Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro

Monday, Barra da Tijuca. Another day of school and studies in the life of Vini and Enzo at the neighborhood school. Their class wasn't much different from the others around the country. There were the rich, the scholarship holders, the stuck up, the smart, the morons. Oh, and most of all...

- Holy shit, who cooled the air conditioner? - asked Cassandra, one of the students in the class.

Obviously, nobody said a word. But the truth was one single truth. Everyone hated Cassandra Alves, the obnoxious girl who supported today's progressive party and hated to be questioned. And worse. She accused others of defending regimes contrary to those she advocated. Apparently.

- Low temperatures are sexist. - She continued. - Women are forced to live with male imposed temperatures.

Yes, there are many "Cassandras" everywhere. They usually dictate the direction of universities and scream in the street naked once in a while. Sadly for Vini, Enzo and the rest of the group, everyone was forced to live with these people on a daily basis. Still, it could be worse.

And of course it was. Because Enzo ended up bumping into Cassandra's desk as he returned to his seat. Obviously she took it as an outrage and complained about his attitude. But incredibly, instead of simply saying something, Enzo turned his back and approached Vini. A very out of character behavior.

- Cassandra. Goddammit, I hate this girl. - said Enzo.

And she didn't stop there. In one of her emotional speeches about citizenship and culture, Cassandra loved to repeat fallacies such as:

- Women in the 21st century don't need men anymore. Hell, if two women want a baby, a dick isn't even necessary anymore these days. Just go to a clinic.

- Of course, if women manage to produce semen from their finger one day, who knows. - Enzo made a silent comment, but only as silent as he thought.

Cassandra looked both ways, like an owl trying to cross an avenue.

- Who said that?

Enzo pointed at Vini, exactly as a loyal friend would do.

- Is that what you think, Vinicius? - Cassandra asked. - Did you know that this is just one more of the many sexist comments that we have to hear every day?

- Well, then a sexuality class should be held in a police station and not in a school.

- Vini, let it go. - Enzo recommended.

- Shut up, Enzo! - Vini complained. - You got me into this, but I'm quite capable of getting out too.

But as it turned out, Vini and Enzo were eventually called in by the dictator I mean, school principal, for a conversation. They were forced to spend a few long hours in the famous "room of shame". It backfired, or at least it backfired on Vini.

- Very well done, you big twit. - Enzo was displeased. - Couldn't you have simply kept your mouth shut?

- Don't you find it annoying that every time we clash with Cassandra, we get completely fucked off?

- Well, yes. But I guess the Venezuelans feel the same way about Maduro, the Chinese about Xing something or other... You know how it is. You can' t do anything about it.

- Sometimes I wonder why I ask you about certain things.

- I don't encourage it.

- What the hell. Nobody can stand this girl.

- The dictator likes her a lot.

- You wonder why?

- Because they both think alike?

- It was a rhetorical question, Enzo.

In the lunchroom, more unpleasant surprises. The traditional meal was replaced by vegan food and vegetarian dishes. Enzo just missed having an aneurysm with all that green on his plate, while Vini followed the complaints of the crowd.

- Holy shit. - said Vini. - What the fuck is this? Are we going to eat the Amazon Rainforest?

- Hey, I was going to make that joke! - Enzo complained.

- Someone has to stop this girl. - said Leo, one of Vini and Enzo's classmates. - Otherwise, everyone will have to ride their bikes to school to avoid burning fossil fuels.

- Don't give her ideas. - Enzo said.

- I mean, look at my plate. - Vini pointed. - It's The Appetizer.

- It couldn't get any worse.

But as it turned out, there was always a way to make it even worse, as a boy first appeared in the mess hall. Dark straight hair, dark eyes, and rather dirty shoes, but the white color of the Adidas model didn't help much either.

- Who's the new kid? - Vini asked.

- Henrique. - One of his colleagues answered. - He started yesterday.

But a small detail caught the attention of the group of boys.

- Hey, why is he at the girls' table?

- Maybe he got confused.

- If that freak Cassandra shows up, he's finished.

The panic of trying to get Henrique away from the girls' table started. Despite his efforts, Henrique did not understand the gestures and demands to leave the table as soon as possible. As was shown, the following scenes were of sadness and frustration, as Cassandra was not at all delighted to encounter a boy at her table. She accused him of being sexist, macho, and trying to take women's seat, whatever that seat was. Henrique ended up humiliated without mercy.

- I'm sorry, kid. - Vini said.

Sadly, though, that was not the end, as Cassandra began to systematically pursue him. At first she made up rumors that he was spying in the ladies' room. Later, she claimed that he was using terms that were offensive to certain groups of people. Without any proof. Her word was the absolute veracity. But in a bizarre way, he didn't seem to give a damn about the accusations. Sure, many doubted Cassandra's wild stories, but there was a percentage that supported the attacks, sadly. And one of these was the dictator... Sorry, it's complicated tonight, school principal, who called Henrique in for a talk. As it proved, a conversation with the principal was never a good sign, even more so after hearing the lies and treating them as facts. At the end of the day, all the kids wanted to know how Henrique did. Or rather, what punishment was imposed on him.

- So, how did it go?

- Nothing. - He answered.

What?

- Nothing? - Enzo whined. - Are you related to the Godfather by any chance?

- Vini, stop being stupid. - Vini complained. - Ignore Enzo, tell us what happened.

