sticking his tongue out at him.

“Denny?” Amabelle encouraged the boy, who had made himself small and silent in the hope of not being seen and taken into consideration.

“Um… I don't know… staying alive?” he tried, copying Petra.

“That's my resolution! Find yours” the girl threw a snowball at him, hitting him in the face.

“Okay, okay... er…” he launched a silent request for help towards his older brother, who caught it on the fly.

“How about ‘daring’ for once?” he proposed. Denny's eyes widened, terrified at the idea.

“Ohhh, philosophical. I like! You will have to do something completely spontaneous and reckless at least three times this year. Without getting paranoid, or thinking too much. Three things of your choice but provable” Amabelle dictated the conditions, clapping her hands.

Denny grunted, putting his head in his hands, but didn't object further.

“You are the last, Max. Other than Petra” the girl then passed on to the last member of the group who hadn't spoken yet.

“Maybe… traveling? I could use some of my savings to go somewhere. Not too far, of course, but a beautiful place full of history” he pondered.

“That's a good resolution” nodded Clover, with a nod of approval and encouragement.

“I think it's one of the best” Norman admitted, impressed.

“Can I change mine and put this on?” Felix tried to object, but was promptly silenced by four glares from Amabelle, Petra, Mirren and Clover.

“And Petra…” Amabelle passed on to her friend, but she immediately withdrew.

“I said mine, I have no shortcomings to fill. My life is already good for me like it is” she insisted, closing up like a hedgehog.

“I’ll include you in mine then” Amabelle let it go, without insisting too much.

Right, Amabelle. She was the only one who hadn't shared the resolution yet, and knowing her, it wasn't any good.

“My resolution is…” she began, and then stopped so that there was suspense.

She actually got just an awkward silence.

“Silence could be a good resol…” Felix's joke was interrupted by a snowball straight in the face, but this time from Amabelle.

“…find all the members of the group romantic partners!” the girl then exclaimed, raising from who knows where a cloud of colored glitter, which settled on everyone present, on the wall and on the snow.

“…except Norman” she winked at the man, who heaved an evident sigh of relief. He was really grateful to Amabelle for respecting his sexuality.

The non-aro-aces received the news with much less trepidation. After a few more seconds of silence, they all started talking together, trying to discourage their friend's intention, which everyone was sure could not succeed.

Unfortunately for them, Amabelle had smiled and clapped her hands, without losing even an ounce of enthusiasm.

“Come on, guys! We have a year to make you less alone, and in the end you will thank me” she affirmed with enviable confidence, above the complaints, grunts and various comments of her friends.

“Herr Sleefing” a sweet voice abruptly interrupted the discussions, and the boys turned to the source from which it came: a blonde girl with the apron from the Corona Café who had just exited the bar.

“Oh, Sonja! Hey!” Max welcomed her, blushing slightly, even if in the darkness it wasn't very noticeable.

Sonja Donner, 21 years old. She was the nephew of the restaurant owner, she came from Germany and had been working for her aunt for a few weeks. She was very good with the language, even if the German accent was very evident. Max hadn't revealed anything else, because he didn't have much information to reveal, even if Amabelle had insisted on getting as much out of him as possible.

“I just wanted to inform you that the countdown is about to begin” she pointed to the inside of the café, from which confused and excited voices were coming.

“Oh, thank you, thank you very much. We are coming. Thank you, you were very kind to inform us” Max smiled warmly at her, and encouraged his friends to follow him inside. Sonja preceded them, with a respectful nod of the head.

“Awww, it will be easier for him than I thought” Amabelle grinned to herself, hopping in.

The rest of the friends, very unconvinced, entered too.

When the countdown reached zero, Norman cheered with the others.

Felix patted Mirren on the shoulder.

Amabelle threw herself to embrace Petra, who reciprocated a little annoyed.

Denny was nearly knocked over by a couple who had been exchanging affection and didn't seem to have noticed him.

Clover took a glass and made a solitary toast to herself in the corner.

Max hurried to help Sonja who was carrying a tray full of empty glasses and was on the verge of dropping them.

The new year had just begun, and everything was perfectly normal.

There was no inkling that that year would be the craziest ever, especially from a love standpoint.

Though Norman should have expected it.

After all, he was an extremely ordinary person, that much was true. But he had a very particular and unique characteristic: he attracted to himself, in one way or another, without entering and being part of it, all kinds of absurd situations.

From strange atmospheric events that forced two people to remain locked together and warm up to obtain heat, to keys dispersed just when they were most needed, perhaps when two people were handcuffed together, up to coincidences with unimaginable timing, such as a providential encounter or a flight that departed the instant the person trying to stop it arrived at the gate.

And that was just the icing on the cake of inconveniences awaiting the Corona Crew that year.