Due to how late it had become, we all split up and went our separate ways to our homes. Our parents weren't too happy about us leaving the house and sure let us know it in a furious manner. I quickly calmed my mother down by having her talk about her day at work; Dustin did the same; Carson listened as his complained; Beth tried to reason but ended up crying because she hated being yelled at; and Mandy didn't get the chance to argue with her mother because her mother couldn't care less. But after everything settled down we began doing our usual nightly activities.

I was going through my skincare routine step by step seeing what I should add to achieve perfect skin. Dustin was preparing a meal for himself and his sister. Carson started tackling his homework. Beth was working on a paper. And Mandy was braiding her hair when a knock came to the front door. She was a bit tense because it was already late plus someone had already thought to be entering our houses unannounced and stealing stuff so she was a bit on edge.

The first knock resonated through the house, and Mandy expected her mother to answer, but of course, she didn't. She then assumed it was her brother to whom she had given some money from her savings to go shopping for food because her mother had hidden all the ideal groceries in her room for her boyfriend, who had complained that they were eating all the good stuff. So they were only left with the bad choices. She waited for her brother to realize that he had taken his keys before leaving because she didn't want to loose concentration. But then there was another knock. Mandy climbed out of her room a bit annoyed whilst placing the braiding hair into one of the parts she had created earlier. She opened the door to find a boy standing there.

He was tall, of a dark complexion with low brown eyes, cornrows and veins taking pride in their shimmering green beauty by making themselves be seen. His nose was crooked and his sculpted chin went in the opposite direction. And he wore black denim jeans and a white hoodie.

"Good night!"

"Um... good night? Who are you?" Mandy replied.

"I'm the son of the boxing trainer you met at the gym a couple days ago!"

"Oh.. um... hi? What's up? How does he know me?"

  Nervous, he stood there fidgeting for a moment.

"So?..."

"I'm sorry. Let me be honest with you... Listen please. I'm friends with your brother and I've always looked at you from afar because I have an intense crush on you" Mandy's interest peaked. "And my father knows you because I told him... obviously... and he wanted me to try to shoot my shot I guess and I've been working up the courage. You're the first crush of mine I've told my father about and he just really wants to see me not in the house watching anime everyday. I usually watch stuff like "Haikyuu" and the other day I saw you watching "Inuyasha" and I started watching it and it's really good. You have impeccable taste.... Basically I just want to take you to Rituals for a coffee just to at least get to know each other, please?"

    Mandy smiled.

"Sure!"

"Amazing. Are you free tomorrow?"

"I have to meet up with my friends but we can totally meet up... let's say for eight or nine for an hour at least"

"That works for me. Plus I have to go to school tomorrow anyways. Thank you. Goodnight!"

But Mandy stopped him before he could walk away.

"What's your name though?"

"Sorry, it's Gibbs"

"See you tomorrow Gibbs" she said ending the conversation with a smile.

She watched as Gibbs bumped into her brother on the pathway, and the two struck a brief conversation before they fist bumped before parting ways. She wasn't too clear on her first impression or thought on Gibbs. She knew that she totally had to give it time to brew and get to know him. She did like his interest in anime however. For a long time she only had Dustin and I to discuss with. The three of us are average watchers, Carson doesn't watch anime at all and Beth only watches what her brothers turn on that spikes her interest.

    But at the moment, looking her best tomorrow was her top priority as usual, so she went to her room to plan her outfit. She went to her closet, opened it, and dumped her things onto her bed before finishing up her hair. She took pride in her sense of style and constructed all of her own clothes. She drew influence from different fashion icons, luxury brands and historical eras of fashion and added her own spin, reflecting the inner confidence she possessed with each outfit.

Mandy has always been confident from as long as she could remember. She did not want anyone's approval in order to express herself in the way she desired. She always made sure to expose a little skin because she saw her dark complexion as just another extension of her attractiveness. She was clear about what she wanted out of life, which was greatness and more for herself. She always envisions herself living the high life and walking down a red carpet with looks to die for. She uses the ruined streets of BerkVille as her current carpet by adapting that fantasy through her eyes like virtual reality goggles. She also makes money by selling some of her creations to her relatives and cousins, which is how she always seems to have money. Additionally, her grandmother was the individual who taught her to sew and always made investments in her. She is the it girl society doesn't want her to be. And to that she says "kiss my ass motherfuckers!"

