[24th December]
"Whoa!" my jaw hung open when we arrived. A banner that announced, 'Welcome to George's Street! Have a Jolly Christmas!!' swayed on the golden metal gates of the place.
It was relatively challenging to locate this place. After an hour of searching, we found out George's Town was on the third floor of a mall called Emerald Plaza.
"Let's head in." Nick smiled at us before advancing past the gates. We followed him, gawking around the brightly lit town bustling with people.
"It's a good thing I bought a camera recently." Jay waved the device in his hand.
"A camera?" I grinned and looked over his shoulder. I recalled that he hurried home to grasp something. Was it his camera?
"I'll take one of you by the gates!"
Jay ushered me over to the doors before he jogged away from it. He counted down to one before racing back to me. "It looks great! Wait, is that Silas and Ethan at the back?" I peered over my shoulder to see Ethan and Silas making silly faces at us.
"Hey! Get here, we'll take a picture together!" Jay hollered at them and they eagerly hurried over, almost colliding into a few children in the process. Only the two of them heard us. The others faded into the crowd but we shrugged it off. We'd catch up to them after.
Jay stretched his arm out to get all of us in the picture. Ethan and I leaned our heads on his shoulder while Silas positioned himself at Jay's chest. His chin jutted out as he tried to get his full face in the frame. "Alright, one, two, three!"
Click!
We peered over his shoulder to look at the photo before bursting out in laughter. It was so blurred! "No, let's take another one!" Ethan chuckled.
"We'll take some more at a nicer place. Let's go, we're falling behind!" we hopped into the place like little kids.
Ethan's phone started ringing; his Kero Kero Bonito ringtone chimed aloud around the area. "You still have that ringtone?" Silas scoffed. It wasn't like Silas' was any better. He had the 20th Century intro as his ringtone!
"What? It's a bop!" Ethan picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Where on Earth are the four of you!?" Ethan winced as he drew the phone away from his ear.
"We're still at the entrance!"
"I thought I told you to stick together!" Nick scowled.
"We'll meet you somewhere!" Ethan beckoned for us to start walking.
"We're at this tiny brown café called CoCo. Turn to the left hallway at the entrance and you'll see it upfront," Nick told us.
"Got you." Ethan hung up and led the way. We followed him to the left corridor in the two-way street.
I stared at the LED ceiling in awe, my eyes followed when a sleigh was shown flying by. Wasn't this a little too realistic? There were even sounds of the reindeers' bells jingling and Santa's 'ho, ho, ho' as they rode past us!
"Finally!" Dylan groaned, lifting himself from the wall when he noticed us in the crowd.
"Jay wanted to take pictures so we stayed behind." Silas rushed over to his twin's side. I noticed some people stared at them as they strolled by. I guess seeing a set of twins wasn't that common.
"First, we'll get a light dinner so we can try other food from different shops later," Nick informed us while he scrolled through his phone to download a digital map.
"Sounds good." we agreed to his idea.
"Oh, that place looks astonishing." I watched as the twins alongside me pointed out several restaurants and cafes before noting them on Nick's digital map. They'd slow in their steps to skim through the menus before signing them down as a 'must go' for later.
The others looked around nonchalantly and took selfies at the back. "Guys, please look at the menu," Nick waved the group over when they stayed behind to gaze through the window display of a toy workshop a block away. They immediately rushed over and gathered at the entrance of the restaurant.
It had the interior of a log house. They even had a living room with a TV and a pet dog!
I tip-toed multiple times just to get a glimpse of the dog. "Johnny!" Dylan snapped his fingers in my face.
"Are you okay with the menu?" he mimicked Nick's voice. Nick frowned at Dylan before informing the server we had seven people in total. The waiter nodded with a smile and led us into the homely shop.
As we wandered through the door, the smell of Yankee Candle's Vanilla French Toast filled my nostrils and I exhaled with a satisfied grin. Jay had that candle burning in his room and it was easily recognizable. I glimpsed at the TV screen that displayed a fireplace with 3D crackling sounds and faint Christmas oldies.
The cream Border Collie I had been eyeing immediately leaped over to welcome us. "Her name is Layla," the waiter told us. Ethan immediately turned to Silas.
"She looks like you!" Ethan nudged Silas' shoulder playfully. Silas only shook his head at the eldest's claim with a faint smile.
"Aww!!" I bent down to pet Layla and she was the fluffiest thing I had laid my hands on. I scrunched my nose in happiness when she stared at me with her big doe eyes, her tail wagging around uncontrollably.
"Now, to your tables." the server motioned for us to get going and I was sad to leave Layla so soon but to my surprise, she followed us to our seats and none of the staff stopped her. That was wonderful!
"Have a look at the menu and once you've decided, ring the bell!" the waiter pointed to the copper handbell on our table. We were taken by surprise to see something so ancient. Nick nodded to the waiter before distributing the menus.
Ethan and I were busy examining the red silk cloth that was spread on the long wooden table. There were even snowflake designs embroidered into it!
