Awoke in one of beds of Romangero hostel, Cay went out of the dorm room and to the shared kitchen for a glass of water. Hello, said Daniel, a Mexican graduate who Cay and Judas met briefly before their heavy slumber, he was a lone traveler.
“You’re from Mexico, right? Sorry, can’t recall.”
“Yeah…”, as Daniel fumbled for his words, “You slept well?”
“Yeah, where’ve you been, mate?” Cay diverting the conversation, hoping to end it soon.
“Eh, lugares? Eh…”
“Si, lugares, been to somewhere fun?”
“Si, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Patheon. Lovely places.”
“Nice.”
Cay found badly-answered questions most annoying during converswations. However, he could not help but think Daniel would be the appropriate person to have a pint with. They both went back to the room. Cay and Judas prepared for the 2nd trip of the day around Rome as Daniel clambered for his bunk-bed, without an inhabitant to bother as the cheap metal skeleton of the bed creaked.
Trevi Fountain was the obvious choice from where they live as they spent most of their time resting in the afternoon. the two only took their wallets, phones, and a bottle of water each. The journey had been a short and straight one, as shown on their phones’ GPS. The fountain with monumental design was only flawed by the surrounding tourist, taking photos only of themselves before uploading them onto their social media accounts. The need for public acknowledgement about one’s travel involvement was strong within anyone’s conscious, especially with these foreign visitors.
The Spanish Steps were less than impressive, it only gave a view of the city’s high street: Designer shops, health-conscious food stores, and overpriced Italian restaurants that were not Italian. The steps led up to Fraternita Monastica delle Sore di Gerusalemme; Below the steps was the Piazza di Spagna. The latter’s fountain in the centre, right beside the steps, was a dwarf in both design and sized compared to the over-crowded Trevi Fountain.
Judas muttered a chant as they descended the stone steps:
"Spanish Steps, step-by-step;
Signorita falls, signore rolls;
Oh what the heck, they’re just a flight of steps."
Perhaps they were off to a bad start, which was contributed by the trust built in the largely positive online reviews of amateurs. Cay cursed the overflowing visitors but could not blame the beautifully sculptured fountain by Nicola Salvi, nor the curved long marble steps that reminded of Spain. Not the creations, but what they could attract.
The Pantheon with its’ many footfalls as the ground surface could hold, with only exception of staffs and guards behind boxes, had the same calming atmosphere as the majority of Catholic churches of Europe. The room was almost silent with occasional digital snapping noises emitting from phones and cameras, most of them pointing at the holed-ceiling. As life inside the Pantheon would be dimmed if not for the natural light shooting through the perfectly measured upward tunnel.
It was not that Cay and Judas were disappointed at the attractions, Cultivation of elevated expectations in England have made everything easily disappointed at, if not the snobbish culture. It was contagious, the need for “ambitious standards” set by the elite countries, which affected not only the ones living in it, but the ones surrounding it as well.
*
“Be good to Jenna, and take care of her!” said her mother, Kuan, as the group was navigating around the city centre of Bath, looking for the promised freshers’ week event taking place in several local pubs. Jenna and Cay were below an Indian restaurant when the former’s mother caught sight of her daughter (“it wasn’t that hard to spot her, dear” answered Kuan, “She’s the only brunette Asian in your people.”).
“Nice to meet you, auntie.”, this took place before Kuan set her expectation on Cay.
“Oh no! The pleasure is mine!” exclaimed Kuan, with an inappropriate sound pitch.
She added, “I presume its’ fresher’s week activities, yeah? Call me Kuan.”
“Yes, auntie.”, Cay still find it unfamiliar to address people senior to him in age with their first names, and since she originated from Taiwan.
Kuan left the two after the ordeal and went back upstairs where Dylon, Jenna’s father, waited for his wife as the curry was turning half-cold.
The whole encounter had left Cay and Jenna feeling awkward about each other. Take care of her, Kuan told him, with everyone in the group hearing with clarity. They moved from one unheard pub to another, the seniors passing rubber bracelets for booze discounts before the first-years could even process what was in front of them. A few individuals departed from the group to station themselves at the bar with each different visit, including a young Caucasian mother of a daughter, Charlene, who let a tall babyface male ordered 2 pints of cloudy cider.
That Fresher event ended with most of the group effectively forming into small teams and as if were assigned to each visited bar to notice that any of them did sell proper tap alcohol. Cay and Jenna walked back to the student hall, barely able to find their way back, worse when the last of the natural light was gone. They spoke of Jenna’s upbringing as Cay at that time had not formed the necessary courage to answer questions that he deemed was private, as many aspects of his life were.
“I’m so sorry that my mum embarrassed you in front of everyone.” Jenna said after everyone aside from Cay had departed from the group.
“She was just worried about me, like any mothers would.”
“That’s ok, I could imagine my mum pulling that off as well.”, Jenna giggled, politely.
“Well, nice meeting you, good night.”, as the girl with the sweet smile disappeared behind the closing room.
It wouldn’t be my first embarrassment that I had to fake fine, replied Cay in his mind after showering as he starred at his own reflection with mild interest. It was not fine for Cay at all. He was not sensitive to the embarrassment itself, but the negative attention it would attract. As he pulled up his duvet (“What a strange term for a thick blanket.” He thought) up to his shoulders, he recalled the laughter and fingers pointed at him when he was in his initial stages of education.
He did not sigh, but welled it up, at the very back of his mind, along with the others.
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