"Well, here we are dear. It's just you and me for now…" Mrs Burromuerto unlocked the door to their large manor and helped him up the steps and to his room.
"I'll just leave you here. You don't need anything, do you dear?" She asked.
"No, no thanks." Alejandro waved her off.
He sighed.
"I should have never gone on that show. Never." He muttered. "If I hadn't, none of this would have happened to me. I would not have lost my good looks and admirers- though those can be regained with time and money and I would be fine right now."
"No wait; it's all Heather's fault. If she hadn't done what she did, I would have won- we would have won. It would have been the perfect alliance! Yet I win, only to lose the money in the end and get these…" He gestured to his burns.
"Well Alejandro Burromuerto, they will all get what is coming to them. Just they wait and see…"
"Maybe you brought it on yourself. You did screw over a lot of people after all…"
"Oh, shut up with that kind of talk Alejandro Burromuerto. You did nothing to deserve getting trampled, burned by a volcano and being put into a robot suit to recover!"
He glanced out through the doors of the balcony and was about to move away, when a motion outside caught his eye.
"What is that?" He noticed something thin and black falling from the sky.
He opened the door slowly and stepped out.
The object hit him in the head- which was still tender.
"Ouch!" He winced as he crouched down to pick up the object.
"Death Note?" Alejandro raised an eyebrow.
He ran his fingers over the book's cover.
"I wonder what this book is made of, I wonder… It feels like leather, yet… not quite…" Alejandro thought.
He opened it and felt the pages which were like those of an ordinary brand new notebook- smooth, crisp and even slightly warm as if it had been sitting in the sun.
"How to use it?" He chuckled. "This has got to be some sort of stupid prank. Perhaps even now, Chris is trying to torture me…"
"Hmm… Let me read it a bit though…" He went back into his room, closing the balcony doors behind him.
An hour later, the Latin teen was still lounging around in the couch in his room examining the notebook.
"This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected."
"If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen."
"This is rather dark for a prank… Oh well." He shrugged and began to put it away, but curiosity got the better of him and he began to look through it again while reaching for his television remote to turn on the television.
CBC Toronto was the first channel that appeared so he sat back and began to watch.
"A disgruntled former employee of the Dominion Bank his holding all the employees and customers of its Kilborn, Ottawa branch."
A picture flashed on the screen of a middle-aged Caucasian man with black hair greying at the roots and brown eyes.
"43 year old Graham Carter worked at the bank for almost 18 years before being fired last week after repeated complaints of inappropriate conduct had been filed against him."
Alejandro reached for a pen and touched it to the top of the first page of the Death Note but hesitated.
"But wait… What if it isn't a prank? What if it is real? Nah… Hold on though… It can't hurt to try it at least once right?" He chuckled- and then winced slightly. "Well it won't hurt me anyway and that's all that matters…"
He wrote down the name and waited.
39,
38,
37…
"Let's see if this really works."
24,
23,
22…
"I doubt it. I was foolish to think anything would happen… But 40 seconds have not yet passed…"
10,
9,
8…
He glanced at the clock as the last few seconds passed.
3,
2,
1…
"I knew it. How stupid of me to fall for such a thing. Oh well. Time to throw this away…"
He was about to drop it into the bin when the reporter on the scene of the hostage situation began speaking again.
"Hold on everyone! Something's happening!"
On the television, people of all ages and appearances were running out of the bank.
"The hostages are escaping and they all look to be unharmed!"
"Huh?" Alejandro raised an eyebrow.
"The RCMP and Special Forces are moving in! We don't know if the suspect has been arrested yet… But wait… Hold on a second! Initial reports say that the suspect has been found dead inside! I repeat; the suspect is now DEAD folks!"
Alejandro drew back from the television in surprise.
"According to statements from the hostages, the suspect just suddenly collapsed!"
"No… No way is that possible. NO! It has to be a coincidence! A freakishly odd coincidence!" He exclaimed.
"Alejandro dear, are you okay up there? Do I need to bring up some painkillers?" His mother called up.
"No thank you Mama. I am okay." Alejandro, still wide-eyed and shaking, picked up the notebook and glanced at the name he had written down.
He glanced at the television, then at the picture of Graham Carter on the television and back again, repeating this action a few times.
He just stared at the television as the report went on, exchanging conversation about the latest developments between the reporters on the scene and those back in the studio.
"I have to clear my head…"
He got up and went downstairs.
"Hey, Mama. Do you think it is fine for me to go for a walk on my own now?" He asked his mother, who was sitting in their large living room.
"Yes, I think so. Just do not go too far, okay?"
Alejandro nodded as he stepped outside. "It's a coincidence. It just has to be. No notebook has powers like that! I just need to relax. Perhaps the meds messed with my head…"