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5 10 15 20 25 30 35 13 While he was talking, Mariella was looking at him half surprised and half moved. Actually, behind his strong and rough appearance, the way he dressed, his boastful attitude, and menacing gaze, Gaetano was a sincere and sensitive boy. Mariella knew he was always able to take to heart his friends’ problems; he often knew how to advise them as to what was right and wrong when they talked about their own difficulties. While she was thinking about this, Mimmo, who hadn’t stopped drumming his fingers on the ledge where they were seated, jumped off and started to speak in a serious tone: “So, let’s analyse the situation, let’s see what would be the consequences of the various things that we could do. Mariella says that if you speak to the principal, the teacher might play a dirty trick on you and deny everything. It would be the teacher’s word against yours. On the other hand, if I vaguely understood Gaetano’s plan, and we decide to confront him in person, we risk getting in trouble with the principal, and also, if we got away with it, it is Jensika who could suffer retaliation from the teacher. So…” Everyone looked at him with bated breath waiting for the solution. “…I really don’t know what to do!” he concluded. They told him to go to hell. “For heaven’s sake,” Rahma exclaimed, “why can’t we just live in peace? Aren’t our family problems at home enough? Even problems at school now?” “Well,” Jensika whispered, “it would be great if there were no complications in our life! I wish we could always live in peace and know what is right and what is not…” “Uuuh, what a pain! Nothing to question, no rivalry, no mistakes, and above all, no fights at school… what a life that would be!” “Gaetà,” Rahma said, “are you not able to think about other stuff? Why don’t we ask the teachers to give us an hour to have an assembly in class? Everybody could try to talk together to find a solution.” “And do you think that your classmates will help you?” Mimmo asked.