PENHA’S HOUSE - DAYEverybody took the day to ask Ricardo trick questions. However, he felt it was not the time to answer or lie to the inquirers.He just weaves his classic silly little smile and avoids the subject, “Calm down, Penha, you don’t need to create conspiracy theories. The guy disappears from the bar for three days without giving any satisfaction. I thought he moved out of the neighborhood. I didn’t understand the disappearance.”Penha narrows her eyes, hardly believing what she heard. He kidnaps Wellington and then asks “why did he disappear?”“I hope he disappears. I always thought he was too good for your business. You were in danger of being reported by him.”Penha already knew the truth, since Wellington had told her. She just teased Ricardo, as if she had fun with it. She wanted to see his reaction.Ricardo was more nervous, tense, taking a deep breath, and “counting to three” so as not to reveal himself more than he did at the Malthus snack bar. Not with Penha.“Any
BAKERY CASCAIS - DAYFábio enters the bakery and is amazed by what he sees: Monica prostrated in the chair, finishing crying, with Annie sitting next to her, comforting her and assuring her that she was not a bad friend for Carina. Jonas continues to serve customers, sometimes taking a look at both.Fábio approaches the two girls with concern, “Monica! What happened?”He kneels to her. Monica smiles slightly, touched by his concern, “It’s okay, Fábio. I was worse. I just remembered Carina and the worst step she’s going to take in her life.”“You are thinking about the lunch she has with the damn parents.”Annie explains, “It’s just that Monica is feeling guilty for not preventing Carina from going to that lunch.”Fábio caresses Monica’s hair, “My love, you tried, but Carina needs to make her decision. After all, everyone has to carry their load.”“She is going to suffer, Fábio. At least I asked her to keep an eye on the family. She could take advantage of the fact that she is going to
1998In the reign of Royal Hill, the sun shines in a cloudless sky, on another beautiful morning in the Rhodia River neighborhood. It’s a housing district for working-class families but non-slum, well-presentable, mostly quiet, and decent residents. We have the main square called Praça da Granja, the church, tree-lined and paved streets, houses with minimal fences or walls, buses traveling, and finally, the main avenue. This one is busier, with small and varied shops, and people traveling on the sidewalk. We have a facade of Cascais Bakery, Cor-de-Rosa Stationery Store, and Malthus Snack Bar.Near the snack bar, Monica Silva, 19, light-brown, serious, and responsible, dressed socially in a woolen coat, is walking hurriedly to the local.AT THE MALTHUS SNACK BARMonica enters and takes a look. The cafeteria is in normal activity. It’s a rectangular enclosure, with plastic tables, and a marble counter for cash and orders. Monica smiles, she likes the place. Aurélio Malthus, 42, is the ow
ON THE AVENUEMonica was mugged, just as the bus is approaching. She is both angry and indecisive. Célio makes up his mind and starts running. Cassio watches him. The bus stops.Cássio asks the driver, "Hey, driver, my friend was mugged! Can you wait a little while?"The driver nods negatively. Cassio laments to Monica with his hands.Suddenly, a police siren is heard. The two friends follow with their heads, a car runs after the thief. Monica reacts hopefully.Further on, Célio is overtaken by the vehicle. He stops running.Further on, the thief tries to escape the police vehicle, but it’s faster. As in an American detective film, it overtakes the thief and then brakes sideways, blocking the passage and the street. The thief tries to run towards the back.Two policemen each come out of a vehicle door and wield their weapons. Nearby residents react with fear.Carlos Roldão, 27, authoritative and tough, orders, "Freeze, little funny! Makeup is not too expensive to steal ladies' purses!"
