Mum drove me and Laura to the airport through the city's thick morning traffic.

On reaching our terminal, I kissed and hugged her tightly, feeling suddenly guilty for leaving her behind.
Being a single parent, she brought me up on her own. She had had to work hard to make ends meet, and save some money to pay for my studies.

"Jenny, go or you'll miss the plane in the end," mum urged, pushing a few loose strands of my long brown hair back in their place behind my ear.

"I'll call you from the hotel," I promised, rushing into the building after Laura.

We whizzed through all the necessary checks and controls, then ran to the correct gate. It was a very busy morning at the airport-- the large building resembled a beehive, it was stuffed to the point of bursting with people dragging their luggage hastily in all directions.

I was still panting, trying to recover my breath after the run, when I noticed that my friend was already chatting cheerfully with someone she had just met. It seemed that some of her friends would be taking the same plane.

"Jenny, meet my fellow students," she presented them to me, "Marcus and Ian, both future doctors like myself."

She was looking at Ian adoringly, the best of her smiles plastered to her lips.
Ian... I mused, trying to remember where I had heard that name, and then it hit me-- this was the Ian, Laura's latest crush...

"Nice to meet you Marcus, Ian. Are you flying to Naples, too?" I asked. How come Laura didn't tell me? I thought, scowling at her.

"What a coincidence, right?" Laura responded instead of them. "I remember Ian telling me that he wanted to visit Pompeii this summer as well, but he wasn't sure when exactly. Isn't it cool?"

Yes, so cool, I thought.
Looking at Ian I realised that he probably felt about Laura just like she felt about him. He obviously liked her. Something was telling me that this would be a long flight for me.

Just then we were called forward by a flight attendant; we boarded the plane and found our seats. The boys were sitting across the aisle from us, not far enough to stop Laura and Ian from chattering.

Giving up on trying to claim Laura's attention, I sat more comfortably in my seat by the window, reached for my handbag and took out the book I had brought with me-- Alice's adventures in Wonderland. I just loved the book, and so many others; my infinite love of books was the reason why I decided to study literature.

Letting my eyes stroll towards the small, round window, I observed the grey and white cumulus clouds surrounding the airplane. The plane kept ascending higher and higher and soon the rivers and roads were nothing but silver ribbons glittering in the sunshine, the distant houses just colourful specks on a green or yellow background. Then the sky above turned into the brightest shade of blue and I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

When Laura woke me up, I was dreaming about Livia. She was standing among some ancient ruins, wearing my dress, beckoning to me to come closer. There was a young man with her this time-- the most attractive man I had ever seen. His hair was jet-black, his eyes of the brightest blue colour, two fragments of the summer sky. "I'm coming Livia, wait," I called, making my way towards my time-travelling friend.

"What are you mumbling?" Laura asked, laughing at me. "Never mind, just wake up. We are here."

Naples was beautiful. Very hot and crowded, but amazing. The ancient city was like a huge anthill at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Extremely busy, full of tourists and life, with amazing vistas of the Mediterranean Sea at every step.

The two young men joined us on our sightseeing trip; Ian and Laura seemed unable to part. We spent the whole afternoon exploring the town, getting lost in its narrow, crowded lanes redolent of sunshine, perfumes and typical sweets, then finding ourselves on the sea shore again, where ancient, small fishing boats and white, super modern yachts were bobbing on the blue waves like seagulls.

Laura's friends were staying in a different hotel, so we said our goodbyes in the early evening, after we had eaten a pizza together in one of the little restaurants by the sea.

When we reached our hotel after sunset, and made our way towards our room, Laura was still talking about Ian. How perfect he was. How tall and well-built. How she liked his blond hair and brown eyes... If this was love, then I hoped it would never happen to me. She was quite annoying.

"Have you noticed the way Marcus was looking at you?"
Her question surprised me as I rummaged through my handbag while walking up a wide staircase-- where did my phone go?! I had stopped listening to her a while ago and she must have noticed, otherwise she wouldn't have changed the subject. "Did you notice him at all?"

"Of course I did. But I haven't seen him looking at me in any unusual way," I replied.

Marcus was a charming, polite young man, with very dark, nearly black hair. I thought his eyes were blue, but as he wore his sunglasses all afternoon, I couldn't be sure. He reminded me of someone but I didn't know who...

"Of course he did look at you, attentively, and all the time! Even while you slept on the plane. I bet he likes you."

"Don't be silly, Laura," I interrupted her before she could say anything more.

We just reached our room and entered. It was nice, small and cozy, with a little balcony overlooking the bay.

"I need to call my mum, you can choose the bed," I told Laura, walking out on the balcony.

Also, I was dying to get a better look at Mount Vesuvius. It was nearly dark outside, but not quite, the colours of the sunset were gradually giving way to the inky blackness of the approaching night. A few thin, long, silvery clouds clung to the mountaintop like smoke, making me think about Livia again.

The view was breathtakingly beautiful and I stayed outside to admire it long after I had finished the phone call.