Chapter Text
Cover Art Commissioned from: Devarts03 (https://x.com/Devarts03/status/2054428761421165054)
Tuesday
Hello my new journal!
Mrs. Jefferson says that starting from now on, I can write in this diary every single day to make up for all the homework I lost for her English class.
She says it's a special exception for me only because my older brother made a deal. That makes sense as Hero was her top student with really good grades back in the day.
Score!
I just have to write as much about my life as I could and make sure my handwriting is legible. I can totally do that!
...
I don't really know what to write however.
I know! I'll just ask Mrs. Jefferson tomorrow.
Wednesday.
Okay.
Mrs. Jefferson said I did a good job making my handwriting look readable. She also says my grammar and spelling was better than usual.
I'm glad! I worked really hard on that last entry. It took me two hours to write all that yesterday!
Today I asked my friend Sunny to help me write but he said he couldn't pretend to be me, that the original was irreplaceable.
Awesome!
Mrs. Jefferson says one place to 'start a story' is to introduce the characters and setting. I don't know what she's talking about as I'm writing about real life!
I asked Sunny what this means but he just gave a smile and continued drawing his comic.
Oh right! Characters.
Well, let's start with the protago... pro tag er nist? Progonist. Pro...
The main character!
That would be me, right? My name is Kel and I'm twelve but you already know that, Mrs. Jefferson. So I'll tell you about my friends!
Sunny is my bestest friend in the whole world. I'd take a bullet for him and I know he'd do the same for me! You know about him because he's in your class too, Mrs. Jefferson.
Sunny and I don't hang out much anymore. He says he's just very, very busy. But he's always free on Wednesday so I always go to his house then and we'd just hang out in his room while he draws and I do homework.
Well, try to do homework. It's just soooooo boring! But Sunny won't go outside as he's 'not supposed to'.
In fact, I wasn't even supposed to be at Sunny's house. When he heard the front door open that evening he told me to leave quickly through the back. I didn't want to get in trouble with Sunny's parents so I just went along with it. His dad and mom are super scary.
I almost slipped and fell down the super long stairs in his house because I was running down. This thing is so scary because if you fall here it is like so high.
My house has stairs like these too. Mom always tells us not to run down them but sometimes I forget and usually nothing happens anyways.
I'm actually in his backyard now as a matter of fact. I was going to go home but I could hear the piano and violin practice from Sunny's house and it sounds SUPER GOOD IT'S LIKE A REAL CONCERT!
I wish I could play a musical instrument! Maybe I should get a guitar because everyone knows that guitars get you the girl, at least that's what dad says to Hero.
Wait! I remembered you were super confused asking me who's Hero. I meant Henry but everyone I know who's cool call him Hero because he's our Hero! Sunny's friend Aubrey says that makes me the Villain but I said no that's stupid I'm obviously the Sidekick.
I'm getting tired I think I'll head home soon. I hope I wrote enough...
The music keeps getting interrupted by yelling and screaming. Is that normal? I should probably do something about it but I don't want to get into trouble for being here.
Adios, amigos.
Thursday.
Mrs. Jefferson didn't come to school today because she got hit by a car.
That sucks.
I am going to keep writing, though. Because I know she'd be expecting a lot of new pages when she gets better. I was really hoping she would read over what I wrote.
I hope I'm on the right track! I don't really know what to write about, though. Sunny says I could write about anything I want, the world is my oyster. I don't really know how the world is like an oyster I'm pretty sure oysters live in the ocean.
Sunny says why not interview all our friends? That sounded fun!
(The next few pages were dedicated to various classmates and people of the town of Faraway, including a particular homeless man)
I'm very sad. It turns the weird Old Guy at the park who screams at the birds used to fight in the Vietnam war and says he can't remember his original name. He says he's seen Things you wouldn't believe, and that in his dreams those Things judge him in the blackest space of his heart.
He says he's killed kids younger than me because he had to, because he was ordered to, because he had no choice. And that was why he murdered his commanding officer and made it look like a suicide.
And then he begged me for forgiveness. He said he was sorry. He screamed.
I just ran away. I was scared! He chased after me.
