"Have you read yesterday's paper?" I asked in a heavy British accent.
"No," Mello answered. "Why should I?"
I smiled cunningly and said :
"Someone was killed."
This caught his attention.
"A woman. Unmarried. She was taking care of some girl, her sister's daughter. The sister died in that fire in London almost six months ago, I recognized her name. This means that the girl has nowhere to go."
"Do you really think that she'd be given the chance to come here?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered immediately.
"Heh." Mello returned my smile. "So what about it, Volpes? What are you gonna do about that?"
"Nothing at all," I said, slightly surprised. "Should I?"
"Not really. You can't do anything about it, anyway. You just seem to be very interested in this situation."
"Oh, but I am. I'm sure she won't be as plain and downright stupid as other supposedly smart people in here."
As Volpes frowned at the orphanage, Mello laughed shortly. He didn't have to tell me. I knew that he agreed with me. We were friends since before we can remember and we usually thought alike.
"Why does it matter, anyway?" Matt suddenly asked. He was sitting silently until now on the bench right next to Mello, playing some video game of his. Matt was also a very good friend of mine, but it was hard to find a moment when he would pay more attention to you than to the video game. He usually stood around with Mello and me, though. I thought he didn't even pay attention to what Mello and I were talking, at that moment. He didn't usually.
"It doesn't, really, " I said. "I was just thinking out loud."
We were sitting on some bench in the yard of Wammy's House. It was not really in plain sight. It was on the left side of the building, quite close to the black wrought-iron fence, but the other side of the fence was obstructed by the vine which grew on it. When we got out of the orphanage, it was nice and sunny, but now a dark cloud covered the sun. It was strange that I didn't notice it before.
"Let's get inside. It will rain, from the look of it," I said, and left the bench on which we were sitting.
I had no idea at the moment, but that girl was being tested right then. Watari (or maybe Roger) were very quick about the standard procedure, apparently. I remember that I was tested when I was five. They said that , depending on my performance, I would either stay here or be transferred at another orphanage. It was extremely simple, though. This girl had to be completely stupid not to be admitted in here.
After Mello, Matt and I got in the building, we started wasting time, like as usual. Matt kept playing his game while Mello and I did various things. A fun day for an eleven year-old.
The next day, while eating breakfast in the canteen with everybody else, I noticed someone which I did not know -a girl- enter the big room. It was obvious by looking at her face that she was having the worst days of her life.
"I think that's the girl I told you about," I whispered to Mello, who was sitting on the seat to my left. He quickly looked up, not being very discreet about it.
"Yeah, I think you're right," he whispered back.
Matt, sitting opposite Mello and me at the table, looked behind himself. I was quite surprised that he had the curiousity to look.
The girl seemed quite furious now that she noticed us looking. She slowly went towards our table.
"Have we got a problem?" she asked.
Mello was faster than I was:
"We might know how you got here."
The girl looked at Mello as if he did not answer in English.
"Yes," he continued. "Your aunt died two days ago. It said in local newspaper that her niece was now an orphan without a family."
"Correct us if we're wrong," I said.
The girl looked dumbstruck. She certainly didn't expect us to know this. She left and went to the table which was farthest to ours: Near's table. At first he did not even glance at the girl, but she started talking to him and he responded.
"I didn't know that Near can talk to someone who is not Roger or Watari..." I told Mello.
He laughed. Again, we were thinking alike.
"No," Mello answered. "Why should I?"
I smiled cunningly and said :
"Someone was killed."
This caught his attention.
"A woman. Unmarried. She was taking care of some girl, her sister's daughter. The sister died in that fire in London almost six months ago, I recognized her name. This means that the girl has nowhere to go."
"Do you really think that she'd be given the chance to come here?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered immediately.
"Heh." Mello returned my smile. "So what about it, Volpes? What are you gonna do about that?"
"Nothing at all," I said, slightly surprised. "Should I?"
"Not really. You can't do anything about it, anyway. You just seem to be very interested in this situation."
"Oh, but I am. I'm sure she won't be as plain and downright stupid as other supposedly smart people in here."
As Volpes frowned at the orphanage, Mello laughed shortly. He didn't have to tell me. I knew that he agreed with me. We were friends since before we can remember and we usually thought alike.
"Why does it matter, anyway?" Matt suddenly asked. He was sitting silently until now on the bench right next to Mello, playing some video game of his. Matt was also a very good friend of mine, but it was hard to find a moment when he would pay more attention to you than to the video game. He usually stood around with Mello and me, though. I thought he didn't even pay attention to what Mello and I were talking, at that moment. He didn't usually.
"It doesn't, really, " I said. "I was just thinking out loud."
We were sitting on some bench in the yard of Wammy's House. It was not really in plain sight. It was on the left side of the building, quite close to the black wrought-iron fence, but the other side of the fence was obstructed by the vine which grew on it. When we got out of the orphanage, it was nice and sunny, but now a dark cloud covered the sun. It was strange that I didn't notice it before.
"Let's get inside. It will rain, from the look of it," I said, and left the bench on which we were sitting.
I had no idea at the moment, but that girl was being tested right then. Watari (or maybe Roger) were very quick about the standard procedure, apparently. I remember that I was tested when I was five. They said that , depending on my performance, I would either stay here or be transferred at another orphanage. It was extremely simple, though. This girl had to be completely stupid not to be admitted in here.
After Mello, Matt and I got in the building, we started wasting time, like as usual. Matt kept playing his game while Mello and I did various things. A fun day for an eleven year-old.
The next day, while eating breakfast in the canteen with everybody else, I noticed someone which I did not know -a girl- enter the big room. It was obvious by looking at her face that she was having the worst days of her life.
"I think that's the girl I told you about," I whispered to Mello, who was sitting on the seat to my left. He quickly looked up, not being very discreet about it.
"Yeah, I think you're right," he whispered back.
Matt, sitting opposite Mello and me at the table, looked behind himself. I was quite surprised that he had the curiousity to look.
The girl seemed quite furious now that she noticed us looking. She slowly went towards our table.
"Have we got a problem?" she asked.
Mello was faster than I was:
"We might know how you got here."
The girl looked at Mello as if he did not answer in English.
"Yes," he continued. "Your aunt died two days ago. It said in local newspaper that her niece was now an orphan without a family."
"Correct us if we're wrong," I said.
The girl looked dumbstruck. She certainly didn't expect us to know this. She left and went to the table which was farthest to ours: Near's table. At first he did not even glance at the girl, but she started talking to him and he responded.
"I didn't know that Near can talk to someone who is not Roger or Watari..." I told Mello.
He laughed. Again, we were thinking alike.