I stood nervously in front of Marigold's house, waiting for her to answer the doorbell that I rang a few seconds ago. Basil was on my right, giving me an encouraging smile.
I don't know why, but I was pretty nervous. Perhaps it's because I never really went to other people's houses, only relatives. But that also happened pretty rarely because I wasn't close to any of my cousins. Or maybe it's the fact that I didn't only come here for the school project—I came here mainly to find any new clues leading to Basil's murder. That was probably the reason for my nervousness.
"Creek! You arrived early!" squealed Mari happily.
I looked down to her feet, seeing a ball of white, black, and orange fur curl against her red socks. Marigold's glance shifted to her feet too, and she grinned when she saw what lay on her foot.
I expected to see Ansel beside her, greeting me. But when I realized he wasn't anywhere to be seen, I greeted her too. "I did. I hope it doesn't bother you, though."
"Nonsense, of course, it doesn't! I was actually hoping for you or Ansel to arrive already. I was getting pretty bored."
"Ansel's not here yet?" I say as if I hadn't observed that earlier.
"Nope. He said he had some business and that he'd probably be late. It doesn't affect us though. He's shit at art for all I know," she chuckled.
Mari bent down, grabbing the little bar of fur. Only then did I finally realize it was a cat. A kitten, more exactly. The kitten was now laying in her arms, not even bothering to look at me. She then invited me inside her home.
Marigold's house was way bigger than mine. Hers was also more decorated. There was a huge living room on the right. A big tv was hung on the wall along with picture frames. I squinted, trying to look at them. The wall was pretty far away though, so I couldn't see the pictures. I tried to hold my laughter as I saw Basil just going through all the rooms and saying random compliments only I could hear.
"Her whole living room is twice as big as my old room," I heard Basil say from some room. I had to agree with him on that. My room was also pretty small.
I couldn't reply so I just followed Marigold as she showed me some plants from the hallway. The hallway flowed into a large, wide staircase. We started climbing the stairs, the kitten still in Marigold's arms. I looked behind me expecting to see Basil, but he wasn't on the stairs nor in the main hall. I didn't want to risk whispering his name, so I just hoped he'd figure out we were upstairs.
The second floor was just as big as the first. Marigold showed me the upstairs living room which looked even cozier than the one downstairs. She told me that the door on the right of the living room was leading to her parent's room. I figured her parents weren't home.
"Alright, and now it's time for you to see my bedroom!" she said excitedly. I nodded as she opened the wood door.
Marigold left the kitten on the ground, and it started wandering around the room.
I found myself in a large room. The floors were made of colored tiles arranged in jagged patterns. There was a gray rug in the middle of the floor. The walls were black and covered in band-related posters. A red bass sat in the left corner of the room. Her bed was unmade, and she had plenty of pillows on the black mattress. Beside the bed was a desk made of dark wood, and it was covered in papers. There were several bean bag chairs and a huge flat-screen television. I could see a dozen of different game consoles and video games scattered around, and a glass coffee table covered in snacks and drinks she probably prepared for me and Ansel. Of course, the snacks were mainly different flavored chips. I smiled.
I was awed and envious that I never thought about personalizing my room as she did. However, I don't think my parents would've let me.
"What do you think about it?" she asked, smiling at my expression.
"I don't think I have the words to describe it. It's really... Different." I say, studying the room more. There were also some shelves above her bed. Some were covered in books, but some also held some vinyls. I was jealous of her collection.
Marigold raised one of her eyebrows, still smiling,
"In a good way," I quickly add.
She chuckled and let me take a seat on her bed as she started cleaning the papers that lay on her messy desk.
"What are the papers for?" I ask her.
"They're mainly tabs for my bass," she says, pointing to the red and black bass in the corner of the room. It was covered in band stickers. The bass looked amazing. "But some are also original songs."
"I didn't know you played the bass or wrote songs," I babbled.
"Oh, you don't know a lot about me," she chuckled.
Her words make me freeze. She probably didn't mean for the phrase to come out so weird, but to be honest, I was a bit creeped out knowing I came here to investigate her. She continued organizing her papers as I took a good look at her. She wore short baggy pants and a black band t-shirt. Even at home, she still wore black eyeshadow and mascara. Or perhaps she put it on for Ansel.
