๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ.
"๐๐จ๐ฎ'๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐'๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค," ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ ๐จ๐ง๐๐.
๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ. ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ.
ใWarning; Blood, violent acts, cursing, description of ending someone's life, maybe some gore, a murder caseใ
๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐
The young man inside the newsstand eyed Mila Lamia, who was approaching him. He had recognized this distinctive gait from afar, as he did every evening: cautious and calm steps that were almost demure, even appealing to him.
That evening, as always, she would pass close enough to show the young man the color of her eyes and make him feel her perfume...
For a moment, he had the impression that she was looking right at him, even if it was an illusion.
A few seconds later, the girl had already passed the journalist, and the young man was left to watch as she inserted the key into the large door of the building where she lived.
The young man could not have known that other eyes were watching Mila. And that this was the last time he saw her alive...
Their hands stood trembling for a long time as if suspended in the air.
In the mirror, they could see their face damp with water and the reflection of their hands waving at their sides. They don't remember how often they washed their face, for it had become such a repetitive rhythm, even they struggled to see the pain they inflicted upon themselves.
They looked into their fiery eyes; there wasn't much time left, after all. Did they have to feel a different excitement or energy that would wake them? Or should they be feeling a little scared? A fear carefully concealed amid this excitement but resembling a violent fist blow.
There was nothing; however, they didn't feel any of it.
They found themself constantly rechecking their plan. It had become a pattern, a constant repetition within them, like a ritual that had lost its potential meaning. They felt it suppressed their emotions, like a veil obscuring reality.
In the first move, the pawn follows the path destiny had intended; in the next, a recurring cycle, a direction easily predicted by a mere instrument; then, it's final, leading directly to its unavoidable fate. A repeating sequence, which had always become oh so predictable as time went on for this particular individual, every one of their pawns had always followed in the same strides as the last. pawn from E2 to E4, a corresponding response as the counter, a solid E7 to E5. White king from D1 to G5, Black queen from E8 to E7, white king from G5 to E5... rookie mistake... Just like a game of chess.
They stopped washing and rinsed their face with a towel, wandering around the house's walls like a shadow; they looked out the window towards the brilliant night sky that stood before them, admiring as the light shun gracefully through the rusted window frames. Finally, they dropped themself into a chair and slowly relaxed in the dark. They slowly removed the watch from their quivering wrist, placing it carefully on the arm of the chair before them. There was very little time left.
First move, second move, third move... Checkmate!
That's what it was all about, what their conquest had always turned out to be, a combination, a set of moves that leave the opponent no alternative to defense and result in a runaway victory, checkmate!
Checkmate... Checkmate... Checkmate...
That was how it would be that night.
Checkmate!
Sonic popped his last bit of chilidog into his maw, chewing more than he could swallow. Yet, that hadn't seemed to phase his vigorous devouring of the savory meat, wanting the delicious tastes of each burning sensation within its delectable spices to stay however long he could maintain the discomforting yet the welcoming feeling of the blistering warm heat that resided from within his meal. The aroma satisfied him alone, easing his nerves, but the taste... now that was a whole new adventure. It was the last chilidog in his fridge left that night, a clear reminder that he shall invest in obtaining more the following evening.
As he whipped the remains of grease along his sides, he grasped for his console remote once more, ready to reboot the paused game he had been playing mere moments before his well-needed snack, but before Sonic could give in to the temptations the blue rays from his screen had produced, his communicator began to buzz uncontrollably, warning him whoever had called him during such an ungodly hour must have wanted to speak with him upon something he hoped to be considered utterly important.
He sighed as he tapped his finger onto the little green button, swiping it over to the right, answering whoever had been calling, not even caring enough to glance at the screen to see who exactly it was contacting him. Uncaring for the conversation that was to happen, Sonic immediately started his game as he listened to the caller, only now realizing who it had been given the sudden grumble from the other end, subconsciously throwing his annoyance aside.
"Sonic, this is Tailsโ"
"Yeah, I know; what's up, little buddy?" Sonic should have instantly known who he had been calling for; if anyone were to call him at such late hours, it could only ever be from his best friend.
