Summer at Wammy's
Saturday 12th June 2004
The rumours started about a week before the trip. Each of the Wammy's students seemed to have heard a completely different story, from a completely different source. Near sat in the corner of the common room, listening to the others gossiping and carefully building towers of dice.
"Well I heard Roger talking to L on the phone." Jenn, a tubby girl Near had never liked told her friends. "So I know it's the truth."
"It can't be." another girl said, "Because I heard Delta telling Sue that Felix told her that James heard directly from Watari that whoever wins this will get to help L on his next case."
Near shook his head. That was one he hadn't heard before. He added another dice to the 'Uttterly Ridiculous' tower, which was now only a little shorter than the 'Complete Nonsense' tower.
"I don't know why you're bothering." a boy said at the other side of the room, "It'll be Near or Mello that win it."
Near added a dice to the 'Sensible Idea' tower.
"They might not." another boy said. "We don't even know what kind of competition it will be."
"It takes place on the beach trip right…" A girl whispered. "So, maybe it's volleyball."
Near added a dice to the 'Complete Nonsense' tower.
He listened to the rumours for another few minutes, adding slowly to the towers – until a large black boot sent the dice scattering across the floor.
"Hello Mello." Near glared up at the older boy. "What do you want?"
"Come with me." Mello grabbed Near's shoulder and dragged him out of the room. "Have you heard?"
"What?"
"Some kid called Freddy is taking bets on which of us wins."
"I hadn't heard." Near said, removing Mello's fingers from his shoulder. "Why does this upset you?"
"It doesn't." Mello snapped, grabbing the sleeve of Near's pyjama top and pulling him into a cupboard under the stairs, which smelt faintly of chocolate and cigarettes. Mello closed the door, shutting out all light. "I have a plan."
"A plan?" Near whispered, slightly uncomfortable about being alone in the dark with Mello; they'd not been this close for weeks.
"I need you to help me win."
"No thank you." Near said. "Although it's decent of you to admit you need help."
"I don't need help. I'm talking about us getting rich together."
"I thought you didn't want to do anything together with me."
"This has nothing to do with… that." Mello sighed, and Near heard the lock on the door click.
"Mello." he said. "Let me out."
"Calm down." Mello laughed softly. "I just don't want anyone to know."
"Know what?" Near gulped.
"We're going to fix it."
"Fix it? The competition? Why?"
"Because Matt's going to put everything we've got on me to win, and then when I do, we'll be rich." Near sighed, he should have known Matt was involved. Matt was always involved.
"Why you?"
"It's my plan."
"I don't like it." Near reached for the lock on the cupboard door.
"Don't be stupid. You could buy loads more dice."
"Or I could win the competition." Near's hand found Mello's around the key. "The bet goes on me to win or you can count me out. You owe me that at least."
"It has to be me."
"Why?" Near tried to twist Mello's fingers away from the lock, the familiar contours of his hand bringing back memories.
"Because…" Mello said. "It just has to be."
"Why?" Near asked, giving up. The older boy was too strong, and he knew he couldn't hold Mello's hand any longer without getting upset. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing."
"You're lying. You blink a lot when you lie."
"You can't even see if I'm blinking or not."
"I don't need to. You're lying."
"Just tell him." Matt's voice whispered.
Near jumped. "Matt? You're in here too?"
"Yes." A flame appeared in the space beside Near as Matt clicked his lighter.
"Shut up." Mello snapped, "and put that out."
"What should he tell me Matt?" Near asked.
"Well it's the- OUCH." Matt yelled. "That hurt."
"Good." Mello said, finally taking his hand away from the lock.
"I'm going." Near said, opening the cupboard door and looking up into Roger's bemused face.
"What are you three doing in there?"
"Mello dragged me in." Near said.
"Mello?"
"We were just talking."
"Near, you may go. Mello, Matt, come with me." Roger sighed. "We've talked about the smoking before."
Near walked back to his room. Now even more determined to beat Mello in the upcoming competition, whatever it was. Just as he reached his bedroom door Mello caught up with him and grabbed hold of his pyjamas once again.
"Alright." Mello panted. "It's the odds." He took a deep breath. "You're the favourite. But… Freddy's offering fifteen to one on me." Mello scowled. "I was all up for beating him to a pulp at first, but then I realised we could make him pay out - and then beat him to a pulp."
