Every day, you hear stories about the news. Stories about how a child was found after being kidnapped, a fire breaking out in a senior center, or some kind of grotesque murder.
But, when you live in an orphanage… When you live in an orphanage full of genii… Those stories become part of everyday life.
_
When a child first enters The Wammy House, they are given an alias (if L has not already assigned one). Then, they are given a room to occupy and forbidden to ever speak about their past.
This request comes nonchalantly. Almost as if they don't want you to hear it.
So after they inform you of the House rules, you are tossed into the hall, alone and wondering what just happened to your life. If you're lucky, another child will pass by. They may stop, having never seen your face before, and ask if you need help.
But, if you have no such luck –like me- you will just roam the halls until you either find your assigned room or an instructor questions why you are not listening to a lecture.
Your first day may not seem so very welcoming but, by the time you have adjusted to the flow and rhythm of The House, you will have forgotten your first day. Feeling like you have lived here your whole life.
_
The day I first came to Wammys, I was only five. Fresh out of the hospital.
I remember being pulled into a black limousine and being driven to the fronts of a large gate. I remember the sun shining and myself wishing that I could get inside of the large awkward looking house in front of me.
I remember feeling pain. Both in my gut and my ribs. I remember how the gates opened slowly, creaking and whining loudly with protest as they were wheeled open. And I remember being pushed along a walkway to the front doors of the house.
From there, I was ushered through winding halls and doorways until they stopped me in front of a large double door. Knocking lightly, I was asked to come in and have a seat.
An older man, with a graying, balding head sat on an old, oak desk chair. He held his head in his hands, glasses falling slightly down the bridge of his nose. Roger, was what he instructed me to call him.
And Near is what he called me.
An odd name it is. And an odd sound his voice was. Not fitting to his looks. But, then I noticed that he was not the one who had spoken.
A man, with raven hair and onyx eyes spoke from a darkened corner of the room. I recognized him as one of the men from the hospital (Only because he did not look like the type to work as a nurse or doctor).
"Your name is Near. Because, you will always be near someone who needs you." He said with a large Asian accent.
I remember watching as he kneeled down beside me and handed me a toy robot from his pocket. And as the naïve five-year old that I was, I remember accepting it with gracious hands. Then, the man patted my head and promptly left.
It was only three months later, when another child arrived, that I learned of the name of the mysterious man.
L.
Only one letter. Once consonant. But, it held so much reverence in the house that I grew up in.
_
Two years after my arrival, another child arrived.
He was tall. Taller than most of the other younger children. But, he seemed more mature than the older ones.
Mello was what he was named.
A joke on L's part it seemed because, Mello was anything but. Of course, Mello had his moments of peace. It was only when something, "Royally pissed him off" when his true nature emerged.
But, generally, Mello was calm. He would eat his dear chocolate and try his best to ignore the nuisances.
- And just to clear things up with any of the other Wammies: Mello did not truly hold a grudge for being number two. Yes, he did get upset from time to time and loose his composure and beat me up but, for the most part, Mello was fine with the rankings. No, he did not go on chocolate induced rampages through the house and cause mayhem like the Evolved would say. –
After Mello came Tether. A screw-up who failed and was eliminated only one week after being administered. No one talks about him much anymore.
Once the Tether incident was forgotten, another student took his place.
Linda. A shy girl who only wanted to be a great artist when she was older. No one really knows how she got in. One day she wasn't here and the next she is.
Linda always tried her hardest when it came to rank testing but, she was never able to get past Flash- who was in 6th rank.
After Linda made her way into the Wammy family, it seemed like no other child would be accepted into the orphanage. It seemed as if the family was complete. We had Roger and Watari – the respectful elders. L (who was always busy with a case) – the 'older brother' or parent. The Wammy staff- who mostly consisted of cooks and caretakers but, still were apart of the family. And of course, the children. Seventeen all together. That is, until Matt and Chime arrived.
Matt arrived during the middle of a blizzard. And the very next day, Chime showed up.
Both showed possible potential but, Matt always slaked off and Chime was too timid to take away the ranks of other children.
When the blizzard ended three days later, L arrived, giving them their names.
He stayed for a week, since the Christmas holiday was upon us, and entertained us Primaries.
_
Another year after Matt and Chime, I turned eight. I was still just a Primary when Matt, Mello, and Linda were all Evolved. Even Chime had betrayed me and turned into an Evolution.
But, I guess that makes no sense to those of you reading this note. So, I will explain in the simplest way possible.
Primaries were younger children. From infant to fourteen years of age.
Evolved were older children. Ages fifteen through 20.
And all of the other adults were Ancients. Wise with their knowledge of past Wammies.
And with the age divisions comes rules.
Rule 1: Primaries and Evolved are to keep to their own group. No straying.
Rule 2: If Rule 1 is broken, those involved will be punished by The Crane.
Rule 3: Anything said by The Crane is law. If The Cranes law is broken, you will be punished.
Simple enough if you know who The Crane is. But, that will be explained soon enough.
On Christmas Day, the Family gathered around the fairly large tree. Presents piled high around it as the younger Primes ogled them.
"Children, sit down!" Roger requested. He raised his arms in a commanding manner but, it had little effect. The other caretakers tried to get the children to calm down but, to no avail.
Then L came in. Everyone quieted. L was The Crane.
Roger thanked L, who in-turn, nodded his reply. He sat down in an arm chair away from the children and began eating a lollipop.
The caretakers passed out the presents and Roger went to fetch hot chocolate and peppermint.
As I watched each child receive a gift, I noticed how some would swap the wrapped presents before opening them. This intrigued me as I saw that the gifts inside ended up relating to the person who swapped.
I saw Matt and Mello switch and watched as Mello opened up a Nintendo game system. Matt proudly held up chocolate.
Why do they perform this unusual ritual? Wouldn't Mello rather have chocolate and Matt have a Nintendo?
But, then I watched as they swapped again, returning the items to the original owner.
Linda was now holding a new art set, Chime cradled a wooden recorder, even L was now holding a new lollipop with a bow on it.
I looked down to my small white box. A large silver bow was placed in the middle to cover the seams. Honestly, I couldn't care less about the box. It was probably just another puzzle anyways.
Roger passed out the hot chocolate and peppermint a few minutes later. He was hoping that this would help keep the children calm but, the soothing peppermint did nothing compared to the sugar.
After the Primes were off playing with their new things and the Evolved snuck off to indulge on whatever they did, I escaped to my room.
I sat on my bed and held the box in my lap. The silver bow was taped on and came off easy. I carefully creased the paper off and slipped the wrapping onto the floor. Now I had a tapped up white box. Was it irony or just coincidence that everything was white?
Inside the box, I found a puzzle. Blank. Just as I had expected. I set the puzzle with the other three. I'm not arrogant. No. I am grateful for the gift. But, couldn't anyone tell that they were too easy?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and think about something else. …The rankings were coming up… Maybe I could…. Or, the library is probably empty right now… How am I kidding? I don't care for the ranks. I don't care about the academics. I just want to be left alone…. Like I am now…
A/N: I wrote this about two months ago. And then I kinda lost my flashdrive. ^^;
I really wanted to write about Wammy House and this is what happened. I always thought that there would be some kind of odd feeling living in the House. It doesn't seem like a pleasent place to live with all the children fighting to become L's successor. The ending is stupid and relates to nothing. Unless I decide to continue it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. Or Wammy House. But, I do own Chime, Tether, and any other original character.