The nickname didn't amuse Tails in the slightest, but he was used to being called in such ways since the moment they met; a mistake on his part, for he should have corrected him upon meeting, but it was far too late now to fix his problems. Sonic could tell just by the sound of his little buddy exhaling through his nose wearily by Sonic's choice of words; at first, Sonic honestly thought nothing of this call; in the beginning, he merely figured this was just Tails way of possibly annoying him about another set of questions about stuff he doesn't even understand, but upon hearing the many distant and near arrays of sirens from the receiving end, Sonic couldn't help but to frown. Something serious must have happened if Tails was physically at the crime scene.
Taking slow strides out from his workshop, Tails stared at the photo they took together from the times they first met; Sonic was grinning at the camera with his hand around his neck as he took the picture, while Tails was smiling nervously, showing a peace sign. Glaring at Sonic's ridiculous smile plastered across his screen, he scoffed, finding the image rather irritating at that particular moment, especially with how their current conversation had been going. Was it really twelve years since he first met him? Time moves so fast, doesn't it? Like Einstein said, time is merely an illusion... God, he is exhausted.
Tails didn't even question why Sonic had been awake at this ungodly hour, for Tails had known Sonic's day-to-day schedule by heart, "We have a case..."
Sonic exhaled deeply, knowing that regardless of what he says, he had no doubt he would be unable to escape this situation. Pausing his game, he finally rubbed at the corners of his eyes, trying his best to wake himself up a little more than before, knowing that this would be a rather lengthy conversation. "Straight to the point, I see. Not even going to say 'Hello' to your big bro?"
"First of all, it's 5 am Sonic, and secondly... I was just informed of a murder- Espio called. He asked for my opinion, and now I need yours... You need to see this."
'...Shitโ If Espio called Tails, and Tails specifically, then this must be an important case...'
Tapping along the controller, Sonic merely closed his eyes, giving himself a moment to simply sit there with himself and his thoughts, for he knew that if Tails was telling the truth about Espio being the one to report this crime scene, then there was no possible way for him to ignore this. Anything Espio related was immediately of his concern, and that, unfortunately, was all under his own doing, regrettably. Taking a deep breath, he soon opened his eyes and gained the courage to respond to his friend, unwillingly agreeing to be there for the investigation. "Alright... Alright, fine, I'll be there in a few minโ"
"Good. I'll send you the coordinates. See you there." Listening as the fox had abruptly ended their conversation through the communicator, Sonic merely sat there for a few moments, trying to contain his annoyance with the younger individual for his abrupt rudeness.
Sonic takes a deep breath to suppress the nerves that start to surface. Calm down, Sonic; maybe it was a very stressful dayโ night for him. Like everyone else, he wants to sleep in his warm bed instead of going on a corpse hunt on these cold ass streets of New York.
Sighing to himself, the hedgehog soon stood to his feet, stretching his limbs as he did so, hoping it would help him feel a little more motivated to take on this obnoxious challenge of solving this unsolved murder for that very evening... 'Or I suppose this early morning.'
Popping his joints, he sighed in relief, "Okay, Sonic... let's just go get this whole ordeal over with already..."
Mila Lamia fell to the ground with the force of such a sudden blow.
Though she didn't solely pass out, her mind began to function in a dazed and anxious manner. She struggled to blend in and understand what was transpiring all around her. It appeared as though everything was harmoniously vibrating amid the gong sound of a hammer blow.
Though time kept moving past her familiar borders, she could not fully grasp how much time had passed. Her battle to remain in the waking world made it difficult to gather her thoughts. She had a vague urge to let herself sink into the alluring pull of her frazzled mind's darkest recesses, but her fear of the worst kept growing as the menace of the black abyss continued to loom before her. She made every attempt to get rid of the oppressive presence that triggered her survival instinct, yet it was proving to become rather difficult.
A hot, crimson liquid saturated her pounding skull, disturbing her comfort and beloved appearance.
Oh great! While riding her new bike around the garden, she fell, of course. Now, it would be only natural for her mother to become incensed, with her garments coated in dust and splattered with bloodโpossibly oozing from her elbows and knees. She remembered the fragrance of fresh laundry when her mother pulled the clothing out of the closet, a white frock embroidered with bright small floral designs.
