A gigantic shark emerged, enormous teeth on display… wearing a janitor’s uniform.

“Kids aren’t allowed in this area,” the shark said in a tired voice. “We’re handling enrollments. Go back to the cafeteria.”

“IT’S A SHARK!” Thomas screamed.

The ship sped up, but the shark cut through the waves like lightning.

Jake stood tall on the deck.

“DON’T FORGET ME! GET THE TREASURE!”

And before anyone could stop him—

“HASTA LA MUERTEEEE! YAHUUUUUU!” Jake yelled, jumping straight into the shark’s mouth.

“NOOOOO!” the pirates cried.

In real life, what everyone saw was Jake leaping in front of the old janitor—who grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back toward the cafeteria.

“Hey! Come back here!” the janitor complained.

In the middle of the chaos, a young axolotl girl with pink skin and curious eyes watched everything closely. She let go of her mother’s hand and stepped toward Thomas and Igor.

“Hi…” she said softly. “Igor, do you remember me?”

Igor blinked, surprised. Then he smiled.

“Iza!” He opened his arms. “Thomas, she’s my neighbor.”

They hugged.

“I arrived late,” Iza explained. “I’m waiting for my mom to tell me which classroom I’m in.”

Thomas’s eyes widened.

“We don’t have time for that!” he said seriously. “We need to keep going with the treasure hunt!”

The world transformed again.

The ground became the sea once more. Parents turned into waves. They were a small boat.

Igor lowered his head, sad.

“We lost our great captain…”

He paused solemnly.

“A great man. There was once a day when he tied himself with dynamite on top of a shark strapped to a rocket… and jumped into an erupting volcano.”

Thomas completed, respectfully:

“And he still survived.”

Iza took a deep breath and smiled.

“Then… let’s go find that treasure!”

The imaginary boat moved forward, cutting through the waves toward the great and mysterious lost treasure.

A small island appeared ahead, surrounded by rough waters. The boat reached the shore, and the three pirates jumped out.

The moment they stepped onto the “island,” a long creak echoed around them, like old wood twisting in the wind.

They froze.

Thomas looked around carefully.

“So… where do you think the treasure is?” he whispered.

Igor closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to feel the ground.

“It’s close,” he said with conviction. “Right here. I’m sure of it.”

Suddenly, Iza pointed ahead, frightened.

“Guys… what is that?”

In front of them, a wave began to rise. And rise. And rise.

It stood up like a living wall, growing larger and larger, until two eyes appeared at the top.

The wave transformed into a gigantic snake—scaly, immense—staring down at them.

“Children are not…” the voice hissed, echoing across the “sea,” “…allowedssssssss…”

“GET BACK!” Igor shouted.

The pirates ran across the island, but the great serpent—Inspector Najaniel, in his most terrifying form—slid after them, fast and silent.

With no escape, they all jumped back into the water.

The serpent dove in after them.

It was almost reaching Thomas when Igor suddenly turned around.

“COME GET ME, YOU SILLY SEA SERPENT!” he shouted.

The snake changed direction instantly.

It lunged at Igor, coiling around him, squeezing tighter and tighter.

“IGOR!” Thomas screamed.

In the pirates’ imagination, Igor was “crushed” by the serpent, disappearing into the depths.

“NOOOOOOO!” Thomas dropped to his knees in the imaginary water.

“YOU BURNED HIM, YOU MANIAC! YOU MONSTER!”

Iza blinked, confused—even in the middle of the chaos.

“But… burning is with fire, Thomas, right?”

Thomas froze for a second.

“…oh. Right.”

At that moment, Iza’s eyes widened.

“HE’S COMING BACK! WE HAVE TO KEEP LOOKING FOR THE TREASURE!”

The little pirates dove together.

Underwater, everything was strange and beautiful. Seaweed swayed like long dresses, objects shimmered on the ocean floor, as if the sea held ancient secrets.

Suddenly, the serpent appeared again.

It grabbed Iza by the tail and pulled her away.

“THOMAS! DON’T FORGET MEEEE!” she shouted as she was dragged off.

Thomas tried to swim after her, but the water felt too heavy.

The air ran out.

His vision blurred.

And then… everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on smooth, damp stones.

A bluish light flickered around him.

Thomas had woken up inside an underwater cave.

“Huh… what is this? Where am I?” he murmured, struggling to stand. “I have to keep going… I need to reach the treasure. My companions… I can’t let their will die.”

The underwater cave glowed in shades of blue. Water trickled down the stone walls, forming small puddles on the floor. Thomas walked slowly, alert.

Then something caught his attention.

On the ground, partially submerged, was a blue toy arm.

Thomas’s eyes widened.

“I… I did it…” He ran, slipped, threw himself to the ground, and grabbed the arm tightly. “I DID IIIIIIT!”

At that very moment—

The fantasy shattered.

Thomas was kneeling inside the small fountain at the school entrance, completely soaked, holding the toy arm above his head.

All the parents around him stared in silence.

“…”
“…”
“…”

Soon, two figures approached.

The white-fanged janitor crossed his arms.

Beside him, Inspector Najaniel adjusted his badge.

Thomas glanced back, nervous.

“You… you were right behind me, weren’t you?”

In Thomas’s imagination, something enormous formed in front of him.

A massive hawk with an eyepatch and a wooden leg landed before him, spreading its wings.

“You won’t take my treasure!” Thomas shouted.

The sea serpent appeared again, coiling around him.

“AAAAAA! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! AAAAAA!”

Everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes, Thomas was sitting in the principal’s office, wrapped in a white towel, water dripping onto the floor.

In front of him were Jake, Igor, and Iza.

“Hey, guys…” he said, dizzy. “I swear I thought you were dead. But I found the treasure!”

He raised the blue toy arm.

“YEAHHHH!” the three shouted together. “WE DID IIIIIT!”

The door opened.

The giant hawk from his imagination was now real:

Principal Falcon—tall, serious, with a prosthetic leg and an eyepatch.

“Children,” he said firmly, “don’t go to that part of the school for the rest of the week, okay? We’re handling enrollments. There are many parents… you could get hurt.”

“Sorry, Principal Falcon…” they all said together.

He sighed… and smiled slightly.

“Oh, and Igor,” he said, picking something up from the desk. “I found the rest of your toy.”

Igor attached the arm to the figure and hugged it like a real treasure.

“Iza,” the principal continued, “you’re in the same class as them.”

“REALLY?!” the four of them cheered together.

“And Thomas… your mom is coming to get you. You’re soaked.”

Thomas lowered his ears.

“Okay, Principal…”

As they were leaving, the principal spoke softly, just loud enough for them to hear:

“Now go, pirates… and conquer the playground of treasure.”

They smiled.

As they left the office, Thomas’s mother walked in.

Luci—a white cat with orange and black patches, wearing a police uniform.

“Thomas?”

“Hi, Mom.”

“Let’s go home.”

Thomas got into the patrol car, sitting in the back seat.

“I’m really sorry for anything he might’ve done,” Luci said to the principal. “I truly am.”

Principal Falcon laughed.

“Don’t worry, Luci. He’s no different from the rest of us.”

The car drove away.

From a distance, Jake watched.

“We’re gonna have to break into prison to rescue our friend.”

“WE’RE BREAKING INTO PRISON!” Igor and Iza shouted together. “MUAHAHAHAHA!”

Inside the car, Thomas asked:

“Mom… what’s for lunch?”

Luci checked the clock.

“It’s five minutes to twelve-thirty… so we’ll eat at a restaurant together.”

Thomas smiled, resting his head against the window.

The first day of school had been…

a great adventure.