I didn't know where I was going. I wasn't sure if the Old Guy was following me! I ran and ran and went home and then I realised if I entered the house, the Old Guy would know where I live.
So I ran to the house next door where Sunny lived to ask for help. Sunny always knew what to do. I could hear the piano and violin from inside. So calming!
I knocked on the door over and over and ran the door bell too and knocked some more and then the door opened and I said hey Sunny.
But it wasn't Sunny.
It was something else.
Mari!
Sunny's older sister!
I actually know a deep dark secret about Mari that nobody else knows, not even Sunny.
Are you ready for the secret?
You must swear never to tell anyone.
Anyone!
Okay.
Here goes nothing. I will tell you something about Mari.
Mari is...
Hero's crush!
My brother is madly in love with Mari. He thinks nobody else knows but he whispers her name at night when he thinks I'm asleep. He must be trying to see her in his dreams.
I don't know if Mari likes Hero back. I hope she does because if she marries Hero that'd make Sunny and I legally brothers and that'd be awesome!
What was I writing about? Ohhh right...
When Mari opened the door she looked a little furious but then quickly gave a happy smile. She asked what I was doing here and I told her about the creepy Old Guy who probably wanted to molest me and Mari had a horrified look.
She asked what did I mean by that word and I told her that molest was just a fancy word for murder. I read it in a detective book once. That's right, I'm way smarter than people think I am.
The violin still played as Mari stepped outside. I turned around to point at the Old Guy but he was nowhere to be found. Did he even chase me here? Come to think of it, I was so scared I didn't stop to look.
Mari then pulled me in and asked me what happened. I told her I was interviewing people at the park and Mari then yelled and asked what hell I was thinking! She seemed really angry and worried and said I shouldn't be wondering around alone talking to strangers!
But I said they wouldn't be strangers anymore once I got to know them and she sighed and put her palm up to her face. She sounded so disappointed and it made me feel sad.
It felt weird to see Mari get so upset. She's usually super nice, maybe even too nice, and always had a warm smile. I told her about my English project but she didn't want to hear it.
If I wanted to wonder around town, I needed a friend to keep me safe. I said what about Sunny and she gave a sad smile and said he's too busy.
Maybe after the performance.
I asked what's so special about this performance anyways. Why are they practicing all the time. They are even practicing all weekends now. Sunny wouldn't say a word about it. At school whenever I asked him about it he would simply stare back and only say 'important'.
Mari then explained stuff while getting me soda! Orange Joe! My favorite! Orange Joe has some coffee in it too and I love coffee.
But I don't remember what she said other than that there was this very important music thingy where a bunch of people from fancy music schools will be there. It was 'make or break' and that's why she couldn't afford distractions.
She said people would kill for a chance to attend these schools. It might as well be life or death.
That sounded pretty intense but as Mari went on and on about how important this was I thought about how cool it was that this can of Orange Joe had Asian writing on it and whether they sold Orange Joe in Vietnam. There was something Orange used in the Vietnam war and then Mari said I really should get going.
And she told Sunny to walk me home but to be quick as their dad would be home soon.
Hooray! I was happy to see Sunny again! It's been so long, at least a couple hours before at school! Ages!
He came out with an expressionless look on his face as we walked back to my house. I told him all about my day but he simply nodded, his stare blank as his hands were in his pocket.
I asked if he wanted to go and interview more people tomorrow with me so that I could write more stuff in my journal but he only said the word 'busy.'
Well, if I can't interview people then what can I write about? Sunny then asked why not write about my dreams.
I said that's stupid! Everyone knows dreams aren't real. They're all weird stuff that doesn't have any meaning. Who'd want to read a story about dreams and made up stuff? People want real life. Even if it's boring it's stuff that happened which means it matters.
Sunny didn't say anything and simply walked home the moment I reached my house even though I haven't said goodbye yet. Did I upset him? I hope not. Sometimes I say something mean by accident and it pisses people off and that always sucks when it happens.
I guess I could write about my dreams tonight.
Friday (Morning).
Sorry! I completely forgot about this journal yesterday. But then Sunny asked at school how the dream diary was going.
He sounded so disappointed when I told him it slipped my mind. I'm sorry Sunny.
