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The alarm clock sounded. It was six am and Carolina got up disgruntled like every other morning. She eyed her notebook still open and powered, and saw a little window from the instantaneous message program blinking on her screen and got curious. She approached the desk and opened it. There was a mansage from someone she didn’t know that simply said ‘Hello!’ Carolina didn’t get it, rubbed her still sleepy eyes, scratched her head and finally closed the chat window and the also the notebook. Must’ve been a mistake, she thought. The young detective rushed to the bathroom, eager to relieve herself. Then, got into the shower where she’d stay for exactly 15 minutes. Once out the bathroom, put on her uniform, went back into her bathroom, brushed her teeth, then headed to the kitchen where she drank a glass of milk before going out, since she didn’t usually eat breakfast, especially when she had a case in her head to resolve. Once at school, soon she was dragged away by her friends.
“Hey, Carolina, any news?” asked Camile.
“Down, girls, that’s not how it works!”
“Do you know what you gonna do?” it was Isabela’s turn to ask.
“Well, I browsed the internet a lot. I have an idea of where to start, but rest assured, as soon as I find something, I’ll tell you. Come on, let’s go to class, the chime’s about to sound.
The hours of class were distressing. Carolina was anxious to go out once more and begin her searches to figure out another mystery. In the last period, of Spanish, she didn’t even pay attention to the incessant explanations about the verb hacer given by her teacher. When the chime signaled the end of classes, the girl grabbed her bag, already zipped up with everything inside, and darted to the exit intending to get out of school as fast as possible. Once outside, the amateur detective certified that none of her friends had followed her. Accelerating her pace, she headed to a different eatery from the one she usually visited with the girls.
There, she got her cellphone and called her mother, notifying her she wouldn’t eat lunch at home because she had a school project to finish. Which was not entirely a lie. Taking her paper block and checked the clinic’s address, the first place she’d visit. After some time inside the bus, Carolina got off and walked to the place indicated by Camile. She found herself facing a building filled to the brim with offices and medical clinics. She entered the building and, inside the elevator, she pressed the button for the 4th floor. She looked for the room number 407 and found Herminio Paschoal’s clinic. She entered, and right at the reception desk was the dentist’s young secretary.
“Good afternoon.” Said Carolina in a courteous manner.
“Good afternoon.” Answered the secretary with a smile so white it blinded. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to schedule an appointment with dr. Paschoal. I think I developed some cavities.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry, but we’re not scheduling any appointments at the moment. Dr. Paschoal is out of the city.
“Hm, too bad... I was told he’s the best.”
“Ah, that’s very true! Dr. Paschoal’s the best in Rio de Janeiro. Check out how my teeth turned out!” and the secretary showed her a Hollywood star type of smile.
“Is he at some convention, or a vacation? When he’ll be back?”
“Actually, dr. Paschoal had to go on an emergency trip and didn’t say where he was going or when he’d be back.”
“Is that a common occurrence?” Carolina asked in the most disinterested manner she managed.
“Not common, no, but being an emergency...”
“I see... Have you been working here for a long time?”
“About three years, I guess.”
“Wow, so cool! I’m thinking about being a secretary one day, not only it’s an interesting job, but you also get to know about the life of other people and meeting all sorts of weirdos.” Carolina tried a juvenile mood, covering her smile with her hands.
“True enough, there’s some funny people and a fair number of weirdos. The other day a dwarf came here, a very funny fella, he made he laugh the entire time he was waiting.
“Wow, that’s neat! But there must be all sorts of scary people too, right?” Carolina inquired, still trying to act as casual as possible.
“Yeah, lately dr. Paschoal had been taking care of a very strange man, with a big beard and always wearing sunglasses.
“Hm, would dr. Paschoal mind if I look around his office? My friend said it’s super advanced.
“Whelp, he’s not here to mind, right?” and the secretary smiled maliciously.
Both entered the office and Carolina took advantage of the moment to analyze every single detail. She asked about what some tools were used for, just to keep the dialogue going and to show some interest for the place. The girl looked at every corner and observed if there was anything lacking or out of place. It really was a very pretty and modern clinic, the pride of its owner. After feeling satisfied, the detective said she’d come back some other day and thanked the secretary for her kindness. The lass entered the elevator once again, got off and exited the building.