I hoisted my left leg to cross it over my other leg when I suddenly bumped someone in his knee. "I'm so sorry!" I apologized, gazing up. I almost died.
"Be careful, will ya?" Rikki winced and lightly bent down to rub on his wounded knee.
"I'm sorry," I muttered again, embarrassed because some of the others glanced over.
"Are you okay, Rikki?" Nick queried from beside him.
"I'm fine." the youngest grumbled and roughly thrust away his flipped menu. Nick was not very charmed with his attitude.
"Are you not hungry?"
"I already know what I want." Rikki spat and looked for his phone before turning away from Nick.
Nick folded his menu before directing his attention to the boy with gathered patience. "Rikki, can you tell me why you're upset?" Rikki simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Did you not want to come-?"
"Yes! I hate it here!" Rikki abruptly spun towards Nick, fuming as his hands clutched his phone. We flinched at the youngest's booming voice. It didn't help that he had the deepest voice here. It made him even more intimidating. The others stopped chatting to look over the two. I glanced around the restaurant. Several turned around to stare.
Nick was taken aback at the youngest's outburst. He had thought it was just Rikki going through his puberty. But he wanted to know if anything was going on with the boy so, he asked to speak outside.
Rikki silently followed Nick to the restaurant entrance with his head hung low.
I noticed how Rikki immediately regretted raising his voice, his eyes going wide and his shoulders tense. I whirled around to watch the two converse outside the shop window. Although we couldn't hear their conversation, we noticed their serious expressions.
"I might be the oldest," Ethan spoke and we all shifted to him.
"But we can't deny Nick is mentally older," he admitted. I rolled my eyes.
"You're fun to be with." I smacked Ethan's chest. Silas directly glared at me from across.
"Are you saying Nick isn't fun!?" the others started teasing me after that.
"W-what!? No!" I tried to defend myself as they continued to poke fun at me. Dylan simply sipped his warm glass of water in silence. Though I didn't miss the knowing look he delivered me from my peripheral view.
Not long after, the two returned and Nick promptly went for the handbell. The waiter arrived and we gave our orders smoothly. Nick ordered for Rikki as the youngest stared at his hands in quietness. The atmosphere was awkward after the server had left.
Nick opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone.
He was using the default ringtone, how basic.
"It's father." Nick glanced at Silas with concern. Silas rapidly rushed to his twin's side as he picked up the phone with a gulp.
"...hello?" there was silence as we stared at them with furrowed brows. Did he call to update them on the murder cases?
"Yes, I'm out with all of them right now. We're having dinner." Nick spoke, his fingers picking on each other on the table.
"We're not at the carnival, we're in George's Street. It's located inside Emerald Plaza." we could hear the twins' dad raise his voice anxiously through the phone.
"Another one?" Nick glanced at us; his brows raised.
Jay, Ethan, and I glimpsed at each other. Gulping, I decided to make a group chat with the three of us.
'Should we tell them?' I texted and the two of them glanced up at me in bewilderment.
'What!? No! Nick would kill us if he found out we went to the park last night!' Jay replied.
'But we made use of the time we had in the carnival! If we didn't go, the murder cases would've remained a mystery for who knows how long?' I rubbed my chin. Ethan had a point.
'Like who would've thought the security guards themselves have been doing the killing?' he added.
The three of us exchanged glances again. It was only Jay who opposed the idea. Ethan and I stared at him. Jay chewed his lips in thought, peering at Nick who was still on the phone with his dad. With a soft sigh, he nodded at us. I returned his nod before tapping my fingers on the table to get Nick's attention.
Nick raised a brow at me and I mouthed that it was important.
"Father, I have to go-"
"Actually, your father can stay on the line." Nick looked at me, baffled.
"What do you mean?" his finger hovered over the 'end call' button.
"I think it would be best if your dad listened to this as well," I claimed. The others were so perplexed but stayed silent.
"...okay." Nick put his dad on speaker. I bit my lip in contemplation.
"Can you put him on a video call? These are videos." Nick did as I had asked.
I was about to speak but my words were caught in my throat when I locked eyes with their dad. "Hello, Mr. Hwang." I greeted him first. He looked so scary!
"Hello, Johnny." he nodded for me to go on.
"So, Ethan, Jay, and I went to the carnival last night-"
"You did what!?" Nick slammed his phone face flat on the table, his face scrunched up in rage.
"What did I fucking tell you guys!?" he cursed loudly and I got uptight, glancing around the restaurant. We were gathering unwanted attention.
"Nick! Listen, please!" I begged him.
Nick huffed and let his shoulders drop. "At least the three of you came back in one piece. Or else, I would've killed you myself!" he raised his phone to reveal a flabbergasted Mr. Hwang.
"Nicklaus! You do not raise your voice in public places!" his father scolded him.
Turns out Nick was just short for Nicklaus.
Nick grew flustered and muttered an apology to the customers around. "Back to what Johnny was saying," Mr. Hwang motioned for me to continue.
"As I was saying, the three of us went to the carnival after a project and...we unexpectedly became witnesses." the others widened their eyes at us.