Her mother had come rushing to help her as the girl noticed a shadow moving past her.
But God forbid! It couldn't be her mother, so who was that perplexed shadow before her?
She suddenly realized that it had been approximately six years since her mother's passing.
The truth shocked her as much as the terrible blow she had experienced. She could see them coming at her, with something bright pointing at her.
She wanted to yell and flee.
She was only able to cry,
"Please, please..."
Then came the second blow.
It was entirely different from the first; this time, she was indifferently inconsistent and incoherent. She felt the way the tip of the blade had slid so effortlessly within her chest, right to the very hilt, stretching the same fibers of her being with newfound energy, inevitably tearing through her very flesh; she could feel as every little piece of flesh and muscle would pull in such an infuriatingly unpleasant way.
She hadn't had the time to be surprised at what had happened, for she could hardly feel the pain as her brain began to fight off all of her pain receptors, canceling out any hopes of being able to respond to such an extremity. Soon after, she took another blow, and then another and another... Until her chest had finally torn apart completely.
Her responses were numb, and her brain was uncooperative; the last thing she could remember saying before she took her final few breaths was repeating the words which had no meaning as the deed was finally done.
"Enough... Enough..." The last possible thing she could capture before she died was the heavy scent of her blood as it caked her most prised dress.
They took a deep breath, listening to their heart beating intensely, trying to find the breath they had frantically searched for. They lowered the blade to their side as they admired their handy work. This assassination took only 30 minutes to eliminate, and there they were, seated beside a lifeless body as though it were an average occurrence.
The plan was working smoothly.
One down...
One to go...
; NIGHT ELECTRICITY FAILURE ;
About two-thirds of the city was without electricity for more than two hours due to a malfunction in the complex system of the leading electrical redactors within the main powerhouse of the electrical facility at exactly twenty-two past midnight. The eastern and southern districts remained in darkness, while the rest remained intact. In one swift moment, the televisions across the city were reformed to static; the elevators began to malfunction, and people's power within their homes began to falter just as the traffic lights and signs across the city have now started to fizzle out of existence. What a rather odd inconvenience for the poor misfortunate people within the municipality...
You sighed as you watched the same boring information that continued to display itself on repeat across the screen. You had been watching the news for a few hours now, and nothing new had ever portrayed itself to you. Deciding to turn the television off altogether, you simply slumped within your seat as you threw the remote somewhere beside you, uncaring whether you missed the couch or if it merely fell onto the floor.
You were aware of the recurring news... well, to begin with, your friend had technically been the one to inform you of what had been happening all across town, and they were also the only individual who had ever been capable ever of convincing you even to turn on the damn television, to begin with; you weren't much of a fan for the news channels, or broadcasted channels. Besides, you were living in that same city, so of course, these matters were unfortunately crucial to you as well. As imperative as it was, you knew that the same things could happen to you, which unfortunately means you were responsible for whether or not you were to salvage the remaining food stored within your fridge and freezer.
God, you wish you had the time and care to try to do something other than lounge around before your overly exaggerated shift at the nearby coffee shop.
Although, thankfully you were able to convince a coworker to take it that very evening, meaning you finally had one less thing to worry about that same evening, giving you the time to truly enjoy a well-needed break with a friend you hadn't seen in person in such a long time.
Upon noticing your friend emerge from your kitchen with the cups of tea in her hands, you offered her a welcoming smile as she sat beside you, being sure to avoid placing your glass near the board games, in fear that the moisture of the come will somehow spread onto the cardboard itself.
"Which one should we play now?" She asked uncertainly, being sure to take the seat across from you in the hopes of a better gameplay experience; feeling as though the two of you had reverted to your childish ways once again upon noticing the pile upon your wooden table; you had both loved playing board games ever since you were little and now, every night the two of you would hang out, you would make it a point always to play at least three board games before your friend would live. It has become a habit for you both at this point.
You hummed in thought as you gave the wide selection before you a considerable glance. "What about we play Murder Mystery?"
