The morning sun was still rising lazily over the street, and the group settled on the small lot in front of Harick's house.
Duda was still holding onto the indignation from the robbery, but the prospect of hot water seemed more tempting than anger.
"So…" she began, crossing her arms and looking Harick up and down, "can I take a shower at your house? I just need to wash off the dust and the anger from today."
Harick blinked, confused, spinning the ball between his hands.
"Ma'am…" he said, looking away, "I mean… ma'am…" — he huffed — "…I mean… you mean… can I say… you mean I can…"
Mensar watched the exchange, calm and slightly sarcastic, and murmured:
"He doesn't know how to deal with words… or with adults… without joking or saying something stupid," he whispered to Sinto.
"It doesn't help at all," Sinto replied, smiling as he spun the ball on his finger.
"Then let's settle this," Duda said impatiently. "It's just a quick shower. I don't want any weird looks, or you stalling."
"Ma'am…" Harick stammered, awkwardly, "can… can I call a solution? Like… a message? In the cinema? Style…"
Duda raised an eyebrow:
"In the cinema? Message? Style? What on earth are you talking about, boy?"
"Well… kind of…" he tried to explain, scratching the back of his neck, "sending a mental message? No, not that… like asking what you think? I… I just want to be sure…"
Mensar snorted, walking behind Harick:
"He never changes… just stalls until you go crazy."
"Well, I am," Duda replied, crossing her arms. "So decide already!"
Harick looked at Mensar, scratching his head:
"What… do you think?"
Mensar sighed, looking at the investigator:
"Ma'am seems trustworthy… doesn't smell of malice."
"Then it's settled," Duda said, crossing her arms, satisfied. "I'll shower at your house, boy."
Harick blushed, unsure whether to laugh or sigh:
"Okay… okay… you can…" he finally said, surrendering to the inevitable.
At that moment, Trofalls approached, observing the scene with a crooked smile.
"You know…" he began, in a somewhat conspiratorial tone, "when I was a kid… I was… well, a pervert. Yes, a pervert… but not the way you think."
Duda raised her eyebrows, intrigued.
"Oh yeah? Tell me…"
"Yeah…" Trofalls said, chuckling softly. "They'd ask me to fetch friends, check the neighborhood… and I… I spied. I watched people's bodies, but not in a bad way… just pure curiosity. I wanted to understand how adults worked."
He gave a little chuckle — a true disaster.
Duda smirked mischievously:
"So, boy, do you want to learn something useful or keep being a disaster?" — she leaned forward, as if to teach a lesson in cleverness — "I'll show you how to make stupidity stylish."
Harick looked at Mensar, seeking confirmation. Mensar just sighed:
"Ma'am, he won't survive the chaos coming ahead…"
"Don't worry," Duda said, crossing her arms with a defiant air. "The stupidity I'll teach is the one that teaches survival in chaos."
Sinto laughed, spinning the ball:
"This will be interesting…"
Chigui just shook his head, eager to see Harick trying to stay in control.
Duda finally took a deep breath:
"So, Harick… prepare the house… because I'm taking a shower. But I warn you: it'll be quick, just for work."
"Work?" Harick asked, still awkward.
"Yes, cleaning and thinking work," she said, with an almost mischievous smile.
"Remember that no one can be trusted—thieves, the world—and that the stove is sacred."
"You…" said Harick, unsure whether to laugh or sigh, "you're… incredible…"
Duda just smiled and turned, heading toward his house, while the four boys continued watching, quietly laughing, exchanging glances, preparing for more chaos.
"Lesson of the day," said Mensar, still holding the ball, "never underestimate cunning adults… or the smell of chaos in the neighborhood."
Trofalls just smiled, murmuring:
"And never underestimate a boy who can't handle adults…"
And so, the morning promised: shower, chaos, stylish stupidity, and lessons no one would soon forget.
Harick arrived home already tired, but with that air of someone always ready for anything. On the way, he passed the door outside, where someone had commented about the improvised bathroom they had set up for the "lady" to shower.
Harick just nodded, saying little, simply going along with the flow.
While waiting, Trofalls stood beside him, holding a heavy bag as if carrying the weight of the world.
"You know," Trofalls began with a nostalgic smile, "when I was about eight, I saw things no child should see. At the beach, in summer… life felt different. Women, gestures, movements, things a child shouldn't even notice. But I watched. Not proud, just… learning."
Harick raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but stayed silent, knowing Trofalls liked these kind of half-crazy stories.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Sinto, crossing his arms and glancing at Trofalls.
"Do we wait, go in, take a look, or just stand still?"
"Don't worry too much," intervened Chigui, lightly tapping Sinto's leg. "We just need to check. No chaos."
Trofalls chuckled softly, fiddling with the bag and pointing:
"Look, the door's open. Not a big deal, but you can see the basics. Just a quick inspection."
Mensar observed calmly, with that slightly ethereal and androgynous air.
"Hm…" Sinto said, suspiciously, "are we sure we can trust the police here? He seems too suspicious for us to believe that."
"Trust is a luxury," Chigui replied, crossing his arms. "Here, we check, observe, and don't believe anything until we see it with our own eyes."
Harick stood firm, breathing slowly, alert to everything. He knew that even with everyone's experience, some situations could only be handled instinctively and at the right moment.
"Let's just take a look, folks," said Trofalls, in that tone of someone in control. "No exaggerations, no rushed decisions… after all, we're men, right? If you really wanted to see or resist temptation, go ahead."
Everyone nodded, keeping their distance, attentive to every movement.
Every move seemed a test of patience, every glance a risk assessment.
In this world, even the simplest act could become an adventure.
Mensar floated slightly ahead, observing the surroundings, his eyes sparkling with small colored sparks, showing his mind racing, processing every detail calmly.
"Harick," murmured Chigui quietly, "the lady is going to take a long time in the shower."
"Then we stand guard," replied Harick, leaning against the wall. "No one enters or leaves without me seeing."
"Who would've thought," said Trofalls, chuckling softly, "that guarding a house would be harder than fighting plant monsters."
"You still think it's simple?" said Trofalls, with an enigmatic smile. "There's always something you're not seeing."
Sinto sighed, realizing that once again, they would be tested by the crazy world they lived in.
And so, they remained there, ready for anything, attentive, while the lady took her shower outside, Harick reflecting on each step, and Mensar, Chigui, and Sinto keeping watch, each in their own way. In the world of Shipsh, even waiting could be an adventure full of tension, humor, and chaos.
Trofalls said: "You guys are crazy, you could just peek, not guard the door, generation of Zé."
But they think we're not Zé. You wanted to catch us and call us clever little psychopaths… we saw your camera, and Trofalls said: "Then you noticed, no problem, I just wanted to test… but you handled it well. The temptation is bigger than the trap. Go, there's a hot one in the bathroom and a gap… go see, let the flesh take over."