Basil wanted to surprise his friends today by going to their house before they left for the recital. He wanted to say hi, listen to their practice before they performed the big one, and take some pictures. He also wanted to be there for his best friend because he felt something bad would happen. Especially after what Aubrey told him.
Basil was disgusted. He and his friends looked up to Mari because of how caring she was. He didn't believe Aubrey at first because she was talking about Mari. The only time he saw her upset was when Kel accidentally spilled his Orange Joe on her carpet and when Sunny almost drowned.
But when he saw Sunny's hand, he knew she was telling the truth. He felt betrayed. Of all the people he knew, Mari was the last person who would hurt Sunny. He hated her because of it.
He also hated himself. He should have known Sunny was going through something. He was the one who could read him the best out of all their friends. Yet he didn't.
Basil tried to rationalize why he couldn't. Mari had kept him and the others away from Sunny for their practices. That's why he couldn't see his best friend's pain, but that wasn't good enough. He saw him all the time at school and on the bus, he should've seen something then, but he still didn't.
Maybe it was because Sunny was with Mari. She's the reason why he thought Sunny was fine. That's what he kept telling himself. Even though he now knows what Mari has been doing, part of him still doesn't believe it.
But it's too late to go back now. All he can do is be there for his best friend and help him overcome his hardship. Wearing his best sweater vest, Basil planned to take the first step forward by helping his friend.
Or, he would have.
The last thing Basil expected when he showed up to his best friend's house was for Sunny to almost run into him in the doorway. He called out to him, but Sunny was too far down the street to hear him. It left Basil puzzled and worried about what had happened.
"Hello?" Basil said out loud after entering the house. He walked into the living room, expecting to find anyone to tell him what happened, but it was empty. It was also strangely quiet for all things considered.
He took another step, and he started to hear some noises. They were coming from the piano room. He inched his way over and placed his ear on the door. He heard the muffled sound of someone crying.
He slowly pushed the door open and saw Mari on her knees, hunched over. She was holding something, but he couldn't see what it was. He took one step into the room, and the creaking floorboard alerted her of his presence. Her head shot toward his direction, and he was able to see her tear-stained cheeks.
"Oh, Basil, what are you doing here?" Mari put on the fakest smile he had ever seen her make. She also wiped away her tears and hid the thing she was holding behind her back.
"Are you feeling alright?" Basil asked. He took some more steps into the room, and she slowly backed away from him. She also continued to hide something behind her back by always moving her body in the way whenever he tried stealing a peak.
"I'm fine," she said with a sniff as she rubbed her eye. She was lying, and it had something to do with whatever she was hiding.
Basil kept pushing forward to see what she was hiding but always kept placing her body in the way. She was forcing her faux smile as if telling him everything was fine when things weren't. She also kept asking him questions to distract him. He didn't listen to any of them.
Basil thought he caught a glimpse of what she was hiding. It appeared to be wooden, but he wasn't sure. He kept trying to see what it was, and she continued to dance around his line of sight. He was starting to get annoyed.
It wasn't until Mari was close enough to her piano bench that their game ended. She swung around and placed whatever she was hiding inside the bench. She then sat on it to stop Basil from attempting to get it. It was almost sad seeing her act like this.
"Mari…" Basil said disappointedly. Knowing what she did to Sunny, Basil should be happy to see her acting like this, but he wasn't. It was Mari he was looking at. She was someone he looked up to, someone he could always go to for help.
It hurt to see her acting so… pathetic.
"Did you come to see Sunny?" Mari asked. Her smile had never looked faker. "I just sent him out for a run. Want to have his blood flowing for the big performance, ya know?"
"Mari," Basil said again. He saw her panicking a little, but she hid it well behind her smile. Her eyes were what betrayed her. Behind them, he could see so much hurt and regret.
"I think I have some time to bake some cookies. Would you like that, Basil?"
"No," he said bluntly. Mari flinched slightly but continued to try and change the topic.
"That's fine, I don't think we have the ingredients to make cookies anyway. But I can make you anything you want."
This went on for minutes. Mari constantly offering to make him something, and Basil always turning her down. All he wanted was for her to stop the charade and tell him what happened. But he knew she wouldn't do that for him.
So, he gave up. He dropped the topic, but he didn't leave. He wouldn't give her the chance to get rid of what she was hiding.
It quickly got awkward between them. Neither said a word and neither moved from their spot. It was a standoff, and neither of them wanted to lose.
"Anybody home?"
"Kel, you can't just barge into their home like that."
Basil smiled while Mari looked panicked. With the arrival of Kel and Hero, he could finally figure out what happened. One call was all it took for the brothers to come into the room. They were both wearing a white button-up and khaki pants, with Hero wearing a black tie.
Kel ran into the room, not noticing the tension between his friends but Hero did. The worried look etched on his face told a thousand words, and Mari's fake smile did nothing to dissuade his nerves. It only made it worse.
"Where's Sunny?" Kel asked, still oblivious to everything that was happening. Mari quickly jumped at the opportunity to get the narrative on her side.
"He went for a run. Probably to the park, so he should be back any minute now."
Accepting the answer, Kel started wandering around the room. Basil and Hero shared a knowing look. They hadn't believed a single word she said. It was easy to tell she was lying.
"Why would he do that?" Hero decided to press her on the lie.
"I wanted him to clear his mind for a little bit. He looked a little stressed about performing tonight," Mari continued to lie. Her smile grew even wider, and Basil started to worry her jaw would lock in place.
Hero took a step toward her, and she held her arms up defensively. Hero was taken aback by the action. He trod lightly and started treating the situation as if he were dealing with a frightened animal.
"Are you doing OK?"
"I'm fine," she let the last word drag for a little. She then gave everyone in the room an uneasy look. "But could you get everyone out? I want to practice one last time before changing, and Basil has been asking me to make him some cookies."
"I have not!" Basil shouted.
After being silent for so long, Basil has had enough. He didn't care about the shocked, confused, or scared looks his friends were giving him. He's sick of all the lying that Mari has been doing. She knew what happened and he wanted to know now.
He turned to Hero and pointed an accusatory finger at Mari.
"She's lying! Sunny almost ran into me when I first got here. I didn't get a good look at him, but he looked upset. Mari was also crying before I showed up."
Mari tried acting like she didn't understand what Basil was talking about, but her red eyes told a different story. That piece of evidence was all Hero needed to know Basil was telling the truth. He slowly approached his girlfriend to keep her calm, but that didn't stop her from shrinking into herself.
"Mari…" Hero said slowly, and Mari swallowed hard. "Did something happen between you and Sunny?"
"No…" She tried her best to avert her gaze, but no matter where she looked, she saw the disappointed looks of her friends.
Basil grumbled with frustration. Mari wasn't going to admit what happened unless she was forced to. Basil knew what would do it. It was whatever she was hiding, but the only way to get to it was to get Mari off the bench.
But he didn't know how to do that. They had nothing to move her, and she was going to be as stubborn as a toddler. At this rate, they'll give up, and Mari will dispose of what she's hiding.
"Hey, why is Sunny's denture on the floor?" Kel said while holding the aforementioned item.
"What!?"
That did it. Mari's head shot toward Kel's direction. That little distraction was enough for Basil to knock her off of the bench and open it. Mari had tried to stop him, but she was too late.
Basil pulled out the broken violin for everyone in the room to see. Hero gasped while Kel was stunned. Hero then took the broken instrument and laid it down in front of Mari.
"Now are you going to tell us what happened?"
Mari broke down. She cried as Hero held her in his arms.
"I-I messed up…"
Mari told them everything that happened. From mocking Sunny's stutter to him breaking his violin. Mari cried the whole time she spoke, and Hero was doing his best to comfort her. Kel and Basil were doing their best to process everything she said.
They were upset that Sunny broke his violin. They had worked really hard to buy the instrument, but they knew Sunny wouldn't have broken it on purpose. He wasn't in the right headspace when he did it. Mari must've really stressed him out.
Then she got to the part that made everyone freeze. Hero stopped comforting her to take care of his brother. Kel was shaken up by what he heard. Basil, on the other hand, was angry.
"You did WHAT!?"
Basil had never been so angry in his life. Of all the things he heard of what Mari had done to Sunny, hitting him was something he thought she would never do. She had risked her own life to save her brother. He never thought she stooped so low, and yet she did.
Mari looked as if she witnessed all of her loved ones being murdered in front of her. Without Hero, she had resigned to holding herself. Her makeup started to smear, and they could see some of her zits popping up. The sight would've been sad if they hadn't heard the horrible thing she did.
"I know! I'm the worst sister ever!"
"Yeah, you are."
"Basil!" Hero reprimanded the young gardener. He gave his young friend a look that told him to "knock it off," before looking at Mari with sympathy. He gave Kel one last look over before moving back to hugging Mari.
Basil didn't understand why Hero was being so kind to her. After hearing everything she did, he wouldn't want anything to do with her. But love will make you do crazy things, he guesses.
"He's right. What kind of sister hits their own brother? Sunny probably hates me," Mari cried into Hero's shoulder. Hero responded kindly by running a soothing hand down her hair.
"He doesn't hate you," Hero said. Basil wanted to scoff at that but kept his mouth shut to avoid any more of Hero's ire.
"Wouldn't you after everything I did?"
Hero appeared as if he bit his tongue. Basil knew his older friend would lie instead of telling her the truth. It would be the only way to help Mari compose herself.
"Well, you did do something bad, but Sunny loves you. I'm sure if you give him some time he'll forgive you."
And as if the universe was on his side, they all heard the front door open. Hero smiled and did his best to help Mari clean her face. He then led her and the others out into the living room. They stopped when they saw people they weren't expecting.
It was Mari's parents. They were carrying grocery bags to the kitchen. Mr. Suzuki was struggling to carry the most while Mrs. Suzuki was only carrying two small bags. She smiled warmly when she saw the group.
"It's good to see you boys came early. If it's not too much trouble, could you help me bring in the rest of the groceries? There are only a few more bags."
The only one who went out to help was Kel. Hero helped Mari over to the couch as she broke down in tears again. Basil disapprovingly shook his head at the sight. It wasn't hard for Mrs. Suzuki to figure out something happened.
"What's going on? Where's Sunny?" She asked when she noticed her son wasn't with them.
Hero quickly took the lead because he was the only one with a level head in the group.
"He and Mari got into a fight, and he ran away before me and Kel arrived."
Mrs. Suzuki gasped, and she looked at Mari for confirmation. She nodded as she wiped away her tears.
"It's my fault. I drove him away."
Mrs. Suzuki sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked out the window, then at the clock, before finally resting on Mari. She looked disappointed but also determined.
"I want to know what happened, but right now, we need to go look for Sunny. There's still time before we have to leave for the recital."
Basil and Hero shared an apprehensive look, but thankfully, Mrs. Suzuki didn't notice. She then called for her husband, and he walked into the room with a look of slight irritation. She told him what had happened, and he quickly pulled out his car keys. He also looked concerned, but for some reason, he didn't seem all too worried about Sunny.
"Alright, Mari and I will take my car. He couldn't have gotten far," Mr. Suzuki said.
He beckoned for Mari, but she didn't go to him. Surprisingly, she glared at her father with such hatred that none of them had seen from her. Mr. Suzuki was shocked to see such a reaction from his daughter. Especially directed at him.
"Mari?" Mr. Suzuki said with some shakiness in his voice.
"Don't act like you care about him now. You caused him just as much pain as I have."
Everyone looked at Mari, wondering what she was talking about. Mrs. Suzuki was especially intrigued to hear what her daughter had to say. Mr. Suzuki, on the other hand, didn't.
"All you have done is yell at him and give him unreasonable punishments," Mari started. Mr. Suzuki tried to stop his daughter from talking, but Hero quickly got in his way. Mari then turned to her mother, who didn't look too pleased. "Last night, he grabbed Sunny hard and threw him into the piano room after grounding him for the rest of the year. He also didn't allow Sunny to have any dinner."