Mrs. Jefferson still isn't back at school. The substitute teacher said she'd be in the hospital for awhile. I'm glad she's not dead. Most teachers didn't like me very much and think I'm stupid, mostly because my grades suck and I keep forgetting my homework or to study for quizzes.
But Mrs. Jefferson believes in me! That's why she wanted me to keep this journal! The substitute teacher even told me that Mrs. Jefferson specifically asked for 'Kel to keep writing if he didn't want to be held back a year's.
I don't know why the sub had to say that in front of everyone though. It made everyone laugh.
That memory wasn't so nice. I don't like how writing makes me have to think about these things. I think I'll just hit the court for the afternoon.
Sunny's busy anyways.
I don't think I'm in the mood of writing for the rest of today.
Friday (Afternoon).
After school, Sunny asked why don't I write fiction if I'm out of ideas.
That seemed boring. I like video games and TV shows but when it's without pictures it's weird. Who wants to read words about things that didn't happen?
And then Sunny looked at me funny. He said wouldn't I be able to imagine things in my head? Couldn't I picture a thought?
I didn't understand what he was talking about. He didn't understand what I was talking about either. How can you see pictures that aren't there? I thought that was only a saying.
He then told me he can really imagine worlds in his head. Sometimes they felt more real than even real life, especially in his sleep.
Very funny, Sunny. I think he's just messing with me, right? Nobody can actually see anything in their head. When I close my eyes I just see black.
But Sunny's sad expression made me think he was serious.
Was I missing out on something?
Maybe there was something wrong with me.
Saturday.
Weekends are alright. Sunny's too busy with music practice to hang out and I had homework anyways.
This morning I had Hero tutor me for Math homework over breakfast. Hero's cooking was always so good! He made waffles and pancakes and french toast!
We were learning quadratic equations in class and Hero was able to explain it in a way that finally made sense!
He told me to imagine throwing a basketball into a hoop from below. Then he asked me to guess at what time does the ball enter the hoop.
I said that was a trick question! The ball would enter the hoop twice!
And now I understand the two solutions stuff from school. That's way easier to understand than just remembering some stupid formula. Why did they make it seem so confusing in class anyways?
It's weird to think that if you asked Sunny to imagine the ball, he can actually see it in his mind somehow. Was it like a movie or something? I just see black.
Hero then took me to the park to shoot hoops for real! He demonstrated the parabola of the ball's projectile motion as we tossed it around, even predicting how long the ball travels with a stopwatch. He helped me spell those words. Parabola and Projectile.
It was such a fun afternoon! I felt safe knowing that Big Bro would protect me from any attempts of the Old Guy to molest me!
Do you think Mari helps Sunny with his homework too? It's nice that both me and Sunny have an older sibling who loves us. I don't know what I'd do without Hero.
I wonder how kids without any siblings handle life. It must be tough being all alone. Maybe they can rely on friends instead. I hope I can be like a big brother to someone who doesn't have any brothers or sisters one day.
(More mundane entries and notes populate the journal. You skim forward to the next interesting page)
Tuesday.
Today I found out that molest was not a fancy word for murder. It was actually a fancy word for inappropriate touching.
I'm learning so much since starting this journal! It's like writing in this book is helping me remember stuff. Is it making me smarter? I'm paying attention more in school and life, thinking about what to write down in my Headspace.
That's what Sunny calls this journal. He says it's my version of Headspace. I think it's a cool name! A space for all the things that should be in my head!
The substitute teacher says Mrs. Jefferson would return to school next week! I can't wait to show her all the stuff I wrote!
I will also write notes on school so Sunny would be all caught up when he returns. He's taking the rest of the week off school to really focus on practicing for that performance! He's going to do great, I just know it! He's been practicing so much he's wearing these super cool violin gloves to school. They're awesome!
(For the next few days, Kel's notes are a surprisingly detailed account of class content, with comedic commentary intended for Sunny. You skip forward to the next interesting entry)
Friday.
Today Basil told me a secret and made me swear never to tell anyone.
Ever!
He even made me swear a pinkie promise. So I did.
