Missing the target for the third time, the bill bent against the surface of the machine without succeeding in entering the slot. Alessandro immediately tried again, but his hand was shaking so violently that his umpteenth mistake was almost a foregone conclusion. On the fifth attempt he seemed to succeed, however, as soon as he had let go of the ten Euros, they were immediately spit back out, eventually falling to the floor.

''Shit,'' he hissed nervously, as he bent down to pick up the money from the ground.

He was already about to try again, but Marco extended his arm as if to block him.

''Never mind, I'll do it,'' he said sympathetically.

Having had the banknote handed to him, he stretched it out properly and then inserted it inside the slot of the machine. The machine accepted the money without any problems.

''Thank you,'' Alessandro said, setting down to type on the keypad.

He selected the coconut and caramel bar and took as many as he could afford. He was waiting for the last one to fall as well, after the other four had already ended up inside the collection basket, when the snack paper got stuck in the spiral, hanging over the void.

Straining not to go into a frenzy, Alessandro lashed a slap against the right side of the gas station, which abruptly slammed to the side and swung dangerously on its left feet, avoiding falling only because he managed to put it back on its axis at the last moment.

In any case, the bar fell downstairs, and Alessandro hurried to pick up all five by shoving his hands through the lower door. Not wanting to block the queue that was already forming, Marco waited for them to settle on the first ledge immediately outside the snack area before broaching the subject.

Beyond the fogged-up window an unusual sun shone.

''You're nervous today,'' he commented worriedly as he watched him unwrap the first bar. ''Did something happen at home?''

''No, everything is fine,'' Alessandro replied, shaking his head.

He took off half a bar with a bite and chewed in silence, his eyes focused on the courtyard outside.

Knowing him from his junior high school days, Marco had no difficulty understanding that he was lying, although he seriously doubted that there could be anyone so naive as to be fooled by an answer like that. In spite of his reassuring words, Alessandro's face was a mask of distress.

Since there was no point in insisting, he tried to move the conversation elsewhere. Perhaps, if only he could awaken him from his apathetic state, he would end up letting slip some more information.

''You know, I was thinking, you know her well Alice.''

Alessandro, who was about to take the first bite of the second candy bar, stopped suddenly and turned his head toward him. The puzzled look with which he stared at him made Marco terribly uncomfortable.

''No, here, I just wanted to know...what are your genres?''

"His genders?" repeated Alessandro without understanding.

''Of movies, TV series, books, music, things like that''

Alessandro was confused. Judging by the look on his face, it almost seemed as if his friend had just spoken to him in Portuguese.

''I don't think...'' he mumbled uncertainly.

''Do you think he would accept an invitation to the pizza parlor?" interrupted Marco, deciding to cut to the chase.

"Do you want to invite her to the pizzeria?" asked Alessandro, frowning.

''Maybe,'' Marco replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Alessandro shook his head.

''It wouldn't work''

He went back to looking out the window and took a bite of the candy bar, but such a trancing answer could not help but awaken Marco's curiosity.

"Why?" he asked simply.

Alessandro stopped chewing, and after a few seconds of uncertainty, he swallowed the morsel.

''She is already busy,'' he cut it short, without even turning around.

"And with whom?" urged Marco in curiosity.

Pulling the finger away from his lips, Alessandro turned to his friend and looked him straight in the eye.

''With a fifth grader, but from another school,'' he revealed in a tone that sounded decidedly definitive. ''A big one. Bigger than me.''

Marco widened his eyes.

''Ah, okay,'' he said looking away, ''never mind then.''

Alessandro stuffed what was left of the coconut bar into his mouth and resumed looking at the courtyard beyond the glass.

Taking advantage of the almost spring-like day, many students had decided to spend the morning recess outdoors, and some middle schoolers had even gone so far as to improvise a mini game of basketball. Only one person seemed totally indifferent to the serene atmosphere around him.

Half-hidden behind a linden tree, not far from the drinking fountain in front of the east porch, Matteo stared at the asphalt of the courtyard with his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking up again only when he heard some exclamation more intense than normal coming from the small group engaged in playing basketball.

If one did not pay attention to the unusual behavior, his appearance looked the same as always, except for the red baseball cap he wore on his head. The reasons behind that seemingly inexplicable change of look became clear very soon.

As Alessandro finished unwrapping the third bar, the boy looked around circumspectly, and once he was sure no one was watching him, he took off his hat to scratch the top of his head. Amid the mass of brown hair sprouted three small white tufts.

At that sight Alessandro seemed to cringe even more.

He had made a mistake. He realized that now. He should not have retaliated, just as he should not have done many other things. Why had he realized this only now? Was it really necessary to find himself with four deaths on his conscience to come to that same conclusion? Couldn't he have gotten there sooner!

