"He's coming over here, I'm dying." Raisa says and I shush her as we both watch Isaac making his way over to us. "You look familiar." He tells me and I exchange glances with Raisa. "We used to go to the same middle school." 

Matteo Manhattan, New York, United States 2020 – winter/springMatteo takes out a small silver box from the pocket by the door, then leans back into the seat. Valentina looks at his fingers, which are now holding a pre-rolled joint."Lucky how?" he asks, interested in  entertaining this discussion. He can't figure out whether she's joking or being deadly serious, because she didn't even  flinch nor ask questions when he told her the police let him go free for punishable offenses. Valentina watches him light up the joint. "Getting to go free when you get caught doing  illegal stuff." She says, smirking at the irony of the situatio

"Eddie!" Pia exclaims, crossing her arms and looking at Matteo for a second. It's hard for  Matteo to think of her as Vinnie's twin. Even though she's about to turn 21 in April, he  thinks of her like he thinks of Aurora: a younger sibling who needs to be protected. The fact  that she usually keeps to herself and sometimes acts childish just enhances his image of her."Do you have a boyfriend?" Vinnie asks.Pia shakes her head, relaxing, and looks at Matteo again. "Do you have a crush?" Isabella asks, turning to look at her."What? No!" she says, looking down at her phone."You do."Eddie screams at the TV when Matteo scores a goal, which takes the attenti

An hour and a half later, Isaac and I are joined at the hip, chatting about literally anything that comes to our minds. I know my pupils are dilated to the point where my eyes are nearly black and that I'm talking way too much, but I'm having more fun with him than I thought I would. And he is funny.   I see Isabella plopped down on a couch looking lost, so I excuse myself and go over to her to see if she's okay.   

MatteoPalermo, Sicily, 2020 – (nearly) summerWhen Matteo decided to call Valentina and ask her to come take the exam together, he realized that begging would be his last option. When they were forced into lockdown in Italy, he didn't think about the fact that he would be spending more time with his father, and he could see first-hand how much work Matteo was putting into his studies.His father kept asking about exam dates and upcoming projects, and it all came down to Business Psychology, which was the only course where he didn't have someone who could help him pass.During the early hours of Thursday, May 28th, a private jet departed from their landing strip outside Palermo and set off towards Moscow, where it would pick up Valentina at 8am. By the time Matteo wakes up at 12:30, Valentina has already texted him that she's landing in 30 minutes.He jumps into the shower, already feeling pressured by tim. His parents have been out since yesterday and Matteo has no idea when t