Marigold and I got an A on our art project. Somehow, a lot of people either got an F or were asked to re-do the project, mainly because they painted random pictures that weren't theirs. I never actually thought I will be this proud of myself for getting an A at Art. Somehow, we got lucky because I still had my camera in my backpack, since Friday. I had forgotten to take it out of the backpack when I arrived home, and I'm glad I did. When the teacher called us to the front of the class to show the painting, she also asked to see our reference picture. Marigold's face turned white. She was probably thinking I left the camera home – which was what I was supposed to do, but as the forgetful person I am, of course, I totally forgot about it. I excused myself and went back to my seat to look through my backpack. I was relieved when I found the small camera. I went back to the front of the classroom and showed the teacher the photo I had taken on Friday. She asked if I had taken it, and I nodded. She was pretty amazed.
When the bell rang, Mari told me that she and Ansel won't be able to join me for the lunch break. I asked her why and all she said was that Ansel wanted to talk to her alone, so I just agreed to hang out with them later. I was surprised that I didn't quite mind spending the lunch break without them. Perhaps I had missed spending time alone with Basil at school. As if he knew I was thinking of him, Basil appeared, possibly waiting for me, and leaning on the doorframe just as I was about to leave the classroom.
"Hey," he greets me.
"Hi," I reply.
"How come you're not with Marigold?"
"She said Ansel wanted to talk to her alone, or something like that."
"Well? What're you waiting for?"
"What do you mean?"
Basil shrugs. "Let's see what they're talking about."
"No way. What if it's personal stuff?"
"Then we'll leave. Simple."
I scratch my neck. "Fine. But if they're not talking about something that could be a clue, I'm leaving," I warm him.
"Fair enough," he shrugged.
I sigh and leave the classroom, Basil following me. I had to stop giving in to his plans. It's not like it wasn't a good idea to listen to whatever Mari and Ansel were planning on talking about, because it could possibly help us a lot with identifying the killer, but Marigold asked me to let them have their time alone – which isn't something that she usually does. That was what made me wonder if we should spy on them. I let my thoughts slide and stopped, trying to think about where they could possibly be.
Of course, Marigold didn't mention where she'd be meeting with Ansel, but I had an idea of where they'd be. We first checked the halls to be sure, but when we saw no red hair sticking out, I was positive they'd be outside.
Before we started being friends, I always saw them outside in a corner, through the window. I told Basil about it, and he agreed we should check outside.
"Shit," I mutter.
"What?" Basil asks.
"I see them, but there aren't any trees or anything I could hide behind," I point out.
The plan we made before going in the yard was easy: I just had to hide behind a tree or something – not too close to them, but not too far either so I could hear them – so they couldn't see me.
"Then I'll go. I'll tell you everything they said," Basil says.
I was really glad he suggested that. "Sure, thanks."
Basil smiled, probably knowing that I was relieved, and started walking towards them. They were sitting on the grass, on a jacket that kept them somewhat warm. I squinted my eyes and soon noticed it was Ansel's denim jacket. I then shifted my glare to them. Marigold was talking and Ansel just kept nodding.
For the first time in a while, I was glad Basil couldn't be seen by anyone but me. It helped us in this situation. I sat on the nearest bench I could find and waited for Basil to come back.
Smiling at how close Basil got to them, I fixed my glasses that were on the tip of my nose again. I should really get a new pair I thought. Basil was now slowly letting himself fall to the ground, sitting next to them as if he part of the conversation.
But then I suddenly remembered what happened Saturday with Ansel. How he came over to Marigold's house all covered in dirt. The image was still clear in my mind. I haven't talked to Marigold nor Ansel yesterday, even though it was Sunday, and to be honest, I was a bit scared for today. I was worried that Marigold got mad at me over time. If she did, I really couldn't blame her.
I had forgotten to ask Basil about Ansel. I wondered if he knew something about it. I know Ansel already told me the reason why he was looking like that, but I needed Basil's validation to not suspect that Ansel was lying. Basil will surely know if he was lying, right? They were best friends, so I'm sure he would know if Ansel's mother was actually a Gardner. Basil and I got too worked up that evening – talking about what his relationship with Marigold was like – that I forgot to ask him.
I looked over to where Basil was last seen, sitting down near Marigold and Ansel. But he wasn't there anymore. There was an empty place where he was supposed to be sitting.
I suddenly see a dark shadow.
"I'm back," Basil says as he sits down on the bench beside me.
"What did you hear?" I ask him.
"You were right. Nothing important, really. Just some personal stuff."
I scoffed. Of course I was right, yet I still accepted his request to spy on them.
"Then how come you stayed there so much?" I inquired.
He shrugged. "They didn't talk about anything in particular at first, so I had to wait and see if anything interesting would show up in their conversation. However, nothing did."
"Did they mention anything about me? Or about Saturday?"
"No, why?"
"I'm afraid Marigold told Ansel about the picture."
"She probably has."
"I asked her not to. She said she wouldn't tell him, and that it would remain our business," I explained to him.
"And she also said she didn't know me," Basil reminded me.
I sigh. "Yeah, true. I guess I'm just scared Ansel wouldn't be so chill about it. Which would be very unlikely, but I'm not willing to take any chances. I don't want to ruin my relationship with either of them, I hope you understand."
" You're scared about what Ansel will think if he finds out about you going through Marigold's stuff?" he tilts his head.
"Yes, that."
