When you're down, you're down

Rita's eyes flew open to the sound of someone pounding on her door.
"If you guys want to see the Ponte Veccio with a bunch of other camera toting, burmuda shorts wearing, sight seeing, shallow thinking, middle aged tourists, you'd better wake up, because by George I'm not coming in there! If we miss it I am not going to be very disappointed, I can tell you that." The pounding continued. "By the way, Nicole," he shouted louder, "Gaetano is going to be there, because he's asked his dad for some time off work to travel with us, and since his dad runs the place he can do that." Nicole sat straight up, and leapt out of bed.
"I'm not going!" She padded into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her. Rita threw the blankets off her body, and looked at the clock. 7:30. They were supposed to be out in the parking lot and into the bus at 8:00. They needed breakfast. She made a grand jete out of bed, and landed heavily on the floor next to Peggie's bed. Peggie had fallen asleep watching TV. She was lying in a heap, dirty clothes still on, and the television showed some Italian celebrity puking. Rita switched it off.
"Oh, that's just sick. Who wants to see that?" She shook Peggie awake. Peggie groaned, and lashed out. Rita had already jumped back. 5 years and several large bruises can sharpen your reflexes towards a non-morning person friend. She grabbed the hand, and twisted it. Peggie yowled, and struck with her foot. It landed on Rita's thigh. "None of that," Rita grunted, and ripped off the blankets. Peggie put the pillow over her face.
"No no no no no no don't wanna don't have to no I'm not getting up. I graduated. I'm allowed to sleep in now." She thrashed as Rita tickled her feet. Rita dodged a blow to the face, and sat on her friend's legs. She tickled the backs of her knees.
"Arg!" Peggie tried not to laugh.
"Say uncle and get up!" Rita demanded, tickling mercilessly.
"Uncle and get up!" Peggie cried. Rita relinquished her grip on Peggie's legs. Nicole came out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go.
"I thought you weren't going." Rita looked Nicole up and down. "What happened to that?"
"I have to protect you from Italian gold-diggers," Nicole said matter-of-factly. "Gaetano only likes us because he figures we're rich. If you're going, I'm going. Friends stick together." Peggie sat up and rolled her eyes.
"You are such a weirdo," she said, and leaned out of bed to get her clothes.
"I'm grateful for the sentiment, Nicole. You can go down and get some breakfast. I think Theo's already down there." The pounding had stopped some itme ago, but Rita hadn't noticed because she'd been so busy waking up Peggie. "I'll get ready, and maybe Peggie will too. I'll se you down there in five to eight, okay?" Nicole nodded, and left. Rita finished getting ready in record time, but not fast enough to keep Peggie from falling back asleep.
"Peggie Anderson! Why. Are. You. Still. Asleep!" After every word she punched the lump of covers that was the sleeping girl.
"I'm not!" Peggie said groggily. "You only said wake up, I'm awake!"
"I said get up. I'm leaving to get breakfast. If you are not in the bus, you are not coming along. Kapish?" Rita smacked one hand against the other with a dangerous glint in her eye.
"Yeah, yeah," Peggie rubbed sleep out of her eyes, and got up. Rita heard the bathroom door close as she ran to catch the open elevator.

After an embarrassing episode where an Italian man tried to speak to her with humiliating results, Rita, blushing, hurried into the line for the breakfast bar. She took quite a few things without looking at them, which resulted in some interesting food. And drink.
"Bleck!" Rita said loudly, spitting out the red drink she'd taken a sip of. "What the heck is in here?" She pushed the cup away, wiping out her mouth with a napkin and scrunching up her face. She stuck out her tongue, and her mouth contorted into a severely disgusted shape. Nicole looked at the murky contents of the clear cut.
"Looks like tomato juice to me. That's what the sign said, anyway." She took a bite of her hard roll, chewed for a moment, then set it down deliberately. She took a bigger bite of her crossant, and judging from the speed with which is disappeared, she liked it more.
"What do you mean, tomato juice?" Rita said, still smacking her lips, trying to get rid of the taste.
"I think she means that you got tomato juice. And that the sign on the despenser said "tomato juice."
"So now you can all read Italian?" Rita said defensively. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"No," Theo said carefully as Nicole left to get more crossants, "we can't read Italian. It's in English. And what did you think it was?"
Rita looked at her noodles, and pushed them around with her fork. "Grapefruit juice."
Theo laughed. Peggie sat down at the table. "What's so funny?" Theo told the story, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, and when Nicole brought her some crossants and orange juice, Rita saw the funny side of the story, too. She told Theo and Gaetano, who had just joined, about her difficulties in waking Peggie up, and Peggie told about Theo's banging on the door to Gaetano. Gaetano reccomended food, which Nicole carefully avoided until he mentioned the crossants, when she just pretended he wasn't there.
This time of bliss didn't last for very long; they had to be out to the bus. Rita reluctantly said goodbye to the tablecloth covered table, and raced out to the parking lot with her other friends.

Much as she hated to admit it, Theo was mostly right about the group waiting for them in the bus. They were all staying at the hotel, and Rita hoped that none of them got it into their heads to call them up to play bridge, or something. Even poker would be too much for Rita to have to sit through. They were mostly middle aged, and somehow managed to all say the exact same thing about every scene they passed. The women clucked like excited hens whenever a partially or unclothed figure could be seen. The men elbowed each other knowingly. Rita was very uncomfortable, and made sure that Theo and Gaetano were nearby at all times. She thought that some of the men were a little rowdy, and more than a little tipsy.
After a long enough time in the bus that Rita's legs were cramping up, the bus stopped. They were going to take a walking tour of Florence, or Firenze, as the tour guide called the famous city. Rita was in awe. She and Peggie knew a lot more about art than your average 18 year olds. Peggie had gone through an art stage, taking as many art and history of art classes she could, and to support her Rita had done the same. Although Peggie no longer fancied herself an artist, they both still loved museams and all types of art. Theo wasn't quite as appreciative.
"Why are all these guys naked?" he whispered to Rita as they looked at a statue of Saint George. Rita, slightly annoyed at the distraction from admiring how beautiful the expression of the statue was, started to hiss back and answer, but he brushed it aside. "Never mind. You're just going to give me the technical reason. That doesn't do much good." Although she was annoyed, Rita couldn't help but notice how close his face was to hers, and how, if she'd wanted to enough, or was brave enough, she could kiss him. She pulled away suddenly, and looked back at Saint George. His expression really was noble, and she couldn't help contrast it with Theo's cocky and slightly irreverent looks. She frowned, and wondered who she'd rather have in the long run, someone funny and flippant but cute, or someone noble and kind. She didn't have time to decide, because they were about to move on. Though she braved the chance of being teased by Theo, she paused to take a really good picture of the statue, then patted her camera happily. After all, why was she here if not to take pictures?