GRANJA SQUARE - DAYCássio is kicking a soccer ball by himself. He trains to juggle, kicks into the goal, and celebrates alone. Without him noticing, behind him, Sandra, 18, his girlfriend, approaches him. She smiles at Cassio for having fun."Good morning, future national champion!"Cassio turns to her, "Sandra!"Cássio interrupts the move, approaches her, and the two kiss briefly. Sandra feels his stench."The worst part of it all is the olfactory result.""Ofal—, what?""Oh, dear, if you are not going to solve the hygiene issue, at least solve your studies. We aren’t going to perpetuate the idea that a soccer player is dumb.""I'm not a donkey, but what is 'perpetuate'?"Sandra holds out a laugh, "It's like, letting that legend that I told you perpetuate. Soccer players should have at least the basic education.""But, we have the basic education. It turns out that soccer is played with the ball and not with books.""Yeah, we have completed high school—"Cassio raises his hands to th
FRONT OF THE MONICA HOUSEAround our characters, workers are returning to their homes, and mothers are calling their children from the street to come back inside. Monica and Carina take a deep breath, not in the mood to see what Fabia Peres, 20, the classic dumb-blonde, but with a hot body wants. She has her arms crossed, huffing."What is it, Fábia?""I wanna know what the hell this garbage is doing here in front of my house!"Monica looks at the floor: garbage, paper, and magazines are scattered on the sidewalk of her house. Fábia is a neighbor of Monica's left.Monica is calm, somewhat mocking, "I'll explain, Fábia. This is not mine. It's yours.""But, how can you throw something like that in my face? Are you calling me a pig, are you?""Pig, no; maybe, inattentive? Our garbage truck goes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you put the garbage on Sunday or Saturday, the dogs come and tear everything up; even more so in your case, since you don't have a high basket to stop them."
AT THE POLICE STATION - NIGHT Chief Carlos pins the thief on the wall; he wants to know if there is a gang forming in the neighborhood. There's tension and suspense. The thug starts to stutter and doesn’t look straight in the eye. "Y-you are going crazy, man! T-there are no gangs forming here, no. I did it on my own!" "What's your name?" "Uélton!" "Well, Uélton, I think I'm going to let you spend the night here to let you reflect on what you've done. If there's no one behind you, then you're just an inexperienced person. Think, reflect on what you want in your life." Uélton is almost crying, "Okay, "cop", it was my bad..." Carlos looks almost fraternally at Uélton; he could be his little brother. Carlos straightens up and leaves the cell, letting Uélton let out a sigh of relief. At the reception, Carlos walks slowly, going to his desk. It’s a small neighborhood police station, just for cases like these of minor importance. Some policemen are doing other things, answering the p
CARLOS'S LIVING ROOMCarlos is already bathed and wearing light clothes, a tank top, and shorts, sandals on his feet. He emerges from the kitchen with a beer can in his hands. Carlos is single; the house shows it by the furniture and the slight disorganization. Carlos sits on the couch and takes the remote to turn on the TV, but stops when he hears a woman's voice."Carlos? Can I come in?"Carlos leaves the remote and the can and goes to the door. She opens it and appears Miriam Abreu, 18, red-haired, helpful. She has a plastic bowl in her hands, indicating something to eat. Carlos smiles and lets her in."I brought it for you. It's my mother's recipe: iced coconut cake with lemon-flavored icing. I even scraped the peels to give them a green color.Carlos opens the pot and sees the generous piece."Thank you very much, Miriam. Do you want anything?""No, I came to see how you are doing. You know, Cassio told me that you prevented a thief from robbing Monica. Surprising.""Isn't that ri
