12:00. Barra da Tijuca. Wednesday. Just as the sun rises and the birds sing, people go about their normal lives. They drink coffee, watch football on Wednesday night, boyfriends and girlfriends make love... But for Enzo Carvalho and Vini Valverde, those days only meant long hours in a boring classroom. There was only one truth. Nobody could stand a math class at seven o'clock in the morning. It seemed like endless torture through trigonometry and calculations.

- Hey, Vini, how about smoking a cigar after class? - Enzo made an indecent proposal.

- Are you out of your mind, Enzo? - Vini was astonished. - Do you wanna get caught, you moron?

Let's face it, there is always that one friend with the weird ideas. In Vini's case, Enzo was that person. But Enzo wasn't the only dude with silly ideas.

- Hey, you won't believe it, the school Olympics are about to begin. - Said Montier, a french student.

Except that everybody already knew that information. But what came afterwards is that took our heroes by surprise.

- We can bet on the results. - He said.

Uh-oh. Imminent problem. Someone with a healthy brain needed to make the logical comment.

- Who would bet on 5-year-olds? - Vini asked.

Enzo looked at Vini and smiled. Vini's concerns only increased.

- What odds are you going to offer me?

Oh, no, not that one.

- Two. Take it or leave it.

- I need to see the teams first.

A reasonable proposal. Still...

- I'll give you till the end of the day, asshole.

And that was it. Enzo saw an opportunity to make easy money and didn't want to miss it. There was just one small problem.

- Enzo, you don't know anybody there. What are you going to do? Beg the kids to play well and win?

- Vini, Vini, you silly little boy. Just negotiate with the kids on the other team.

- Like what?

- I don't know. Just be creative. Offer them candy or whatever.

- Good thing you don't have any brothers, Enzo.

- Relax, it'll be fine.

Nothing good happened after Enzo put those words together into a complete sentence.

But still, Enzo returned to Lake with Vini at the end of that day. Unfortunately for Enzo, the cigar had to wait, but once they reached the dark gate of the condo's entrance, Vini immediately recalled an important detail.

- Holy crap! I can't believe I forgot!

- What?

- Today is our anniversary.

- Shit, Vini, how could you forget? I thought we had something special.

Vini smiled ironically.

- Very funny, dummy! I'm referring to me and Belgium.

- So you are betraying me.

- Could you be any more annoying? I'm in trouble here!

- That's on you! It's not my girlfriend.

In a certain sense, Enzo was right. Oh, what am I saying?

- Enzo, I need you to go to the mall and buy a present for Belgium.

- Like what?

- You know, things that women like. You know, rings, jewelry, bracelets.

- You are an Arab sheik and you never told me?

Strangely enough, Enzo had a point.

- Just go to the mall and buy it for me. I give you the money and then you hand it over when she is here.

- Why don't you do that?

- Because I need to distract Belgium. Or do you want to stay here and cheer her up?

There was only one answer for this occasion.

- Fine, I'll go.

Still, it could be worse.

Vini gave Enzo a generous amount of money to buy a gift for Belgium. That plan was giving clear signs that it was going to fail, but Vini chose to rely on luck and completely forget his judgment, a dangerous combination of trusting Enzo and being unaware of the reality of the facts. In any case, Vini did indeed give Enzo a straightforward order. And as soon as the idiot Enzo left, it didn't take long for the princess of the week to show up at Vini's door, precisely at eight in the evening. And Belgium looked beautiful, in a long blue dress, sparkling shoes and red lipstick.

- You look wonderful. - Vini said.

- Thank you. - Belgium replied.

Oh, such a girl! That smile, the blue eyes, the honey-colored hair. Everything about her made Vini daydream. A sweet mixture of feelings.

- Are we going somewhere? - she asked.

- No, no. I was thinking of a very romantic dinner here at home, with candles, Michael Bublé, and turkey.

A good idea.

Meanwhile, Enzo was complaining all the way to the mall. He was in no mood to buy a present for Belgium. Who did that girl think she was? Princess Diana? Enzo couldn't stand to lose the night because of Vini's stupid whim. And then it happened. While crossing the street, Enzo spotted a conglomeration of people. It looked like something a little strange. Maybe it was a traffic fight, or maybe some woman's husband was looking where he shouldn't and caused a commotion. Or maybe it was something completely different. Yeah, probably that option. But Enzo needed to be sure. So he approached the group to learn more about it.