Mari turned and smiled when she caught me looking at her, and I panicked. Not knowing what to do, I smiled back. I really hoped the smile didn't come off as weird.
She told me she was going to go to the bathroom for a few minutes, and that I was free to look at the papers on her desk or take out the stuff I brought for the project. I nodded and watched her as she went to the door and left the room.
"She has a boyfriend, Creek," Basil says, annoyance in his tone.
I turn my head and find him leaning on the doorframe.
"What?" I say embarrassed.
"She has a boyfriend," he repeats unphased.
"I know that, idiot. I was just amazed you'd assume I'd flirt with her or anything."
"You didn't?"
"Christ, what the hell. No."
"Why not? I mean, she's pretty and all. Has a great personality, great music sense, great style, she has everything, really,"
"And what's that supposed to mean? Good for her. Hell, I'm not interested in her."
"Are you really not?"
"No, Basil, I'm not. Plus, I don't see how that's any of your business anyway. If she's so great how come you don't like her?"
"Hm... I don't know. I guess I like somebody already."
"What? You do? Since when?" I ask him, interested.
"Don't know nor care. Come on, Mari left. Let's look through her stuff."
"Isn't that... A bit too much? I agreed to keep an eye on her, but, looking through her stuff? Really?" I remark.
"Yes, really. How do you expect to find any clue if you don't search?"
I sighed and nodded. I rose from her bed and started slowly looking through the papers on her desk. Nothing was interesting there. There were only some songs like Marigold had said.
"Creek, come here for a second. Open this box," says Basil out of nowhere.
"Do it yourself. I'm looking through the papers," I reply.
He frowned. "I would if I could."
Oh. I forgot he couldn't touch any physical object without the help of the energy of a human. I quickly apologize and turn towards him. Basil was crouching and looking at some wooden box he found barely under the bed.
I took the wooden box in my hands and easily opened it. There were pictures inside. Many, many, pictures.
Some looked like they were taken on a polaroid, and others looked like they were taken on a phone and printed out.
"Should we... Look through them?" I ask Basil uncertain.
"Isn't that what we're here for?" he rolls his eyes at me.
I roll my eyes too and start taking the pictures out of the box one by one. Most of them were pictures of Mari and her parents, other selfies with Ansel. Some were pictures of Marigold at a concert. Ansel was probably the one taking all the pictures of her. We took all of them out but found nothing interesting.
"Creek," Basil says.
"Hm?" I murmur.
"There's another picture at the bottom of the box."
I look in the box again and see that basil was right. There was something there. However, the back of the picture was so dirty it almost blended with the box. I took the picture out and turned it over. It soiled my fingers with dirt.
Right there, in front of me and Basil, was a picture of Marigold, one of her arms over Basil's shoulder. Basil's arm was around her waist, and they were both grinning. Basil's hair was shorter than now, and Marigold's hair was a light brown. I almost didn't recognize her. I stare at the picture, not able to say anything for a few seconds.
"What?" I say quietly, my voice almost coming as a squeak.
"Told you she'd lie," Basil shrugged.
"What does that mean?—"
"Creek?" I hear a voice call my name.
I froze and dropped the picture on the floor. Marigold was standing beside the doorway, looking at me, her eyes wide. I couldn't tell if she was angry. Or sad. Or both.
"When I told you that you could look through the papers on the desk, I didn't mean quite that, idiot," Mari sighed.
"I'm sorry. Terribly sorry. I shouldn't have looked through your stuff," I somehow managed to say slowly.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have," she said as she let herself fall to the ground on her butt, standing now beside me on the floor. "But part of the truth has to come out, doesn't it?"
I slowly analyzed her words. Every phrase she said made me question her even more.
"The truth?" I ask.
"Remember when I told you I didn't know Basil?"
"Yes, of course, I do."
"I lied. Basil and I used to be close," she explained.
I wondered why Basil never told me about that. I wondered why he let me find out on my own, only giving me a warning about who I should trust or not. I wondered if Basil followed me that night so he could protect me if anything happened. I kept wondering and wondering. Nothing made sense right now.
"Was there any reason why you didn't tell me?" I ask her.
"No... Maybe. Actually, no."
I squinted my eyes at her. "Well? Tell me what you know, then."