- Nothing, Vinicius. - Henrique maintained his version of the story. - We just talked. He asked questions. I answered. And that was it.

Oh, no, no, no. Something didn't feel right.

Stolen story; please report.

- Vinicius, I'm used to this kind of thing.

Oh.

- What are you talking about?

- My life is garbage. My parents are unbearable and abusive. I don't give a shit about anything anymore.

That's one way of looking at it.

- So... Bottom line, are you going to let crazy Cassandra trample on you?

- She is not scary.

- She's just a nuisance. - Enzo added. - Very much so.

- I can take care of myself.

Despite what Henrique said one way, the reality was another. Cassandra's attacks increased, thanks to the principal and the school's lack of responsibility towards its students. The situation was getting worse and worse every day, but Henrique remained strong. Nothing seemed to upset him, in a strange way.

It all changed on a Wednesday. Vini heard the news from Belgium, who learned about it from Slovakia, his younger sister. Obviously Vini was going to tell Enzo what he overheard from his girlfriend, because that's how high school gossip operates.

- Henrique's sister was run over earlier today.

- Really? - Enzo was stunned.

- Not only that. Her body was found in the bushes, lifeless.

- Holy shit. How is Henrique?

- I don't know. I haven't seen him all day.

But as evidenced, Henrique didn't show up all day. Vini began to worry about the worst, because Cassandra's insults and provocations didn't stop there, especially when she heard the news. After all, she was a nasty person, and that's basically what people like that do.

The reality is that Henrique didn't even leave his room. Few knew of his connection to his little sister, which was broken after the accident. With no one to have some sort of refuge, there was no other solution. Well, at least he didn't think so. That night, a stranger knocked on his door.

- Enzo?

- Hello, Henry.

Well, the foreigner sounded very familiar.

- What are you doing here?

- Well, if my initial suspicions were correct, you would be here.

- Well?

- I was right.

But there was still one thing missing.

- How did you get my address?

- 21st century, my man. You don't have to be a secret agent to figure this stuff out.

- So, why did you come here?

- I came to offer you a deal. A very good one.

- What kind of deal?

- At school you told me that your life was garbage. And I think it gets worse every day.

Henrique nodded his head in agreement.

- You can't imagine.

- No, I do. That's why I came here.

From his jacket pocket Enzo pulled out a G2C 9mm pistol. Henrique was scared, but then he understood what Enzo was saying.

- No, no, Enzo, this is madness.

- Madness? - Enzo began to laugh. - Boy, you are hopeless. How is your life right now?

- Forget it, Enzo, it's not going to happen. I don't have the balls.

- Well, grow some balls!

- Why do you keep insisting on this?

- Don't get me wrong, but I intend to use your unfortunate death for other purposes.

Henrique connected the dots.

- You will use my death to rid yourself of Cassandra?

Enzo smiled.

- Everyone knows that she chases you for no rhyme or reason. If you shoot yourself, we can blame it on her. It's the revenge we deserve. The revenge you can give us.

- Enzo, you are mad.

- Henrique. - Enzo spoke seriously. - If you don't cooperate, I'll have to do it myself.

Yes, Enzo was not joking, as Henrique figured. I mean, honestly, what did he have to lose? To die as a hero, or to live to become a troublemaker? For Henrique the answer was actually very simple. Initially, he recorded a video of his last moments, said that he could no longer take Cassandra's abuse and she and the director were responsible for all of it. Finally, he took a look at the camera to check if it was still recording. He pointed the pipe to his head. Outside the room, Enzo walked away to the door. Henrique's voice was getting fainter and fainter. As Enzo pulled the door shut, he was confronted by Henrique's abusive father.

- Who are you? - he asks.

- No one. - Enzo answered, smiling.

- Is Henrique inside?

Enzo looked at the bedroom window.

- I have no idea.

Already on the sidewalk, even though muffled because of the traffic, Enzo could hear the popping sound. The end. But at the same time, and in a very odd way, the beginning as well.

The next day, Cassandra received her own poison. No one would forgive a suicide caused by the abuse and mistreatment of a classmate. The bully's life went totally downhill as Henrique's story hit the country. The video of the suicide was quickly censored, except for the part before the deed. Reporters showed up at the high school for interviews. Parents of students said they had no idea what was going on. That week was chaotic. On Friday, Cassandra disappeared completely. She canceled her school registration and was never seen again. And as evidenced, no one took much notice of that particular event. That's what happens with these kinds of people. Once they are gone, they are forgotten. Still, it could be worse.

Back at Lake Buena Vista, the situation looked very cozy. Enzo was smoking a cigar with Vini in the empty pool at that hour, drinking an Ice-cold Matte on the rocks. All seemed incredibly well. The circumstances, however, not so much. But what else could be done?

- Look how things are, Enzo. One day you are the Maleficent, the next, Rasputia.

- It's a fact.

- I just don't understand what made him change his mind so drastically.

Enzo looked away.

- He says it in the video, Vini.

- I know, I know. It's just weird. Don't you think so?

- No. I don't think so.

- Are you sure?

- You became a forensic investigator?

- You've got nothing to do with it, right?

Oh, Vini knew him very well indeed. The answer was implied. But if he wanted to know, Lake would probably catch fire.

- That would be insane. - Enzo smiled, as he answered. - Don't you think so?

Vini smiled also.

- Yes, I do.