‘Lily, why are you always looking at your mobile phone? We're at dinner, please put it away,’ my mum says to me in a sterner tone than I'm used to when I check my phone for the third time. 

‘Are you waiting for a message from someone?’ my sister asks me curiously. 

She has only made it to our grandparents' house 10 minutes late after all. 

‘No,’ I reply a little too brashly. 

“Did you have an Italian summer fling?” Emilia continues, looking at me expectantly. 

‘No, shut up,’ I say annoyed and put my mobile phone away. 

‘Oh come on Lily, tell us about it,’ Emilia continues to tease. 

My grandfather clears his throat and says, ‘Why don't you let Lily decide for herself what she wants to tell us about her school trip?’ 

I smile gratefully at him. He winks back and I start to tell them. About how we took a wrong turn on the way there and Mr. Enzo started sweating for the first time, how the room layout came about, the view from our balcony, how Chloe and Hannah always went to bed early. About all the things I saw on the dive, that I definitely can't recommend mint ice cream and about the lighthouse. 

I think about the moment when Anne gave me the pin and I look at my mobile phone again. It's just lying there, no message. 

‘Before the trip, you were still unsure about the two girls in your room. But they seem nice?’ my mum asks me, scooping up another plate of lasagne. 

‘Yes, they were. Chloe is so full of energy all the time that it can be a bit exhausting sometimes. She likes to be the centre of attention and could monologue all day. But she's funny. And Anne...’ I pause because my mobile phone suddenly lights up and vibrates. 

Why am I getting nervous now? My whole body seems to tense up. My arm is already outstretched, but Emilia is quicker. 

‘Hey!’ I shout as she grabs my mobile phone and puts it in her bag. 

‘No mobiles at the table, Mum said,’ she says, laughing at me defiantly. 

‘Mum?’ I look at her but she just dismisses her hands. 

‘She's right Lily, you can go back to your mobile later. But Emilia, give it back to her.’. 

Emilia reluctantly takes my mobile phone out of her bag again and pushes it across the table to me. I quickly take it and put it in my rucksack. It lights up briefly and I see that I have received a message. That warm feeling spreads through my body again as I read the name. A smile spreads across my face, I look at the lighthouse pin attached to the front of my rucksack and turn my attention back to the conversation at the table. 

When I look at Emilia, she looks at me curiously and questioningly. 

‘What?’ I say to her silently. 

She raises both eyebrows and then turns her attention back to the conversation. My grandmother tells us about a trip to Italy where she and my grandfather both got seasick during a trip on a tourist boat. 

After lunch, I help my grandmother with the dishes and Emilia says goodbye again because she's going to the cinema with friends. My grandfather lies down on the sofa and takes a nap. Mum sits in a big armchair next to him and solves his Sudoku puzzles. 

When we've finished, I hang up the blue and purple tea towel again and go to my rucksack. I nervously take out my mobile phone and disappear into the garden. 

The sun is shining and I go to the big apple tree and sit down in the shade. The old trunk of the tree gives me a sense of security and calms me down a little as I lean back against it. I hear two birds in the treetop and look up. They chirp to each other as if they haven't seen each other for a long time and have a lot to talk about. I look at the home screen of my mobile phone with a tingling feeling. A message from Anne. 

When I open the message history, I read my message again first. 

Hi Anne, I just wanted to make sure you got home safely? Thanks for a lovely week and for sticking it out with me as your buddy x 

Even after reading my message for the fifth time and sending it, I'm not sure about my text. But Anne had replied. Nervously, I start to read. 

Hi Buddy, your dive buddy arrived home safely after Chloe had been chatting me up all the way. How are you and how was dinner at your grandparents'? 

Anne was thinking about the dinner. A smile spreads across my face. Just before we left Giglio, I told her about it and said that I was worried about seeing my grandfather again. 

I look up into the treetops at the two birds. They are still chirping away. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then I continue reading. 

Ah and just that, you know, now that I have your number you won't be able to get rid of me 😉. See you on Monday x 

The sun is shining through the branches and as I lean my head against the tree trunk, I'm not sure who warms me more, the sun or the message from Anne.