She went silent for a bit. "Well, I guess we used to be close, as I said just now. Obviously, I met him at school. We had to do a project for biology, and he offered to be my partner. Esther and I were best friends at that time. That was the time where she didn't know him. We had to, uh, go pick flowers or something for the project. I don't really remember. All I remember is Basil taking me to the school's forest to some creek. He said we'd find the best flowers there. And, truthfully, we did. They were really pretty. I remember we got an A on the project."
I looked over at Basil. My mouth shifted into a line. He understood my face, but his eyes quickly avoided mine.
"What? Are you accusing me of lying about the fact that there wasn't any creek nearby? If so, If I were you, I wouldn't worry about Marigold's words," he complained.
I frowned and turned my back at him, waiting for Marigold to continue her story.
"Long story short, I put the end to our friendship. There's not much to say about it. Just a normal friendship, I guess. I told you how we've met, and now I'm telling you how it ended. I ruined one of the best friendships I ever had because I didn't believe I deserved it. Later on, I felt so stupidly selfish about it. I just... Want to go back and do it all differently. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out like that."
"Like what?" I ask.
"You know what I mean," she ended.
I did. I knew exactly what she meant. I nodded, not knowing what to say. I didn't understand why Basil never told me about him and Marigold. But perhaps it's my fault for not asking him, I thought. He would tell me the truth if I asked him anything, wouldn't he? Of course, he would I told myself.
Marigold's phone rang. She got up and reached for the white phone that lay on her bed.
"Ansel?" silence. "Yea, Creek already arrived." Some more muttered words from the phone. "Alright, see you soon," Marigold said as she ended the call and threw the phone back on the bed.
"It was just Ansel calling to let us know he's going to be late like I already said. Don't worry though, he said he'd take only about twenty minutes," she said, smiling as she sat down beside me again.
"That's alright," I say. "I took some pictures yesterday for the project. Want to see them?" I ask her, smiling.
"Sure!"
"There's a few, but I would like you to pick one out."
Marigold nodded, excited. I felt bad that she had to see me go through her stuff. I wondered if I betrayed her trust. I probably just had. She didn't seem upset about it, though. She looked like she was relieved. Maybe she had waited for a chance like this to tell me the truth. I hope.
I grabbed my brown bag and started searching through the stuff I brought for the camera. When I found it, I took it out and pressed the button to open it. Marigold couldn't wait to see the pictures. I hoped I didn't disappoint her.
"Here, hold the camera and press on this button to navigate through the photos. I've made a folder specifically for this," I say, showing her which button to press.
She nodded while I went in the back of the room – where my bag was – and took out the oil paints and brushes I brought for today.
Marigold called me earlier insisting Ansel would bring some canvases because he already had a few at home and that I wouldn't have to worry about buying one. Even though I had already bought one, I agreed. Now, it seemed like we had to wait for Ansel so we could start working on the project.
"Woah, Creek, these photos are brilliant. I knew you like taking photos, but I never thought you'd be this good," Mari said, grinning like she was proud to be my friend.
"Thanks," I say brushing my hand on the back of my neck.
"You're doing it again," I hear Basil say.
I shift my head around and find him close to me. Closer than I'd like him to be. I turn my back on him, my face heating up.
"I'm not, asshole. I'm just shit at responding to compliments," I mutter as quietly as I could.
"Right. Noted that," he said, and I swear I could hear the smirk he had on his face in his voice.
"Creek, did you say anything? I'm afraid I didn't hear you," Mari says, turning her head from the camera towards me.
"No, no. I was just counting the number of brushes I have here with me," I quickly said to save myself.
"Definitely. Also, Creek, I have a question."
My heart started beating faster. I was scared of what she was going to ask. "What is it?"
"Did you go by yourself in the forest? To take the pictures, I mean," Mari asked.
Ah, so that was the question. My heart slowed down a bit and I let out a short sigh of relief.
"Yeah. I don't hang out with anyone but you and Ansel, remember?" I assured her.
Marigold stayed silent. "Then what's this?" she said, looking at the camera that lay on her lap.
I get up from the floor, taking the brushes with me. After I put them down on Marigold's desk, I sat down on the bed beside her so I could see what she was trying to show me.
"This," she repeated.
I sat there, dazed. Shit. I had forgotten to take out of the folder the photos basil took of me that day. My mouth hung open trying to find the words for a somewhat believable excuse.