"Don't worry about it. Ansel's a chill person. If Marigold tells him she wasn't mad about it, then he won't be mad either. They mostly copy each other's emotions, so if Mari didn't mind you found out about it then Ansel surely won't be mad either. And remembering Saturday, I can't say that she was truly mad. "
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
I nod. I was grateful for his words, they calmed me down. I really wished everything he said was true.
Marigold and Ansel came up to me as soon as they finished talking alone, and we spent the last minutes of the break chatting about random stuff. Ansel didn't look mad or anything, so I supposed Mari hasn't said anything to him about what happened Saturday. Or if she did, Basil's prediction was true. Ansel didn't look like he was mad at all.
At the end of the day, however, something unexpected happened. I was packing my backpack so I could go home while laughing with Basil in the empty classroom. I was planning to finally ask him about Ansel's mother, but then I suddenly heard someone knocking on the classroom door. I quickly shut my mouth.
The door opened, and the person I least expected entered the classroom. It was Esther.
"Ansel told me I would probably find you here. Guess he was right," she said, slowly walking inside.
Ansel? How come she asked Ansel and not Marigold? It wasn't like she was closer to him, because Esther and Mari had their reputation as close friends.
"What do you want?" I ask her. My tone came off meaner than I would've liked it to, but she didn't seem to mind. I guess she understood that I was allowed to still be mad at her.
"Who were you talking to?" Esther then asks, looking at me.
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
She didn't insist anymore.
"Why are you here, anyway? I finally say, taking my eyes off my black backpack that was on the ground.
"I wanted to apologize," Esther says. I looked at her hands and saw that she was fidgety.
Basil chuckled beside me. I rolled my eyes in his direction. "After a week?" I question her.
"I guess I needed time to remember what happened. I'm not good with alcohol and often forget everything, so, I'm truly sorry."
I remained silent. Esther, seeing my hesitance, continued.
"I wish we didn't start off like that. You're nice, Creek. You really are. I don't know what came over me back then. I swear I didn't mean what I said or done. Could you, please, give me another chance? I won't mess up again."
I believed Esther's words. Perhaps this will turn out to be a bad choice, but being on good terms with Esther was everything I needed right now. I could now easily try to find out clues about Basil if we aren't on bad terms.
"Alright. I accept your apology," I assured.
Esther smiled. She thanked me and asked if she could walk home with me.
"Do you live near me?" I ask, surprised.
"Yes, actually. About two or three minutes away from your house. I found out randomly yesterday," she said watching me as I put my backpack on.
"How come?"
"Marigold came over to my house yesterday. I invited her so we could set things straight and I could apologize if I ever did something to upset her. We then agreed to take a walk on my street, and as we were walking, Marigold pointed to a house and went 'oh, look, that's Creek's house! Didn't know you two lived so close!' I didn't know either."
So that's why Marigold hasn't reached out to me on Sunday. It wasn't because she was mad or anything. She just had plans with Esther. However, I wondered why Marigold didn't say anything about their meeting. I wasn't surprised, though.
"Ah, that makes sense. Sure, let's walk home together."
Esther and I left the classroom and Basil was now alone in the classroom, staring after us.
*
I soon came to the realization that Esther wasn't that bad. She was actually funny and not mean as I thought she was. I suppose it really was the alcohol that changed her.
However, when we left the school building, I didn't get to say goodbye to Basil, and I hoped he didn't mind.
It was awkward at first, I guess. Esther didn't know what to say other than apologize. I'm not great at starting conversations so I kept my mouth shut. But then, somehow, we started talking about random things. She told me how after a few months she finally decided to clear some stuff up with Marigold, and that they became close again.
We kept talking about school, but I had in my mind a question I wanted to ask her for a while now. So when I finally made up the courage, I asked her.
"Hey, Esther? Can I ask you something? I say.
"Sure," she replies.
"Did you mean what you said about Basil at the party?"
She kept silent at first. "About the suicide thing?"
I nod.
"I didn't mean it. I was just mad, I guess. I was mad at myself for not being able to help Basil with anything. I have no idea what happened to him. I have no idea if he's alive or dead. He just vanished. I can't help but feel guilt, you know?"
I understood Esther. I understood her actions now, and I guess I wasn't that upset at her anymore. Sure, that wound her ring left me still bugged me, but we laughed about it later in our conversations.
"I'm afraid we've reached my house," Esther says as she looks to her left.
On the left of the sidewalk was a big house that looked out of place. I looked around at the amber yards and the peeling paint that was left on some houses that were once brightly colored but now were faded and dirt smothered. I also noticed the old-fashioned doors that were either stuck in the doorframe or hanging off the hinges.
The neighborhood Esther and I lived in looked as if it were once valued a long time ago but then degraded as time took over.
Then I looked at Esther, who I noticed was wearing some tight blue jeans and a white sweater under her denim jacket. I also looked at the phone she was holding in her small hands – an older model of a pink iPhone.
"Your house is really pretty," I compliment, smiling in her direction.
"Thank you," she responds with a wide grin. "It was really nice talking to you. I'm glad we're good now. I couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt in my gut after what I've done to you on that night. I hope we can forget all about that."
"It's alright. You don't have to worry about it anymore."
We exchanged some more words, nothing special. Then, grinning, Esther waved at me as a goodbye. I waved back, watching as she turned her back and started walking towards her house.
I was actually glad Esther came up to me today. I guess I knew I had to do something about our situation if I wanted to keep an eye on her, but I didn't think it was going to be this easy. I wondered if Marigold told her anything about me.
While I walked to my house, I kept thinking about any clues we have found and any clue we possibly could find.