"What?" Nick hissed.
"I have videos of evidence." Mr. Hwang grew speechless at them.
"Please, show me." I tapped on the play button and turned it around. The other boys immediately gathered around to watch as well.
"It's a little dark but you can coarsely make out what was happening," I told them. I already had the brightness all the way up.
They wordlessly watched with furrowed brows. "Aren't they the guards...?" Silas asked, his mouth hung open. I nodded. The twins exchanged dismayed looks.
"No wonder."
"Is it possible if you have these videos forwarded to Nick?" Mr. Hwang asked me.
"Of course." I turned my phone back around and quickly sent them to Nick.
"Thank you, Johnny and the rest. My team and I will go through these videos and see what we can do." with that, Mr. Hwang hung up. Nick placed his phone flat on the table before glaring at the three of us with a deep frown.
"Tell me your reason." we lowered our gaze.
"There was no reason," Jay answered softly.
"Even after Silas and I had warned y'all, you still went? What, are you trying to get yourselves killed?" Nick's voice was stable and calm, contrary to what he was feeling.
Disappointment and dissipated anger.
"Sorry." one by one, we apologized. After a while, Nick sighed. Silas had already returned to his seat.
"Did the guards see you?" he questioned. I stiffened up in my seat and Nick took notice of that.
"Oh my god." Nick rubbed his face with a heavy sigh.
"Please tell me you hid your faces."
"We did!" I answered almost immediately.
That was probably the only smart thing we did the entire trip.
We were interrupted when the waiter appeared with a layered food cart filled to the brim with food. The three of us exhaled in relief, mentally thanking the server for his perfect timing.
-
"Silas, put that down!" Nick broke a sweat as he demanded his twin to arrange the five feet metal robot model back on the cupboard.
"It's only five hundred bucks!" Silas squealed in delight. He was an avid collector of toys and items such as this. Their game room was filled from the bottom to the top with expensive collectibles like KAWS, Bearbrick, and even limited-edition Hot Wheels! To say they were rich was an underestimation.
"What are you looking at?" I peered over Dylan's shoulder. He hummed lightly in acknowledgment.
"Just this little tiger ornament..." Dylan studied the charm in his hand.
"Doesn't this remind you of Rikki?" he suddenly asked, an innocent smile on his face. I tensed up, laughing awkwardly.
"Yeah, it does." that probably sounded like a harmless question, but there was some sort of malicious intent to it.
Ethan abruptly requested for me from the counter of the store. I sighed in relief before excusing myself. "What's up?" I wrapped an arm around the eldest. He had his wallet out as he watched a staff close the lid of a golden gift box.
"I'm thinking of surprising the boys with this gift. What do you think?" Ethan moved the box to me before he opened the cover.
On top of sheer beige silk sheets were seven pairs of minimalistic Christmas-themed socks neatly rolled up. Next to each pair were different scents of candles. "Are these Christmas-themed too?" I leaned in closer to check the labels. The names were rather unique; Gingerbread, Christmas Carols, Hot Chocolate by the Fireplace, Snow Forest, Roasted Chestnuts, Crisp Eucalyptus, and Cedar Wood.
"Yeah! They are a limited edition too. And get this, they have pieces of jewelry hidden inside of the candles!" I was baffled. Things like these exist?
"It's not a surprise for me anymore then?" I raised an amusing brow at him.
"Don't you hate surprises?" he retorted. I hummed. I do detest surprises, fair enough.
"Which one is mine?" I asked with burning curiosity.
"Hm...this one." Ethan pointed to the candle titled Roasted Chestnuts, which came with it was a pair of socks that had white cats on it.
"It fits me well," I said, gazing over my gift once more.
"I know."
"Paying already?" Ethan hurriedly slammed the lid onto the box when Silas spoke from behind us.
"Yeah! I got gifts for my parents and little sister. I hope they'd approve of it." Ethan told a white lie. Silas patted the eldest's shoulder with a grin.
"You're the best at gifts. I'm very sure they'll love it." Ethan sighed in relief at Silas' reassurance. Silas walked away to join his twin on the wrapping paper shelf. They both bellowed over an inappropriate Christmas-themed paper.
"Christmas is tomorrow, aren't you a little early for presents? Nick said we might come back too."
"I'm only a day early." I sighed heavily before gazing around the store, jazzy Christmas songs played on the mini radio on the counter.
"I should get something soon too..." I muttered.
"I'm also planning on buying Ethel something." Ethan turned around to go into the candle aisle, I followed behind.
"Jeez, when did you guys get so close?" I snickered, raising a brow at him.
"We exchanged numbers!" he giggled.
"We talked all night and he's actually pretty cool," I told you guys.
"Do you think he likes candles?" he asked me. I recalled back to when I was in his room. There were a lot of unused candles decorating the top of his display shelves. I assumed he collects them.
"I'm pretty sure he does," I answered.
"Then, which scent do you think would suit him?" I looked over the candles carefully.
"I think...
Fresh Balsam will do."