During all this time, Brian has managed to tell a lot about Bond City. Fortunately, Elizabeth is writing everything down.
April 13, 2017
It's been 3 months since first and last meeting with Roger. During this time, neither Brian, Jeremy, Ben, or even Casper could come up with something. Saving the world is not an easy task, and a well-thought-out plan had to match it. However, nothing came to mind, and Professor Baldi himself began to behave as usual again. He didn't seem to know anything about the red-haired boy's encounter with the demon. Maybe it's for the best. But now the boy had other problems.
From the very first meeting with Miranda, Lucy and Masha, he wanted to reconcile the three of them. Perhaps if they reconcile and unite, they can come up with a plan to save the world. And also to protect Lucy. After all, the Johnsons know that at any second the demon will decide to kill the girl, while using control over Professor Baldi.
Brian already knew how to reconcile the girls, so he got down to business. First, he had to bring all the girlfriends into one room. In this case, the abandoned Choco Fruits amusement park was suitable.
9 hours
Brian found Miranda in the dining room. She sat and ate her breakfast with everyone else. He had to somehow slip her a piece of paper with an invitation.
So she got up from her seat and headed out of the dining room. Brian hid behind the door. When she came out, he followed her and put a piece of paper in her backpack pocket. There were two more remaining.
After one lesson, Brian ran off to look for Lucy or Masha. And he was able to find Masha. She was jumping rope with the other girls, and they were discussing something. Her backpack was lying not far from the girls. He had to distract the girls somehow in order to plant a piece of paper.
- Hey, you, boy! - he beckoned to a random boy who was passing by.
- What is it? - he asked.
- Do you see those girls? Can you distract them with something? I don't care about anything, just get them away from the backpacks.
- And what do I get for that? - the boy crossed his arms over his chest, and Brian sighed heavily. He took out one dollar and gave it to the boy.
- Agreed. - he said and ran to the girls.
They walked off somewhere, and Brian immediately ran up to Masha's backpack, opened it, and stuffed a piece of paper into it. Then the kids started coming back, and Brian hid around the corner.
- I showed them a kitten on the street. Is that enough?
- Yes. Thank you.
After another lesson, Brian ran to look for Lucy. He found the girl in the courtyard of the school, where the children could go out and breathe fresh air. She was sitting on a bench and doodling in her notebook.
The boy approached the bench from the back and threw the piece of paper into the pocket of his backpack. He glanced at Lucy's drawing. What she was drawing there made him stop and examine the drawing more closely.
She painted them all. Not just herself, but Brian, Jeremy, Miranda, Masha, Bill, everyone... Masha and Miranda were standing next to Lucy and looked happy. At that moment, Brian realized one very important thing. It's not just Brian and his friends who want to restore the girls' friendship.
13 hours 10 minutes
After school, Jeremy, Ben, Casper and Bill went for a walk in the park, so Brian didn't have to pick up his younger brother, but he refused their walk, citing a headache. His friends didn't really believe him, but they decided not to ask the red-haired boy about the true reason for his departure.
In fact, he was in a hurry to get to the girls. He knew that they were already there, and in order to prevent them from meeting by themselves and quarreling again, the boy hurried to meet them.
On the way, he met Lucy, who was at a loss to see a friend.
- Brian? What is it? - she asked. - Did you send me the note?
- Yes, I am, let's go, we still need to find the others. - Brian takes the girl by the hand and walks with her into the depths of the abandoned park.
- Who else? Have you invited anyone else?
- You'll see.
After finding Masha and Miranda, the girls began to ask Brian about the notes, but he first decided to take them to his and Ben's hideout. The boy seemed to want to delay the unfortunate conversation as long as possible, but sooner or later it must happen.
After picking the locks on the doors, the children enter a small room. Miranda silently looks around the room, and Masha and Lucy groan, admiring the fact that there is even an old TV.
- So. - Miranda begins. - Do you want to explain everything to us now?
Brian realized that he had nowhere to go now. It's too late to fix anything. It's time to take responsibility for what he'd done.
- Okay... Anyway, I wanted to talk to all three of you. And not alone.
- In my opinion, it would be much better to be alone. - Masha replies sarcastically.
- No, it would be worse. I would like to know what you quarreled about at the time.
- Oh, just for that? What if it's personal information? Maybe we don't want to tell you. - Miranda interrupts.
- You will have to, otherwise I do not know how to communicate with you, knowing that my friends hate each other! - Brian loses his temper a little, and Miranda quiets down.
The red-haired boy sighed.
- Why don't you start with how you met?
- Lucy likes to tell us everything. So let her start. - says Masha.
- With pleasure. - Lucy snorts. - It happened a year and a half ago. Then we accidentally sat down at the same table in the dining room and started talking about interests. We liked each other and agreed to meet at recess. Our friendship began, we saw each other every day and played, and when we found out that Miranda's dad was building an amusement park and allowed us to come, we were absolutely delighted.
