Chapter Nineteen: Rome, Naples, and Venice:

Now we go from Germany to Italy. We have three stops there. We’re going to Rome, Naples, and Venice. Here we are checking in on Diamond, Kili, and Ralph. (Yes, we’re going to visit the priest.) Let’s see how this afternoon and evening are going.

-Rome-

Kili and her mother were just about done with the shopping in the Christmas market. Now, they were having lunch in a nearby pizza place. Kili looked at her mother.

“Mama,” she said.

“Hm?” her mother asked with pizza in her mother.

“You rarely eat pizza around Christmastime,” the little girl said. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” her mother said. Kili still stared at her.

“Is the family okay?” she asked.

“What’s the matter, darling?” her mother asked with an eyebrow raised. The little girl looked up at her. She shook her head. Kili looked up when she felt her mother put her hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve just been away for so long,” she said. “We’re all fine.” Kili pressed her lips together. She nodded a bit. Still, she felt that something wasn’t right. For now, she was going to let it sit. Kili decided to try and find the truth later. The girl picked up her pizza and took another bite. The pizza actually tasted good.

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-Naples-

Ralph is preparing for afternoon mass. He straightened his robes. It’s been so long since he talked to anyone at that academy. Six months, maybe? It might have been longer than that. Either way, he was going to have to call Noiz and them just to say hi and Merry Christmas. Ralph heard that Diamond and Kili were back in the country. Maybe he could try and call them first.

The priest turned when he heard a knock on the door. One of the altar boys poked his head inside.

“It’s time, father,” he said. Ralph nodded.

“Okay,” he said. The boy disappeared back into the hallway. Ralph lifted his chin and cleared his throat.

“Okay,” he said. Ralph turned and walked out of the room. This afternoon’s mass was packed. He could only picture how Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were going to look.

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-Venice-

Diamond finished putting on her lipstick. She went all out for tonight. Her hair was curled to have healthy bounces. Deep red lips, curly eyelashes, and red apple cheeks. Diamond smiled at her reflection. She was going to hit the city over Christmas break. Tokyo was good, but sometimes it’s good to be home.

The doorbell rang downstairs. Diamond smirked to herself.

“Showtime,” she said to herself. The girl turned and walked out of the bathroom. Diamond opened the door to her friends.

“Hey!” they cheered. Diamond covered her mouth as she smiled.

“You guys!” she said. She leaped forward and hugged them.

“I missed you so much!” the girl said. The girls hugged her back. Diamond slowly pulled away.

“Let’s get going!” she said. “I want the city to stare at me!”

“Yay!” the girls cheered with their fists in the air. Diamond and her posse headed out to hit the town. The Italian Princess smiled to herself.

“It’s good to be me,” she said under her breath. Diamond chuckled as she led the girls further into the city.