"So you want me to help you win." Near said.
"It's not like I need your help." Mello shrugged, letting go of Near's shirt and leaning against the doorframe. "I just need you to stay out of the way so I can win."
"I'll think about it." Near said. "Goodnight." He backed into his room and shut the door in Mello's face. Then he collapsed onto his bed, hugged a broken and sellotape covered robot to his chest and tried not to cry.
By the time Matt reached the room he and Mello shared, Mello was surrounded by chocolate wrappers and in a very bad mood. He'd been thinking about Near - again. He'd been replaying the way Near's delicate hands had touched his in the cupboard. He'd been thinking about the way they'd touched in the past. Sometimes - more often than he'd ever confess - Mello wished he'd not acted the way he had. He'd been too rash that day. He'd said things he shouldn't have.
"What's the problem?" Matt asked, fishing a lighter out from under his mattress to replace the one Roger had confiscated.
"He won't do it."
"He will." Matt opened their bedroom window and leant outside to light up. "Trust me."
"Why?"
"He just will." Matt said. "You got any idea what it'll be yet?"
"No." Mello sighed. "The younger kids are going on about racing a shark to a desert island."
"I heard Yasmin talking about a treasure hunt. Do you reckon that's it?"
"Well, It's not completely stupid, but then, this is Yasmin we're talking about."
"What's wrong with Yasmin?"
"Matt, she came 37th in last year's exams."
"So?"
"She's too dumb for you."
"37th out of a house full of geniuses isn't dumb."
"It's worse than third." Mello said. "Anyway, you can't have a girlfriend."
"Why not?"
"She'd annoy me. I need you focused on the plan."
"Fine. So what is the plan?"
"I don't know yet."
"Great." Matt put his cigarette butt out on the window ledge and flicked it at one of the shiny black limousines in the car park below.
It was three days later, at dinnertime, when Near finally came to a decision. Mello had been watching him even more than usual since the meeting in the cupboard. He liked watching Near. He liked the way he got so engrossed in his puzzles, the way he scratched his left ankle with his right foot when he was unsure of something and the way those pyjamas creased, hinting at the lines of Near's slim figure, but most of all, he liked the way Near's face lit up when he solved a problem or reached a decision.
It was this expression Near wore as he approached the table Mello was sharing with Matt on Tuesday evening.
"Mello, Matt," He said. "I've decided I will go along with your scheme."
"Great." Mello grinned.
Near smiled. He couldn't help it; he'd made Mello happy. Mello's smile was worth coming second for once.
"Why don't you sit down?" Matt suggested.
Near frowned at him.
"Go on, eat with us."
"No thank you." Near said. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"you two need to talk. Especially if you're going to do this together."
"We're not doing anything together!" Mello hissed. "He's just got to not win."
"Good luck then." Near said, turning and walking away as quickly as he could without making it obvious that he needed to escape. He wasn't hungry anymore. He cleared away his tray of food and wandered off towards the quieter end of the orphanage.
The rooms here were empty, except for the cats that lived at Wammy's. Near liked coming here to think. It was peaceful in a way his room could never be. He'd never brought Mello here, so nothing here could remind him of anything. The floor was dusty, so he walked barefoot down the corridors, his socks folded neatly in his hand.
"Hello Midnight." He said as a pure white cat appeared by his side. He liked Midnight – not that he had favourites – all the Wammy's cats were lovely – but he'd always been fond of white. And Midnight wasn't the sort of cat to climb on his lap or demand to be stroked or played with. Midnight was like him, content simply to sit and observe and listen. Midnight never did anything rash, never acted without thinking, and certainly never said stupid things in the heat of the moment –Things which, once said, could never be unsaid.
Near wiped his eyes on his sleeve and went to sit down on one of the old sofas, hidden under a dust sheet which had once been white. He still didn't know why this part of the building was unused. For a long time, he'd believed it was haunted, but that was ridiculous. It was simply empty.
Mello slammed his bedroom door behind him. He'd searched everywhere. Near was missing. He'd just vanished.
"Why does it bother you?" Matt asked as he followed Mello across the corridor. "You're the one who ended it."
"It was his fault." Mello said. "How was I supposed to know what he was thinking?"
"You could have asked him."
"Just stay out of it." Mello snapped, "I want to know what's wrong with him."
