Wall

Today I went to the temple of consumerism near home, Praiamar Mall, hunt for CDs at Siciliano book store. A whole lot of useless things and futility to sell, superfluous things everywhere. I thought about the healthy madness of Gang Of 4, Leeds-based English group that wrote songs whose characters were portrayed living through situations only seen on TV commercials. "You know the change would do you good. I always knew it would", says the supermarket ad portrayed in the song. The supreme redemption of consumers by the simple change of a product package or the geometric array of the supermarket shelves. But it's no CD you can find at Siciliano.
"Still haven't found what you're looking for?", said a voice behind me.
Morales. Galhardo and Panotti. I smiled, "In a U2 style you mean?" He smiled, but his smile had no energy. I don't know why, but I don't feel energy in Morales' feelings. I never do.
"We're about to have lunch", said Galhardo, looking at Morales and smiling. Panotti looked at me, without a word, then looked away to a point, always the same point. I said "Now I am up to the same."
"You had better not sit with us", urged Panotti.
I frowned instantly at him.
"Really? What seems to be the matter?"
He then again looked at the point. Turning my eyes where his were, I saw two kids at one of the countless tables of the mall's restaurant area. They didn't seem to be looking at us, but Panotti said they were. Morales said he saw them everywhere in the mall and saw them staring at the threesome several times.
"I'm talking to the security guard now", I said, motioning to leave. Panotti came my way like a wall, Morales and Galhardo blocked me sideways.
"No, you're not", whispered Galhardo. "They won't come around with us right here, Panotti. Miss Grisam can come, pal. No problem."
I smell trouble around here. What is worse than this is the fact I never get it wrong. I proposed that we left. Then I figured out it would be useless if they were really following the kids. They were two boys, shopping mall fiends - by the way, something Galhardo, Morales and Panotti were too. We decided to stay around and get ourselves some food. The threesome went for baked potato and I for Chinese food. They stood up and got the orders when the beep called them and the number of their order matched that of the display, something they did in a funny kind of relay. When they return to the table and start eating, I see them and myself as in a comercial, like in Gang Of 4's song, what makes me laugh quietly inside. I looked into my dish, picking the food with my hashi. My reflections are cut right at this point, when I hear a sound of liquid being spilled. No problem, children are always turning glasses on tables, it's normal, but this sound of a body falling to the ground is not. I lifted my eyes from the dish and what I saw was Galhardo mounted on another kid, his two arms under the kid's arms, turning on his neck, hands supported by the kid's head. The other came on to kick Galhardo and Morales blocked his way, "mind your own business else you fall like him". The other kid took no notice, clenched his fist and departed. Morales caught the other kid's hand and pulled it behind so brutally the other kid was sent down spinning around his own body as a top would; almost at the same time, Morales pulled the other kid's supporting foot up with his own, collapsing together with him out of my field of vision limited by the tabletop. I stood up to do something, already hearing the haste of security guards coming our way. People around had left the nearby tables disorderly, afraid of what could become of them. Galhardo had the first kid under control, lying on his back and having his arms in the same position, locking the first kid's two arms, exercising a whole lot of pressure on his back, what you could tell by the absurd tension in his whole body. In the kid's twisted features I recognized one of the two who were sitting at the table where Panotti was looking at. To think I didn't see them approach this table. When I managed to look beyond the obtrusive tabletop, Morales had formed a hoop with his arms, a hoop that crossed the kid's left leg, chained his neck and left arm in a single bear hug. And this rascal Morales tightened the chain more and more, pulling moans out of the poor kid. You might think that I stayed calmly on the table, just observing it all around so I could register these things in my weblog, but the fact is, all the action was so fast I had only lifted my eyes from my tray and stood up immediately, but it was all said and done before I even could say something. Panotti just kept eating his baked potato as if nothing surrounded him; looking at him, it was hard to believe he even took notice of the whole scene. He seemed to know how well-guarded he really was. And I prepared to talk to the security guards. They gently asked us into a security room nearby. Panotti was still cheeky enough to ask them if the potato and the soda could come along.

"Did you really need to say you were our psychologist?", meowed Panotti, as we left the mall, after I spent about half an hour talking to the security guards. "We will cut a very nice and pleasant figure, everyone in the mall that knows us will say we have psychological problems."
I looked at him and I just had to laugh.
"Something you definitely have not", I ended up saying, between my seizures of laughter.

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