As Easy As Murder

16. koriiiiiiii

11pm, and I'm in the doorway of Kori's dorm. I forgot to come earlier and went out. He texted me like 100 times. I was forced to give him my number because he insisted that we had to be able to share our ideas about the case at all times. Loretta thinks it's an excuse to talk to me. 

I'm waiting for him to let me in. I can hear him arguing with someone over the phone in French. It sounds heated, his usually calm voice having gained a raspy edge, laced with anger. I don't know what he's saying, but I can bet you there's at least one swear word in there. 

"Pue importe maman, je reussis mes cours, tu ne peux etre content de ca? Eh Bien,  baise moi si c'est mon probleme. Oh woohoo, Matt a sauve une vie, ouasis, c'est un medecin. C'est ce qu'il fait. Au revoir. Er arrete de m'appeler dans le seul but de me faire la lecon." He finishes the call, sounding irate. I feel the fear of whoever was on the other line.

I wonder who Matt is. 

The door opens to reveal a fuming Kori, phone still in hand. Anthony is sprawled across one of the beds, kicking his feet and flipping through a Guinness world record book. I walk past Kori, not saying a word in fear of being cussed out and potentially beheaded. 

I sit down on the floor where we usually sit, opening up the kit, and taking out the pieces we need, recalling where we left off. Kori is sitting so far across the room, we're practically in different continents. 

"So, we were investigating the victims boyfriend?" He mutters, anger still lingering on his tongue, brows still furrowed with lines between them, hands jammed in his pockets so hard they could go through them. He's in a denim jacket and he's lost the guyliner I last saw him in, which is a bit of a dissapointment. 

I nod, and take out Larry's profile. "Yeah, he was supposedly asleep at the time of the happening, which checks out being it was only around 5am." 

We start to go through our usual bickering, but Kori is even more hotheaded then normal, and keeps trying one-up me, doubting my knowledge every other second. I sigh, continuing to work and hoping Mr. Grump will settle down. 

"You don't have to be so close-minded. We have to compromise a bit here. I know you've made up your mind that this guy is lying, but there's no concrete proof, see-" 

"Just shut up!" He scoffs and shuffles the same stack of paper for the 9th time, his beige sweater vest coming up a bit to reveal his happy trail, and I get a glimpse of some abs. It's not what I expected. You wouldn't think someone like Kori would spend even a second in the gym. Maybe genetics are at play here. And why am I thinking about the source of his abs? Lord help me. 

"Don't get your thong in a twist," I scoff back, messing up his stack of papers to grab one I didn't even need just to spite him. 

"Pardon?" 

"You heard me." I read over the paper, the parents description of the victim. Outgoing, bubbly, and extremely social. Popular amongst the boys. Huh. 

He shakes his head, wiping off the lenses of his glasses with a handkerchief. "I'm sorry, If you can't tell, I'm having a bad day." 

"Really? I thought you started menopause." 

He shakes his head, and I thought I see the smallest hint of a smile on his pale pink lips, which look softer then you'd expect. There Is a tube of Burt's Bees on the dresser. I think about him applying it, and my cheeks warm up a bit. I look away. 

We continue to work, with the ocassional name-calling as usual, and the occasional wander of my mind. I wonder if his is staying put. I swore I never would, but I'm afraid I'm starting to care what he thinks of me. It's pathetic. 

I look down at my baggy shirt. For the first time in years, I think about my appearance. I consider hiring a professional face-slapper to snap me out of it. Anyone know a good one? 

"Koriiii?" Anthony has become bored of his book, and has now decided instead of entertaining himself, he needs to interrupt our work. 

Kori ignores him, focused. 

"Koriiiii?" 

*crickets.*

"Koriiiiiiii?" 

*crickets.* 

"Kor-man?" 

*crickets.* 

"K-k-k-kor ri-ri-ri-ri-ri?" 

This went on for 10 minutes. I point to our work as a gentle reminder, but it doesn't seem to get the point across, infact he gives me thumbs up and a 'good job'. 

I was silently waiting for Kori to finally answer the chucky-resembling species just to shut him up, but he doesn't, apparently practicing the Supernanny technique where you ignore them until they realize you won't respond. I don't think that works on adults.