"Ooo... Interesting choice." Kiera leaned on her knees, Giving you that all-knowing smirk as she asked you her eternal question. "Would the queen of board games wish to tell the crowd why, oh why! The sudden change of board game interests?"
You shrugged with a knowing smirk, grabbing for the game you chose as you side-eyed your best friend, "Oh no reason, I've recently been introduced to it and found the concept rather fun. Besides, we haven't played one of these games for such a long time! And we play these board games all the time; never once have we touched this one. Don't you think a little change of atmosphere would be a nice change of pace?"
Placing the new game neither of you had ever played on top of the coffee table, you quickly brushed off the others, carefully pushing them off to the side and onto the carpet. Once comfortably situated in your seat, you grabbed your cup of tea and took a curt sip.
Glancing at your friend in question, you couldn't help but quark a brow at her absence of interest towards your reasonings. Giving your drink one last taste, you carefully placed it onto the crochet coaster you had made for yourself a while ago, being sure to turn your full attention to your friend in question, wanting nothing more than to figure out why Kiera seemed so out of it. "Sooโโโ... What do you say? You in or not?"
It was silent for a moment... Too quiet even, in truth, it had incredibly conflicted you, for within that brief moment, you had felt rather uncomfortable, but upon noticing your friend and how quickly her neutral face soon switched to that of something far too mischievous, you knew instantly of what Kiera had been doing. She was merely trying to get inside your head, and by God, was it working. "Girl, you are in for a ride. Your friend here always solves mysteries."
Subconsciously rolling your eyes at the display before you, you quickly picked up the glass before you once more and drank half of what was in the glass, being sure to exaggerate how hard you had set it back on the counter in the hopes of being intimidating. Giving your friend a confident smirk, you soon gave your friend a rather silly pose as you refuted a comment of your own. "You're not solving anything, Kiera. You serve politics and other unuseful topics."
She scoffed, "Oh, please. I'm a literal reporter for this city's news; I am the one who sees these murder cases first-hand and must inform the city's people what is going on in grime detail. It's a tiring job but a rewarding one in the long run. My work is fascinating; people find interest in what I do! Do you know how hard a job that is? I must be at the crime scene, forced to endure the grueling things displayed. On television, everything is blurred, but I am not given that privilege. I must state the facts; I have to provide accurate information if I want to be the first to report it. Even then, I have to be there when the detectives arrive and speak with police twenty-four-seven. I hate talking with them because they're so disrespectful. They are the people who will push you away and spit such awful words just to get you to leave the crime scene, but that's my job! I always present first. Not anyone else. Everyone's eyes are on me. Whoever presents first gets the money and the viewer's attention, don't forget that, dear. Money is power, and I want all of it."
God, you hated when she got like this; sure, she deserved a friend who would be willing to sit and listen to her rambling, but then again, once the conversation switches to her depriving herself of what Keira truly believes in and of how it makes her feel, it could be rather exhausting besides, you had a rather hard time trying to understand others emotions, and by the way Keira was ranting, you couldn't tell if she was mad, glad or simply just venting random statements. Rolling your eyes at your friend's annoying display, you ignored your inner thoughts as you slumped back onto the couch, already finding this whole evening somewhat of a mistake. "If your self-praising is finally over, can we start playing now? Also... that still doesn't prove you can solve a murder case. You may just be a reporter, but that doesn't change anything, love."
"Let the case begin then..." she chuckled darkly at your remarks; leaning forward in her seat, she placed her elbows against her knees with her chin resting against her wrists as her face contorted into a devious grin. To say you were intimidated was truly an understatement, for never had you seen such a discomforting expression spread across her features.
"Alright, tell me everything you know about this case, Es'," Dragging the other away from lingering eyes, Sonic gave Espio an uncaring glance as he crossed his arms and leaned heavily against his right side. He has gone through the whole trouble of simply being there, standing in the cold street, where the sound of sirens echoed in an uncomfortable environment where in an apartment a person brutally murdered, in the hour he was supposed to be asleep. Even the thought of it causes Sonic's blood to boil. He wished he had bought a sweater or something before he left the house. So this case better be something good, or else this was all just a waste of his time.
