16 Lavender

Lavender- Distrust

Edoka high

March 7th

Isabelle's pov

I walked into the classroom hardly knowing what to expect, I was a bit later than usual. From outside the room I could hear a loud commotion, people shouting over one another desperate to be heard.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Kaito's mocking voice greeted as I walked into the room.

'Ah he must've been gossiping about the conversation in the library'

"Talking behind people's backs, ey," I sighed,"You never cease to disappoint me, I haven't even known you for that long either."

"Oh come on now you can have your idiot detective all to yourself, there won't be any competition," He teased.

"You say that as if there was any 'competition' to begin with,"I said, pissing off the other girls in the room, I could hear them growl and mutter curses under their breath.

"That was a bold move," Kaito said,"I'd thought you'd just deny everything, getting everyone further on your bad side."

"Wouldn't it be me getting further on their bad side? And besides I never agreed to anything you said, now did I," I said cleverly.

"True,"He said, nodding his head," I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking, he couldn't love you, you're not even pretty."

The other girls snickered in agreement.

"You're just another freak, you don't belong here," He said.

Aoko grabbed his shoulder,"Kaito," She scolded,"That's not true."

"It's alright Aoko," I said sighing," He's right I'm not pretty, I'm a freak. But you know what, I don't care. I stopped caring about what other people said about me a long time ago. Hahah, even my father thinks I'm an ugly duckling. I'm sure you know how that story ends, the duckling that never fit in, the one all the others ridiculed, became a beautiful swan. Outside appearance is only temporary, eventually it will fade, true beauty is found by looking within another. True beauty is determined by what you say and how you act. When you say that, it only tells me your outside appearance doesn't reflect who you really are," I said, brushing a 'chip' off my shoulder and sat down.

They all looked at me blankly, except for Aoko who was smiling at me.

"Aoko, you have a kind heart, the world needs more people like you. I think we'll get along well," I said," As for many of you, you may learn it's best to keep your mouth shut."

"But I am right," Kaito persisted, grinning like a madman.

"What makes you say that Kuroba-kun, you say that as if you know him well. Now how well do you know him, how many conversations have you had with him, what do you know about him, what was his life like before he came here?" I said, devoid of aggression," If you can't give a reasonable answer to those, I don't see why I should listen to you."

Kaito furrowed his brow and growled, muttering.

"Speak up, young man. If you have anything to say, say it to my face, otherwise keep it to yourself."

"What are you gonna do, Mum, show up at my house and give me scolding," Kaito teased,"Oh wait you don't know where I live."

"What do you mean, you live in the southern suburban area of the Edoka district, about a three minute walk from here," I said.

"Somebody told you," He stammered.

"No I simply observed," I replied,"I can tell you live just south of here. For example your clothes are damp on your left side, it rained this morning the wind coming from the west, since your left side is more damp then your right this means you were walking north. I can tell you live in the suburban area by the small bits of grass and soil on the hem of your trousers. As for how I know you live a walking distance, haha, well if you communed to school then you wouldn't be as wet," I explained from my seat.

"One could mistake you for a detective,"Aoko exclaimed.

"Haha, well I am one of sorts."

Everyone fell silent, just staring at me.

"If Saguru is the modern Sherlock, then I suppose that makes me Irene Adler."

Hakuba residence

3:45

Isabelle's pov

The rain fell as I walked up to the front gate. It opened with a creek, I stepped in closing the gate behind me. I could see the buds growing on the trees just waiting to burst free.

The wind whipped through my hair and caused my damp skirt to slap harshly against my legs. Thunder roared through the sky only seconds after a bright flash. The Queen Anne stood proudly, it gave an eerie shadow in the storm. I ran to the front porch, to the shelter of the awning above.

I was soaked down to the bone,"Well I'm already here," I told myself as I knocked on the door.1...2...3...4...5... The door opened,"Good heavens child, you'll catch a cold waiting like that. Come in, come in, come in," Mrs Hudson, the housekeeper, said, pulling me inside,"What brings you here?" She asked,"Oh never mind it doesn't matter. Here come with me dear, I'll get you a towel and a dry pair of clothes."

She led me up stairs. The sound of a violin echoed throughout the house, Erlkönig. That was Saguru enjoying the chilling atmosphere of the rain. He was one who loved a spine-chilling tale. However he despised horror movies because jump scares are a "low quality horror" he preferred a story where the setting, the dialogue, and the descriptions are unsettling, where something is merely implied leaving your imagination to roam, that's what's truly terrifying.

"The guest bedroom is at the end of the hall to your left," Mrs. Hudson said, handing me a bundle of clothes,"I'll go down stairs and tell the young master you're here. Ah, and if you'd like I'll put the kettle on."

"Yes, that's very kind of you Ma'am, thank you," I said with a bow.

I set my book bag down by the door, and got changed, using the towel to dry my wet mop of hair to the best of my ability. I tied it back using a hair elastic. The clothes Mrs. Hudson had given me fit quite well, she'd given me a red cashmere turtleneck and black slacks.

I shuffled down the stairs bag in hand. I followed the sound of the violin into the ballroom. Saguru sat on the piano bench, facing the window. He gently played his violin with his eyes shut as if it were nothing. He had finished the previous song a while back and was now playing The Last Rose of Summer. I stood by the door pondering whether or not I should enter.

"It's alright you can come in,"Saguru said, in a hushed tone as he set the violin down.

I walked over to where he was and sat next to him,"So how do you feel?" I asked, softly rubbing his knee.

He sighed,"Well, In general I feel alright, as long as the noise and lights are kept down."

I nodded. He placed his hand on mine. 'I want to tell him about what they said, but, i-it would only upset him, I don't want to make him worry.'

"Is everything okay?" he asked as if he could read my thoughts.

I sat up rigid.

"Kaito was just being a jerk, that's all," I said, shifting my gaze to the floor.

"Whatever he said, I'm sure it's not true," Saguru allayed.

"I don't really care what he thinks, that's only one opinion, but..."

"It wasn't just Kaito was it," He said soberly.

I nodded and explained what happened.