Different

Chapter 2: Janessa

Janessa:

Venice is beautiful! And the street dancing was wicked cool! It sure looked like something was up with Lucy, though. We all head back to the hotel to check in with the teachers, since they said we had something planned for the afternoon.

Oliver and Adrian run to catch up with Dylan and Luke, so the four of us wander back into the hotel. Coming out of the hotel gardens, laughing, are Chase and Alexa. They've been together since we were in eighth grade.

"Janessa," Alexa calls out.

I turn around and wave, waiting for them to catch up. "How was the gardens?"

"They're beautiful," Alexa replies.

Chase wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Not as beautiful as you," he comments with a cheesy smile.

Alexa blushes while the rest of us gag.

When we head inside, Mrs. Kelly is in the lobby with the rest of the group, waiting for everyone to get there. Chase stays with us, but the rest of the guys stay in their own group with Maddy and Jessica, since the rest of us don't really get along with Maddy anymore.

Mrs.Kelly blows a whistle, gaining everyone's attention. "Listen up! First we're going to go to Basilica di San Marco, because there's historical importance there. Then we're going to tour that part of Venice for the rest of the afternoon, eating lunch, and ending in a gondola ride. We'll group you later. When we get back here, you guys can explore the city some more, it's beautiful at night. You have to have eaten and be back here by ten. Let's go."

We all head out, and Sienna cheers. "Yay, I can draw parts of the city!"

Macy groans. "But we just got here. And they're already having us do so much work."

I shrug. "But it beats school work."

She nods. "Yeah, but still. I don't think I'm going to be able to wake up tomorrow morning."

We all laugh. "Stop overreacting," Alexa says.

We get on the bus, and Lucy is still quiet. Macy nudges her. "Lucy, is anyone home?"

She cracks a small grin and nods. "Yeah, sorry, just thinking."

"Well, stop thinking. We're here to have fun!"

We all laugh again, and joke around until we get there. We then take a tour through the basilica. Sienna draws a very pretty depiction of part of it, and I take pictures on my camera. It's a passion of mine.

When we're finished on the tour, it's probably three in the afternoon, and Lucy, who is on her phone reading, confirms it. We eat pizza for lunch and then head to the gondola rides.

The teachers put us in groups of four, two boys and two girls. Lucy and I get paired together, we're glad for that. The two boys with us are none other than Oliver and Chase. Chase complains about not being with Alexa, but is back to normal once we start moving.

Lucy makes Oliver sit by me, and he hugs me. I smile and hug him back, but shake my head at Lucy. I see what she's doing. Her and her matchmaker ways.

We all take selfies with our phones and my camera. Then we watch the sun setting as the gondola ride ends and we head back to the hotel with the rest of our friends.

When we get back in our hotel room, Lucy turns to me with a smirk on her face. "How was the ride with Oliver? He seemed to be hugging you a lot."

I roll my eyes. "Leave it alone, will you? We're friends."

"That's what they all say," joins Macy.

I roll my eyes again and head for the bathroom with a change of clothes. "Guys, come on. Oliver, Jessica, and Luke are going to join us for dinner."

They nod. "Okay, so everyone change into something that we can enjoy our evening in," Lucy translates.

When we're ready, I slip on my sandals, put on some lipstick, grab my phone and wallet and follow them out of the door.

Macy has changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a top with a pineapple on it. Typical Macy. Alex has changed into another pair of shorts, sneakers, and a t-shirt. Lucy is wearing a casual dress with a cardigan on top, and I changed into a high waisted skirt with a turquoise blouse tucked into it.

The boys are waiting for us downstairs with Jessica. We then all head to a cute little restaurant after telling a teacher that we are heading out for the evening.

We talk about what the rest of the trip is going to be like over breadsticks and pasta. As we walk out of the restaurant all linking arms, we decide what to do next.

"We could go see a movie," Jessica suggests.

We all agree and walk in that direction. In front of the movie theater, we hear music coming from the alleyway next door. While the guys stay behind in the line to get us tickets, us girls head over there to check it out.

Jessica runs ahead, and when we find her again, she's closer to the front of a growing crowd watching someone dance. Four people, actually.

They're all breakdancing, and one of them does a backflip over the other. The crowd cheers them on, and we watch in awe. They're street dancers just like the ones we saw earlier. When the song finishes out, they move aside to let another group go, and one of them catches my eye.

He has dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and a smirk on his face. He's one of the guys that just finished dancing. Really good dancing, and he's really good looking. He looks directly at me and winks.

Alex taps me on the shoulder. "Janessa, we need to go."

I look over my shoulder at her. "Coming." As I move to leave, I look back to where he stood. He's gone.

I follow the girls out of the crowd and back to the theater.

The guys are waving at us. "Hurry, the movie starts soon!"

Someone crashes into me, and the ground rushes up at me. I'm falling, but right when I think I'm going to hit the ground, a pair of strong arms catches me and rights me.

"Thanks," I say as I look into a pair of green eyes. It's him. The guy from the breakdancing.

"No problem," he states. I see a flicker of recognition in his eyes and my face burns. He knows that I was the one checking him out. But he doesn't say anything.

We continue looking at each other for a moment before we're both being called. Another guy that was dancing calls, "Mason!" right as Lucy calls me.

"Nessa, let's go."

I head in with my friends after thanking him again. Looking back over my shoulder, he's gone. Just like before.