As soon as the exit bell rang, we stood up and went together to the school exit.

—Let's go to the food festival!— I exclaimed.

—But we don't have any money— Erica argued.

—It doesn't matter, we'll earn it somehow— I assured her— we're going to have a competition: we'll all look for a way to earn money fast. There are five of us, if we each earn enough for a ticket, we can go without hassle.

—And what do you want us to do?— asked Pekos.

—Use your head, dude! Do you think people wouldn't pay to see your arms?

Pekos got excited.

—I never thought of that!

—I can do some skateboard tricks— guessed Troveto, with his skateboard in hand.

Galica grinned from ear to ear.

—It's a challenge, then.

—Yes, a challenge!— the rest of us said, except for Erica, who seemed surprised.

—Oh yes, I'll win thousands of crests with my muscles!— exclaimed Pekos, excited.

—Really?— Galica opened her backpack and took out a large accordion.

Erica looked at her in surprise, as if she were a wild animal.

—Where did you get that?! You know how to play an accordion?

—Haha. I know how to play many things, but this little guy is my baby— asserted Galica.

And to assure her that she was serious, she played a fast melody as if it were nothing, as natural as breathing.

—All right, let's go make some money!— I commanded.

We immediately walked away towards the big avenue a few blocks away. We divided the four corners of an intersection and started to do the first thing that came to our minds.

Galica didn't have to think at all, she had her accordion ready, left her backpack open in front of her and began to play a lively and agile melody. It didn't even take a minute for people to start throwing money at her and gathering around. After all, you don't always see a girl playing an accordion, much less one this good.

Troveto had many tricks. It helped that he had chosen the corner with the most obstacles and edges to slide around. There was even a fire hydrant that he stood on with his skateboard and started spinning in circles on its axis. He made it look so easy, but I knew well how many years that particular trick took him to perfect.

Pekos... oh, Pekos. He took off his shirt and started showing off his muscles, doing different bodybuilder poses. He didn't have the body as marked as those guys, but it was enough to make people stare at him in amazement. Sure, he looked more like a self—centered freak than something interesting, but it was something.

After watching the demonstrations of the three of them, Erica turned to me, concerned.

—What am I going to do? I don't have any talent!— she cried.

—What are you talking about? All you have to do is lift a car or something.

—I told you I don't want people to know about it.

I shrugged my shoulders. I was actually expecting an answer like that, I just wanted to make sure. I looked in Galica's direction, she was on the opposite corner to us, the distance and the noise of the vehicles barely let us hear what she was playing, but it was no problem. I took some speakers out of my backpack, put them on the floor and connected them to my cell phone. I immediately put on a moving song, then I grabbed Erica and we started dancing.

—Wait, I don't know how!— she yelled.

—Relax— I said as I guided her— just let yourself go.

How am I so charming? I don't know, I just am. The thing is that I'm also good at dancing, maybe because all the girls want a song with me in the discos and on the reels. Anyway, I've had practice, and I know well how to handle a girl who doesn't usually do it, like Erica. With my body I taught her simple and flashy steps, and people started paying attention.

We stayed like that for around forty minutes. With Erica we took a short break in the middle, but even so, in the end we were exhausted and sweaty.

Then we joined the others.

—How did it go?— I asked them.

Pekos looked discouraged.

—A policeman told me I couldn't go around without a shirt, so he forced me to wear it and I couldn't make any more money— he revealed.

—And how much did you make?— I asked.

—Twenty—four crests— he said, apologetically.

Barely enough for a sandwich.

—It's okay, big guy. That's why we're doing this as a team— Troveto told him.

Pekos smiled. It was easy to lift his spirits, but I still congratulated Troveto with a wink for doing a good job. He blinked once to let me know he understood.

—I made 102 crests— he continued, without a trace of pride.

—Unbelievable!— exclaimed Erica.

—Although I was scolded too, I think it was the same duck.

—Troveto!— Galica looked around nervously— they might be listening to you, be careful!