- What happened? - Enzo asked a shirtless man apparently involved in the confusion.

- We are betting on animals. I've already won two thousand just tonight.

- Two thousand? Get out!

- I'm dead serious. Look.

In fact, the man showed the blue wishbills. By Enzo's eyes, that was a rich man. And not just that. A rich man doing practically nothing. Just as Enzo liked it. Only one more thing was missing.

- How much can I bet?

- How much do you have there?

Enzo began to do the math in his head.

- A hundred.

- That's a start.

Enzo handed the man 100 silver. A roulette wheel spun endlessly until Enzo shouted:

- Zebra!

The wheel stopped. Exactly on the animal that Enzo had chosen seconds before. Luck? Competence? Honestly? Who cares?

- Here it is. - The man delivered almost triple what Enzo already had. You can bet again, only for quadruple.

Enzo smiled maliciously at the man. He shook his head and handed him the money. The roulette wheel spun once more. It only stopped when Enzo shouted:

- Deer!

Enzo could hear the imaginary blackjack machines screaming as soon as the wheel stopped. And, of course, exactly the animal that Enzo chose once again. Zebra, Deer. Almost a millionaire's zoo. Enzo had more than three times as much money as Vini had given him minutes before. But the truth was crystal clear. At some point, it was bound to go wrong. If Vini was around, he would certainly have recommended leaving. But Enzo also recalled that if Vini was with him, he would most likely not let Enzo join that game. So he needed to think about the pros and cons.

- Let's keep going. - Enzo announced.

And as bizarre as it seemed, Enzo had made over 200% profit in just over an hour. However, if this was a love story, the paragraph would probably end here. It was clear that at some point his luck was going to run out. And as it turned out, he didn't even have to exactly lose, because a police car suddenly came by to break up the party. An enormous confusion ensued, with people running everywhere. Enzo took advantage of this and ran into Lake's Street through the traffic. A risky and almost suicidal decision, but what choice did he have? Two policemen followed on his tail. But Enzo's youth and vitality gave him a considerable advantage. He was never going to be reached, unless fate dared to intervene. So it happened. A police car pulled in front of Enzo. To avoid being hit, Enzo stepped over the hood of the Toyota Corolla, but as soon as he fell, he slipped in the mud and twisted his ankle. Yeah, was it really the end? Not exactly, because Enzo tried to free himself from the cops, flailing like a fish in a net.

- Hold still, stench!

- That's your wife's name, you fucker! - Enzo replied.

- All right, cut the shit!

One of the policemen kicked Enzo in the chest, who remained lying on the ground and then stopped moving. Next, the money fell out of his pocket. The cops were excited by this amount of money.

- Look what we have here!

- That's mine, you disgusting pigs! - Enzo replied.

- Looks like not anymore.

- Looks like you're a man with your friends and a gun in your hand! Alone, you're a pussy!

Okay, the cops were quite impressed with Enzo's audacity. But this was hardly a reward, because Enzo, besides losing all the money he had earned, still received a few more blows from the cops. Seconds later, the car disappeared, and so did Enzo's profit.

And as soon as he returned to Lake, Enzo needed to look convincing, because Vini would not accept anything so preposterous as to ignore the fact that he had spent Belgium's gift money.

- Vini, you won't believe it. - Enzo said.

- Where is my gift? - Vini asked an important question.

- What gift? - Belgium asked, curious.

- I was going to give you a present, but it seems that Enzo didn't get the message.

- Vini, I was robbed.

- What?

- Robbed? - Even Belgium looked worried.

- Yes... - I was walking home, when two boys came after me, pulled the bag I was holding... They must have followed me from the mall.

- Holy shit! - Vini exclaimed. - This is terrible!

- What happened?

- I tried to fight them. You know, mano a mano. Like in those Jackie Chan movies. Oh, if only I could speak Mandarin!

- Enzo, you know you can't fight the muggers! You're risking yourself!

- But they were kids, junkies. They are powered by batteries. You just blow, and they fall!

- Well, at least you didn't get hurt. - said Vini.

- Not exactly - said Vini.

Enzo pulled up his shirt and showed the beatings on his body. Impressive, thought Vini.

