Rewinding the time a bit, Kel had just finished a round of basketball with his friends. Of course, he lost.
"Dang it! If only I was taller!" cried Kel as he laid down on the basketball court.
"Hey, but you were pretty cool back there, zipping here and there. Who knows, maybe you'll become the best shortest basketball player in the world!" said Filbert, hitting a nail on Kel's head.
"Please. No. Anything would be so much better than being short!" It was Kel's dream to be the tallest man in the world, to be so tall he wouldn't have to jump to dunk on the hoops. Well, maybe shorter than the hoops. Dunking on hoops has its own groove.
Kel's hair was then messed up by one of the boys. It was Kent. With a military cut, purple and black sleeveless t-shirt and white shorts, Kent was the captain of Faraway Middle High's basketball team and was probably the tallest person with the height of 185 cm in Faraway Middle High.
"As tall as you get, you'll never get as tall as me!" Ken said with a smirk.
"Oooohohoho. One day, Ken. One day. Bet I'll grow up to 2 meters! I'm on puber-something-thing time! If I drink enough milk- urk… my stomach just hurts thinking about it…- and play with you guys enough, I will be 2 meters tall!"
"I like your spirit, Kel! I'll check up on you once I'm in college! Though, I'm very sure you won't sprout that high!" Ken said, now with a big smile. Kent would soon enter college, and Filbert would become a third year.
"Watch me," said Kel with a determined look, which changed into a big smile. Kent responded back with a big smile, too, as they brofisted.
The three of them and the other boys were chilling by the tree shade next to the basketball court. The pleasant morning had turned into a scorching noon. It was silent, until Kent broke it with the biggest bomb Kel had ever heard.
"Oh yeah. You were asking for information regarding Sunny, right?"
"Yeah?"
"He likes violins, yeah?"
"Yeah…?" He wasn't really sure considering he threw his violin back then.
"Well, I heard something interesting from my girlfriend."
Kent's girlfriend was named Nia. She was part of the music club and plays the xylophone. Like Mari, she was also striving for a professional career as a musician and worked hard for it. Due to that, from time to time Nia would go to competitions and watch and learn from her rivals. Well, except she couldn't see every competition that was held due to her agenda. This was one of them.
"So, Nia heard from her friend about this amazing violinist that showed up from nowhere."
Kel paid attention.
"It was a music competition in Somewhere. All instruments were allowed to enter."
"Uh-huh."
"So, most of the contestants were mediocre at best except a few. But this violinist… He was a prodigy."
Kel had heard Sunny play before. He doesn't know anything about music, but he knew enough that Sunny was a great player and was growing fast for someone who just picked up the violin and played it for three months. So, if Sunny kept growing, then being named a prodigy would make sense.
Kel nodded, signaling Kent to continue.
"Now get this… Nia's friend was sure of it, but he was the same age as you."
Kel's eyes shone.
"...But he had silver hair. That doesn't matter, though."
Kel drooped his head in disappointment.
"Sunny has black hair, doofus! You made me excited for nothing!" Kel grabbed Kent by the collar and shook him.
"No… You idiot… think, think!" Kent pointed both of his fingers on his head whilst experiencing different amounts of Gs on his head being shook by Kel.
"What's there to think!?"
"Wait… stop, stop, stop! Ugh…"
Kel stopped shaking him, with him going to the side nearly puking.
"S-sorry…"
"Urk… Anyway… Kel, remember that time you told me Mari and Aubrey were going to get their hair dyed?"
"Yeah, and?"
Kent gestured and signaled with his face and hands, trying to get Kel get what he was implying.
…
Hmm… Oh? Oooooohhhh!
A lightbulb lit up and exploded on top of Kel, possibly frying his brain cells.
"Gosh, thanks Kent!" Kel stood up and ran to Mari's house.
"I owe you an Orange Jooooeee!"
"Sure but anything other than an Orange Jooooeee!" Kent replied as Kel exited the park.
…
Kel was running as if his life depended on it, but just as he got out of the park and turned right, he saw Aubrey and the gang in the distance on the bus shelter.
"HEY!"
…
Silence.
The group had got on the next bus and were going towards the city of Nowhere. They were seated in the middle part of the bus. The bus wasn't empty though, with a girl on a raincoat at the back looking out the window. It seemed like she was in a music video about trains and lagging. The bus seats were arranged into a 2-2 placement, with a gap splitting the four seats.
Kim and Vance were sitting on a left row of seats and Mikhael and Angel on the right part. Charlene and Aubrey were sitting together in front of Kim and Vance, with the right part of the row filled with Basil and Kel with Basil next to the gap. Next to Basil, after the gap, is Aubrey.
At first, the Hooligans were loud and rowdy, talking with each other. But soon after that, they quieted down. The silence, however, is tinted with tension. Of course, the source of said tension is a cute blue bowed girl and the local Orange Joe addict.
Kel was looking away, out of the window. The bus was going through a pine tree forest. The scenery was very calming. However, it did not give Kel a peace of mind. Kel was still ridden with guilt about his choice during that night. Aubrey's glare at him wasn't helping either. Basil was confused on what to do to make the tension go away.
So, Basil started with a question.
"So… Aubrey!"
"... Yeah?" Aubrey's eyes were still locked on towards Kel who was looking away.
"I… noticed this just now, during the hug. You were using a different shampoo, yes? Um… lavender?"
Basil's love for gardening and flowers allowed him to develop a sharp sense of smell. Even if the scent was faint, Basil could still catch it AND recognize it.