—Calm down, parakeet, he's gone. I don't care if they don't like being called ducks, everyone calls them ducks. Damn ducks.

Erica folded her arms, her eyes glued to the ground. I thought she was tensing up again, but as I noticed a somber look on her face, a frown and a relaxed anger, as if she was remembering bad experiences. Was it because of the mention of ducks?

—Erica and I got 35 between us— I continued.

That was the money a private tutor would make per hour, I know because my dad made me get one when, last year, my grade point average dropped to a 5.2 out of 7.

My body ached a little from dancing so much. I started to regret that idea.

Galica grinned from ear to ear.

—I got 181 crests!— she exclaimed, and showed us her backpack.

It wasn't enough to fill it with bills, but with 181 she could go to any mall and buy a pair of shoes, and not necessarily the cheapest ones.

—Unbelievable!— shouted Erica, opening her eyes wide and raising her eyebrows.

I had to smile, I loved her expressions. She looked like one of those cartoon characters.

We counted the money, there was a problem.

—In total we have 342 crests— said Erica.

—And how many do we need?— asked Pekos.

—420. We are 78 short.

Each ticket cost 84 crests, that meant we had enough for four of us, but one would be left out.

—We can make more money— said Galica— just leave it to me, I'll have it in twenty minutes.

—There they are!— I heard a voice.

I noticed Erica suddenly standing up and looking to the side. I looked in the same direction and found a couple of policemen approaching us at a fast pace.

Nobody said anything, but we all thought the same thing: we were going to be reprimanded and fined for making money without a permit or anything. We couldn't stay there anymore, we had to leave. But they would come after us. We had no choice. Damned ducks.

—I have another challenge, a race to the festival!— said Troveto— the first one to arrive has the same prize as the last challenge.

I looked at him, noticed he was walking away from the group towards the policemen, and preparing his skateboard to go.

—See you there! Go on, I'll distract them!

—Wait, Troveto!— shouted Galica.

I admired Troveto for his quick thinking. I also wanted to tell him not to try anything too risky, not to make the ducks angry, but I knew him well. Of all of us, I think he was the one who had had the most run—ins with the police, he sure knew how to handle them.

—Let's go!— I commanded.

Galica looked at me, worried.

—He can handle them. Let's go, quickly!— I urged.

Pekos and Galica left. I turned to Erica, thinking she would be worried like Galica, but she was not. As I looked at her, I noticed that she was staring at the ducks like... I think the only other time I've seen that look was in a documentary on an animal channel, when a cheetah was about to pounce on some gazelles. It's a kind of gaze totally concentrated on one point, so much so that it seems to forget the rest of the world. Her whole body was tense, but she seemed relaxed, focused.

—Erica!— I called out to her.

She reacted, looked at me, then noticed the other two running away.

—Sure, let's go— she said.

She left after Pekos and Galica. I followed closely behind her. I wondered at that moment, if I hadn't said anything to her, what would she have done. What had she been thinking, so self—absorbed?

----------------------------------------------

We ran a couple of blocks, fortunately the policemen did not follow us. From there we took a bus that took us close to the festival. We got off near a square. There were several skateboarders and kids on skateboards, riding and doing tricks on special railings and ramps. They reminded us of Troveto.

—Do you think the ducks got him?— asked Pekos.

—Why do they have to bully us around, just because we earned a little money?! It's not like we stole it.

—No, we did something worse: evade taxes— explained Erica— sometimes the rules don't make sense.

Without another word, she started walking across the square. There was nothing else we could do, so I followed her, then Pekos and Galica. Anyway, it was strange to go and enjoy a festival when one of our own had to sacrifice himself and be detained by policemen.

Or so we thought, until we crossed the square and saw him, holding on to the bumper of a car, from behind. The car stopped at the red light in front of us.

—Troveto?— I called out to him, surprised.

He looked at us, winked and waved.

—Remember, whoever gets there first is the winner!— he exclaimed.

Then the light turned green, the car started to drive and Troveto got out of our sight in the street. We took a few seconds to react.