"They're... Old pictures?" I say, trying to sound as convincing as I was trying to be.
"Nice safe. Didn't work, though. You're wearing the same outfit you wore to school," she said, smirking sharply at me as if it was a game. A game to discover the truth.
"I don't know what to say."
"Creek, do you have a secret girlfriend?" Marigold said, mouth open in shock as if she just discovered something important.
"What? No way." I say, shaking my head, embarrassed.
"Boyfriend, then?" she insisted.
"No."
"Oh come on! I bet you have a secret relationship. Tell me who it is!"
I roll my eyes. "Believe me, Mari, If I liked someone, it would've been obvious. And, for the record, I would have told you and Ansel by now."
"Would you really?" she said, squinting her eyes at me.
"For Christ's sake, yes, I would!"
"Oh, by the way, if we're still on this subject, would you rather have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?" she said, grinning at me.
"How about none—"
The doorbell rang. Marigold let out a frown that made me chuckle. She pet the kitten before she got up from the bed. Mari sighed and went downstairs to open the door.
I hear some muttered voices, and then I hear someone climbing the stairs.
"Hi, Creek. Sorry for being late," Ansel greets me.
Ansel was staying by the doorframe, a smile on his face. His clothes were covered with dirt, and I noticed that he had a few scratches on his fingers. It reminded me of how Basil looked on the day he finally showed up. He and Ansel were both covered in dirt. I noticed that Ansel's hair was looking messy, the same as Basil's hair looked back then.
"What happened?" I manage to say. I completely forgot to greet him.
He looks down at his clothes. "Oh, you mean this. Don't worry about it. My mom begged me to help her with some gardening, that's why I was late," Ansel explained.
His words rang in my ears.
"Ansel, here, I brought a spare baggy shirt and some pants for you," I hear Marigold say. "But please, take a shower first."
Ansel nodded, dropped the bag he was carrying, and kissed Marigold on the forehead.
Mari then picked his bag from the ground and entered the room, sitting down on the bed beside me again. "I'm sorry on his behalf. He sometimes does this. But don't worry, I always deal with him," she laughs.
I laughed, even though I didn't feel like doing it.
Ansel's shower didn't take too long. He soon came out of the bathroom with wet hair and the clean clothes Marigold lent him.
*
Ansel laid on his back, on the black mattress, one leg crossed over the other, lazily twirling a foot in the air while looking at us struggling to paint the image we've chosen. The cat was now lying on his chest, and Ansel was petting it.
"What's the cat's name, Mari?" I ask her, raising my glare from the painting to the kitten who left Ansel's chest and jumped on one of Marigold's shelves.
"Her name's Calico!" Mari smiled, looking as if she was glad I asked her.
"...A calico cat names Calico?" I ask, amused.
"Blame it on Ansel. He came up with the name," Mari shot him a look.
"So? It suits her," he replies, looking hurt by the accusation.
"You're an idiot," Mari sighs.
"Am not, I'm logical," Ansel muttered.
We blurted out laughing but were soon interrupted by a bag falling off the shelf Calico was sitting on. The bag wasn't shut, so whatever was inside was all spilled on the bed covers and Ansel's leg. Calico jumped off the shelf onto the bed and started eating the green stuff that fell from the bag.
Marigold groaned, trying to stop herself from screaming in frustration. "Ansel, Creek, somebody fucking grab Calico!"
See, here's the thing about Marigold: she may act all tough, but she can be just as soft as Ansel at times. Unless you actually make her mad, because she'd probably stab your foot with anything she could possibly find.
Ansel was too busy laughing like crazy, so I got off the floor and grabbed the cat. Calico was clearly not happy I took her away from whatever she was eating because she started struggling in my arms, scratching and biting anything that she could. I hissed in pain and hurried to put her down on the floor.
But my efforts to get her away from the bed were all washed in the drain when Calico jumped back on the bed effortlessly. Ansel was trying to stop himself from laughing, his hands on his chest, and Marigold wasn't mad or frustrated anymore, she was laughing too. I started laughing with them too. I looked over at Basil who was also laughing like a helpless idiot. I guess we were all looking like some idiots.