"Oh… that? Well… I stayed at Kim's yesterday." Aubrey finally broke her glare.
After Gino's, Kim offered Aubrey to have a sleepover at her house. After all, Kim knew of Aubrey's family situation. Kim's parents called Aubrey's parents about this, but nobody seemed to pick up the phone. This left Kim's parents worried for Aubrey, even though Kim hasn't told them about her situation, yet.
"Ah…" Now that I think of it, Kim also smelled of lavender…
Remembering what happened to him with Kim, he blushed and put his hands on his cheeks. She was so close…
Aubrey glared at Kel again, and finally broke the silence between them.
"Kel."
"Y-y-yeah?" Kel looked back, he looked agitated.
"Why did you decide to find Sunny, now?"
"..."
"Answer me!"
"... i …"
"I can't hear you, Kel!"
"I-I've been finding him ever since he left." Kel looked guilty, as he stared at the back of the seat in front of him.
"Wait… what do you mean?"
"Those sports hangouts… making friends with the other sports kids… I've been asking people if they've seen Sunny. Or, if their friends had seen him. Or their friends of their friends…"
"... H-huh?"
Upon realizing that she judged him wrongly, she looked away in guilt.
"I… I didn't know. I-I'm sorry for judging you like that."
Basil then hopped into the conversation.
"Kel… Why didn't you tell us, then…?"
"..."
Should I tell them?
The untold choice he made had weighed him for a full year. Only by avoiding them, playing and meeting with new friends, did it give him a temporary respite of mind. But… no matter what, the weight was still there, still tiring him mentally little by little. And so, Kel decided to put down said weight. If he was hated by the both of them, it was okay. He deserved it.
"I… I have to tell you something."
…
After Kel explained his reasoning and his choice back then, Aubrey stood up, falling down because the bus hit a bump, and stood up again to approach Kel and slap him.
"You… you idjot! "
Idjot…? The entire Hooligans thought. Basil was still shocked by Aubrey's actions.
"Yeah, I'm an idiot for trusting my big brother, I get it-"
"Yes, you are! But following that logic, I'm an idiot too, then!"
"Huh?"
"You know, for some stupid reason, I also half-believed Hero! But you know what? That's fair! Because Hero's your big brother. Our big brother!"
What Aubrey said is true. In their group, it was more like a family of siblings. Mari and Hero were their older siblings. Meanwhile, Sunny is the baby of the group.
"But I didn't call you an idiot for that, I called you an idiot for leaving us! For… leaving me."
Kel raised his brows in surprise.
"I… I was so lonely when you left me."
Kel just stayed silent and looked away with guilt.
"If it was so hard on you, you could've told us! Sure, I'll be angry for a bit, but I know we'll be friends again after that!" Aubrey's eyes had tears.
Hearing the last part, Kel looked up towards Aubrey.
"Isn't that what we do every time!?"
It's… true. Every time we fought with each other… We always make up after that. And, if it's too much… We have our big brother and sister to help us make up with each other.
Kel smiled in relief. The burden on his shoulders finally went away.
"Yeah… that's what we do every time."
"So don't leave me and us for some stupid reason like that again! Idjot! "
She did it again… The rest thought.
The bus hit a bump again, making Aubrey lose balance.
"Wah!"
"A-ah!? " Basil cried.
Aubrey fell forward onto Basil and Kel's lap.
"Ouch… But you know, Kel? I'm not angry at you, too, after hearing that. Well, maybe I'll be a whole lot angrier than Aubrey did if I heard of it back then, but… the truth is, the fault lies in all three of us. None of us gave Sunny a chance to defend himself…" Basil added.
All of them knew that Sunny had a hard time speaking, and one way for Sunny to speak is to prompt him to say something. But… nobody ever gave him a chance. It was a mistake all the three of them made.
"And you know what? I was there when it happened, and I didn't defend Sunny. The fault lies heavier with me." Basil looked at the back of the seat in front of him, with a sad smile. Oh, if only I was brave enough to speak up that time.
The three of them went silent.
"Well, that's all in the past! Now, with the three of us and the Hooligans, let's find Sunny and bring him back home!" Basil concluded.
"... Right!"
"... Hey… help me get up will you?" Aubrey was still laying on their laps, struggling to get up.
"Hm… I will, but… group hug!"
"Hey, w-wait!"
Kel gave his biggest hug and biggest smile to the two of them, which turned into a smile of relief.
Thank you, you two.
"Kel… You're suffocating me…" Basil choked.
"Mmmph mmph! (Stop hugging me! Ugh, you smell like sweat!)" Aubrey's face was buried between Basil, Kel's arms, and Kel's t-shirt.
"Mm! Yes! The power of friendship always prevails! It's-It's too beautiful!" said Mikhael who was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Dang, that's such a good scene. I mean, this isn't my type of movie, but hey, it's still good."
"I agree." Kim and Vance were watching the three of them from the top of the seats in front of them, while eating imaginary popcorn and wearing imaginary 3D glasses.
Charlene looked at them angrily and bonked the both of them in the proper way of the Doge.
The bus drove away, as the party of friends faced the fancy city of Somewhere.
"Sunny could be there somewhere , right?" Basil said, pun intended.
The rest of them glared at him with the pure urge of destroying him, except Kel, as the pun flew over his last two brain cells.
"Yeah… I sure hope he's there." Kel added.
"Well, let's go and start searching!" Aubrey chimed in.
"Alright! Everyone! Operation "Finding Sunny", commence!" Kim shouted.
"""Roger, Boss!"""