Hi there! My name's Bjonk, and this is the first story I've written in a while, so please keep that in mind when reviewing. I hope that everyone who reads this leaves a review with any feedback you have and I look forward to you all helping me improve. Well that's it for now, and I hope you enjoy reading!
What's that noise? The beeping is getting on my nerves. The noise was the beeping of Mira's alarm. Today she starts at Fairy Tail University, a beautiful school near a magnificent beach, at least that's what she thought of it. To others it was just any old university campus. She looked at her phone which was still blaring the alarm. Crap, I need to get up or I won't have time to get lunch for later. Getting up out of her bed, she glanced out of her bedroom window. Hm, still dark.. She thought, after all it was only 5.30AM in the middle of September.
She took her time in the shower, the hot water relaxing her muscles and settling her nerves as she thought over her plan for the day. I need to eat breakfast by 7 if I want to stop in the shop on my way. I won't have time to go on my break. She turned the shower off and stepped out, shivering as the cold air hit her body. She quickly wrapped her towel around herself, rushing back into her bedroom. She hadn't decided what to wear yet. The weather seemed to fluctuate recently with a heatwave two weeks prior to the miserable storms last week. She looked in her drawers in hopes to find something warm but easy to move in. I thought I had my jumper in here somewhere. She thought, digging through the drawer to find her favourite winter jumper. It was a light brown high neck fleece, and it was the most comfortable item of clothing she owned. "There it is." she mumbled to herself, pulling it out of the drawer before throwing it onto her bed.
She decided on a plain black t-shirt with long sleeves and a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, with her favourite jumper obviously. She quickly put her clothes on before going back into her bathroom. She brushed her teeth and thought about what to do for hair and makeup today. She decided to wear light natural makeup and styled her long silver hair into a braided bun.
She pulled on her brown ankle boots before gathering her bags, keys, and phone. 6.30, good timing so far. She descended the stairs and headed towards the kitchen where her mother was cooking breakfast. The mouth watering smell of her mothers cooking always put Mira into a good mood. Lisanna and Elfman were already seated at the dining table.
"Morning," she greeted, with a smile. "Hey Mira," Lisanna managed to yawn out. It was always one of two meals for breakfast in the Strauss household - either full breakfast, with bacon, eggs, toast, sausages, beans, black pudding and tomato, or a selection of sliced fruit with porridge. Thankfully it was the latter today, as she was nervous about starting university today. She was starting a year late, after deciding to take a gap year to work and save up some money. She was moving into her dorm today ready to start her induction on Monday, and she was beyond excited. Eating her breakfast, she got lost in her thoughts. I wonder what my classes will be like, what about the dorm? Looking at her watch she saw that it was 6.59, meaning she had to leave now.
She rushed to hug her parents before leaving. Her house was about 25 minutes from her dorm and she needed to be there by 8AM to collect her keys. She got into her car and drove to the closest superstore to get the essentials that she had missed when she had packed her bag the night before. Shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. What am I forgetting? She went over her mental list over and over again, wondering what on earth she had forgotten. She wandered the aisles, hoping to remember what she'd forgotten before eventually giving up and heading to the self checkout. While in the queue, she went over her mental checklist one more time. Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, towe- shit. She ran as fast as she could to grab a towel before rushing through the self checkout and running back to her car. 7.43, I need to hurry. She managed to make it to her dorm to collect the keys at exactly 7.58, perfect timing as she saw it.
She unlocked the door while looking at the information assigned to her dorm, mainly looking for the name of her roommate. Raina Evergreen, that's an interesting name. She looked up at the room, bags placed on the left bed already. I guess she's already been here. The room isn't big but it was big enough to not be crowded with two people. There were two single beds, one on each side of the room, with matching drawers and desks. There were two small shelves above each bed and a third above the desks. The ensuite bathroom was on the left hand side of the bedroom. She looked at the room with approval, but was slightly disappointed that she'd missed her roommate.
