"Carett!"
A instructor called Carnival by her nickname while she's on her way to her dorm. They are outside the school premises so it's fine to be informal. It's Saturday and she's running as exercise for her fit body.
She quickly looked back to see her running towards her. A woman wearing a sports outfit is what she sees. She's sweating and seems like she wants to get her attention earlier but she cannot hear her from afar. She also observed that her hair is slicked and fixed in a ponytail and her cleavage is showing. She concluded that the teacher has her type running today and she wants to impress him when she saw him. She immediately rolled her eyes before removing her bluetooth earplugs and asked her about her intention with her.
"Good morning, Ms. Wilson. Why did you call for me?"
"I was just going to ask you if you have already solved the code I gave to you yesterday," she asked, not having second thoughts. Just straight forward with her words!
Carnival nodded slightly at her question, "Well...it's not hard. It just said look back and that's it." She thought that it's just easy. It's just like Caesar's code but with a shift of one from its previous letter! If the code is DBSOFUU, then look back at the letter before the letter shown. The answer will be 'Carnett'!
"What does it say?"
"It's a letter from a parent of a transferring student from NSU. If I am right, it says that he will be meeting you with his son by Monday per request for the reason he is in your advisory class. Is he in our class? You handle A, B, and C of our level so I assume he's not annoying if you placed him inside my class."
"Carett Valencia, dear, he's not unpleasant as you describe the other beings in your class, as how you preferred to call them. You are sixteen but you're already in your senior high year. You're advanced and he's advanced also so you need to get along with him technically," The teacher tried to convince her slightly but it wasn't enough for Carett. She needs to learn about this boy. She needs to know why he transferred so suddenly at the middle of their first semester. It's odd and peculiar.
Monday came right after Sunday, two days after Carett talked to Ms. Wilson about the transferee. She is just sitting on her wooden chair, elbows on her wooden table. Her seat is near the windoe sight-seeing trees which she thought of boring but refereshing. She doesn't understand how people around her is enjoying the loudness but she remained silent. Also, the class doesn't listen to the president who ended up crying because of it. Her section is not the worst but not the packet of good that you can consider also.
The bell rang and her head turned to the direction where the door is. By then, a boy wearing a black plain tee tucked in his cargo pants with his hair slicked back, entered the room. All of the girls' attention went to him as she was completely bored with his looks.
'What's up with fixing yourself at school? This is not a modeling agency!' she thought, rolling her eyes.
"Good morning, A," Ms. Wilson greeted when she entered the classroom.
"Good morning, Ms. Wilson!" they greeted back before all of them went to their seats and sat. Some of the girls fixed their hair while the others put a dainty amount of make up, while the boys are staring at him for their crushes seems like took a crush on the boy in front of them.
"So, as you can see that we have a new one here and he's your new classmate."
Carnival rolled her eyes. "A new being again entering the lair of lions," she whispered before looking in front again to look casual. To her surprise, the boy is staring at her with his brown cold eyes. She glared back at him. Ms. Wilson is still speaking while they are in a glaring contest and it just ended when he was made to introduce himself.
She saw him rolled his eyes in frustration and she quickly smirked. She already knew he hated introducing himself because she also hated that part of the program when they started the school year with different roommates.
"I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix, said he truly, Sherlock Holmes. I am Yori. Hatoyori Hattori. Yoroshiku (Nice to meet you all)," and he bowed.
"Yoroshiku, ningen (Nice to meet you, human)," I smirked, elbows on my desk and chin on the back of my hands. I saw his eyes glittering, fascinated on what language I used for welcoming him.
I heard him scoffed and Carnival's brows furrowed. "What's your name, woman?" Yori asked her. She stood up and crossed her arms on her chest. "Carnival," she introduced. "You're a fan yourself of Sherlock Holmes, aren't you? That quote you have said is none other than from - -"
"The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone. Yeah, I know what you're going to say, lady," he said smiling. Carnival smiled back. On the back of her mind, she thought he's not that bad at all. She doubtly thinks she won't trust him unlike with the others.
"Those conversation are pleasant to me. Especially, you are welcoming by this woman right here," Ms. Wilson gave Carnival a tease glance and she immediately rolled her eyes at her before sitting.
"Isn't she friendly?" Yori asked.
"Not quite."
"You're too nice to say that it's not quite but I prefer saying the truth which is no. I don't like people but..maybe you'll be a quite of an exceptional person to me, being," Carnival said, turning her head and looking at her classmates one by one as they also one by one stare at her. You can also tell that they hate her for being this stubborn.
