Adrien had met Giulio three summers before, at the birthday party of a friend. He was 21, and Giulio 22. At the time, Giulio was working in a post office - unhappily, because what he truly wanted to do was to study ancient history; this was the great passion of his life, and there was nothing that he wanted more than to pursue it. His greatest wish was to become a scholar and a researcher; to do so, however, he needed to be accepted to an university - and all of his applications had been declined, so far. Adrien well understood his pain; because, although he wasn't displeased with the job he had as a waiter, he certainly would have preferred to continue studying mechanical engineering - but, as he had dropped out the year before, those days were already over for him. And so, on that night in which they met, Giulio and Adrien didn't join their friends in dance. Instead, they sat together on the shore, away from everyone else; and between the flashing lights of the party and the ceiling of that starless night, each shared his story with the other.