Slowly she started unpacking her bags, placing her clothes in the drawers, toiletries in the bathroom on an empty shelf, and placed her notebooks and textbooks on the shelf above the desk. She brought some of her favourite books with her to read when she had some time, which she put above her bed. Changing the sheets on her bed, she thought of the week ahead of her, there was the social event at the student union building tomorrow, then induction week starts on Monday, then classes start the week after. Satisfied with her room, she looked at the time. 10.30, I can get some coffee and maybe look to see if there are any jobs close to here. I think I saw a Starbucks at the campus entrance. Grabbing her keys and laptop, she left heading towards Starbucks craving a mocha.
Walking into the Starbucks, she looked around hoping to grab a table. She quickly joined the short queue looking at the people in the coffee shop. Who in their right mind would dye their hair pink? She thought, looking at a group of boys in the corner. After a few minutes, it was her turn to order. "Hello, and welcome to Starbucks. What can I get for you?" greeted the perky blonde on the other side of the counter. Mira looked at the nametag pinned to the girls apron. She's very smile-y, this Lucy. "I'll have a grande mocha, please." she responded politely. "And the name for the order?" Lucy had asked. "Mira, M-I-R-A" she spelled the name out as some had been stumped by this before, spelling it Meera or Meara. "Ok, that'll be £5.00 exactly then, please." Mira paid for her drink, then shuffled over to the other end of the counter to wait for her drink. She could see a guy with green hair in a high ponytail making the drinks. Interesting choice.
Once she had grabbed her drink, she made her way over to an empty table to set up her laptop. She had wanted to look at more information about her course - Criminology and Criminal Justice - and check if her classes had been put into her schedule yet. This course was the first step towards her dream job in the Ministry of Justice. Semester 1: Study skills, introduction to criminology, preparing for employment, semester 2: legal process, young people gangs and serious offending, and substance misuse and criminality. That's not too bad. The schedule had still not been uploaded yet. Wanting to get a head start on her coursework, she looked on the class portals to see if there was any work to be done. Not yet. She sighed. Hopefully there are some jobs, then.
She first looked online, and saw an opening for a local pub called 'Sparky's'. 'Apply inside'. She read. Making a note of the address, she cleared her stuff and headed for the door. It's only five minutes away and they should be open now. It was now 12.30, so she headed for Sparky's.
It was a decent looking place, with an older look to it - dark almost black walls and a wooden sign which read 'Sparky's'. Walking into the building, it was completely different. The walls were bright with gleaming white paint and a dark wooden panelling, and the bar was built using beautiful brickwork. Above the bar was the same wood panelling separating the two sides of the bar and the floor was a lighter brown wood panelling throughout the room. The walls were covered in chalkboards, each with different uses. A menu next to the bar, and a drinks menu on the back wall behind the bar. There was a brick fireplace on the right hand side of the room, with another chalkboard next to it, showing the upcoming events. The lighting was perfect for the colour scheme, with warm yellow lighting throughout, and hints of cooler lighting using fairy lights on the support beams. The bar top was made from the same colour wood as the flooring - a beautiful contrast to the dark wood above.
Behind the bar was a tall blond man. He had wide shoulders and he was muscular - but not so much that it's unattractive. His hair was spiked up, as if his hair was set in place. But it didn't look as if there was anything holding it. He turned when he heard the door open, locking eyes with Mira. His eyes were electric blue, a stunning match to his bright blond hair, and his jaw was sharp and narrow, with a slight bit of stubble growing through. His blond eyebrows were angled, as if he had a permanent scowl on his face.
"Table for one?" he said. His voice was almost like a growl, and Mira couldn't help but wonder why. "No, I'm here about the job ad online. It said to come in rather than applying online." She said, raising her voice a bit over the noise from the kitchen beside them. She hadn't noticed the kitchen there. The door was behind the bar, out of sight. He squinted a bit, sizing her up, before nodding and reaching into a file below the bar. He handed her a piece of paper, an application form it looked like. "Fill this in and let us know when you can come in for a trial shift. We'll work from there." He had a strange look in his eye, which Mira couldn't quite pinpoint just yet.
