"Hey Cece, it's almost time. L and Mr. Wammy are going to arrive in about eight minutes, so if you want to meet him, you should hurry up and get yourself looking more ... presentable," a copper-headed teenager drawled from the doorway into a girl's room.
"Thanks, Matt. I'll meet you downstairs by the grand entrance in a moment. And if you're wondering if I picked up on that subtle but snide remark about my appearance, I did, so I highly suggest you get out of my room before I find something to hurl at your head," a girl who must have been Cece responded.
As Matt left the room, Cece swore she heard Matt mutter "Women ..."
Once he had left, Cece looked in the mirror surrounded by dark wood that hung on her wall in her room. It was furnished by Cece herself, with neutral green walls, white molding, a dark wood bed frame, a large white bookcase that took up one whole wall, and some armchairs that were placed near the windows. Despite her unruly appearance, she found herself to be smiling. Cece, whose full name was Cecelia, had found herself living at Wammy's House, an orphanage specially built for kids or teenagers that were exceptionally smart, whose intelligence surpassed even the highest ranking officials in the world. They were geniuses, and Cece was one of the lucky few that Wammy's House decided to bring in to their small family. She had just been accepted at the orphanage a year and a half ago, and since then, her life had improved drastically.
Cece was constantly bullied at other orphanages and at school because of her intelligence. The kids constantly laughed at her, pointed at her as if she was a freak. They whispered when she walked past groups of people, calling her a "know-it-all" and referred to her not by her name, but as "the girl who doesn't have parents." Sure, she knew there were other orphans like her, others who endured the same treatment as her, but being bullied from an extremely young age to her late teens wasn't exactly a confidence booster. To add to her list of problems, she had nobody to talk to. Her parents had died when she was just a baby so she had no recollection of them at all, and people, including teachers and even strangers on the street, avoided her like the was the walking version of the Black Plague.
All that changed when she was informed she was to be transferred to Wammy's House. At the time, Cece just thought she was moving in to another orphanage to be faced with the same problems she already had. However, she was utterly and completely incorrect, and it delighted her to no end. A black Rolls Royce had picked her up from her old orphanage and had driven her through rolling green hills of England, past pastures full of grazing cattle until she had finally reached what looked like a mansion perched on top of a small hill. It had been surrounded by luscious green lawns that stretched in every direction, and it gave Cece the impression that she was stepping into the house of the highest royal official in England (which would, of course, be her Majesty). Cece was greeted by a man in his mid-50s. His name was Mr. Rogers, and he was a kind gentleman, leading her into his office. There, he provided her with all the information on the orphanage- from its extremely smart residents to the man who decided to accept her in to her new family. He was referred to as Mr. Wammy by the residents of the house- Cece was forever in his debt and promised to herself that she would thank him profusely when she finally met him.
It did not take long for Cece to become settled in to her new environment. The people here were like her, like mini Einsteins. The residents of Wammy's House ranged from toddlers to adults, Cece being one of oldest occupants. She was 19 when she was first admitted, and she had quickly befriended all of the residents. However, her two best friends - brothers in all sense except for blood - were two 17 year old boys named Matt and Mello. Matt was much easier to befriend, he just seemed to be much more open to everyone. The boy found comfort in Cece's humor, her almost motherly care for him and how she was the only person who he could talk to if he was feeling down. The boy was odd though, she had to admit. His entire closet consisted of two pairs of goggles (one as a spare in case he lost his first one), horizontally striped long sleeved shirts, jeans, a pair of boots, and a vest. He was rarely seen without a cigarette in hand, although Cece yelled at him on more than one occasion to lose the vile habit.
Mello was completely different. He was Matt's other best friend, one who he counted as a brother. Mello took an immediate dislike to Cece, glaring at her through eyes filled with malice. He was always found clothed in leather and, dare she say it, tight jeans. He sported a girlish looking bob-cut, which made people question his gender. Make no mistake though; he was every inch a male. Mello was more reserved and was quieter than Matt, but when someone got him talking, boy, he talked. It seemed as though profanity was used in every sentence, something that Cece scolded him about constantly. However, she finally earned his trust and became a sister to him. This was Cece's strength- she was a manipulator to be quite frank. She was able to earn someone's trust quickly, break through the wall that people usually built around themselves. Her low self confidence and fear of being bullied kept her from using her strength when she was a child.
Everyone at Wammy's House welcomed her with open arms. They were a happy bunch, and the moment she walked out of Mr. Roger's office, she was bombarded with questions about where she came from and what her name was. She found herself being pulled along the halls of the orphanage with enthusiastic little girls going through each and every room and introducing her to every single person they encountered. It was a welcomed feeling, finally being in a family, being treated like you were everyone's equal. They took care of her, spoiled her even. If Cece wanted something, they gave it to her (although they would ask her the reason for it first). No worries though, she normally just requested a new book for some crazy night reading.