—That's right, that's what he said before he distracted the ducks!— Galica cried.

I sighed with relief. Troveto was fine, that was most important. Belatedly I noticed that the others were running down the sidewalk.

—Come on, Ocko! Troveto will beat us!— shouted Pekos.

—Yes, let's go!— hurried Galica.

—You've already won a competition!— Pekos reminded her.

—But I'll win again!

Galica looked very confident, but Pekos overtook her without any problems. Still, none of them had a chance against Troveto, none except Erica.

I started running after them. At first I was surprised that none of them seemed as happy about Troveto as I was, but then I noticed that Galica and Pekos were happier than usual, just using the competition to hide their joy. Even Erica seemed happy, she was looking at the ground with a grin from ear to ear.

Speaking of Erica, she was running after Galica, who was trying with all her might to catch up with Pekos. Only unlike Galica, Erica wasn't trying even a little bit. I moved a little closer to ask her about it, although it was awkward to whisper as we were running anyway.

—You could beat us all, couldn't you?— I asked her.

She looked at me quizzically, then pursed her lips, unable to lie.

—Yes— she admitted.

I smiled at the thought of her at full speed.

—How fast can you go?— I wanted to know.

She was reluctant to tell me, but decided to do it anyway.

—My record is 112 kilometers per hour— she said.

My eyes widened like saucers. Erica could go over the speed limit on a normal road. I tried to imagine a person running that fast, but my head couldn't do it.

Again I wondered why she went to the trouble of hiding her abilities, but she wouldn't say.

We ran and ran through sidewalks, squares and alleys. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of Troveto gliding ahead on his skateboard, taking shortcuts and jumping over parked cars like it was nothing. After several minutes, we arrived at a large and bizarre entrance to a communal park. Troveto was waiting for us in a relaxed mood, resting his back against the fence that delimited the grounds. We needed a few moments to rest from all the running, all except Erica. She didn't have a drop of sweat on her.

—Looks like I won— commented Troveto.

—Well done— said Erica in a neutral tone.

Galica and Pekos embraced him in a sweaty hug.

—Troveto, I thought the ducks were going to take you away!— yelled Galica.

—Yes, I almost cried!— Pekos admitted.

—Eh? But I've been arrested many times— he reminded them.

—Yes, but this was the first time happening in front of us— asserted Galica.

—Damned du...— Pekos was about to say, but I covered his mouth.

Pekos looked at me, surprised. I took the opportunity to tell him to keep quiet. I did that because just thirty meters behind, a couple of policemen were standing, probably keeping guard for the event that was taking place. The others also caught on, and refrained from making any more comments about the ducks for the time being.

We marched towards the festival, but immediately noticed something strange: the road leading to the festival was blocked by a checkpoint inside the park itself. It consisted of a security guard booth, next to one of those tripods that rotate for people to pass through one at a time. Around it they had installed portable walls, too high to pass, and the tripod was just in front of the guard, so there was no way to avoid paying.

We set off to buy our tickets. At the booth we ran into an elderly lady, though tall and stocky. The lady looked at us with a sharp face. Then I took out the money.

—Five tickets, please— I asked.

But just as I was handing it to her, Galica approached me.

—Wasn't that not enough for the five of us?— she asked me in a whisper, so the lady wouldn't hear.

I froze. With what happened to Troveto, I had completely forgotten that we didn't have enough money for all of us.

—I have to think of something, quickly! — I said to myself.

But before I could say anything stupid, Erica approached from the other side.

—I'll pay by card— she said.

I looked at her, she had a credit card in hand. I sighed in relief, though I wondered why she hadn't said anything so far.

Anyway, it was one problem less. Soon we would be inside the festival, eating like pigs and drinking....

—Are any of you of age?— asked the lady.

We all looked at each other, puzzled. At least four of us were going to turn 18 during the course of the year.

—No, why? —I wanted to know.

—I'm sorry, boy, but alcoholic beverages are given out at the festival. No minors are allowed to enter without the company of an adult.

I opened my eyes wide in bewilderment.

—What?!