Little L and the Locket

Chapter One: Missing

It was spring. The flowers were just beginning to bloom and the long April rain had finally come to an end. Children of different ages ran around the wet grass, playing and laughing gaily on the Wammy's House estate. A small boy of about ten with black hair that stuck out in multiple directions was sitting on the swing. Just sitting. He didn't really see the point of swinging. The boy saw the swing as a place to think and gather his thoughts. No one dared to bother him while he sat on the swing. Today, however, was one of those days when the boy felt like mingling with the other children of the orphanage. For some reason, the boy did not want to ask to join the games. Instead, he looked on, hoping that one of the children would invite him to a game of soccer, tag, or even jump rope.

"Who's that?" one of the children asked another as they played a game of soccer. This girl was about the same age as the boy sitting on the swing however she had just arrived at the orphanage.

"That's L. He always sits there," the other girl answered.

"L? Is that really his name?" the first one asked. The second girl nodded. "Does he always sit there? That's kind of strange don't you think?"

"Be quiet! He can hear you!" the second girl said and she was right on the money as the boy, L, shifted his gaze away from the two girls. "Don't make fun of him, Estelle. He's very intelligent."

"Isn't everyone at this orphanage intelligent?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Whatever you say Mary Jane," Estelle replied. The two girls decided to stop talking and continued to participate in the game. Little L changed his gaze back on the game of soccer. He soon became bored with watching pointlessly as he knew he would not be invited to play and looked up at the sky. To his disappointment, it looked like it was going to rain again. He guessed it was just one of those years where spring seemed to be coming only to be stopped shortly after. As some kids he once knew, back when he was not an orphan, would say the groundhog "saw his shadow". Or was it he did not see his shadow? L never really understood that train of thought. It just did not make sense to him. Completely illogical it was. The reason why it was cloudy and it seemed as though spring would never come was because of the weather patterns not because of some groundhog.

L decided it was pointless to continue sitting outside and watching the other children have fun. He rose from his seat on the swing and began to walk towards the orphanage. Only seconds after he left his seat did other children begin to fight for it. To them it was a miracle that he had gotten off in the first place. L could spend hours on sunny summer days just thinking. Of course there were other swings but the other children did not dare to sit next to L. He was just one of those children that gave off bad vibes, vibes that told others to stay away.

L walked down the deserted halls of the Wammy's House. Not even the adults seemed to be around. Was everyone trying to enjoy one of the first beautiful days of spring before the rain would return?

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall. L turned around to find a man in his sixties or seventies walking towards him. He wore a black, Vavra Italian Suit and small square spectacles. The man stopped as he noticed the little boy standing all alone in the center of the hallway.

"L?" the man said, wondering what the boy was doing inside. L looked up at the man, thinking for a moment.

"Hello Mr. Wammy," L finally said.

"What are you doing in here? Shouldn't you be outside with everyone else?" Mr. Wammy asked. L just shrugged as he did not want to answer that particular question. Mr. Wammy stared down at the little boy for a moment wondering what could possibly be going through his small but productive mind. He sighed and patted the boy's spiky hair only to continue down the hall leaving L alone once again.

L continued to wander aimlessly down the corridors, hoping to find an abandoned puzzle, a book he had never read, or anything of that sort. However to his dismay he could not find anything to occupy himself with. He never liked it when he had nothing to do or when he had nothing to think about. It caused too many painful memories to manifest itself into his mind once more.

The sound of distant thunder caused L to jump in place. He looked up at one of the windows and saw a streak of lightning flash across the sky. Soon afterward, the pitter patter of rain began to hit the windows. Screams of children could be heard just outside the Wammy House as they raced inside to avoid the rain as much as possible. Some laughed with delight while others looked down at their wet clothes in disgust. The sound of wet squeaky shoes echoed throughout the corridors as the children of the Wammy House rushed to change into dry clothes before supper. Since L had no need to change out of his attire, a simple white shirt with jeans and Converse sneakers, he decided to head down to the dining hall.

When he finally reached the dining hall, L found each of the long tables to be empty. Not a soul was there except him. L took his usual seat, at the end of the first table, and sat down, his feet kicking underneath the seat. It was perhaps a half hour or so before more children began to fill the large room. He did not bother to look up at anyone of them since no one ever sat next to him. L would often hear other conversations going on around him but never bothered to participate in any of them himself.

