"L is dead."
When we were called to Rogers office that morning, I hadn't even thought about the possibility of L's death. I'd thought maybe he'd be trying to get me and the albino freak to make friends, or that he was going to lecture of yet again about the consequences of being so antisocial, or make us take an extra test- I don't know what. I guess I hadn't cared. But I'd never thought L would be dead.
The moment I heard those words, my reality had exploded. I had to think about an event I was prepared for, but I never thought would come. I felt emotion raging inside of me.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't mourning for L's death. I didn't even know the guy; even his name and age weren't in my field of knowledge. It was what he'd represented that had been taken down for me. He was like me; he did things for the justice they achieved, and not to be a copycat like Near. Maybe the only difference between him and I is our approach... and my hate for Near.
Did I mention Near? Well, if I were to put him into words, I'd probably to describe him as evil. Because that's what he is. He may seem polite and quiet and kind, but I see the look in his eyes everytime he wins a test, or beats me in a race. Whenever we do anything, he comes first and I come second. He loves it. I hate him.
So maybe what most scared me when Roger said those three words was the impending fear about what would come next. I knew that that one moment in time would decide everything. Ten minutes in one room and I'd receive not only a final evaluation of the contest between Near and I, but a sealing of my fate, a plan of the rest of my life.
I didn't know it then, but that was a plan I was going to reject.