"There you are!"
Nia and Kazimir turn to the door as Caio walks over to the woman's right, taking a seat.
"Hello, Caio." she says with a smile. "I thought you were helping Dayne with examining some of the medicine."
"He told me he wanted to do it by himself, so I just let him. Anyway, what're you two having for lunch?"
"A sandwich, an orange, some cookies, and an apple juice." Kazimir replies, peeling part of the orange.
"My husband doesn't allow me to have lunch. You see, we're on a strict diet together."
Kazimir and Caio make eye contact, before looking down at Nia.
"What kind of diet is that?" Kazimir asks.
She shrugs.
"I don't know. We just decided to eat healthier."
"How do you know that he isn't eating right now as we speak?" Caio asks, putting his leftover spaghetti in the microwave.
"I didn't even think of that." she replies.
The man smiles, pushing his glasses up.
"It's fine. You can share with me, I don't mind."
"That's okay Mr. Níserraté, but I'd like for you to enjoy your own lunch."
He shakes his head.
"It wouldn't be enjoyable if I knew one of my co-workers were starving. And you can just call me Caio."
Nia warmly smiles, placing a loose curl behind her ear.
"I guess that's okay. Thank you, Caio."
The microwave stops and the tall male takes the food out, putting it on the table in front of him.
He gives her a fork and she thanks him, placing some of the spaghetti on it.
"Would you like a cookie?" Kazimir asks. "Khristina and I made them this morning for her first day back to school for the new year."
The young woman nods, taking a cookie from Kazimir's napkin.
"Thank you, Kazimir. And please tell Khristina I give her my thanks, too."
He smiles and nods, as Pierre walks back into the room, his mouth slightly dropping.
"Well, our Nia is most certainly getting the best respect she deserves!"
He lays a rose down in front of her and she picks it up, smelling it.
"It smells lovely, Mr. Richano. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, if you'll all excuse me I have a bit of personal economic calculations to do."
He grabs his things and walks out of the room.
"I should get going, too. Scanning items for DNA isn't going to complete itself." Kazimir says, standing up. "You can have the rest of the cookies, Nia. I'm full."
She smiles.
"Thank you, Mr. Cizetto. I'll see you later."
He smiles, stopping in front of the doorway.
"See you, Mrs. Ellison. You as well, Mr. Níserraté."
The older male smiles and waves as Kazimir exits.
He goes to find Pierre, who was counting some cash in his hand before looking up and scowling.
"Why did you let that clown near her?!"
Kazimir puts his things down, taking out a notebook and pen.
"Yes, because I suddenly have all the power in the world to stop someone from doing something at their own free will."
Pierre shakes his head.
"See, I told you! I knew those idiot twins were up to no good! Just yesterday, and Blondie tied me up and locked me in a closet to where I couldn't escape!"
Kazimir laughs.
"He can't be that idiotic."
"Man, shut up!"
Kazimir shrugs, taking out his notebook.
"Merderaé." Pierre reads, pointing at the top of the page. "The fuck is Merderaé?"
"Something that your team isn't involved with as far as I know."
He finishes jotting a few words down before shutting it.
*BRRRRRINGGGGG!!!*
Kazimir quickly takes his phone from his pocket, staring down at the caller ID, swiping the "answer" button.
"Bruh, where are you?!"
"Hey Liyusk. I'm at work." Kazimir replies, deciding it'd be too much work to lie.
Liyusk raises a brow.
"The hell are you doing there?"
Kazimir sighs and looks down at his hand.
"Meet me by the elementary school at 3:00 P.M. We need to talk."
"Yeah, we do." Liyusk angrily says, hanging up.
Pierre chuckles at the sound of the phone click and Kazimir shakes his head.
"He's not gonna be too happy about this. Neither are my parents."
"What?" Pierre rhetorically asks. "You quitting school?"
Kazimir nods and Pierre smiles, hitting his arm out of excitement.
"Ha ha! You chose the right path, man! Hey, we gotta celebrate this! Friday at 8 P.M., meet me at my place!"
"I'm fine." Kazimir replies.
"No, no! It ain't gonna be nothing stupid, just something fun! It's safe too, so Khristina can come along as well!"
The young man sighs, rolling his eyes.
"Fine."
--- 3:10 P.M.; North Brook Elementary ---
Scrolling through social media, Kazimir notices a pair of basketball shoes appear in front of him.
He looks up, a disappointed look forming across his best friend's face.
"Liyusk-
"Kazimir, why?"
"My bad, Liyusk. I just think getting revenge for Camille is more important as of now. I'm barely passing classes as is."
Liyusk's brows lift.
"My-my bad?! That's all you've got to say after I told you multiple times that job could get you killed in 2.5 seconds?!"