At some point, Marigold finally got up from the ground, clutching her stomach. She jumped on her bed and grabbed Calico, not bothering to clean the mess the cat made on her bed. I was now slowly leaning back on one of her bean bag chairs, and a smile was pulling up one corner of my lips.
"Geez, I laughed so hard my stomach hurts," she complains.
"I could say the same about my stomach," quickly stated Ansel too.
"Same here," I add.
That made us laugh again. After we finally calmed down, I got up from the ground too.
"What was in the bag anyway?" I ask them.
"Catnip," Marigold answered, trying to hold in another laugh.
"No way! Is Calico okay?" I quickly replied, amused.
"Yes, don't worry about her. She loves catnip. Not that you haven't noticed," Ansel grinned.
Calico was now on the floor, playing like crazy with some cat toy. We all looked at her and wheezed.
It seemed like we had forgotten about the project because we were now sitting down at the small glass table in Marigold's room. Mari and I ate chips while Ansel was enjoying his strawberries and drinking soda.
Marigold then suddenly got up from her chair and climbed on her bed, looking at her vinyls.
"Any suggestions?" she asked, smiling.
Ansel and I shrugged, letting her pick whatever she wanted.
"Alright then!" Mari grinned.
She picked one of the vinyls from the shelf and jumped off the bed, heading towards the record player sitting on a black desk in the corner of the room. She placed the vinyl and smiled at us when she sat down at the table again.
A song started playing. Even though I didn't really listen to music, I quickly recognized it only because Marigold mentioned it before, and as the good friend I am, I listened to it as soon as I got home from school.
"Marigold by Nirvana," I smirk.
Mari looked surprised. "Yes! I didn't think you'd listen to it!"
"Of course, I would!"
"So, what do you think about it?" she asked, smiling.
"Great song," me and Ansel say at the same time. We chuckle.
"Of course, it is, any song I listen to is great," Marigold says grinning, hands now on her hips.
"Whatever you say, Mari," Ansel rolled his eyes, but a bright smile was on his lips.
It was getting pretty late, and we had to finish the project we were assigned to do. At one point I even begged Basil to help us paint – because I thought we would never finish it – but he just laughed, telling me it was hilarious for him to watch me and Marigold try.
We finally finished the painting after a few solid hours. To be honest, I was happy with how it came out.
I left Marigold's house at ten. I hugged her and Ansel goodbye before leaving.
It was a really fun day. I really enjoyed spending time at her place. However, I still felt bad for going through Marigold's stuff and I told her about how I was feeling. She laughed and told me not to worry about it anymore, and that she planned on telling me about it but didn't know how to bring the subject up. She said she was actually glad I found the picture of the two of them. I felt a bit better after her words.
Basil and I were now walking towards my house. He insisted on taking me home because it was already dark outside, and I agreed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I say out of nowhere.
"Tell you what?" Basil asked, tilting his head while walking so he could look at me.
"About you and Marigold."
"Ah, that. I didn't think it was a big deal. Plus, I wanted to give you some proof, so I just decided to wait."
"Proof? You think I wouldn't have believed you?"
He sighed. "That's not what I'm implying—"
"In fact, it is. Basil, no matter how much I show it or how much I don't, I trust you. I really do. You can say anything, and I'd just believe you. You don't need to gather proof for me to trust you. I thought that was obvious."
"That's foolish."
"Sorry, what?"
"Why do you trust me so much?" Basil said as he stopped walking.
I stopped walking too. He was now staring at me. I kept looking at my hands.
"Take a guess," I rolled my eyes.
Basil's jaw didn't move so I figured he was waiting for me to elaborate. "Do I have any reason not to trust you?"
"That's not an answer."
I shrug. "Alright, then. I trust you because you trust me."
"What gave you the impression that I trust you?" he scoffs.
"Well, it's pretty obvious. We wouldn't be here if you didn't trust me to begin with."
We were still not moving, just standing still in the middle of the sidewalk. I decided to finally look at Basil's face, so I raised my head since he was taller than I was.
His expression was different than what I had expected. I expected him to have his usual smug grin. Or a smirk, at least.
But he wasn't grinning nor smirking. His lips formed a thin line, and his eyebrows had slightly frowned. He didn't say anything.
"You're not used to people trusting you, or what?" I ask, hoping to get an explanation from him.
"It's not that," he replied as he started walking again, turning his head away from mine.
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know."