Without meaning to, his mind took to wandering through memories, until the fog clouding his brain dissolved, and he returned again to that cursed evening. To reflect on what could have been, the missed opportunities, and the mistakes made.

It was obvious beyond reasonable doubt that if he had simply stayed in his bed writhing in the throes of hunger, none of what he regretted would ever have happened, but perhaps that disastrous outcome had not become inevitable the very moment he had crossed the apartment threshold.

If only he had acted differently, perhaps events would not have taken such a nefarious turn. Looking back in hindsight, so little would have been needed. Detain Fabio and the others, interrogate them to learn the location of the money, and at that point break through the wall, retrieve the duffel bag, and get out.

Everything so simple. Why hadn't he done it, then? Could he really lay all the blame on hunger alone, pointing to it as the sole culprit for his lack of rationality? The doubt made him nauseous.

Devoured by remorse Alessandro lowered his eyes to the coconut bar he held in his hand and stared at it in disgust, but in the end he still tore off three quarters of it with a bite.

''Hey,'' whispered Marco.

The nudge that followed that whisper made him look away from the window.

"What is it?" asked Alessandro wearily, his mouth still caked with caramel.

''Six o'clock,'' Marco revealed to him, sporting an enigmatic smirk.

Alessandro made to turn away, but the eagerness with which Friend grabbed his shoulder convinced him to desist.

''What are you doing, are you crazy?!" blurted out Marco in a low voice. ''Don't turn around.''

''What's up?!" indignantly protested Alessandro, adjusting to his friend's whispered tone.

''They are the third B's,'' Marco explained to him, trying not to be overheard. ''They're giggling. They seem interested.''

''Then jump in, Romeo,'' Alessandro said, rolling his eyes.

He popped the rest of the candy bar into his mouth and resumed scanning the clear sky outside the window.

''Not to me, to you,'' Marco retorted, with a hint of what appeared to be envy.

"Me?" asked Alessandro incredulously, turning back to look at him.

''Since your face has returned to normal, you are much more attractive,'' Marco explained, raising his eyebrows allusively.

Flung all the way into the more tortuous and lesser-visited recesses of his mind, Alessandro found himself thumbing his nose at an anonymous little door, above which stood out the words ''To be forgotten.''

When he had crossed it in front of him was Gaia, waiting for him standing just across the threshold, staring at him holding her arms crossed in front of her body and her lips stretched out in a mocking grin.

''It's such a shame to waste a pretty face like yours,'' she said mischievously as she raised an eyebrow.

Pretending that he had not felt the cold chill that was still running through his back, Alessandro hurriedly banished that image from his head, then assumed an indifferent expression.

''Should I be worried?" he asked sarcastically.

Marco tilted his head to the side, shooting him an eloquent look.

''I'm not kidding,'' he said dryly, and seeing that his friend persisted in not showing interest he added, ''Come on, it's the opportunity you've been looking for. If I were you, I would come forward''

''Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, but flirting is currently at the bottom of my priority list,'' Alessandro mumbled.

He unwrapped the fourth bar and began to eat it in silence, his gaze looking out the window.

Marco's expression darkened, although already after a few seconds he seemed to recover.

''Shall we read the ANSA together?" he proposed in a surprisingly passionate tone. ''Have you heard the latest? Thailand will also stop oil imports from the Saudis.''

Alessandro shrugged his shoulders without even taking his eyes off the glass.

''And they say maybe New Zealand will recognize the Hargheisa government,'' Marco insisted, not letting that discourage him. ''That's a little extra point, isn't it?

Before answering, Alessandro took the time to swallow the morsel he was chewing, eventually letting out a deep sigh.

''What is the point of continuing to talk about these things?" he asked distraught.

''Does he have to have it?" replied Marco simply.

Alessandro's lips curved into a sad smile.

''I don't...''

He stopped suddenly, as a strange glow seemed to light up in the back of his eyes. The expression on his face let such bewilderment seep out, that even Marco looked out the window, as if he feared he was seeing a spirit floating in midair.

"So much not what?" he asked puzzled, when he was certain that the courtyard was devoid of any supernatural presence.

''Nothing,'' Alessandro said, shaking his head.

Marco frowned, but before he could voice his doubts aloud his friend anticipated him.

''Is the new chapter out yet?" he asked, crossing her gaze.

Taken by surprise there and then Marco did not know how to respond, however, not wanting to miss that opportunity, he decided to ignore her abrupt change of attitude.

''Of Taiyō wa Rōma no,'' he revealed quietly, ''however, they just released the trailer for Majikku Highschool.''

''Do we have time to take a look at it?" asked Alessandro, hinting at a smile.

Marco nodded smugly.

''Of course''

And he slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone.