Premonition

I was reading Elisa Gold's book when heard the iron front door open at Corporal. It was Zangrandi. He said hello and lied on the mat, waiting for the others to come for us to start. Then it was Galhardo and Morales. Panotti was the fourth to come. The foursome started talking about the meet on Sunday at Guenaga. Each one was telling the others how they felt during the meet; the expectations they had, the results they got. If the results met the expectations they had had before. I was just pretending I was reading the book, half of me reading, half paying attention to what they said. I let them talk until they realized they were the only ones talking. Zangrandi just looked at me, as if he could foresee something. As if he could see the shape of things to come. Then, Panotti looks at me, smiling and asks me what I have to tell them today. I continued reading and saw them shrugging and exchanging looks of astonishment with each other.
"You're not going to say why we got up at five to come here?", Panotti asked, smiling again.
"Yes, I am. You got up at five to come here and hear me say you are never going to make up a team."
Panotti's smile disappeared. He looked at Galhardo and Morales and they were just as perplexed as him.
"We are nearly bringing a team prize to Corporal", he said, "what makes you so sure we'll never be a team?"
The iron door opened once more. Figueira. He took ages to come to the practice room. We heard his footsteps around Corporal, going upstairs and then downstairs again; except for his footsteps, everything else was silence around. Then, the sounds of nose blowing, coming from the bathroom, with its peculiar echo bouncing through the walls up and downstairs. Zangrandi was looking at me in expectation. Galhardo e Morales kept exchanging looks in silence, from time to time. Panotti charged me for an answer while Figueira's footsteps became heavier and heavier as he approached the practice room. He didn't say a word as he walked in. Just sat on the mat, between Galhardo and Panotti. Zangrandi frowned slightly as though he found it strange, the fact that Figueira wouldn't sit beside him. The threesome found it even stranger. Morales, Panotti and Galhardo looked at him, trying to figure out why. Panotti then looked at me and said:
"I still don't understand why you..."
"Real teams don't have members showering the others with scorn and ridicule, Panotti."
"Did I?", he asked, as if taken by surprise, "just what did I say?"
"I just won't waste my time jogging your memory. Hold any of the team members as a laughing stock if you want to. But don't be so sure to tell me you are nearly bringing a prize as a team to Corporal, because you'll never make up a team this way. I know you want to provoke him and bring him to action. I dare say it's even motivated by good intention. But I do have to question your methods."
Figueira looked at them, at the same time sad and delighted by my words. He didn't even care when he saw Galhardo clenching his fist and hitting the other hand's palm repeatedly. "Figueira, there is a practice today. Remember.", he calmly mumbled next to Figueira's indifferent ear, looking at him with anger, as if he said Figueira was going to be given a hard time at the practice after our talk. I found it would be better if I talked to Rodrigo to monitor them a bit closer during the practices today.

One of these things | Advice for the young at mind

Radio Universal: The Making Of A Thousand Gods.