Taking the paper out of his hands, she quickly filled in the information on the form. Name: Mirajane Strauss, address: 73 Windflower Lane, phone number: 07623 882632, emergency contact: Elfman Strauss - 07461 629472, weekly hours needed: 16. It was only a short form, with only basic information being asked for. Handing the paper back to the man, she asked, "How come you don't ask for references or if there's any experience?" He looked at her with a blank expression for a few seconds. "The owner prefers to see for himself how people work. That's what the trial shift is for - for both you and him to see how you'd work with the team here and how you cope on the shift." She nodded, understanding. "I'm free any evening this week and all weekend for the trial shift if that's any help." She stated, looking the man in the eyes. "Then how about Friday night?" the man asked, with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I'd be happy to, what time? And is there a uniform here?" The man grinned, placing the paper back into the file. "Just wear black, and 5PM. Someone will show you around and then you'll start at 6, finish when the place closes." She nodded with a smile. "Who should I ask for?" She asked, curious about this man. "Laxus," He responded. "I'll see you on Friday then."
"Friday it is." She said, waving while walking out of the door.
Mira walked from Sparky's back towards her dorm, thinking about her previous interaction. She was looking forward to the next week, even more so now with her shift coming up.
It was only a ten minute walk back to her dorm. While she walked she thought about what to do for the rest of the day.
There are some nice clothes shops around here, maybe I can get some clothes while I'm here? Looking at a dress through a shop window. It was a long sleeved off shoulder dusty pink mini dress with ruched sides. She walked into the shop, having a look at all of the clothes. On her left were the dresses. A dress caught her eye - a backless yellow midi dress with a floral pattern and a tied halter neck. To the right of this dress was a rushed side camisole dress with chain detailing in forest green. Mira reached out to feel the satin material, bumping into the person next to her in the process. "Sorry!" She breathed out quickly, looking at the person she stumbled into. "Watch where you're going." The woman glared at Mira, though Mira smiled in response. This seemed to confuse the woman, and she breathed out a sigh before speaking.
"Sorry it's been a long day." She said, shaking her head and looking away. The woman had long wavy light brown hair, half back into a claw clip, and thin black cat eye glasses over her meadow green eyes. She was wearing a dark green square neck midi dress with a white knitted cardigan over it, and a pair of low white pointed heels.
"No worries," Mira smiled, "were you after this dress too?" she asked, pointing towards the green dress. "Yes." the woman responded, reaching for the dress before turning away from her.
Mira continued to look around the shop, picking things up as she went along. Eventually she ended up with two bags of clothes, walking back to her dorm.
As she got to her dorm she noticed a familiar head of blond hair, heading into her dorm building. Walking inside, she saw the woman sitting in the study area. She headed towards her she smiled. "Hey, Lucy, right?" Lucy turned to look at Mira, a glint of recognition in her eyes. "Yeah, and you're Mira, right?" Mira looked at her and laughed. "Yeah, so you're a student here then?" Lucy smiled in return. "Yeah," she nodded, "I'm starting a creative writing class this week. You?"
"Criminology and Criminal Justice," she responded, "Are you going to the social event tomorrow? I didn't go to the ones from last week."
"Yeah it's that one at Sparky's tomorrow. I'm going with a few friends if you want to come with us?" Lucy smiled, before grabbing her phone off the table in front of her, scrolling and tapping. Holding the phone out to Mira, she said, "Here, give me your number and I'll let you know where we're all getting ready tomorrow." Mira smiled, typing her details into Lucy's phone, before sending a quick text to herself to get her number too. "Sounds great, I'll see you tomorrow then." she smiled, waving before heading towards the stairs. Her dorm room was on the second floor. Quickly heading up she got her keys ready.
Once she was at the door she heard a voice inside. I wonder what Raina is like… She thought, turning her key in the lock. Slowly pushing the door open she stepped inside and looked at the woman talking on her phone on the other side of the room while placing her bags at the foot of her bed. The woman hung up the phone before turning to greet Mira. "It's you from the shop! You're Mirajane?" She chuckled, recognising the woman. "Yeah, and you must be Raina, then." The woman grimaced. "Please, call me Ever." She held her hand out waiting for Mira to take it. Mira reached out and shook her hand. "And call me Mira."
"I'm heading out to meet with some friends, so I'll see you later." Ever said, walking out of the door. Mira turned to look at her bags, sighing before starting to put her clothes away. She'd picked up quite a bit. A white cropped vest with spaghetti straps, a brown pleated miniskirt, a cream coloured cardigan with lantern sleeves, a black long sleeved t-shirt with a zipper stand collar, a black A-line miniskirt, a pair of black high waisted straight leg jeans, some light blue denim shorts, a black off shoulder long sleeved dress with a black fur trim, and a pair of black fleece lined leggings. She started folding the clothes, setting them in the drawers before sitting at her desk to set up her laptop.
Two years ago, Mira decided to start a true crime podcast called The Cold Case Chronicles. She started this to learn more about criminal investigations throughout history, but ended up setting her sights on speculating about cold cases. Her most recent episode was about the disappearance of Juvia Lockser, who went missing three years ago. The case went cold after six months with no evidence. Everyone assumed that she just ran away, despite her boyfriend Gray insisting otherwise. I'll need to come back to that case by myself, but I have to find another case for Wednesday's episode. She had a list of cold cases already which she made when she started the podcast, slowly crossing off cases that were either solved over the years and ones which may never get solved.
She looked at the next on her list, the murder of Jenny Realight. The 23 year old paralegal, who went on a night out with two friends and never came back. Her bag was found two months after she disappeared about 6 miles away from her last seen location.
Mira decided to get a head start on the research she needed to do around this case. I need the investigation report, the transcripts from the suspect questioning, and the evidence list. She thought, typing the name 'Jenny Realight' into Google. The first thing to show in the list of search results was an article from last year, titled 'Jenny Realight Killer - Found after six years?'
This intrigued Mira, how had she not seen this yet? She opened the article, reading as she scrolled through.
"New evidence discovered six years after the initial disappearance of 23 year old Jenny Realight. Police have released that the new evidence was a diary belonging to the victim detailing the events prior to her disappearance, including an incriminating entry describing an argument between the victim Jenny Realight and the suspect Kinana Cubellios. Shown in this entry is an argument including an undisclosed death threat from the suspect to the victim. The suspect was the one to give the evidence to the police, claiming that she 'found it in [her boyfriend's] house, and that she was worried that he was involved.' This was later discovered by the police to have been false as there is no connection between the victim and the suspects boyfriend, who has chosen to remain anonymous."
There was another article linked at the end of this one, titled 'Body Found in Maintenance Building of Abandoned Tenrou Park - Confirmed To Be Jenny Realight'. She clicked onto this one and quickly read through.
"A body found in abandoned Tenrou Park last week was today confirmed to be the remains of 23 year old Jenny Realight, who went missing approximately six years ago. The cause of death has not been confirmed yet, however, police have confirmed that the initial examination places the time of death close to the time of her disappearance. There were reports of a stab wound on the chest of the victim though this has yet to be confirmed. The suspect Kinana Cubellios has now been arrested for murder due to the evidence against her. The Magnolia Police have made no further comments at this time."
Mira was shocked. That can't be right? I thought they'd cleared her twice? Her next search was for the list of evidence, now updated.
"Evidence:
Witness statement of argument between suspect and victim hours before the disappearance
Suspect was in possession of the victim's phone after the disappearance
Suspect was one of the last people to see the victim
Suspect was in possession of the diary belonging to the victim
Diary entry detailing death threats from the suspect to the victim
Victims belongings were found within 5 miles of suspects residence
Video of last sighting - victim gets into car with unknown person seemingly non-coerced"
"Holy Mavis," she whispered to herself, searching for the witness statements from the night Jenny disappeared.
