"Now?" She begged, following the elderly man. "How 'bout now? Now?" She asked eagerly, hanging around the man's feet. The man sighed deeply. "No." He replied in a cold, annoyed voice. "Okkkaaaaaayyyyyyyyy..." She said slowly. "Can I go now?
She asked after one minute of silence. "For the last time, Isabella, no." The man weaved his way through the crowds of children. "Okay. How 'bout now? Is now okay?" She clung to his pants. "ISABELLA." The man stopped. "No. I've been saying 'No' for the past hour. Why do you keep asking me?" He got to her level. "Cauuuuuussseee." She replied. "...Is NOW okay? How 'bout now?" She grinned innocently. The elderly man gritted his teeth and clenched his hair into his fists. "YES. FINE. GO." He hissed, agitated. Isabella laughed. "Thanks, Roger!" She dashed down the hall. "Don't forget your coat!" he called to the excited young girl. "CAN'T HEAR YOU!" She scurried down the stairs, hoping down every second step. She jumped, ready to make her landing onto the floor. "Isabella!" Another man cried, catching the girl in his arms. "O-Oh...sorry...Mr Wammy...I wasn't looking...sorry..." she hung onto him, hanging upside down in the man's arms. "I-Isabella. Why were you running like that?" He asked, turning her right-side-up and then setting her on the floor. She sighed deeply, before taking a big breath.
"WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL," Isabella began, "I seen Mello and Matt playing outside, and I was really bored sitting in my room alone. Roger said I couldn't go play outside with them cause I got a bad grade on my spelling test cause I dunno how to spell 'optimistic' and 'pessimistic' and 'telepathic' and 'mischievious' and 'stethoscope' yet. It's cause I forgot to study last night cause I was reading under my blanket...OH! Please don't tell Roger..." Her voice got really soft and quiet. "He's jealous cause he can't read..." She whispered to Mr. Wammy. "Okay, anyway..." Isabella continued. Mr. Wammy smiled softly as he listened to the girl's story.
"...And I said 'Cauuuuuussseee...Is NOW okay?' and Roger said '.GO." and then I ran down the hall and down the stairs and then you caught me. Now I'm out of breath telling you what happened." She took a big breath and panted heavily. "S-So...can...I please...go outside..." she trembled. Mr. Wammy laughed, checking his watch. "You can play outside for a few minutes, then I want you inside for dinner..." He replied. Isabella nodded and started for the door, a bit slower now. She snatched her coat from the many coats on the rack and pulled it over her small frame. "Thank you. I'll be back soon." She hurried out the door to play with her friends. A few minutes later, Roger descended from the stairs. He looked exhausted. "That child..." he began, his hair still a mess. "...is driving me up my very last wall..." he rubbed his temples, then he rubbed his eyes. "She has good intentions. She doesn't mean it...although her acting skills are impressive." Mr. Wammy laughed. Roger sighed with a nod. "Do you think she'll be able to be excel to become one of L's successors?" Roger asked, looking up at Mr. Wammy. "I know she will. She's clever and full of emotion. She's bright and happy. If we could harvest her energy, we'd power this place for years..." The elderly man laughed. Roger could only smile. "I hope that's a good thing.."
"Good night, Isabella..." Roger pulled the covers up to her chin. She nodded lightly, her eyes closed. "Night, Roger..." she whispered, her face nuzzling into the pillow. Her hand was under the pillow, her fingers were wrapped around the cool, laminated cover of a small book. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady. Roger sat watching her for a moment, before standing. He turned and left the young girl's room, turning the light off and closing her door. Isabella slowly opened her eyes and she stared at her alarm clock. She counted the minutes. She took a deep breath once thirty minutes passed. "Okay...five more minutes." She whispered to herself, closing her eyes. She opened them a few minutes later. It was 9:37. Isabella grinned and pushed away the covers quickly and quietly. She grabbed her book from her pillow and snuck out her bedroom door, looking down the dark hallway. She held her breath and stepped passed rooms, her book clenched to her chest. She looked up at a large wooden door. Isabella took a deep breath and opened the door, slowly walking inside. "Mello..." She whispered, closing the door. She climbed onto a bed where a sleeping figure lay. "Mello Jello." She gave a soft shake to the figure. It groaned, before sitting. "Wh-What..." It whimpered. "You promised you'd read to me after dinner. I picked a good book. It's short." She held up the book and a small flashflight. Mello rubbed his eyes and stretched. "O-Okay..." He blinked and squinted when Isabella turned the flashlight on. "The Ugly Duckling...?" Mello yawned, opening the book to the first page. Isabella nodded eagerly, crawing under the blankets with him. "Yeah. It seems oppriate..." She said. "'Oppriate...? You mean 'appropriate'..." Mello said with another yawn. Isabella nodded. "Yeah. That word." She snuggled up to her friend, who started to read. " 'Once upon a time,
down on an old farm, there lived a duck family; and Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched and out popped six chirpy ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh egg'..." Mello read in a very soft voice. Within minutes, Isabella was fast asleep at Mello's side...and the blond was asleep within a few seconds.