He stands up and shakes his head in disappointment.
"If you wanna die fast, be my guest."
Kazimir watches as his now angry best friend walks off.
He sighs and dials his parents' house number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, dad. It's me, Kazimir. Your son."
"I'll put your mother on the-
"Yeah, I need both of you on the line. I've got something I need to tell you two."
The young man waits for a few seconds before hearing his mother's voice.
"My Kazimirie!" the woman happily yells. "We haven't heard from you since you left for university! I understand the work may be harder but it's-
"Mom, dad, I'm not in university anymore."
A brief silence falls upon the three for about a minute.
"YOU'RE WHAT?!"
The young detective flinches at the sound of his angry father's voice.
"I quit, alright?! I have a job as a detective working to get my revenge for your daughter! My sister!"
"And you think Camille would want this?!" the older man asks. "No! She'd want you to stay in school, not go around and play superhero trying to save the damn city! You know how many times someone in law enforcement dies each day?! Just yesterday, I saw a guy poisoned to death and they still haven't found the perpetrator!"
Kazimir smirks.
"I know, dad. I know."
A brief rustling occurs, the young man's mother now speaking.
"Kazimir, I'm certain you've heard this story multiple times and I'm sure you're tired of hearing it."
The young man quietly sighs.
"Here we go." he mutters.
"Your father and I came to this city for a better life. It was hard at first because we both faced discrimination due to me being an Asian woman but we made it work and because of that we were able to send you away to a good university. You're our light, Kazimir. We want you to continue to be a guide so that one day you can lead your own future family."
She stops for a moment before continuing.
"However, I completely understand."
Kazimir's jaw slightly drops.
"I've always had a feeling since the day we received word about Camille that you'd want to do something about it. You two were very close and it pained me to see my once extroverted son grow so quiet. And with that, I fully support you, Kazimirie!"
"Thanks, mom."
"Just remember to stay safe, honey. I have faith in you, Kazimir. Faith that you really will make a difference."
"I promise, I'm not going to let you, dad, or most importantly, Camille down. Remember that."
The older woman smiles.
"We will. Also, you remember to update us; you're our only child now and we'd like to hear from you as much as possible!"
"I will, mom." Kazimir replies, playing with the small earring on his right ear.
"Don't disappoint me."
The young man nods and smiles.
"I'll try my best not to, dad."
The phone clicks on the other end and he sighs.
"Went easier than I expected."
Putting the phone back into his pocket, he gets up and walks over to the pick-up area, little kids running towards their parents.
"MR. KAZIMIR!"
The detective smiles and squats down as Khristina runs toward him, four other kids following her.
"Hi, Khristina. How was your first day back?"
"It was awesome! I even met four new kids and we became friends!"
She turns around to introduce them.
"This is Sung-hyun, he's originally from Korea but moved here two weeks before school started! That's Layla and Kale; they're both siblings from America! And that's Prince, he's from France like me, but moved to England for three years then came here to Claiza City!"
Kazimir nods, shaking each of the children's hands.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Prince points up at Kazimir's eyes, as Sung-hyun plays with the young man's hair.
"How come your eyes are red, Mr.? Are they fake? My daddy said people like to fake lifestyles for social media and that he can actually afford to get the real deal!"
"It's alright if they're fake, Mr. Kazimir!" Layla chimes in, looking up at him. "My mommy wears fake hair; it's called a wig! Sometimes, it's even long enough to reach the floor!"
"Yup!" Kale adds. "She only wears it when she's at work, out with friends, or on vacation with pops!"
"Did you dye your hair?" Sung-hyun asks, pulling on a strand. "My sister and my mom did that one time and they couldn't get it out for two months!"
Kazimir chuckles, standing back up to his own height.
"I don't think your parents would want you all spreading any of that information."
"They don't mind!" Sung-hyun replies, jumping up and down.
"Mhm! My daddy said it's important to let people know that he's not broke! See my shoes? They're Lou Vutton and they costed my daddy $4,000!" Prince says, stomping his shoes on the ground. "And I even got a phone for Christmas, but it only costed him $1,000!"
Kazimir nods.
"Your father brought you luxury shoes and a new phone? That's very sweet of him."
The young detective sighs, checking the time on his own phone.
"Well, it was nice meeting you all. I hope we can all meet again soon."
He waves, as the four kids run to their parents before walking back to the school's parking lot, Khristina swinging his hand as she held onto it.
"Mr. Kazimir?"
"Yes, Khristina?"
"Can I meet with my new friends at the park Friday after school? We all decided to ask our parents so we can hang out some more!"
Kazimir nods and smiles.
"Of course, Khristina. Of course."