8:45 p.m
Beth was watching a YouTube video after finishing her assignment while sitting up in bed, when something unexpected happened that brought her back to great fear. She began to tremble as Kendrick strode down the hallway with heavy footsteps. She was terrified to death because whenever he walked heavier than usual, it was an indication that he was angry and about to yell and possibly attack her mother. But he was only walking heavily because he forgot he had to go to Dustin, Carson, Mandy and I's houses with his certified friend to check if they were bugged by the police.

Both Beth and her older brother came out of their rooms after he left both visibly scared and went into their mother's arms in her room. Beth broke down into tears.

"Mommy, please make him go away. I can't help but keep thinking that he is going to do something sooner or later. This is why I've ran away to my father's and haven't been around as much and I'm sorry!"

That hurt her brother. Because their father doesn't call or acknowledge them, he and her sick brother never got the pleasure of a loving and devoted father like Beth did. Their father enjoys a carefree lifestyle, taking many women on wild excursions. He had always desired a close bond with his father and had believed at first that Kendrick would provide it in some way, but he had been severely disappointed. So whilst Beth was picked up and hugged by her father as he drove away on weekends, he was always at a friends or their relatives house. Which is where he also uses to escape from the sight of Kendrick.

Their mother assured them that he would be gone soon and apologized to them for reopening wounds. She said she had a plan in mind and that everything is going as planned. She then said that Kendrick hadn't been aggressive or hit her like before and said that although he had been widely different that still doesn't excuse his past actions. She added that Kendrick had been trying to get back with her for months and that the only reason she took him back was because of her plan. She hugged them both tightly and assured them once again that everything is falling into place. I wonder what she has planned...

9:01 p.m
All our houses were checked and weren't bugged before it had become too late. And to end the night, Dustin spent three hours drawing up a replica of a map of BerkVille onto the wall of the treehouse. He knew it would turn out to be useful in some way tomorrow.

    Additionally, he placed in plastic chairs with cushions and a small table before suffocating the room with air freshener. Finally, he sliced up some mangoes, peaches, and waxed apples. Then, he added some pepper, salt, and a teaspoon of vinegar, and put it in the refrigerator so that we could all have it the following day.

8:53 a.m
   The next day has dawned. In anticipation of Gibs' arrival, Mandy waited outside Rituals. She carried a white purse in her hands and wore a short, sleeveless peasant dress decorated with flowers, a white bow, and five-inch stiletto heels. She spent the entire night braiding her hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail that sat on her right shoulder.

    At nine on the dot, Gibs arrived. The two said good morning to each other and Gibbs held the door for Mandy as she stepped inside, then he walked in after her. After she sat down at a table he asked her what she wanted and went to the counter to order. He had black coffee with a croissant and Mandy had a cupcake and a Frappuccino. And as soon as he received the order he went back to the table and handed her portion to her.

"Do you like it?" Gibs asked after smiling as he peered at Mandy as she bit and chewed her cupcake.

"Yeah, yeah!...Is yours okay?"

"It's really good actually!"

    The two awkwardly laughed and sat there chewing and looking at each other for a minute.

"So... what do you wanna be when you grow up?"

"Ummmmm... Definitely a celebrity fashion designer"

"I could see you doing that to be honest. It's in everything you do!"

    Mandy smiled.

"Thank you! What do you wanna be?"

"The engineer and graphic designer for your fashion shows!"

    Mandy smiled once more.

"Are you good at that stuff? I only hire the best of the best!" she said as she laughed.

"Trust me, I am! I can hack, I'm not the best of the best but I can get into practically any device. I can edit and bring your visions to life just with my laptop. There's so much more too but it would take too long to list"

"That's actually really cool. You're definitely hired!"

    The two giggled.

    Outside, awaiting the light to turn green was Babylon nested in his car. He noticed Mandy and Gibs and instantly fixed his eyes on them watching the scene. But Gibs looked familiar. He is! He was seen on the school security cameras talking with DeeJay. DeeJay was looking about distraught and Gibs seemed a bit ticked off. Is he on a date with Mandy? Could they be conspiring or trying to hide something? Too bad he couldn't linger on the scene as a vehicle began honking loudly after dropping off a man.

     The atmosphere in the room changed instantly when the man entered carrying a comically large radio tuned to the news, where the topic of the day was DeeJay's murder case and how the police were seen searching a few homes. A woman who sat across from the two started to gossip and point to Mandy with her friend. Mandy gave her a dirty look to let her know her disdain

"I'm sorry" Gibs said under his breath.

"Don't worry about it. Can we just go, please?"

"Yeah, yeah! You lead the way, I follow! After all I'm already almost two hours late for school!"