- It was exciting. - Masha continues. - I've never had friends before, but together with them I was able to learn what friendship is, that I feel comfortable and cozy with friends. They were my people.
- But everything seems to have stopped after the incident with Lucy. - Miranda adds. - Lucy lost her arm, and we were all in shock. We tried to support her in some way, but she seemed to suspect us of something. She began to trust us less.
- Okay. You misunderstood each other. - Brian said.
- That's what everyone says! But no one could give a clear answer to what we misunderstood from each other! - Lucy says.
- Calm down. Miranda, why do you think Lucy stopped talking to you? Isn't it related to your father?
- Of course it's related! I'm his daughter, and she thought I was just as crazy and decided to avoid me! - the blue-haired girl answers.
- That's not true! That's not what I meant!
- And I think that's what you said!
- Girls, stop it! Masha, why do you think Lucy stopped communicating with you?
- I just wanted to support her, but she couldn't properly say that she was tired of me. I started to feel uncomfortable around her. She despises me.
- Girls, I didn't say that!
- Quiet! You really misunderstood each other, but after you figured it out, I realized why your opinions didn't agree. Let's start with you, Miranda. Yes, Lucy lost her arm because of your father, but did she ever directly tell you that you were crazy?
- Yes, in that last quarrel!
- But you can understand that at that time you were all emotional and could blurt out whatever came to mind. Believe me, when a person is angry, they won't even say that. Lucy forgave your father, she doesn't hold any grudge against him! And you never know that you're his daughter, you're a great friend, and being friends with you, I've never seen any madness from you. You're not like that, and the whole of Bond City knows it.
Miranda thought about it. Brian's plan seemed to be working a little bit.
- Now, Maria. I know that you're just afraid and don't know how to deal with traumatized people. I know it's hard. It affects the nerves. And, being stressed, your brain began to think that it wasn't your fault at all. It's Lucy's fault. She was acting like her usual self, but your behavior was a little difficult for her. And you thought she just didn't want to see you, but she couldn't tell you that. And again, in the quarrel, she said something she didn't want to say. Your behavior has changed dramatically, and you've become suspicious of each other in all sorts of unexpected ways. And that's where your opinions about the differences come from. In fact, none of you are to blame. It's not your fault that you just misunderstood everything. And there's nothing to quarrel about.
Masha sat down on the sofa and stared at one point. Her face became so serious that everyone in the room tensed up a bit.
- And finally you, Lucy. It's been hard for you too. And I'm not saying it was harder for anyone or anything like that. It has been hard for all of you, and this measure is immeasurable. You lost your arm, but you stayed alive and wanted to continue being friends with your friends. But under stress and disagreements, you began to think that they were hiding something from you. Later, you thought about it and made false conclusions for yourself. However, you still invited them to a conversation that turned into a terrible quarrel. You thought Miranda and Masha didn't want to see you. However, this was not the case. I know that you all want to be friends, but you can't forgive each other for old grudges. It's time to let go of the past and start a new friendship story.
After giving the girls a few minutes to think, Brian looked out the window. He was a little surprised to see several people in the distance. And when they began to approach, he managed to make out Ben, Casper, Bill, Betty and Tiffany in them. And they were obviously very angry.
- I decided that... - Miranda didn't have time to finish, as the door opened with a loud bang, and the children were standing on the threshold. They looked in Brian's direction.
- Guys? Something happened? - Brian is perplexed.
- Can you explain to us what it is? - Ben hands an obscure notebook to his friend, who opens it. Brian was speechless.
He saw a torn-out article about Lucy, where the girl's photo was painted with a black felt-tip pen and it was almost invisible. The text of the article was also crossed out and insults were written all over the page in the direction of the poor girl. Brian saw the notes about his friends, too. The most disgusting things were written in them, as well as terrible drawings with the bodies of friends mutilated to the point of blood. And at the end it was written that the author hates them all. But the scariest thing was that it was all written in Brian's handwriting. Letter to letter, line to line. Everything indicated that it was handwritten by the red-haired boy.
- What? It's not me!
- Yes? And who is it? - Tiffany answers.
- Guys, listen, someone set me up! I've never written this in my life! Ask Jeremy, he'll tell you everything!
- We will not communicate with him anymore. After what Betty accidentally found in your room, never again.
- Guys! I tried to reconcile them! - he points at Miranda, Lucy, and Masha.
- Girls, let's go. He's not who he says he is... - Bill and his friends leave.
- Brian Johnson, from this day on, we are no longer friends. I never thought that you would want to do this to us. - Casper leaves, followed by Betty and Tiffany. Only Ben remained.
- Benjamin? You know me better than anyone! Don't you believe me? - boy was desperate.
- Don't think about me anymore.
Everyone leaves, leaving Brian alone in the abandoned Choco Fruits amusement park. Later, he returns home and sees a distraught Jeremy. They will sit together and look at a notebook with ominous notes. They're confident. Roger set them up. Now they're going to take this case as seriously as possible. The brothers had completely forgotten about the quarrel of three girls. Now they need to get their friends back.