Chapter II – Bananas for Good Luck!
„João, when was the last time you oiled your chain?” asked Mr. Antônio Bananeira, frowning.
„Uh… do I have to?” João replied with an innocent face.
„He thinks jungle dwarves fix his bike at night!” laughed Miguel.
Antônio chuckled heartily.
„Well then! Maybe those dwarves do live in the jungle!” he said, spreading his arms wide.
„Maybe they’ll come greet us!” added Isabela.
„Riding armadillos!” Lucas joked.
„And I bet they oil their chains more often than João!” Antônio winked.
„Hey!” João protested. „Oil is sticky and gross!”
The children burst out laughing. Miguel laughed so hard he choked and started coughing, waving his hand like a traffic officer.
„Help!” he croaked theatrically.
João quickly patted his back. Miguel doubled over and spat out a piece of banana.
Isabela giggled. „Bananas are fighting back!”
Bananeira shook his head with a smile, raised his hand and said,
„Wonderful! We haven’t even started the trip, and it’s already a circus!”
João and Lucas pulled bananas from their backpacks and began pretending they were banana blasters.
„Take that, King Banana!” João shouted, aiming a banana straight at their teacher.
„Ambush attack!” Lucas cried, kneeling dramatically like a cowboy in a duel.
„Your Majesty, we’re under fire!” added Isabela in mock alarm.
Antônio raised his hands in surrender, laughing.
„Alright, alright… but I’m the only one who knows the way back!”
„You’d better not upset him,” Miguel whispered with a grin.
The teacher sighed and wiped his face, as if brushing off banana peels from the imaginary battlefield.
He glanced at the kids with a raised eyebrow, doubting whether anyone had packed anything truly useful.
„Okay, cowboys… after that royal performance—does anyone have a compass?” he asked.
„I do!” said Rafaela. „My dad gave it to me.”
She pulled a small compass from her pocket and held it up proudly.
„Smart dad,” said Bananeira. „But what if you lose it… or it breaks?”
„I’ll tell by the trees,” Rafaela said confidently.
„How?!” Miguel laughed. „Maybe a jungle dwarf waves a flag from the top branch?”
„The bark on the north side of a tree is darker,” she replied calmly.
„You didn’t know that?” The others laughed at Miguel’s stunned expression.
„Excellent!” praised the teacher, placing a hand on Miguel’s shoulder.
„In humid places, the bark on the northern side often stays damper and darker. That’s a useful trick if we ever get lost without a compass.”
„Now we all know,” Bananeira nodded to the group and checked their supplies again.
„Everything seems… more or less ready. Water? Food? Flashlights?”
„I have a sandwich and two bananas!” João declared proudly, shaking his backpack like he’d solved the great expedition puzzle.
„I’ve got three!” Miguel held up his bag with a wide grin.
Rafaela frowned. „Why so many bananas?”
„Maybe he wants to feed a jaguar!” joked Isabela.
Antônio flinched slightly. „Jaguar?! Please don’t invite one! And never look a jaguar in the eyes—it might think you’re lunch!”
The kids roared with laughter.
„Professor, a jaguar wouldn’t even want us! We’re too skinny!” João sucked in his stomach, ribs sticking out like poles.
„Watch out, the skeleton is loose!” Miguel called out.
Bananeira shook his head. „Maybe just eat those bananas now?”
„You’re the last one who should say that, Professor Bananeira!” teased Miguel.
„Oh right… how could I forget my own bananas?!” Bananeira pretended to panic, checking all his pockets.
„Don’t worry, Professor, we’ve got backup!” João handed him a banana with a grin.
„Phew! You saved me!” Bananeira sighed in relief and tucked the fruit into his backpack.
Laughter filled the air again.
„Now it all makes sense!” Rafaela chuckled. „Bananeira without bananas? That’s like a river with no water!”
„Maybe that’s why he’s called Bananeira,” mused Isabela. „Must be from the royal banana family!”
Bananeira raised an eyebrow.
„Royal?”
„Yes!” Lucas said solemnly. „You are the king!”
„The King of Bananas?!” the teacher exclaimed. „Then where’s my crown?”
Lucas broke off a banana peel and placed it on his head.
„There you go!” he announced. „A crown for the Banana King!”
The children burst into laughter once more.
Bananeira sighed dramatically and spread his arms.
„Fine… but now your king declares an important decree!”
Everyone fell silent, waiting to hear what would come next.
„This isn’t just a bike ride,” he said, suddenly serious. „The jungle is beautiful, but also tricky. Don’t wander off, and don’t touch anything strange.”
„What if something strange touches us?” Lucas asked with mock fear.
Bananeira wiped his face again and replied:
„Then run faster than a sloth on a Monday morning!”
The children erupted in laughter.
„Let’s go! And no racing!” the teacher added.
João and Miguel exchanged glances.
„Last one there oils the chains and cleans the wheels!” João shouted, taking off like a rocket.
„This is an expedition, not a race!” Bananeira called after them—but his voice was already lost in the wind as the group dashed toward the jungle.
Bananeira chuckled and got on his bike.
„Let’s just hope no jaguar decides to race us…” he muttered.