It was eerily quiet as everyone processed what they heard. Hero and Basil were angry, while Mr. Suzuki appeared a bit jittery. Kel, who had just returned with what can be assumed to be the rest of the groceries, was shocked. Mrs. Suzuki was unreadable. All she did was stand still with a blank look on her face.
It didn't take long until there was a creepy smile on her face. It was unnerving, but the kids knew it wasn't directed at them.
"Could you kids please step out for a second? I want to have a little 'chat' with my husband," she said politely.
Hero quickly gathered Mari, Basil, and Kel and ushered them out of the house. He closed the door behind him, but not before hearing a loud "What the FU—!" He then led the group up the driveway so they wouldn't hear what was being said between the two adults. It was a private matter between the two adults.
He then checked on the two younger boys to ensure they were alright. Kel was a little shaken up, but a few comforting pats on the back calmed him down. Basil was still upset, but he was glad Mrs. Suzuki gave her husband a good lashing. That jerk deserved it after everything they heard.
Hero then gave Mari a big hug.
"Are you feeling alright?"
Mari shook her head as she continued to frown.
"No, Sunny's still missing," she said, and Hero patted her back.
"Hey, he couldn't have gotten far. We can split up and look for him," Hero suggested. "Basil and Kel can go look by the park while we can check the plaza."
Mari nodded to the idea. Before any of them left, Basil saw Aubrey running to the house. She was waving an arm to get their attention.
"Hey, guys!" She shouted. It took a few more seconds for her to reach the group, but when she did, it was easy to tell she had been running for a while now. Her face was flush, and she was also breathing heavily.
Mari didn't wait for her to catch her breath before she grabbed the young girl's shoulders.
"Aubrey, Sunny ran away earlier! Please tell me you saw him!" She pressed Aubrey while shaking her. Hero had to pull Mari off of her so Aubrey wouldn't have whiplash.
"That's why I'm here," Aubrey said after catching her breath and balance. "He got on a bus heading to Somewhere."
Basil instantly knew what Aubrey was talking about, and Hero and Kel appeared to know what Aubrey said. Mari didn't and she panicked. She broke free from Hero and started pacing the driveway. She was biting the nails on one hand while the other was sporadically running through her hair.
"Somewhere! That's so far away. He won't be able to survive. He has no money, no food, no water. Oh, he's gonna be homeless and become a drug addict…"
The group watched Mari ramble a mile a minute. Hero went to go and calm her down, but Basil stopped her. After everything she did, she deserves to go through this for a few more seconds. It wasn't until Mari started marching away from the house that Basil allowed Hero to step in.
He chased after her and grabbed her arm.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the bus station and get on the first bus to Somewhere."
"Just hold on for a second," he told her, and she tried to jerk her arm away from him.
"No, I need to go and get Sunny!"
"And how will you get there? You don't have any money to buy a ticket," Hero said, and Mari froze. Hero sighed as he pulled his girlfriend back to her house. "Take a second to breathe. I can ask my mom to drive us to Somewhere, or we can ask your mom."
When they got back to the group, Aubrey looked furious. Basil or Kel must have told her what happened when they were away. Hero deemed it would be for the best to keep the two girls separated until tensions die down.
The door to Mari's house opened and an upset Mr. Suzuki stomped out. He then got in his car and stormed off. Standing in the doorway was a red-faced Mrs. Suzuki, who was taking some deep breaths. She beckoned for the kids to come over.
"Is everything alright, mom? Where's dad going?" Mari hesitantly asked. Mrs. Sukuki nodded as her natural color returned to her face.
"Don't worry about him, Mari. We need to go find your brother."
"He's on his way to Somewhere," Aubrey spoke up. "It's for… that."
Mrs. Suzuki had a knowing look on her face as she nodded.
"OK, clearly we're not going to the recital. You kids can go home if you want or you can come with us," Mrs. Suzuki said before turning to her daughter. Mari peeked up when her mother's eyes landed on her. "And Mari, it's time for you to learn what your brother has been doing for these past few months."