   The two gathered their possessions, cleaned the table, threw their waste in the trash can, and then walked away after Gibs payed. In order for Mandy to reach Dustin's residence hopefully without any other unpleasant confrontations, they strolled over to a taxi stand. Mandy nearly fell as they walked under the veranda because she unknowingly stepped into a pothole. After ensuring her safety and that she hadn't hurt herself, Gibs led the way as the two walked forward.

"Apart from the bitch in the place... this was nice, thank you Gibbs"

"You're welcome! You mind if I get your number so we could do this again sometime? Please?"

"No problem!"

  Mandy handed him her phone number in the loveliest yet most enigmatic way ever. She removed a pen from her handbag and wrote one of her numbers, excluding the last two, on each of his fingers. He counted it and thought she had forgotten the last two numbers and told her, but Mandy just smiled exposing her dimples.

"I would love to see your dedication. Find the last numbers" she said as she entered the taxi. And all Gibs could do was chuckle as cocoons began opening in his stomach.

12:24 p.m
Carson, Beth, Mandy, and I were seated in Dustin's treehouse. As we talked, we all passed the dish of fruit that Dustin had prepared around. Homework that had been sent home by the school was on Carson's lap, and Beth's laptop was playing music. Before I arrived at Dustin's, I made a pit stop at a printing shop in the town to print out the photos we took of the storage container which was laid out on the table. Dustin quickly joined us after he was done inside his main house administering medication to his grandfather. Our conversation started after he entered the treehouse and sat down next to me.

"Alright. For one, I'm still spooked at the fact that the tapes just disappeared and isn't at any of our houses. And we've looked multiple times!" Beth began.

"That's what I've been pondering on this entire time at the back of my head. It was literally our best option and a lifeline and now time is running out" Mandy replied.

"Not only that, but I feel like Babylon isn't doing his job that good" I added.

We all sucked our teeth and Dustin folded his arms.

"But what do y'all think about the storage container?" Carson asked.

"To be honest, with everyone that was literally hounding DeeJay and after him, I believe he was trying to get out of town. Think about it... the money, the hidden place!" Dustin answered.

"That makes sense, but what if it's something different? And where did he even get the money?" I asked, pondering on the little information we had.

"Does it really make sense? How would a child get a storage container in his name?" Carson questioned.

"What if it was his parents? Or somehow made someone else get it for him or something?" Mandy added.

"Could be"

"What if its someone totally different. What if maybe it was one of the police officers who was at the crime scene that dropped their watch?" Beth queried.

"Could be" Carson repeated.

We all sat there for a couple minutes thinking. That's when Mandy's phone received a text message from Gibbs who was overjoyed to let her know that he got the last two numbers. Her face lit up as she placed her phone back down.

"Maybe we're just looking too closely and too into it" Dustin contested.

"That's what I'm thinking. I still think its someone on the tapes and my strongest guest is Dallo's father. It's literally been our biggest clue. Literally Dallo's father could've just left the church and no one noticed and came back after he killed him" I attached.

"Wait... we can do something with that... you're smart Toy!" Carson said intrigued.

    I smiled feeling accomplished. Carson stood up and stumbled to the wall where Dustin drew up the map. His homework page fell and of-course I reached to it to sneak a picture.

"If we circle the areas where everyone was and the place where DeeJay was we can calculate how long it would take them to get there, get the gun, possibly commit the crime and get back. Plus, we know that Mr. Chooloo always goes outside to sit on his balcony and look at the forest before four thanks to his interview with DBS. So it couldn't have been before then because he would've seen them" Carson examined.

"You're actually right and so smart what the fuck" Mandy said causing Carson to smile and feel proud of himself.

   We all started working on Carson's idea after that. I went to Dustin's room and took some new paper, pencils, and rulers. Whilst I did that, the locations of each person were marked out by Dustin. The math was done by Carson. Beth visited a shop to purchase a few snacks to help him think. And Mandy struck up a conversation with me as Beth arrived back with the treats.

"I know you always dress really good but today you're a bit... overdressed!" I inquired.

"Well... since you asked... I went on a date with this guy this morning" Mandy answered as she took a packet of salted crackers from Beth's palms.

"Wait what?!" Beth said as she pulled up a chair next to the two of us.

    Even Carson's interest peaked as the he slid his pencil across the paper and Dustin listened quietly.

"This is literally the first time I've ever heard you say you went out with a guy! How was it? What's his name?" Beth questioned.

"It was fine he is actually really charming. And his name is Gibbs. He's friends with my brother"

"So he's one year older than we'll be turning this year. You dating a sixteen year old. Okayyyyyyyy girlie!"