Knowing how irrational this friend of his could be, he merely sighed in annoyance at the sheer display of disrespect Sonic had been perceiving. He was expecting this, unfortunately, but that was beside the point; this was a severely serious case, and Sonic had nothing to do with it. "For the millionth time, Sonic, it isn't about you; you have no business in being hereโ"
"Yes, I do, Espio! It's my job to save everyone, AND IF SOMEONE IS KILLED WITHIN MY CITY, THEN IT NATURALLY BECOMES MY BUSINESSโ"
"Okay! Okay! Just... be quiet." Surprised by the sudden change of tone, Espio gave the surrounding area a nervous glance, wanting nothing more than this interaction alone to be kept quiet, but with Sonic's sudden outburst, he heavily doubted his concerns would be nullified.
Tapping his foot impatiently, he gave Espio an unimpressed look before continuing to ask his repeated question. "Now, explain what you know."
Finding that he had no other sibilance of a choice, Espio merely sighed before leaning closer to Sonic, sure to be quiet enough not to entice people or spike a random passerby's interest, "The victim's name was James Logan; he was in his early twenties. It's a homicide, and his assassin used a some kind of knife to kill the man before hitting James in the back of the head with... something. We couldn't find any clues about the exact manner of this murderer, for whoever had done this erased all their tracks completely, it was almost as if James had committed suicide, but by the way, this was all... displayed, it just... It cant be as simple as that. Whoever had done this must know what they were doing and with such professionalism... I can guarantee you; this wasn't their first time. We will compare and review this case with previous cases and see which of them could give us a possible lead, butโ"
"Oh please, I crack eggs with my white glove-covered fists; this should be a piece of cake; I mean- how hard can it be? I bet I could find this son of a bitโ"
Trying desperately to hush the other from his sudden outbursts, Espio flailed his arms before him, being sure to grab the other's attention in the hopes of calming the other down, "Are you crazy?! This isn't one of your messed up games, Sonic, and you know it! We can't just wait around and hope for a miracle; we HAVE to find whoever did this soon, or else, this won't be the only misfortunate body we'll find hidden in the depths of some random ally in the city!"
Sonic merely rolled his eyes at Espio's statement, finding it ridiculous. Placing his knuckles against his hips, he simply turned to the side, giving the random people who passed by an observant glance, not truly focusing on who or what walked by. "Tch, cowards. If they had the balls, they would show their faces upfront... Hiding isn't going to do anything for them... No matter what, we will find them and never give up, regardless of what they throw at us, RIGHT, LITTLE BUDDY!!?" He shouted again, leading Espio to grunt in frustration at how absurdly loud Sonic had been that night. What was this guy on anyway?!
Tails slowly turned in their direction, halting with the questioning season he displayed with one of the fellow officers who arrived at the scene, as well as questioning the suspects who were in the area. His ear was crooked at the sudden mention of his obscure nickname, questioning what Sonic was doing and why it had to include him.
"We have a serial killer running rampant in the city, Sonic! This isn't the sort of situation we should be reckless about!!"
"You think I don't give a damn about this, Es? I'm just as worried about this situation as you are! But sometimes... Even in such ... grime situation, you just... need to fake a smile instead of worrying so much. It's not healthy being so negative, you know..."
"Yeah... if smiling could help us find the killer, then I would have been smiling since the beginning..."
Sighing upon the silence, Espio gave his friend a remorseful smile; he knew Sonic meant well; it just... wasn't displayed or issued at the right time. "I know you mean well, Sonic; excuse my stressed behavior, but I must return to work. I would love to chat with you, but I must return to headquarters and report what I've witnessed to my boss. Don't stay here too long, okay? And be sure to tell Tails that I need all the information he can gather from the suspects, we'll interrogate them later in more detail, but I need his opinion." He pats Sonic's back, giving the other a friendly smirk as he walks away. "Maybe next time we can talk at a more... appropriate time... See you soon."
