"Manuela"

We were all at Patrício's house for a day at the pool and a barbecue. It had been about two weeks since that crazy Nicole was arrested, and things were calm again.

Even so, I noticed Flávio was a bit agitated. He'd wandered off to answer a phone call and was quite nervous. He'd been like this for a while now: distant, agitated, and receiving mysterious messages and calls. But I figured it was his job, so I didn't ask.

Virgínia sat down on the lounge chair next to me and caught my attention.

"What's going on, Chaveirinho?"

"Nothing's going on, Vi!" I tried to hide it.

"Oh, but it's going on. And you're not going to do like Sam and leave us out. Do you want me to call Melissa now?" Virgínia threatened, and I thought it best not to involve Melissa yet. She was capable of subjecting Flávio to torture until he confessed even to things he hadn't done. "Don't call Mel, not now," I said quickly. "It's just that Flávio is acting strange."

"How strange?" she asked, looking in his dire