"Fine. But I still say the two of you should talk."
Mello ignored him and wriggled a hairclip into the keyhole on Near's bedroom door. Seconds later he was closing Near's door behind him. The room, as he'd suspected, was empty. Well, not empty. It was full of toys and puppets and dice and puzzle pieces, but Near wasn't there. Mello walked over to the dice castle by the window and was a little saddened to see that the figurine representing himself now sat on top of one of the towers, whereas Near still stood beside L in the throne room. He picked his figurine up and set it down on L's left.
Then he noticed a Lego man with red hair and a stripy top in the moat, being eaten by a Lego crocodile. Mello had never understood why Near had such a problem with Matt. He rescued him from the crocodile and put him next to the miniature Mello in the throne room.
Mello turned away from the castle and sat down on Near's bed. There was a battered robot sitting on the pillow. Mello picked it up and traced the sellotaped cracks in its plastic body. He still felt bad for standing on it. He hadn't known it was Near's favourite at the time though - and it had been an accident. Mello lay down and pressed his face into Near's pillow, inhaling the familiar smell of gentle fabric softener and lavender shampoo.
Near had found Mello sneaking around his room in the past, but that had been before… and Mello had been angry with him. He wasn't at all sure what to make of Mello lying face down on his bed.
"What are you doing?"
"Near?"
"Who did you expect?"
"I was looking for you."
"Why?"
"I wanted to say sorry… I didn't mean I didn't want your help with the competition."
"Oh." Near said. "Okay."
"Do you know what it is?"
"No. Nobody knows." Near said. "Can you please take your boots off of my duvet."
"Oh, sorry." Mello got up, blushing slightly. "I guess I'll go now."
"Goodbye."
Near watched Mello leave, before closing the door and sitting down on his bed. He put his robot back on top of his pillow and set about investigating anything else Mello had moved.
They didn't speak again until the day of the beach trip. Near wasn't even sure he wanted to go anymore. He didn't like going outside when outside only meant the Wammy's gardens. The beach would be a thousand times worse. He'd only been looking forward to it for the mystery competition. And now he couldn't even win that. But L would be there. He would go for L.
He was the first person on the coach, and he took the seat behind the driver, partly because he found driving interesting and partly because this ensured he would be as far from Mello as possible. Mello was last on the bus, and as Near had expected he forced a few younger students to move so that he and Matt had the entire back row to themselves.
Near spent the journey counting the different types and colours of car that passed them. By the time they reached the beach, three and a half hours later, Near had established 173 catagories of vehicle, including 'Emergency Services', 'Illegal Number Plate', 'Speeding' and 'Broken Down'. The last of which, had for forty-seven and a half minutes, included the coach he was traveling on.
L was waiting for them by the beach with Watari and an ice-cream van. Near selected a plain vanilla cornet and stood with the other students, waiting for L to announce the competition.
"I have been circulating rumours amongst you for the last week." L announced. "And Roger told me this morning that you've been adding some of your own." L licked his ice-cream and smiled. "But, the real competition is… a treasure hunt."
Near sighed. He loved treasure hunts.
"Each of you will receive a folder." Watari indicated a stack of coloured folders on a table by the van. "This folder contains all the rules and your first clue. You may participate alone or in a group, but if you take part as a group you will have to share the prize."
Near picked up his folder and was not at all surprised to find that the page headed 'Rules' said, 'This page has been intentionally left blank.' L had always liked to let them use whichever methods seemed appropriate, without worrying about rules. He turned to look at the first clue.
Here is how to Start,
Find the blue rock. Underneath
Clue two lies hidden.
Near frowned. That seemed a little simple, but then, the clues probably got harder as they went on. He watched the other children run off in search of the blue rock. He tried not to look at Mello and Matt wandering off down to the beach together, but suddenly he wasn't in the mood for a treasure hunt anyway. He wanted to get inside, out of the sun.
He ended up in an arcade, watching people playing on the machines and failing to win anything. Once he'd figured out the exact timings required, he went over to a machine and began feeding coins into it. The machine paid out after a few minutes of work. Near bent down to scoop up his winnings, and as he stood up, someone grabbed his shoulder and placed a hand over his mouth.
"Stay quiet." A girl's voice whispered.
Mello walked along the beach with Matt. He was looking to his left and Matt was looking to the right, but so far neither of them had found a blue rock.