Obviously I couldn't bare to forget it, so I'm writing it down in Headspace. Hopefully I'll remember to remove this page before letting you read this, Mrs. Jefferson.
Oh, right! You don't know who Basil is. Basil is one of Aubrey's friends, Aubrey being Sunny's friend. So he's a friend of a friend.
He's this blonde kid our age who goes to a different school. Something preppy. He must've been super talented and worked really hard to go to such a fancy school.
I found Basil outside my house just staring at the road. I was a little confused why. He had tears in his eyes and I asked if he was crying and he said he had allergies.
I asked if he wanted to come inside where there wasn't pollen and he said sure. I don't really know him too well but Hero always said we should treat any guest to our best, and so I got him snacks and Orange Joe but he said he prefers tea so I boiled the kettle.
Then we talked. Well, more he talked and I listened and wrote notes in Headspace.
So... the secret. It turns out Basil had a morbid interest in something no one else knew he liked, not even Sunny. I asked if it was owning an aquarium because that was like the garden of the sea but he just gave this giggle which would've been really cute from a girl.
No, although he'd like to have an aquarium one day, hopefully with Sunny. He loves the ocean. But that's something Sunny knew, he said. I noticed that Basil brings up Sunny a lot. He must really like him.
Oh. The interest! Well, Basil mentioned that he felt like I was interrogating him like a crime suspect and he felt flattered. I laughed and joked if that made me like a detective.
Detective Kel!
He laughed too. And then he revealed the secret.
He really really likes crime stories. I said I did too like Scooby Doo and Batman but then Basil laughed and rolled his eyes.
By crime stories, he meant true crime stories. Of real life murders and serial killers and stuff...
That felt a little uncomfortable to hear. Isn't it kind of really bad if it actually happened? But then Basil went on and on about how fascinating different criminals were, how the police caught them, and as his eyes lit up I started to get the appeal.
Do you know most people are killed by a loved one? A relative usually or a lover. Often by accident in fits of emotional instability. Basil said all this with the same smile he would have talking about sunflowers or tulips. It was creepy yet not that creepy either.
He then said that's what make serial killers so interesting. They often have no personal connection with the victim. They hunt down prey and are untraceable.
It was so cool listening to the stories!
It's like the drama of a movie but in real life! And it's super cool how the police catch these monsters.
He then said not to tell anyone because they will probably think he was super weird for liking this stuff. I told him not to worry. All our friends were kind of weird once you get to know them. Is anyone really normal?
Basil said, well, there were things about me that aren't normal. But I told him he was overthinking it. He then said it was getting late and thanked me for the tea.
He left shortly after and I said he was always welcomed in our house if he was around the area.
I don't really know why, but Basil always looks like he's sad even when he's smiling, unless he's talking about Sunny.
Maybe that's why he seems down. Sunny has been super busy.
I hope he's doing okay.
(The pages involve detailed accounts of Kel's life. Comments on sports and mundane life happenings. You skim ahead to the page where everything changed)
Tuesday (Morning).
Nobody's okay.
I don't know what to do. I slept on the couch tonight.
Hero didn't sleep all night. I could hear him sobbing through the door. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and told me to just go to sleep.
The next morning mom told me that Mari's dead.
They say she took her own life.
Tuesday (Afternoon).
I couldn't stop thinking about it too. Why would Mari do that? Why didn't she leave a note or anything? And why before the performance?
I know I shouldn't be asking questions like these but it's been bothering me all morning. So I decided to look through the past pages of Headspace for clues.
He says he's killed kids younger than me because he had to, because he was ordered to, because he had no choice. And that was why he murdered his commanding officer and made it look like a suicide.
Oh. My. Gosh.
What if Mari was murdered by Old Guy? And her death was framed?! The police should perform an autopsy on her body to determine the true cause of death!
I have to tell Mari's parents now!
Got to run!
Wednesday (Morning).
The police came and told Hero they wanted his help down at the station to investigate foul play. They say her wounds don't match, that she didn't die the death of suffocation.
They think Hero might be able to help them track down the killer!
Go get them big bro!
I hope they ask for my help next as I know just the prime suspect! I might have even talked to the killer myself!