BAKERY CASCAIS - DAYFábio enters the bakery and is amazed by what he sees: Monica prostrated in the chair, finishing crying, with Annie sitting next to her, comforting her and assuring her that she was not a bad friend for Carina. Jonas continues to serve customers, sometimes taking a look at both.Fábio approaches the two girls with concern, “Monica! What happened?”He kneels to her. Monica smiles slightly, touched by his concern, “It’s okay, Fábio. I was worse. I just remembered Carina and the worst step she’s going to take in her life.”“You are thinking about the lunch she has with the damn parents.”Annie explains, “It’s just that Monica is feeling guilty for not preventing Carina from going to that lunch.”Fábio caresses Monica’s hair, “My love, you tried, but Carina needs to make her decision. After all, everyone has to carry their load.”“She is going to suffer, Fábio. At least I asked her to keep an eye on the family. She could take advantage of the fact that she is going to
PENHA’S HOUSE - DAYEverybody took the day to ask Ricardo trick questions. However, he felt it was not the time to answer or lie to the inquirers.He just weaves his classic silly little smile and avoids the subject, “Calm down, Penha, you don’t need to create conspiracy theories. The guy disappears from the bar for three days without giving any satisfaction. I thought he moved out of the neighborhood. I didn’t understand the disappearance.”Penha narrows her eyes, hardly believing what she heard. He kidnaps Wellington and then asks “why did he disappear?”“I hope he disappears. I always thought he was too good for your business. You were in danger of being reported by him.”Penha already knew the truth, since Wellington had told her. She just teased Ricardo, as if she had fun with it. She wanted to see his reaction.Ricardo was more nervous, tense, taking a deep breath, and “counting to three” so as not to reveal himself more than he did at the Malthus snack bar. Not with Penha.“Any
MALTHUS SNACK BAR - DAYAurélio is teaching Luís how to properly serve customers. Wellington is sweeping. Nobody notices the window, where Ricardo is looking at the three with dismay.Ricardo goes back a few steps and enters the snack bar even with the “closed” sign on the door. The three men turn their attention to the door opening and closing and are surprised.“Ricardo?” the owner says, “We haven’t opened it yet, but we already have snacks in the showcase.”Ricardo looks with disgust at the snacks, “I don’t want to be a victim of the ‘Salmonella bar’ anymore. What are these two doing here?”Disgusted, Wellington drops the broom and approaches him, “You can ask us, directly. We are here!”Aurélio gestures for Wellington to calm down.Ricardo goes on talking, “And you, Wellington? Are you working here now? Aren’t you going back to the bar? Rubens is waiting for you until now!”Wellington looks at Aurélio in doubt, Aurélio responds affirmatively with a slight nod.“No, Ricardo, I won’
PENHA’S HOUSE - NIGHTPenha is disgusted by Ricardo’s unexpected visit just to ask if she is going to lunch tomorrow. Because she had no intention of going.Even with her clear body language: pouting, arms crossed and one foot hitting the ground, Ricardo does not undo the classic little silly smile.“Did you interrupt my movie... for this?”Ricardo sits in the armchair closest to the coffee table and puts his feet on top. Penha can see from the soles of one of his shoes that Ricardo stepped on ox feces.“Get those dirty feet off my coffee table!”“You haven’t confirmed me yet, sis. The dress that Carina chose is beautiful. Did you choose yours?”“Get outta my house now!”Ricardo threatens to rub his foot with his dirty shoe, showing that he knows the situation of his shoe.“Come on, sis, say yes! A family lunch, with dad and mom...”Penha is about to cry, she is very nervous. She just wants Ricardo to leave, “Please, Ricardo, stop this clowning! I’m not going to show up for lunch to h
PENHA HOUSE - NIGHTAfter Penha and Wellington cancel the lease agreement, the two say goodbye and Wellington leaves. Carlos leaves behind, without saying a single word, just smiled mysteriously at Penha, as if he knew she had just slept with Rubens.Then she takes a forgotten flannel in a corner and begins to try to clean the spilled coffee on the sofa, as it has practically dried, staining the fabric. Rubens, sensing the empty house, leaves the room furious and in long strides.Rubens takes Penha violently by the arm and makes her turn to him. Penha is startled by being taken by surprise and widens her eyes.“Hey, what are you doing?”“What did that kid come to do here?”Penha tries to get rid of Rubens, but he won’t let her go.“Let go of me! He just came to end the lease! He won’t be living in the kitchenette anymore!”“Did you send him to the bar today?”“I was so shocked by his decision that I didn’t even remember!”Rubens squeezes Penha’s arm tighter and she screams more, “You