"Um, Mello?" A small boy Mello had never noticed before approached them.
"What?"
"Some of the groups have already found the second clue."
"Where?" Mello demanded.
"I don't know…" The boy said. "But the clue is: At the end of the pier, there is a broken telescope, clue three is inside it."
"Thanks." Mello smiled as the boy ran back to his friends.
"Why'd he tell you?"
"The usual reason." Mello shrugged. "I'm awesome."
"Sure."
"Well, maybe he's bet on me to win."
"That's possible." Matt said. "Guess we go check the pier now?"
"Yes." Mello peeled off his jacket. "Hold this for me. I'm boiling."
Matt took the jacket Mello thrust at him and followed the blonde towards the pier.
There was no broken telescope. There was no telescope at all. Instead, another small boy was waiting, trying to hide behind a bin. And as soon as Mello and Matt reached the edge of the pier, the boy tried to creep away.
"Oi." Mello called, running after him and grabbing the boy by his collar. "What's going on?"
"Don't hurt me." The boy squeaked.
"Mello, put him down." Matt said, "What's wrong with you?"
"That other one was lying to us." Mello said, "What's going on?" he asked the boy again.
"I didn't want to be involved."
"I don't care. Tell me." Mello demanded.
"They don't want you or Near winning."
"So?"
"They made up the clue about the pier."
"I'd guessed that much."
"They thought you'd keep looking for the broken telescope. I was meant to tell them when you got here."
"What else?"
"I don't know."
"Don't lie."
"Something about stopping Near."
"How?" Mello's grip on the boy's shirt tightened.
"I don't know." The boy whimpered.
Mello let the boy fall to the ground and turned to stomp back to the beach.
"So what now?"
"I'm finding Near."
"Why? We don't want him to win, remember."
"I need to find him."
"You're going to let the others win?"
"I don't care."
"I do!" Matt grabbed Mello's arm. "All my money went on that bet."
"You know gambling's a risk."
"Come on. We're already behind."
Mello shrugged. "I saw him heading for the arcade earlier."
"Fine." Matt threw Mello's jacket at his feet. "I'm getting that prize then. I can't believe you're just throwing away all my cigarette money."
Mello snatched his jacket up, slung it over his shoulder and continued stomping towards the arcade.
Near didn't know where he was. He'd been blindfolded with someone's t-shirt and tied to something. He tried to ignore the stench of the t-shirt and focus on what was around him. He could hear the sea. His socks had got wet when they'd led him here and the air and ground beneath him were cold. He didn't know if he was being watched or not. He couldn't hear signs of life, no breathing or movement.
He knew exactly who was responsible for this. He recognised the voice now. This was Jenn's doing. She'd always been envious of the top spot, despite the fact that she unfailingly came somewhere between 39th and 57th in the exams. This was exactly her style.
Once he was fairly sure he was not being watched, Near decided to risk an escape attempt. He wasn't really sure what would happen if he didn't show up when they were meant to get back on the coach. He hoped L would care enough to find him. And surely Wammy's had invested enough in him to warrant a search party – or would they just cut their losses and give Mello the top spot?
He wriggled his hands, trying to loosen the rope keeping them behind him. It didn't work. He tried moving his head around to shake off the blindfold, but that didn't work either. After a while, he stopped trying and decided to think instead.
Near wasn't in the arcade, but Mello followed a trail of coins down to the beach, until he found another small boy looking suspicious by the sea. The boy kept glancing towards the cliffs behind him.
"What are you doing?" Mello asked, wearing his most intimidating expression.
"I'm just, um…" The boy glanced back at the cliff again. "They made me stand guard."
"What did they do?" Mello pulled his swiss army knife out of his pocket.
"He's in a cave back there." The boy whispered, his eyes wide and terrified.
Mello left him cowering and moved quietly towards the cliffs. He passed a group of Wammy's girls sunbathing on the rocks and after a while he came to a small opening in the cliff face. He pulled one of Matt's lighters from his pocket and peered inside. If Near was stuck in here, someone was going to pay. At high tide this cave would be full of water.
He found Near tied to a large piece of rock sticking up from the cave floor, with a t-shirt tied around his face.
"Mello?" Near whispered.
"How did you know?"
"Boots."
"I was being quiet."