    I chuckled.

"Stooooop" Mandy said smiling from ear to ear. "He has had a crush on me for a while actually and he asked me last night and this morning we went to Rituals!"

"Okay, okay... but do you like him?" I asked.

"I'm starting to warm up to him. Plus he's a big anime fan and like a hacker and I kinda like nerdy guys. Especially ones that adore me as much as he does!"

"Waaaait... he's kinda perfect oh my god girl!" Beth said excitedly.

"Yeah... and now that I think about it... Beth, does your neighbor Mrs. Thomas still have her cameras up?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's good! I remember when she alerted your mother of the dog that was entering your room window and stealing your shoes to chew on because her cameras position also captures your house. I can ask Gibs to hack your neighbors' camera system and see if anyone came into your house and left with the tapes!"

"You're right oh my god!"

"I'll get on it tomorrow!"

"Alright, I'm done!" Carson said calling our attention over to him.

"As we know, no tire tracks were found at the scene of the crime or anything. So its safe to assume that whoever did it walked there..." Carson began as we sat and watched him like a teacher with his class. "So when you calculate the amount of time DeeJay took to record the tapes its over an hour but lower than one hundred and twenty minutes of uninterrupted time" we shook out heads. "After that he probably went back home dropped them off and went out again. By the time he did that it would've been past six. Thanks to the time his mother provided that was easy to get. If we calculate the time it would take either of the people on the tapes to get to where he was it would take them roughly over three hours because of the rain. They then would take the same hill which he took to go back up towards his house which would've take them roughly an hour because of the bushes. Then the walk back and added load of dragging DeeJay's body to the forest would take over four hours and thirty minutes for the lowest because of navigating through a forest with the body. And even if they had help it still wouldn't be easy. Plus, sinking the body isn't a quick and easy task. And it couldn't be that they killed DeeJay in the forest because DeeJay wasn't headed there. The only other way he could get there is if they chased him into there which still would've taken up some time. There's a lot of possibilities, stuff we don't know and secrets. Piggybacking off of that, I have something else to say that I've kept secret..."

"What?" We asked in unison.

"I heard the gunshot that killed DeeJay that night because my parents were driving me home. And the time was past three. They couldn't have did that and get back in time and escaped. Plus the storm ended around two and it was just a little drizzle after that. So there would be people coming outside to check on their houses and shops. They would've seen something. Basically what I'm saying is that we're back at yet... another dead end!"

   All of our spirits fell at that very instant. We all sat there for an extended period, our spirits low from frustration and disappointment. Time was approaching, and it appeared that we would be arrested soon. But Mandy's was low for the reason that she knew Carson's calculations might be a bit off because him being around her sister's house means he took a detour and would've taken him longer.

"Well... at least we got Gibs to hack that camera. Our last hope" Beth said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, at least..." Carson said with scared undertones in his voice.

"And plus, we don't know how to make sense of Jigsaw being alive!" Beth imputed.

"Maybe I should go back and try to question Cole!" Carson suggested.

"No. Bad idea. That man is freakishly scary you don't know what he is capable of doing" Dustin replied.

   My phone rang at precisely that moment. I responded outside and then entered again after I was finished. The others questioned me about who had called.

"It was DeeJay's mother. She got my number from the school's office. She wants us to come to the cemetery tomorrow because she had a tomb made for DeeJay and is having a little ceremony"

"That's weird. Why the fuck we gotta be there? I don't wanna go to that shit!" stated Dustin.

"Dustin stop. This woman is clearly hurting and we were his friends so I guess she just needs some kind of comfort. We can go, we must go actually!" inputed Beth.

"Whatever!" Dustin said as he left to check up on his grandfather. Carson followed him because he couldn't stand to be away from him for too long, plus he wanted to help him nurse his grandfather to impress him.

Us girls just sat there munching on snacks and listening to Beyoncé for that time as we conversed.

"By the way, Toy, I wanted to also say again that I'm sorry for how I acted in the past. I'm trying to be different" Beth said shifting the mood.

"Don't worry, think of it as payback for Kendrick. Fuck him by the way!"

"Yeah fuck that nigga!" Mandy shouted and we all giggled.

And at that precise moment, I understood just how far our friendship had come and how far it still had to develop. I longed to have these girls as lifelong pals. Just imagining us, filled with life, all wrinkly, sitting on our rocking chairs on the porch discussing those meddling kids next door. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Carson and Dustin there as well. Just by the energy I could tell we all wanted that as well even though we didn't know how to put in words. I believe I've possibly found my soul mates.