"Is this seat taken?" he heard someone ask. L looked up even though he was pretty sure that question was not directed to him. To his surprise, it was. Mary Jane and Estelle were standing in front of him. For a moment, L had no idea what to say. He had never been asked this sort of question before. He finally shook his head and the two girls took a seat next to him. One of his first thoughts was why they were bothering to sit there. Mary Jane normally sat at the table in front of him, towards the front of the room.

The two girls began to chatter amongst themselves while L sat there looking down at his empty plate. He wondered when dinner would be over so he could leave. He did not like being in such close contact with people or perhaps it was because he simply was not used to it. Either way, he felt uncomfortable sitting next to the two girls.

Dinner was served rather quickly luckily for L. However, L continued to stare at the plate full of food, waiting for dessert.

"Aren't you hungry, L?" Mary Jane asked looking at his plentiful plate. L nodded in the affirmative to answer her question. It felt like his mouth had been taped shut and no matter how much he wanted, words would not come out of his mouth. "Then why don't you eat?" she asked.

"I only eat dessert," L answered. Finally, he was able to speak.

"Isn't that unhealthy?" Estelle chimed in. L shrugged at this question.

"I can't think properly without it," L replied.

"But won't you get fat?" Mary Jane asked.

"I haven't yet."

"You must have a high metabolism," Estelle concluded.

"Perhaps," L said.

"Well they say sweets are the foods of love," Estelle giggled. L raised an eyebrow at this statement. Why did it seem like all girls talked about was "love"? It did not make much sense to him.

"But so are fruits and vegetables," Mary Jane said.

"That is only if you believe in witchcraft," L said, "It isn't real nor is it logical."

"We're just having a bit of fun," Estelle said, slightly glaring.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry," L apologized.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Mary Jane said, "This is Estelle. She's new."

"I know," L replied, "Estelle plays the violin."

"How did you know that?" Estelle asked.

"You have a callous and rosin residue on your finger. The rosin is used for the bows of a violin," L said as he pointed to Estelle's finger. Estelle immediately began to examine her finger to see if L had been right even though she knew he must have.

The rest of dinner, or rather dessert was eaten in silence amongst the three. Mary Jane frowned the entire time as she watched L gobble down his strawberry shortcake. Once when dessert was over, Mary Jane, along with Estelle, and L went their separate ways.

L made his way past the other children at the orphanage and towards his own room. When he opened the door, no one else was there. He was glad. He never really liked sharing a room with another person to begin with. His roommate, Carlisle, never really talked to him anyway, just like everyone else in the Wammy House.

L walked towards his twin size bed with a simple blue comforter and lied down. He looked up at the ceiling in his dark room. He never seemed to mind the dark considering the countless hours he had spent lying awake, thinking. He always went to sleep late ever since he first arrived at the Wammy House. Ever since...

L looked up as he heard a knock at the door. He rose from his bed and walked to his door. Upon opening the door, Mary Jane stood, crying her eyes out. Estelle was next to her, trying to offer some comfort. L stood there for a moment, not exactly sure what to say. Compassion towards others was not very easy for him to do.

"What's wrong?" L finally asked.

"Someone took Mary Jane's locket from her room," Estelle said. L continued to stare, not sure what was so special about some necklace. "Her mom gave it to her," Estelle clued L in as she noticed his expression. L placed his finger to his lips and began to think.

"When was the last time you saw it?" L asked.

"Before we went to dinner," Mary Jane sobbed. L tried to recollect his memories of dinner that night. Who was there? Who wasn't? Did anyone leave at some point during dinner? More importantly, did anyone keep an eye on Mary Jane to make sure she was indeed at dinner?

"...It was Brutus..." L finally said.

"How do you know?" Estelle asked.

"I remember he left just before dessert. He never misses dessert and he came back to retrieve his missed dessert just as we were leaving. We have to go and find him," L said as he was already walking down the hallway.

"Why?" Estelle asked.

"We might catch him hiding the locket. My guess is he still had the locket in his pocket when we left him in the dining hall," L said. L continued to walk towards Brutus' room with Estelle and Mary Jane following close behind.