Near snorted. Mello pulled the t-shirt from his face and smoothed down his hair, his fingers lingering over the curls around Near's face. Then he turned his attention to the string binding Near's hands and feet.
"Thanks." Near whispered. "I was starting to think…"
"Shh." Mello cautioned. "Let's get going. I think the tide will be in soon."
"Are we that close to the sea?"
"I think so - and I'd prefer not to find out for certain." Mello led Near out of the cave and the two of them emerged into the sunlight holding hands.
"You rescued me." Near hugged the older boy. "You came to find me."
"Of course I did." Mello hugged him back. "I had to."
"How did you know?"
"Some kid tried to send me on a wild telescope chase." Mello said. "Matt's pissed though – about the bet."
"Oh." Near sighed. "I guess you'll lose all your money."
Mello shrugged. "I'd rather lose that than…"
"Than what?"
"Than have you drowned."
"Thanks." Near whispered as they approached the sunbathing girls. He recognised the fat one quickly enough. "It's her." He told Mello. "I'm sure this was Jenn's idea."
"Really? Jenn?"
"Yeah. That t-shirt stank of chips."
"Eww." Mello laughed. "Well, shall we deal with her now or wait till we're back home?"
"Let's just get away from here." Near said, "We can tell L what happened."
"Really?" Mello sighed, "You don't want to kill her?"
"I couldn't kill people Mello."
"Well, maybe just maim her?"
"I couldn't do that either."
"I could."
"I don't doubt that. But… I want to check something."
"What?"
"I think we, well, you, can still win."
"How? We only have the first clue. The others will be way ahead by now."
"Didn't you think it was a bit too straight forward?"
"Find the blue rock?" Mello said, "Yeah, I guess. Although we did search the beach and there wasn't one."
"The beach?" Near laughed. "I'm not surprised… but look at the first clue again. I think it's the only one you need."
"How?" Mello pulled the crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and frowned at it.
Here is how to Start.
Find the blue rock. Underneath
Clue two lies Hidden.
"Think like L." Near said.
Mello looked again and smiled. "Oh."
"You agree?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
They weren't the only ones heading towards the ice cream van where Watari had given them the first clue. Further down the beach, Matt was running hand in hand with Yasmin, who was talking excitedly and waving a scrap of paper in the air.
Mello broke into a run, dragging Near behind him.
"You go." Near panted after a few metres. "You're the one who has to win."
Mello squeazed his hand and then let go and sped up. Near slowed to a walk and watched Mello reach the van first and crouch by the table the files had been piled on. Moments later he stood up and punched the air in triumph, something too small to make out in his hand.
Near followed a disappointed Yasmin and a relieved looking Matt to the ice-cream van, still holding hands. He was suddenly in rather a good mood.
Mello smiled and ran to hug him as he got closer.
"We did it!" Mello said. "You're brilliant."
Near grinned and hugged him back. "So, what was the treasure."
"I haven't opened the box." Mello said, stepping back and showing Near the small wooden case.
"Go on then."
Mello eased the lid off and laughed.
"What is it?" Someone from the newly formed crowd of kids called out.
Mello held up a single strawberry.
Near smiled; all this worry and excitement had been over a strawberry.
"Well," L said, appearing in the window of the van. "What did you expect?"
That evening, back at Wammy's, Near was sitting on his bed, trying not to fiddle with the cuts from the string on his wrists and ankles. He heard his door unlock and looked up to see Mello opening the door, a hairclip in one hand and the box he'd won in the other.
"How was the strawberry?"
"I don't know." Mello said, sitting down beside Near and opening the box. "I wanted you to have it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah." Mello smiled.
Near reached out to take the strawberry, but Mello pulled the box away.
"Close your eyes."
Near smiled and did as he was told.
"Open your mouth."
Near did, he wasn't entirely certain what to expect. He knew what he was hoping for, but perhaps Mello really was going to feed him the strawberry.
Then, for the first time in way too long, he felt Mello's lips against his.
"I'm sorry." Mello whispered as they broke apart. "Before… I shouldn't have-"
"Don't. It doesn't matter." Near pulled Mello close and kissed him again.
The strawberry, now completely forgotten, toppled off of Near's bed and came to rest in the open mouth of the Lego crocodile.
This is my entry for The-Successors's Summer Contest.
Please review. I'd love to know what you think of it...