- Boy, you were hit like a dog.

- Stop talking gibberish, I didn't get beaten!

Well, in a manner of speaking, Enzo had earned the sympathy of Vini and Belgium. Obviously, Vini felt sorry for not giving his girlfriend a present, but he was also relieved that Enzo was out of the supposed confrontation with his life. Everything was fine, everything seemed fine. But then of course things were going to change. Because the old saying is true. Lies have short legs.

The confirmation of this theory came days later, in one of the classes, because the teacher brought a newspaper article with a video. In principle, innocent. Nothing to worry about. But then, the reporter, who nobody gave a damn about the name, introduced the issue of gambling and crime. The problem? Well, Enzo appeared exactly in the video in question. Virtually nobody noticed this little detail. But who said that Vini was part of this group?

- Uh-oh. - Enzo soon expressed regret when he saw himself in the report.

- Look at it. - Vini immediately remembered the fateful day of the robbery. - It seems that lies have short legs.

Vini looked back and stared at Enzo, who kept his eyes fixed on the screen, ignoring Vini, because he knew that at this point in the events there was no escape. And as soon as the students went to break, Vini wanted to... Let's say:

- I can't believe it, Enzo! - Vini says, as soon as the lecture is over.

Yelling wildly at Enzo.

- All right, all right. I admit it. It was not right what I did. But it wasn't exactly my fault.

- I'm anxious to hear your excuses.

And he was.

- I went to the mall to buy your crazy girlfriend's present. But then I ran into some guys, they were betting.

- Let me guess. You saw an opportunity and decided to play.

It was as if Vini lived inside Enzo's head. Or else he was too predictable.

- Well, yes. But you are oversimplifying.

- And so what? You lost my money on the bets?

- That is the point! No. Actually, it was quite the opposite.

- You won?

- A lot.

- How much?

Dangerous question. So in this case...

- It doesn't matter. But then the police burst in. Everybody was running like crazy down the street. I managed to escape, but then a policeman knocked me to the ground.

- And?

- And they took the money and left.

It was like those small town movies where the police are corrupt and the main character is Rocky.

- They took the money? The so-called robbers?

- I'm telling you, Vini! That's what happened!

- But very well done, then! You're such an idiot!

- You know it was your money, right?

- Thanks for reminding me. This time you have crossed the line, my friend. You have never let me down so much.

- Really? After all the things we've been through, that was your limit?

- It doesn't matter anymore, Enzo. You better pay me back. Otherwise, we'll have problems.

Although Enzo didn't want to admit it out loud, it is quite true that he had never heard Vini talk like that before. It seems that Vini has really drawn a line through Enzo's nonsense. And the worst of all? This time he knew he had gone too far. Enzo had abused his friend's good will for years and never took into consideration that at some point in the story, Vini might throw everything overboard and walk away. With this feeling in mind, Enzo began to come up with strategies to get Vini's money back. The big problem is that he could no longer think of anything suspicious, against the law, or morally dubious. Or could he?

To do things that are wrong, Enzo had an indomitable genius. But even a supreme being of questionable intelligence like Enzo had a hard time thinking of strategies to make money. To organize his thoughts, Enzo decided to go for a walk. Barra da Tijuca is considered a safe neighborhood, so there is not so much concern about kidnappings or random shootings. But there are some places where attention must be redoubled. And one of these places is the traffic light in front of the 24-hour supermarket. Enzo started to notice a black boy on a skateboard. The people in the vehicles gave him coins and even some paper money, because the boy was not exactly like the others. After all, there was no way he could get around without his skateboard. After a couple of minutes, Enzo cracked a huge, debauched smile. Which was not a good sign.

Over the next few days, Vini hardly saw Enzo at school, even though he was his classmate and neighbor at Lake. Although nothing gave him any indication, his intuition was telling him that something felt wrong. Everything was too quiet. The lull before the storm, perhaps. But if that was the case, everything indicated that the worst was yet to come.

- Honey, have you seen Enzo? - Vini asked Belgium, who didn't understand the question.

- Why are you asking me?

- I don't know. It's just that I haven't seen him for almost the whole week.

- Is it the guilt?

- Nah. - Vini shook his head. - Enzo doesn't have it.

- Then... Maybe it's something else.

- It's not helping, Belgium.

