Giorgio and the Haunted House

Dammit, I'm going to fail History of the Italian Renaissance class. Not only did I miss all my classes this week, but I haven't even started reading the book! What was I thinking?

As I threw my backpack on my bed and began rummaging through it with haste, looking for my phone, I realized I wasn't thinking at all. It's been a crazy week at the hospital where I'm doing an internship. Between seeing patients and working in the ER, there hasn't been any time left for studying. And today is the day of our midterm exam! Oh shit!

I finally found my phone buried under a pile of papers and clothes, and as I turned it on I tried to remember what Professor Rashid was like. Was he a nice guy? Did he ever smile? Or maybe he was strict and cold, shouting at students if they didn't answer fast enough? Though that wouldn't be a very good way to scare us... The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. His face was completely blank in my mind; no smile or frown lines marking his face.

I jumped off my bed and ran towards the door - so much for getting ready first - when my foot hit something soft, making me stumble and fall flat on my face. "Dammit!" I exclaimed while rubbing my face and peeking through the floor to see what had caused me to trip. It was Giorgio! My cat who should be sleeping right now but instead decided to sleep on the floor right in front of my door. Well, at least that explains why he hasn't moved since yesterday night when we got home from work. But right now is not the time for petting cats- wait... Did I say 'petting'? Oh shit! He's not even mine! He belongs to this random family who just moved here from Italy. How could've I forgotten about them?!

I jumped up from the floor as fast as possible and ran towards their house down the street. It was already 7:30 am and we were supposed to meet at 8:15 in front of school to go over our notes together before taking the exam... But how am I going to explain this situation? Maybe I shouldn't tell them what happened - they don't need to know that Giorgio fell asleep waiting for me - because chances are they'll mistake it for him being happy to see me again after two weeks of absence, which would just make things awkward...

When I arrived at their place, Mrs Scamaroni opened the door before even letting me knock on it. "Good morning," she said with a warm smile while looking at me expectantly. "Is everything alright? You look worried." Wow, she's really observant! Maybe she can read minds too... No, probably not; she hasn't changed her expression since last night when we talked on the phone while eating dinner together. She's always smiling like she knows something you don't; like she has some sort of secret locked inside her heart that makes her glow with happiness every second of every day... She's kind of creepy sometimes... But in a nice way, though! Ughh! Now why does this sound familiar? Where have I heard this before?!

"Yes!" My voice sounded muffled from all the thoughts running through my head. "Everything's fine!" As soon as those words left my mouth a black cat appeared out from nowhere, causing Mrs Scamaroni's eyes to sparkle instantly like someone had just turned on a light inside her head. "Hi Giorgio!" She picked him up by his back paws and placed him on top of her shoulders like she would do with one of those professional wrestlers during their entrances intro song before every match they fight in. With ease he jumped over her shoulder and sat comfortably between her hair bun and earring while gently patting her cheek with his paw like they have been best friends forever instead of only knowing each other for two weeks or so... What're they doing?! That's so weird! They seem so comfortable around each other it feels like they were born into this world together instead of just meeting each other yesterday night... Wait a minute... Were they talking telepathically earlier?! And why do they look so sad suddenly?!

"Oh dear..." Mrs Scamaroni sighed sadly while putting Giorgio back down next to her feet without making eye contact with him or anyone else around them; including me who was standing still staring at them incredulously while trying to make sense out of everything that just happened seconds ago. "I wish you would stay longer..." A tear escaped from her closed eyelids as she wiped it away almost immediately after feeling it slide down her face with her handkerchief that looked way too big for such a small job; reminding me once again of how tiny these people were in comparison to normal humans who could barely fit inside an average sized shoe box without breaking their backs in their lifetimes... Wait a minute... Again?! Where have I heard this before?! Again?! Ughhh!!! Why does everything feel so familiar?! All these questions are killing me!!