"Witness Statement 1: Cana Alberona
PO - Tell me what you remember from the night of Miss Realight's disappearance.
C - Me, Jenny and Kinana went out for drinks that night. We were all a few drinks in when Jenny and Kinana started arguing about something. It was something about work, I think. They work together at Clive and Associates.
PO - What time was that?
C - I think it was after 11, we didn't arrive until after 10, so about then.
PO - Ok, what happened next?
C - Jenny said she needed to use the bathroom, and she didn't come back to the table after that.
PO - Did either of you look for her after that?
C - Yes, Kinana went to look for her and I stayed at the table with our drinks.
PO - And did she find her?
C - She said that Jenny told her she was going home.
PO - Ok, thank you for your time."
This seems off, she thought while tapping her fingers on her desk.
"Witness Statement 2: Kinana Cubellios
PO - Can you tell me about the events of the night in question?
K - We went out for a few drinks, the three of us, to catch up with Cana. We haven't seen her in a few months.
PO - We were told about an argument between the two of you, what can you tell me about that?
K - It was a stupid argument. A case was given to me to help with rather than her, she wasn't happy about it I guess.
PO - What happened after?
K - Jenny went to use the bathroom. When she didn't come back after ten minutes, Cana suggested I go look for her and she kept an eye on the drinks.
PO - Did you find her?
K - No, I looked around inside and asked the guy behind the bar if he'd seen her. He said she left, so I assumed she went home.
PO - And you didn't see her after this?
K - No.
PO - Ok, that's it for now. Someone will call if we have any further questions."
Hang on a second, Cana said that Kinana told her that Jenny said that she was leaving.
"Witness Statement 3: Rogue Cheney
PO - You're an employee of Sabertooth, right?
R - Correct.
PO - You were working on the night of Miss Realight's disappearance. What time did you see her leave?
R - She left around 11.30PM.
PO - And did you see anything worth noting about her interactions that night?
R - She was flirting with a few different guys before she left. There was the singer from the band we had that night, Sting Eucliffe, and also a guy outside, I'm not sure of his name. She also argued with one of the girls she came in with.
PO - Anything else?
R - Not that I can recall.
PO - Alright, that's all. Let us know if you remember anything.
R - Ok."
The guys weren't mentioned before…
"Witness Statement 4: Sting Eucliffe
PO - What do you remember of your interactions with Miss Realight?
S - Short, I guess. She started off flirting, but then seemed bored when I showed interest. She left after a few minutes, and I saw her sit at a table with two other girls.
PO - Have you seen or spoken to her since that interaction?
S - I saw her leaving and followed her out.
PO - Then what happened?
S - She started flirting with some other guy and he brushed her off I guess. She said something to the guy and he seemed mad so I stepped in.
PO - Anything else?
S - Yeah, he got mad at me and punched me. We ended up fighting and then the police showed up. They dragged the guy off me and arrested him.
PO - Did you continue to follow her after that?
S - No, she was gone by the time I was able to look.
PO - Ok, if you think of anything else then give us a call."
This gets more confusing as it goes. Why are the details soinconsistent?
"Witness Statement 5: Jellal Fernandes
PO - Tell me about your arrest the other night.
J - I was arrested for fighting with the guy at Sabertooth. Officer said that the person who called said I was trying to kill him.
PO - Ok, can you tell me what happened before the fight?
J - Yeah, this woman was trying to flirt with me and I told her that I wasn't interested. She carried on until I told her that I'm already taken, and her response was that the guy was inside bragging about banging my girlfriend.
PO - How did you know who she was talking about?
J - She pointed him out when he came outside. Turns out it was bulls–t. The guy said he doesn't know who my girlfriend is. Said he wasn't talking about anything like that.
PO - Have you seen this woman before or since that night?
J - No, never seen her before and certainly not since.
PO - Ok, we have what we need for now, we'll call if there's any more information that we need."
So, she flirted with a guy, argued with her friend, tried to flirt with another guy and instigated a fight between the two guys before disappearing? What happened here?