Wednesday (Evening).
They arrested Henry.
They think he did it.
Thursday.
I couldn't focus on school.
I know Hero didn't kill Mari.
Maybe the police thought Mari rejected Hero and he got mad or something. That would be what's called a Motive. A reason for killing. When cops have a motive, they want to close the case as soon as they can.
That's what Basil said. I went to his house to ask for help because he knew all about murderers and crime stuff. I told him what happened and he started shaking. He yelled at me and called me an idiot for talking to the police. He said you should never ever talk to the police if you don't have to because the police are not your friends.
But I thought cops are meant to help us!
Why wouldn't the police help? Is Hero really going to jail? Are they going to hurt him? Is it all my fault again for being an idiot and never thinking? But I was just trying to help.
I then cried. I know I shouldn't because I'm not a little girl but I couldn't help it. I just felt awful. I really am a f---ing idiot.
Basil then hugged me and said he's sorry and then his grandmother got us some tea. She said it's so nice that Basil was finally bringing friends over and that I was a very handsome young man. The tea tasted weird and bitter and Basil said it was green tea and I asked if there was orange tea and he gave a giggle.
What's so funny? Wouldn't there be teas of different colors?
I was still really sad and scared. I don't want Hero to go to prison. But I gave a deep breath to calm down. And then I had an idea...
I told Basil that if we caught the real killer, then the police had to let Hero go! In fact, I knew exactly who did it!
Basil yelled that I didn't which I thought was pretty rude but I told him I was smarter than I looked. I pulled out Headspace and showed him the pages on the Old Guy.
This creep knew where Mari lived. His motive was that he was crazy and maybe racist since he fought in Vietnam. Basil stared at me for a good few seconds before giving a smile.
He agreed fully! Old Guy was definitely suspicious and Basil said that was very clever thinking! All we have to do is catch him!
I said we should do it right away so the killer couldn't get away and the police won't hurt Hero. Basil agreed with a cheer! He was so excited to help!
As we were about to head out, Basil's grandmother stopped us and asked where we were going but before I could answer, Basil said we were just going on an adventure! His grandmother said that was very sweet and went over to hug him.
She said I seemed like a good man and made me promise to take good care of Basil and I said of course I would! He's my friend! Although I kept it to myself that it was a bit strange she would want me to take care of Basil even though he was actually a little older than me.
Shouldn't Basil be the one taking care of me?
But I'll protect my friend all the same!
However, I remembered as we marched towards the park, the Old Guy was scary and could easily hurt us. I asked Basil if he knew how to fight and he said he wouldn't even hurt a fly.
So we needed someone strong and good at fighting. Maybe even good at using a weapon...
Obviously I thought of my best friend Sunny!
He always knew what to do. There was no one else who came to mind at all whatsoever.
Basil said maybe it wasn't a good idea since Sunny's still grieving but I said it would be fine! Sunny would want to catch his sister's killer too and this would make him feel less helpless trapped at home.
I asked Basil who else should come along if not for Sunny.
Aubrey.
I said no way! This would be too dangerous for Aubrey! The Old Guy already killed a girl! And also Aubrey's annoying and would call this whole thing stupid.
So we made a detour to Sunny's house. He didn't come to school today so I hope he was okay. We knocked on the door for what felt like hours but Basil said it was only twenty minutes.
And then finally, Sunny opened the door. He had a blank expression but then it turned into a small smile when he noticed it was me! I said hi Sunny and he said hi Kel.
He then noticed Basil and his smile faded. I then told him we were together to find Mari's killer and Sunny just stared at me. I get it, it sounded insane, but then I explained everything about Old Guy again and how he totally did it. And I told Sunny about Hero being in trouble and everything.
Sunny then only said 'okay' and stepped outside. The Detective Squad was now together to solve the case!
Detective Kel, Inspector Basil and Private Eye Sunny!
We were going to save Hero! And avenge Mari! It was going to be so awesome! And I'm going to write all about it in Headspace!
But first, a good detective needed to eat! So that's why we are now in Gino's discussing our next move. Basil and Sunny are so quiet but it's probably because they're busy thinking about the case and it was nice having them both listen to me.