If Cece was not found in the library, or in the kitchen where she spent a good four hours everyday with Matt and Mello scavenging for some leftover food, she was found in her room sitting on her swivel chair facing the computer. She was a detective now, but not one that was as famous or as good as L. She mostly worked on cases in England, and very rarely worked on international cases. Lately, however, she was receiving more and more cases internationally, which helped boost her fame. The feeling of solving cases was exhilarating to her- she was presented with millions upon millions of puzzle pieces and had to weed out the fake trails the criminals would leave behind. She had to add puzzle pieces from the background research she conducted on suspects and piece the whole puzzle together in order to solve the case. The feeling when she finished was one that could never be paralleled- if she could just help one person, one person in the entire world from suffering, she was happy.
Crap, I just wasted three minutes talking to myself... Cece was jolted back to reality and found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. Agh, Matt was right, I look like I just had a hangover. Her brown eyes looked at her usually neat and shiny brown hair that was currently a tangled mess, her clothes were all rumpled, and she needed to wake up from her sleep-induced stupor. The girl quickly washed her face, and attempted to tame her wild hair which proved to be unsuccessful. Instead, she just opted for a high ponytail, and she put on a nice pair of dark wash straight jeans, a dark red and white striped cardigan, a round-necked white t-shirt underneath, and a nice pair of white flats.
"Matt, are Mr. Wammy and L here yet?" Cece asked the teen as she stepped next to him near the door. "No, they aren't, but they're bound to arrive any minute," Matt responded. Cece looked at the boy beside her. He was third in line to be the successor to L, while Mello and another boy named Near were second in line. Cece was first in line to be successor to L in case, god forbid, something happened to him during one of his missions. She found this extremely surprising when she first heard that she would be the immediate successor since she was only a resident of Wammy's House for a short amount of time compared to others. However, she had been told that due to her quick deductive skills and her natural gift of being a manipulator, it made her the ideal choice. Cece still found it a bit odd, but decided not to question Mr. Roger any more.
"So … where's Mello, Matt?" Cece asked the goggled boy.
"You know him, probably yelling at Near for leaving a firetruck or space robot outside his door or something," Matt snickered.
"… Do you think it would be a good idea to steal Mello's stash of chocolate bars?"
"Cece, are you crazy? The guy would probably throw a fit and end up burning your entire room. Not to mention he would probably beat me to a bloody pulp. Since when have you been a rulebreaker?"
"Oh you know … thought I would have a little laugh …"
Matt smiled down at me and mussed my hair. "I know that you would find it quite funny initially, but I don't think you would particularly enjoy being punched in the face."
"Are you implying I can't hold myself in a fight?"
"No, no, of course not Mommy Dearest," he said while pointedly avoiding Cece's gaze. "Oh hey, look, Mel's here."
The blonde walked – no, sauntered – his way towards us. Cece could not help but let a giggle escape her lips and covered her mouth with her hands. Matt's corner of his lips even came up a little in a more successful attempt to stop his snigger. Mello shot them a glare and muttered under his breath, "A big band of hooligans, they are."
More and more of the residents of Wammy's House started to come down to the entrance hall to wait for Mr. Wammy and L. It was always polite to welcome anybody who had come back after an important case, and everyone was dying to see L again. In fact, L and Wammy had been gone for almost two years working on a case in Switzerland. That would mean that Cece had never met L before. The low rumble of a car could be heard snaking up the pathway to the orphanage, and suddenly, the residents of Wammy's House were found cramming their way through the door to wait outside.
A black Rolls Royce pulled in right in front of the door where the residents of the orphanage stood waiting. Cece felt a tingle of anticipation as the driver's door opened to reveal a man who seemed to be 70 years old. Cece assumed this man to be Mr. Wammy. He was dressed impeccably in a three piece suit. He had white hair and a little mustache above his mouth. Cece thought he seemed like a strict man with many rules that everyone had to obey. However, she knew this not to be the case, since everyone assured her that he was as kind and gentle as anyone could be.
He walked over to the backseat and opened it for the occupant inside. Cece took in the young man's appearance as he stepped out of the car, from his tattered old tennis shoes, baggy blue jeans, and loose fitting white shirt, to his face. He was the exact opposite of Mr. Wammy, appearance wise! He had messy black hair that seemed to stick in all directions, and he proceeded to look around at everyone assembled before him. His coal black eyes took in everyone's face and his gaze finally landed on Cece who took in a deep breath as those eyes seemed to inspect and scan her.
The man standing before her had to be L.