Ms. Wilson sighed at her behavior. She cannot do anything about it nor the school for she solves the mysteries and the cases inside of the school when she transferred for highschool. She's only 14 back then.
"Mr. Hattori, you may take the seat beside her. Besides, no one dared to sit beside her because of her behavior and attitude. I hope you can get along with her," Ms. Wilson said to Yori in an almost whisper tone.
"Her attitude's not a problem for me, miss," he said, assuring his advisor. "Despite of that, she's smart isn't she?"
"She is. She's a detective."
"Well...that's surprising."
"Truly. So, you may take your seat now and let's just talk after your classes."
"Arigatou (Thank you)."
Ms. Wilson nodded before exiting the room with Mr. Hattori. Yori walked with his bag towards his assigned seat beside Carnival and he's fascinated with her pen spinning.
"I have a question for you, Valencia," he started the conversation and she stopped spinning the pen and looked at him. She seems interested with what he will asked. On her mind, she hoped it's not a boring question like if she has a boyfriend or something. She doesn't care about that things.
"Spill." It sounds more like a command than a request for Yori so he smiled. She really is stubborn and has an attitude.
"Do you investigated like chopped body parts or something when you are the requested investigator? Like you're requested in private by a person."
She was in awe and dropped her pen. She never heard a single person asked her that even they knew she is a detective! She smiled and put her elbow at the desk and her chin on her hand.
"Yes!" she answered excitedly. Yori immediately knew she is just waiting for this conversation to strike. She's not cold. She's not bad at all. She's not ignoring anyone. She just wants to talk with someone who is interesting to talk to with her likes, and he is the likes of her.
"Well, not the chopped thing I saw was in a garbage or something but it's hanging in a butcher's place," she continues. "It was a man by the way. He was killed by his boss because of a challenge. The boss challenged the man to a race where they will sell in the market and whoever sells the most wins. The loser needs to give an amount they bet to them. The boss lost and he bet one million to the man so he needs to give the man a million, but he doesn't want to so he killed him in a gruesome way. There are witnesses and obvious evidences so I just finished it within 1 and a half days," said she, telling a story with actions.
"How old are you?"
"I'm 16!" she answered. After she did, she was stunned. "You're talking...You're talking to me!"
"Well, to be fair, I am also 16."
"You are in advanced class also?"
"Obviously."
Minutes hasn't gone by when Carnival's phone rang. She picked it up out of her pocket and looked at the registered number. It is a police detective which is her reporter if a case happened so she expected it is an another case. She answered the call and to her surprise, she was right!
Well...no, she's not surprised. At all.
"Hello, Detective Gregor? What brought you to me?"
"Carett, someone related to you is killed. I need you to identify her. I already sent the photo in your email."
She immediately picked her spare phone and checked her email. Yori also is curious at the moment so he listened and also looked at the photo. There's a short-haired girl who's neck is slit and shot on the head. There's no sign of ligature marks so she concluded the killer didn't attempt to choke her before killing her. It's an instant death withput resistance and the killer is fast to do it. She's still on her school uniform and her face is lying flat on her left. Her eyes wide opened and Carnival knows she is in shock. It's also obvious that the body already reached the rigor mortis.
"What is the estimated time of her death?"
"Around eight in the morning."
"Exactly?"
"Yes, exactly."
"This is my classmate from my old school. Her name's Natalia Pagua. Based on her outfit, she's still studying in Del Livan School. Do you have any ideas what are the motives of the killer?"
"Not yet. We don't have any clue except that her phone was opened and your name is the last person she contacted."
"That's impossible. I changed my number already. I didn't have any contact with Natalia ever since! Except in Facebook."
"Then, who's number is registered with your name?"
"Did you trace it?"
"No. It stopped midway when we are trying to track the peson up. Knowing now that it wasn't you, we're getting into a hang who killed your old classmate."
'Shit, who did this to her? It's impossible that she is close to me since she's quiet when we were in elementary.' She thinks of the possible motives but she cannot comprehend something.
"Can you investigate in this hour?"
"Well, I can. I'll just tell Ms. Wilson."
"I already told her," Yori said and her jaw is definitely opened right now. "I'll go with you."
"No, no! You stay here so you can study. I can just study it a bit late but I get a hang of it!"
"Let me show you what I can do, Carett," he said open-endedly.