WELLINGTON KITCHENETTE - DAYCarlos cornered Rosa asking her to explain to everyone how Penha is Ricardo’s sister. She gulps, nervous.Wellington looks at her more deeply than the others.Finally, she decided it was time to end the mysteries. She gets up to explain better, “Yes, people. It’s true. Ricardo is Penha’s younger brother. However, since they moved here and built the building, they have presented themselves as lovers.”“But, why is that disgusting lie?” Everybody notices Wellington’s afflicted and distressing tone.“Because Ricardo believes that by presenting himself as a boyfriend, he prevents other men from flirting and taking Penha to bed.”The girls are embarrassed.Annie blushes and asks, “Doesn’t Penha know how to simply say ‘no’ to the perverts?”“No. She deliberately accepts to sleep with anyone who invites her. She has a boyfriend who is in Europe doing a Master’s or Doctorate and doesn’t even dream that his darling is horning him.”Wellington is very ashamed of him
RHODIA AVENUE - AFTERNOONMore people gather to see Célio’s rescue, which hung in the window of Wellington’s kitchenette. Even Aurélio and his clients left the snack bar to see.“Guys, these windows... Who was the idiot who bought these big windows?”Monica, Sandra, and Annie exchange mocking gazes: they all imagined it was Ricardo’s idea with the masons.WELLINGTON’S KITCHENETTECarlos strides in and goes to the window.“Hang in there, boys!”With another strong man, it was easier to pull Célio back safely. When they finally succeed, he can hear the palms and cheers of those present from below. Célio runs to Wellington’s bathroom to throw up, he’s still scared.Wellington and Luís laugh out loud. Carlos then notices the boxes and suitcases, “Hey, what’s going on here?”Wellington stops laughing and announces to Carlos, “Officer, I’m moving out of here. I don’t think is right to live in the place where I have to pay rent for my kidnapper’s girlfriend.”Carlos smiles in understanding,
PENHA’S HOUSE - DAYPenha opens the door for Rubens, who hurries in and looks worried. She closes the door and signals him to sit down.“I was going to offer you coffee, but you need chamomile tea.”“This is no time for jokes, Penha! The situation is getting more complicated.”Penha purses her lips in indifference; everyday things are complicated. She sits in the other armchair, “Every day you live in confusion. You guys don’t seem to want to live in peace. And if I guess, it has to do with Monica and her friends.”Rubens doesn’t like the tone of Penha’s voice and replies harshly, “It has to do with that bastard Wellington who didn’t come to the bar neither Wednesday nor yesterday! What is he thinking?”Penha, on the outside, remains calm and indifferent; but inside, she is overflowing with relief. It was what she wanted most, for Wellington to get out of that snake’s nest, “You’ll see, he found a better job and couldn’t even tell you.”“We paid above the minimum!”Penha is irritated
MIRIAM’S ROOM - DAYMiriam is talking to Fábia Peres. The two got on well again after Sandra’s advice. Cleverly, Miriam leads the conversation to the topic of lawsuits.“Oh, Fábia, you don’t know the worst: I talked to Carlos and he said that he won’t insist on objecting to his fate at the trial. That he will acknowledge that he was wrong and accept the punishment.”Fábia Peres is gaping. Then the officer who always behaved like a warrior, dropping the towel so easily?“What does the officer have in mind, Miriam?”“He said he doesn’t mind losing the case, as long as he can get Ricardo behind bars. He’s gathering proofs and evidence.”“And is Carina going to marry this guy?”“Hopefully, she’ll fall flat on her face when she finds out the whole truth on her honeymoon, with the police invading their suite, ha, ha!”The two girls giggle maliciously.“Girl, on the subject of the trial, I’ve been thinking about something. If the officer is not offended, I can ask my father to pay the compen