Chapter 3, The Prodigal Son Returns

Wammy's House, Winchester, England

 

     Trinity looked up from the research paper she had been writing when she saw the flash of headlights through her bedroom window. She brushed the dark chestnut locks of hair that had fallen in her face away and took off her glasses, looking outside to see Roger's car in the driveway. The headmaster of the orphanage was never this late and Trinity wondered what he had been up to. The old man turned off his headlights and in the dusky winter gloom, she could pick out his figure emerging from the car, followed by a much smaller figure emerging from the back seat. Her interest was instantly peaked. It wasn't often that Roger brought a new student to the orphanage, but they were always worth meeting. She rushed out of her room and down the stairs taking two at a time to get to the front door. She got there just as Roger was shutting the door behind him.

     "Ah excelent. Trinity, you're just in time to meet our newest student." Roger said as he shed his dark woolen overcoat. Trinity smiled warmly at the  young boy at Roger's side as he analyzed her silently.

     "It's nice to see a new face around here. I'm sure he'll fit right in." His gaze was somewhat shy, but intent and Trinity could see that he (just like all of the residents of Whammy's House) was incredibly sharp. This ammused her.

     "How much have you told him about the place?" Trinity asked Roger.

     "Only the basics. Would you be so kind as to show him around and help him get settled?"

     "Of course. I can give him a quick tour of the house and we'll be done in time to meet everyone at dinner."

     "Splendid. Thank you Trinity," and with that he retired to his office, leaving Trinity and the young new comer in the foyer.

     "I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself," Trinity started in an attempt to ease the boy into conversation. "I'm Trinity. Just Trinity. I'm one of the oldest students here."

     "It's nice to meet you," the boy said quietly, his dark eyes still stealing glances at her from behind a fringe of black hair.

     "Have you chosen a name yet? None of us here really use our real names. We're given a letter designation and then choose a name to go with it as kind of a nick-name."

     "I'm Ryuu," he replied. "why don't people use their real names here?"

     "Well, I'm sure that Roger already told you that this is a home for those who are highly gifted. Most of us grow up here hoping to be chosen as the successor of the best detective in the world, so part of the reason for the code names is to keep our identities safe. Another reason is just because not many of us really have a connection with our real names, so we choose ones that are more fitting. I don't even remember my real name."

     Trinity and Ryuu made their way up the stairs. "Why don't you  remember your real name?" Ryuu asked

     "I've just had too many. It's a bit complicated to explain, but I grew up with disociative identity disorder and since each persona has a name, they tend to get jumbled up inside my head."

      Ryuu looked down and thumbed his lip . "Oh..." he said as they reached the second floor landing. The broad hallway that streached before them was lined with stained glass windows near the ceiling on either side and lines of doors streached to the other end.

     "Oh don't worry about it. I only have three personas these days and none of them are a bother. Anyway, this floor is where all of our bedrooms are. Any of them that don't have a marker on them aren't currently owned by anybody."

     Ryuu wandered down the hall looking at the markers on the doors as Trinity walked with him and kept talking. "It can be a bit difficult to adjust to living here sometimes. A lot of people let the stress of trying to be the next in line as world's best detective get to them, but in most cases it's usually the extremely private and introverted types who have these problems." She stopped and rested a hand on Ryuu's shoulder. "That's why I need you to promise me you'll talk to someone if it gets to be too stressful for you, ok? You can even come to me if you want. I'm kind of everyone's big sister around here and I don't want anyone to struggle on their own. "

     For the first time since he arrived, Ryuu smiled at Trinity. Only a small half smile, but she wasn't about to be picky about it. "Ok," he said, and she smiled back, ruffling his hair up before continuing the tour down stairs.

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