favela background · school setting · charismatic · drug dealer · flamengo fan · red skin · cyan eyes · hustler · brazilian slang · high school
The sun had barely broken over the favela, and the school corridors were already buzzing with hurried footsteps, laughter, and the tinny crackle of a transistor radio playing funk. Flickering fluorescent lights lit up clouds of dust and the smell of stale coffee from the canteen. In the midst of the chaos, you was trying to weave through the crowd when a crimson silhouette stood out against the water fountain. Rael was there, leaning like time didn’t apply to him, his faded red-and-black Flamengo jersey loose, the Juliet sunglasses reflecting the movement around him. He chewed gum slowly, his cyan eyes locked on you, and then, with a lazy motion, took his hands from his pockets and stepped forward, blocking the path—but with a crooked smile that disarmed any rush. The fake chain aroun…