But before Espio could take another step, something he had forgotten to mention suddenly popped into his mind as he turned to face Sonic again, "Oh, right... Knuckles and Rouge said they're stopping by; you two can handle them for me, yeah? Great." And before Sonic could even state a remark, Espio had rounded the corner without even giving Sonic a chance to respond, leading to the last thing Sonic saw of him was a simple wave being thrown over the shoulder.
Grumbling within the hand that slid across his face, he soon replaced his arms across his chest, mumbling absent words about how ridiculous he must've appeared if Espio was willing to sympathize with him somehow.
Tails soon appears beside him; without looking up from the folder he is holding and examining, Tails immediately questions him out of curiosity, "Rouge's coming? I thought it was Shadow who stated he'd be here... must have been some last-minute call or something. Typical of him, he is pretty busy."
Sonic hummed in response; he wasn't listening as Tails spoke; in fact, Sonic's mind was currently stuck with this strange swirling question that constantly came to mind, "Hey, little guy..."
Unimpressed by his nickname, Tails acknowledged Sonic's voice as he glanced in the other direction, "What is it, Sonic?" His was blank at first, but upon witnessing the all-knowing cocky smirk Sonic had displayed across his features, Tails himself had changed into a somewhat nervous expression, for nothing good ever comes from a face like that. Ahh... he knew that look better than anyone. It always meant there would be trouble. And if Sonic had an idea... Nothing good was bound to happen.
"Let's solve this case ourselves and show that no good sour-faced chameleon that we can do this on our own!"
Tails hissed, "I don't know, Sonic. We already have our hands full with keeping Dr. Robotnik contained and in line... We should leave this case to the professionalsโ"
" Oh, Come on! That guy will never again see the light of day on that forsaken prison island! Nothing he could do about it. The man can starve for all he wants; even his corpse will never escape that place. Everything he owns is scrapped and trashed anyways; the man has nothing in his name, not even his HQ."
"Yeah... all those beautiful treasures are long gone- without giving me a chance to examine them..."
Sonic quickly wrapped his arm around the other's shoulders, pressing a finger over his chest as Tails looked towards him with a surprised expression, "And with Eggman no longer around to control his pesky minions to order around and cause trouble, all there is to do is to catch criminals stealing money from banks, or buildings catching on fire, etc. and... that's becoming very boring pretty quickly..."
He quickly added, seeing Tails' face change with an unimpressed display. "I can tell that you're also bored just sitting around in your workshop all day. Wouldn't it be a good excuse for you also? Exercise your mind a little; I know you like solving puzzles. You need to move your limbs sometime, stretch them out and junk. Come on! Let's do something different for a change! You know I'm not the best at... sitting still... I can't just... wait around while someone out there is getting hurt... or worse! I don't want to just sit around knowing I could make a difference! I'm tired of sitting around as these events keep happening; Espio and Shadow, in particular, are getting in my way! In... Our- way!"
He turned to the fox before him, gripping at his shoulders with such an intensity that he could hardly refrain from shaking, subconsciously using Tails as his anchor to prevent himself from doing anything reckless, "Please bud... Let me have this... Let us do something for a change, at least... just this once! We need to try and catch this perp, with or without the other's help! And if we can't... I promise I'll stop pestering you about this! And if I- we do solve this mystery, then you gotta promise me this won't be the last time we ever do this sort of crime-finding cases. This is what we were meant to do! We are heroes, Tails!! And besides, do you know any other amazing duos who could possibly solve this case any better than the two of us?!"
Sonic gave his pall a playful wink as he continued on, "Besides, I know you like murder mysteries~ You're a Sherlock fan, after all, am I right?"
Gently pushing his hands that were placed along his shoulders, Tails merely sighed for this entire situation; he should've known Sonic's persistence would get to this extreme. There was no possible way for him to refuse the blue fur ball, not after witnessing that embarrassing display firsthand.
Giving Sonic a playful smirk of his own, he swiftly turned around to face the other with as much enthusiasm as he could possibly muster for the night. "Finnnnne. But you'll be my Watson."
Sonic cheered silently to himself as Tails stood off to the side and merely watched, shaking his head at Sonic's ridiculous display of childish joy as though they were still the same kids from the past; while some of the police officers nearby sent a judgmental glance their way.
Word count; 5641