- Oh, you wanted emotional support? Sorry, love. I'll try to be more understanding.

But it didn't do any good. Enzo remained a ghost until that moment. Vini, unwilling to admit it out loud, began to worry. Not exactly for Enzo, but for the rest of humanity.

With no answers, Mr. Banks, Vini's father-in-law, gave his son-in-law a ride to Lake. Despite his misfortunes, Belgium's father was very fond of Vini and considered him a good influence on his daughter. Obviously the same could not be said about Enzo, though Mr. Banks did enjoy his company, preferably without dating any of his children. While waiting at the traffic light in front of the 24-hour supermarket, the answer Vini wanted so badly popped up right in front of him. Actually, it was Belgium that put an end to the mystery, but that didn't put Vini at ease.

- Hey, love, isn't that Enzo at the traffic light?

Vini got up from his chair and insisted on checking for himself.

- Worse than that.

- Is he on a skateboard? - Mr. Banks also had a hard time believing the scene.

- What is he doing? - Belgium asked.

It seemed very obvious. But in any case...

- I don't believe it! - Vini got out of the vehicle for a moment and went to confront him.

- What do you want, Vini? - Enzo complained.

- Wait a minute. I can't believe you really did this.

- What?

- How could you?

- Listen here, Vini, don't try to be the lord of morality, because if I'm not mistaken, you did the same thing.

- What did I do?

- You pretended to be blind.

- It was a joke, Enzo! I even sang some Stevie Wonder songs!

- Ah, so two wrongs represent one right?

Technically.

- Look, Vini, relax, I'll pay what I owe you.

What would Vini do? Yes, Enzo is a shameless idiot, but at least he would get his hard-earned money back.

- Enzo, you are pretending to be handicapped to get money!

- Okay, that may not be quite right, but look! - Enzo showed me a bunch of money. - It will soon be possible for me to pay you back.

- Did people give you all this money just because they think you don't have both legs?

- I am very convincing and a very good actor. I am more expressive than Kristen Stewart.

- Enzo, shut up. - Vini is tired of listening to you. - I don't want to listen to you anymore.

- That's cool. But be home by the weekend. I'll make some money.

- Why do you say that?

- I'll tell you why. The circus is coming to town this weekend.

Uh-oh.

- Let me guess. You're going to take money from people in the parking lot?

- The deal is right there.

Still, it could be worse.

On Saturday, as Enzo announced, he went to the circus entrance to draw people's attention to his disability. And, of course, many fell for his talk, regrettably. Enzo made good money, but he knew that the night was just beginning. But not exactly the way he envisioned, because a man in a suit and tie suddenly appeared, startling him.

- Hello, buddy. Who are you?

- I am Enzo. I don't have both legs.

- I see. Look, what do you think about coming to the circus tonight?

It smells like trouble. Enzo could feel it.

- I'm embarrassed. - He justified.

- You don't have to be ashamed. - The man calmed him down. - All you have to do is swing some colored ropes. Nothing too difficult. And I'll pay you a good amount.

Did he say "good amount"?

- I'm in!

It wasn't too hard to convince him. The man offered Enzo a colorful outfit and a brand new skateboard to do who knows what. Enzo could not suspect the trouble he was about to get himself into very soon.

Little by little, the circus was filling up with people. Men, women, children, animals, and, of course, Enzo, wearing a white coat with red stripes. The place looked like a party of clownish people. But the worst part was that Enzo had no idea of what to do. The man did not explain what his function would be in the performance. It would be a surprise, apparently. And seconds later it happened. Enzo started to shake the ribbons up and down in an uncoordinated way. He looked like a baby playing with his rattles. But then, without warning, Enzo's clothes simply evaporated from his body, leaving him completely naked.

- Holy shit! - Enzo panicked. - Holy shit!

And what did he do? He simply forgot his disability, jumped up from his skateboard and ran with his two perfectly healthy legs as fast as he could. And watching this terrible scene from a distance were Vini, Belgium and the man in the tie, who turned out to be Belgium's uncle.

- Very good, Vini. - said the man from the parking lot.

- Thank you. - Vini smiled. - Tell your brother I appreciate the little help.

- Thanks, Uncle. - Belgium said.

- Anything for my favorite niece.

- I don't think Enzo will forget this lesson any time soon. - said Vini.

- Oh, of course not.