That night I fell asleep hugging my Bulbasaur and turning my back to Nicola. I slept fitfully, with arms and legs numb from fatigue and a head full of discouraging thoughts.

I kept thinking about my place. I imagined it as a place where everything is perfect and I was always good and happy. But I knew that wasn't what Nicola and the chef had meant.

My place was just a place where I could be myself and be okay at the same time.

Avalon was that place for me. It only had the one little flaw that no one else could enter except me. And yet, I wished Nicola could come visit me on the snowy valleys of my imagination.

That's how I dreamed of him that night, a beautiful wolf with a thick coat and two giant ears. He was warm and soft. We played together in the snow. We didn't care if it was night or day, if it was too cold or too hot.

...

In the morning, we prepared in silence. We closed our suitcases, made the beds to be able to say we had made them at least once that month, and then left the hotel behind.

Nico spent the metro ride staring into space. I knew leaving the internship must be very sad for him. If it was vaguely sad for me, who had done pretty poorly, it must be devastating for him.

"There will be the internship next year," I said in front of the train station, when Nico still hadn't said a word. "Have you decided where to go?"

He lost that troubled expression for a moment and looked at me expectantly. "My teacher recommended a bakery in Brescia. How about you?"

"Um, probably some pizzeria in Udine. An easy place."

"Oh," Nico replied, and then said nothing more until we got on the train.

He let me have the forward-facing seat, because he was really a very kind boy, and he stared out the window even though we hadn't left yet.

I opened my bee bag and pulled out Bulbasaur. "Here." I made him jump over the table that separated us and left it in Nico's arms. Bulbasaur would know how to comfort him.

Nico lowered his head and smiled at my Pokémon. He hugged his arms around it, pressing it to his chest, and then kissed its head. "Thank you, Gio."

I immediately felt relieved that he felt better.

The loudspeaker of the Frecciarossa announced our departure. Before putting on my headphones, I dug a little further into my bag and pulled out the Charlie Chaplin's jar to place it on the windowsill. It was a bit paler than when I saved it from the salad, and also more swollen. But otherwise, it floated happily in its jar, carefree.

I turned it to face outside and then pressed play on the first track my phone offered. It was the Beyblade theme song. I had never watched that anime with great interest, but the theme song was awesome, and as a kid, any excuse was good to make you buy outrageously expensive spinning tops and crash them against each other.

The landscape of the Torino station began to scroll away. I aimed my eyes outside and landed on Avalon.

...

"My mother has the car parked on Roma Street." Nico said as if he had to apologize for it. My mother, instead, was waiting outside the Udine station, just outside the glass doors in front of us.

Nico sadly looked at Bulbasaur. He hadn't let go of it throughout the trip and had brought it with him even in the short stretch between the platform and the lobby. That was when he handed it back to me.

I took it by a paw with my heart pounding. There was a part of me completely out of my mind that wanted to give it to him. It was my favorite, I couldn't give it away. But Nico was sad, I could see that. But, he knew Bulbasaur was my favorite; if I gave it to him, maybe I would increase the chances of him inviting me to his house, to see it again.

"I'll give it to you, if you want. I have plenty at home." No, wait. What am I saying? I shouldn't downplay its value, otherwise the plan wouldn't make any sense. "I mean, I have many, but this one is my favorite, I've had it since I was seven. But if you want, I'll give it to you, to... um... keep you company. And then, maybe, I'll come visit it at your place."

"I can't take it, Gio," Nico replied. And even though he was smiling, he still seemed sad to me. He looked at his phone and apologized, he had to hurry. He hugged his big black suitcase to himself and began to walk towards the glass doors.

I followed him, and as soon as we emerged in the square, the sound of a honking horn made us turn.

My mother waved from a parking spot that would make a traffic cop faint, in second row around a curve.

"Your mother?" Nico asked.

"Yeah."

And I put on a plastic smile to wave at her.

My mother seemed happier to see Nico than to see me. I had talked to her about my roommate, and since I didn't often talk about other people, she got all excited.

"So, see you, huh." Nico was ready to go in the opposite direction.

"But... I'll see you at school, right?"

He nodded and for a moment I thought I saw him smile for real.

Then he left.

...

My mother hugged me, loaded my suitcases into the trunk, and started the engine.

I threw Bulbasaur into the back seats and pulled out Charlie before buckling my seatbelt. "Look who's joined the Dagostino family."

"Ugh, we've already talked about this." She said, grabbing the jar with two fingers. "No dead animals in the house."

"But it's sealed! It doesn't smell! It's not fair, I'll keep it in my room! You won't even notice it exists."

Mom rolled her eyes. "Why is the first thing you show me a dead squid? Show me your evaluation instead."

"It's not an squid, it's an octopus." I explained, pulling out the card with my grade from my bag.

Another honk made me momentarily look outside. I could still see Nicola crossing the street. He had said we would see each other at school, but I didn't know if it was true. Ours was the biggest cookery school in the region, all the boys and girls who wanted to become chefs, waiters, or whatever they became those at reception, came to us. There were more than two thousand students, the classes went up to the letter F.

I spotted Nicola turning onto Roma Street, dragging his suitcase behind him. How would we find each other? I didn't even know where his class was.

Oh, no...

I didn't even know what section he was in!

"I'll be right back!" I opened the door and, oops, a car honked narrowly avoiding me.

"GIOELE!"

"I said be right back!"

I reached the crossing, where I managed not to get run over on the asphalt. I turned into the beautiful tree-lined street that was Roma Street and headed for Nicola, who was getting into the passenger side of a white car. I ran.

"NICO!" I swung the door open, making Mrs. Demir emit a little scream of fright. "AH! I'm sorry! I'm not a thief!"

Nicola was looking at me with huge eyes, while his mother almost immediately recovered. She leaned over the gear lever and scrutinized me carefully. She looked a lot like her son, she had the same curly black hair and the same hazel skin. But her ears were standard size, so maybe Nicola had taken them from his father.

"You're Gioele," she said with a happy smirk, twisting my name a bit with her accent. "What a handsome boy you are. Do you want to come in for a cup of tea?"

"Oh my god." Nicola whispered, pushing both me and his mother aside to make room and get out of the car. "What's wrong, Gio?"

"Uh, what section are you in?"

He looked at me like I was crazy, then answered me. "I'm in A. Did you just jump into the street to ask me that?"

"And where's your class? I don't know where the fourth A is! Our school is huge, how will we find each other?"

Nico enjoyed my slight panic. "I have your number and you have mine, remember?"

Ah, right.

"Ah, right."

"And I know where your class is."

"Really?"

"Yes." Nico grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me towards the other side of the street. My mother's car was entering the street, and she was making big gestures to attract my attention. "I'll come to you during recess on Monday, okay?"

I felt relieved. There was a concrete plan of action, a when and a where. "Okay."

"You should go to your mother, this street is one way, I think she entered the wrong way."

"Oh, right, likely." Then I ran back to my car and only remembered in the middle of the street that I hadn't said goodbye.

Oh, well. I would say goodbye on Monday.

I jumped back in with speed and was immediately attacked by a suffocating hug.

"Four out of five! You were awesome!"

"It's three point eight out of five." I huffed, trying to breathe.

"Wonderful! We have to buy a cake to celebrate!"

"I don't like..."

"You can have white bread, the cake is for me."

Our car left the street the wrong way and entered the right way, cutting off a couple of cars and a scooter.

My mother didn't really leave me with white bread, she had already filled our pantry with my cookies.