The next morning it`s even warmer than when we arrived here on Giglio. 

“Lily out of bed,” Hannah calls outside the bedroom door. I open my eyes and have to get back in the moment first. After our conversation on the balcony yesterday, I had no trouble falling asleep. I was no longer used to sleeping through the night without waking up again and again and being caught in a whirlwind of thoughts. 

“Lily, come on,” Hannah calls outside, a little more firmly. 

“I'm coming,” I call back. I sit down on top of the ladder that connected the top bunk to the floor. “Anne?” I say quietly. But there is no answer. She must already be outside with the others. I look at the alarm clock and realize that it is just before 7.30 am. Oh dear, I think to myself. I quickly open the door to my room, only to run straight into Chloe. 

“Watch out” she says, annoyed. 

“I'm sorry” I say quietly and disappeare into the bathroom. A look in the mirror tells me that I had probably slept very well. My curls are sticking out in all directions and my face is all scrunched up. With the help of cold water, I try to wake myself up and get my brown curls in the right direction. That will have to do it, I think, and open the door just as Hannah is about to start calling for me again. 

“Where's Anne?” I ask Chloe and Hannah. 

“She's already out on the balcony. She was the first one awake,” Chloe says to me. 

After I quickly pack up my documents for the lessons and my headphones, I go out onto the balcony. 

“Hey, you must be an owl,” Anne greets me with a smile on her lips when she sees me. 

“Hey, true,” I reply, "and you're an early riser, aren't you?".

“Yes, and I'm someone who doesn't like to be late,” Hannah calls out as she walks past us quickly, “Come on you two”. 

Anne and I look at each other and start running down the stairs. 

“Whoever gets there first,” says Chloe, running past us. 

It's not a long walk to the building where our lessons are taking place, but I'm definitely not a runner. Hannah and Chloe are already far ahead when Anne stops and waits for me. 

“Morning exercise isn't my sport,” I say to Anne, breathing heavily. 

“Come on Lily, we'll be faster together”. She holds her hand out to me. Puzzled, I pause. 

“What are you waiting for?” Anne looks at me, takes my hand and runs off. 

“Morning exercise in pairs is better than alone,” she calls to me and I let her pull me along. 

We run hand in hand through the warm morning air and arrive at the classroom just in time. Completely out of breath, I stand in the doorway and suddenly realize that I'm still holding Anne's hand. I quickly let go of her and go to Hannah, who has saved me a seat. Anne sits down with Chloe two rows in front of us. 

“So I guess we can start now. This here is Mr. Enzo. He'll introduce you to the animals and plants of the sea so that you'll be ready to recognize them when you go diving in the afternoon,” says Mr. Binto, pointing to a middle-aged man who looks like he spends every day in the sun. 

“Well then, I'll take over here,” Mr. Enzo says to the class, "Let's start with the starfish...".

The two hours flew by. Mr. Enzo told us about the different fish we would see this afternoon and the types of algae that live here. He warned us about the sea urchins and told us to be on time after lunch to hand in our wetsuits, goggles and fins. Anne catches up with me on the way out. 

“And have you recovered from your morning exercise?” she grins. 

I blush and just reply, “Yes, thank you”. 

Anne takes a list out of her bag. “I wanted to ask you if you'd like to have lunch with us and I can tell you my ideas for the name of the constellation?”. 

“That would be great, but I've already told Hannah we're having lunch together. Maybe another time?” I say disappointedly. 

“Lily, I've found the perfect spot on the beach. Let's go!” Hannah calls to me and points towards the sea. 

“Yes, okay. See you later then.” Anne puts her list back in her bag and disappears in the other direction.

During lunch, Hannah tells me about her plans for diving and all the animals she wants to see. I wander off and look at the lighthouse. The colors are even more intense in the sun. I wonder what kind of stories this lighthouse has seen. Beautiful and sad, funny and serious ones. It could tell stories about life here on the island and on the sea. 

“The best stories are the ones that life itself writes,” my grandfather said to me when I was once again lost in a fantasy story. 

“But this one is much more interesting than real life and the story usually ends well.” I replied. 

He took the book from my hand and started to read the contents. I have to smile when I think about it. We never agree on this subject. How could life be more exciting than a well-written book? 

"You will experience it," my grandfather used to say.

“Now, everyone take a wetsuit, flippers and diving goggles. Get changed and then come down to the beach,” says Mr. Enzo when we all got together after lunch. 

Everyone except Hannah. She felt sick after lunch and went back to our room. When we got to the front of the beach, it was quite warm in these suits but we would need them in the water, Mr. Enzo said. 

“So first things first. You all need to pair up. Find a dive buddy. You will go into the water together with this person and you are responsible for making sure that you both come out of the water safely.” Mr. Enzo says to our group.

Great, without Hannah I had no one who wanted to form a buddy team with me. 

“Hey, Lily,” said someone behind me, "do you want to be my dive buddy?". I turn around and see Anne.