I was wondering, actually, is your school open to everyone?Luca · 2021 — Chapter 8 of 9 · 3'07" · B1
Luca Wants to Go to School, Explained: bossing him around
The fight looks like it's about a school and a Vespa, but it's about whether these two want the same life. "I wanna go to school" meets the flat answer that they can't. The real wound is that one of them believes his parents have seen him, and he no longer trusts the old plan to ride off together.
What happens
Above Portorosso, Luca asks whether Giulia's school takes everyone, then says he wants to go to school instead of chasing the race and the Vespa. Alberto shoots the idea down, they trade insults about who is scared, and Luca snaps that his parents have just seen him. Giulia then invites them along.
Listen for
bossing him aroundgoof aroundhard to imaginestick to
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
bossing him around
to keep telling someone what to do
卢卡看不下去阿尔贝托一路指挥，当着朱莉娅的面顶了回去，让他别再对人指手画脚。
Stop bossing your little brother around.
Also in this scene
- goof around
to waste time being silly
- hard to imagine
difficult to picture or believe
- stick to
to keep to something and not stray
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 71 lines
Well, it costs a little money, but I guess.Now, can we focus on what matters?If we lose this race, we're not going anywhere.I know it looks scary.to keep telling someone what to do
Would you stop bossing him around?conditional clause
Would you stop bossing him around?-Stop, Alberto! -Let it go!Look out!Bah! Not now, Ciccio! Eyes on the water!flap
Bah! Not now, Ciccio! Eyes on the water!(MUFFLED) Oh, no! Luca! Alberto!Look, I was just trying to show you how to do it right.Look, I was just trying to show you how to do it right.I got us down the hill, didn't I?You crashed! Into the sea!wh-word plus infinitive
Nothing's fine! My parents just saw me!You don't know what you're talking about!Look, this town is making you crazy.We just need to win that Vespa and get outta here.liaison
I don't wanna...That again? We can't go to school.need to for necessity
That again? We can't go to school.You're the one who gets afraid.Get off me! (GRUNTS)Hey! You're never allowed on my bike again.Stick to food, big guy.Actually, we have something to ask you.We were wondering if we could come with you to your school?We were wondering if we could come with you to your school?Uh, Giulia, your school, does it take all kinds of people?if-clause as object
I mean, what if some of them were not human?difficult to picture or believe
Yeah, I know, it's kinda hard to imagine.to waste time being silly
liaison
Luca Wants to Go to School, explained
What's really going on
Alberto keeps steering Luca — how to ride, what to want, where they'll go — and the school question threatens the whole arrangement. That's why the fight escalates so fast. "I'm his friend. I know what he needs," one of them insists, and the claim is both protective and possessive, the kind that leaves no room for the other person to choose. The counter, "I wanna go to school," is the first time a want is named that isn't Alberto's. Admitting that the parents have seen them is bigger than fear: it means the secret life they built is no longer only theirs. The scene ends with their fantasy intact on the surface and quietly cracking underneath.
Theme
FriendshipTwo friends want different futures, and the argument tests whether loyalty means following or letting go.
DreamsLuca names going to school as his own dream, while Alberto clings to the Vespa plan they built together.
Listen for
- Let it go — flap
- talking about — liaison
- goof around — liaison
I'm his friend. I know what he needs.A defensive claim of ownership over the friendship. It sounds loyal, but it also says the other person shouldn't get a say in his own life.
If we lose this race, we're not going anywhere.The stakes in one line: the race is the only ticket out of town, so everything else, including school, has to wait.
You're just afraid you can't do it.An accusation that reframes the argument from what someone wants to what someone is too scared to try.
Nothing's fine! My parents just saw me!The panic line: being spotted by his parents turns a fun summer into a threat, and it's the fear Alberto keeps dismissing.
Questions about this scene
Why doesn't Alberto want Luca to go to school?
School is a human world he can't picture himself in, and it would break the plan they made together — win the race, buy a Vespa, leave. Letting Luca want something of his own feels like losing him.
Why does Luca mention his parents at the end of the fight?
Because when he surfaced during the crash, he's sure they saw him. For Luca that's the worst possible outcome, while Alberto insists it can't be true — which is exactly why it hurts.
Is Alberto right that the town is making Luca crazy?
Not really. Luca isn't losing his mind; he's discovering a life he actually wants. Alberto reads any change as betrayal because the old plan is all he has.
What does the sea monster joke at the end mean?
The reply calls it "a weird joke," which shows the boys aren't ready to be seen for what they are yet — and that the truth is still something they have to hide.
Luca · 9 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9worried half to deathSea Monsters Revealed at the Race
Chapter 1if I ever saw oneMom Bans Luca From the Surface
Chapter 2catch yourselfLuca Learns to Walk on Land
Chapter 3Silenzio, BrunoAlberto Teaches Silenzio, Bruno
Chapter 4underdogsGiulia Recruits the Underdogs
Chapter 5Money is tightLuca and Alberto's Dinner with Massimo
Chapter 6eat someone for breakfastSigning Up for the Portorosso Cup
Chapter 7too muchGiulia Shows Luca the Stars
Watching · Chapter 8bossing him aroundLuca Wants to Go to School
Chapter 9worried half to deathSea Monsters Revealed at the RaceChapter 8 of 9 · about 4 min to go