Holy cow, guys, we are BACK and I don't know about you but I am PUMPED for this.

So for anyone new here, this is the final in a Hetalia high school trilogy, which I fondly refer to as "The Good, the Bad, and the Italian" series. If you need to read the first and/or second story, here are the links:

The Good, the Bad, and the Italian: /s/8716111/1/The-Good-the-Bad-and-the-Italian

The Bad, the Italian, and the Good: /s/10518120/1/The-Bad-the-Italian-and-the-Good

And now that you've done that...

LET'S GO!

(Anyone who says one word about the title's creativity level gets a sock. Just one sock. I'll mail it to you. You won't like it.)

"Feli . . ."

"Nn . . ."

"Feli, you're gonna be late."

"That's okay . . ."

"Get up!"

I opened my eyes and shut them again. "Five more minutes . . ."

"You can use those five minutes to have some breakfast," Eliza said gently. "Eggs on toast is waiting for you downstairs. Come on."

She left the room and I slowly sat up. It was really bright outside already.

I got out of bed and went to the closet to get my uniform out.

"First day," I mumbled to myself, pulling on the pants. I grinned. "I'm gonna see everyone again . . ." I glanced at the painting from two years ago, still propped up on the floor (I never had hung it up on the wall). "And I can see Ludwig every day!"

I quickly finished getting the uniform on, tied the necktie, and got downstairs. Stepfather was leaving already.

"Good morning, Feliciano," he said as we passed each other.

"Morning, stepfather!" I said. I sat at the table and, since he was still in earshot, said, "Morning, stepmother!"

"Good to see you awake," she said, smiling. My breakfast was already on the table and I sat down and ate it quickly.

"'s good, thanks!" I said as I finished it off. I stood up, hugged her goodbye, and grabbed my backpack as I went out the door. Then I went back in to put my shoes on before going out again.

The walk to school seemed shorter than I'd remembered. I looked around as I went in and got to my first class—English.

"YO!"

I almost got knocked over when someone jumped out of nowhere and hugged me.

"How was your summer, dude?!" Al asked, pushing me away at arm's length and looking me up and down. "Wow, you are pasty. Didn't get tan at all. I'm ashamed of you."

"What?" I said. "No, I didn't get a lot of sun." I grinned. "You look really tan, though! How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was great," he said happily. He frowned. "Didn't get to see Mei, though. We texted and stuff but then it just . . . stopped."

"I hope she's okay," I said, remembering that she'd had to miss school for a month last year.

"Yeah, same."

"Oh, good god, I'm stuck with you."

We turned to see Artie coming in the door.

"Hey!" Al exclaimed. "Whaddya mean 'Stuck with you?' What's wrong with Feli?"

"What?" I said. "Y-You don't like me?"

"Oh, for—I was talking about you, Alfred," Artie muttered, sitting at a desk. "Hi, Feli. How was break?"

Before I could answer, Al said, "How was break for you? Did you and Francis suck face, like, every day?"

Artie turned pink and glared at Al. "Why must you be so nosy?"

"So you did."

"My love life—"

"Which apparently sucks, ifyouknowwhatimean—"

"—is none of your business."

I sat down next to Artie.

"So, like, I haven't heard from Mei for, like, a year," Al said, sitting next to Artie so he was sandwiched between us.

"It's been a month," Artie corrected him.

Al stared at him. "Um, first off, it's called theatrical exaggeration. And second, how did you know it's been a month?"

"Well, a month ago is when you started complaining about it," Artie said. "So I kind of figured."

"Oh. Makes sense."

"She's okay, isn't she?" I said aloud. "I haven't really seen her."

"She's fine," Artie said reassuringly.

Al leaned over to look him directly in the face. "And how would you know, Mister Bookworm?"

"I think that's her business to tell you," Artie said. "I'm sure you'll see her later today, or at least this month."

"She's here?!"

"Like I said, I don't know for sure."

The bell rang, so Al didn't have a chance to get out of his seat and look for Mei. He slumped back into his chair and muttered something under his breath.

Second period was pre-calc and the introduction from Mr. Laurinaitis made it look even harder than I'd thought. I didn't see any of my friends in the class, but I guess Ludwig or Artie could help me later.

I put my head down on my desk and stared out the window.

Third period was health class, and it already looked really boring, but the teacher, Ms. Hill, seemed nice. None of my friends were in that class, either.

Then lunchtime came around . . .

Aaaaaand we'll be back every Monday!