Choices: Tokyo -- A Caffè Americano Challenge Short

Central HQ.
Tokyo, Japan.

“Near.”

“…Matsuda. It’s been some time, I see. But today is not the time for reconciliation and nostalgia.” Touta’s eyes hardened as he listened to the robotic voice, “I want you to manage the applications of two new agents who would be arriving in the middle of the year. Manage them appropriately.”

“Agents? Near – we don’t need agents,” he argued. “It’s been only a few months since the end of the Kira case and you want us to bring in more agents?”

“I intend for that, Matsuda. And please call me with the appropriate title.”

You are not L, he thought bitterly, but kept his mouth shut.

“As much as possible, we would need new recruits. All the ones that I’ve read through are hopeless so far. However, I have stumbled upon a certain two. The first one is a young woman from Winchester, who was actually suggested to me by the current managers of the Wammy House. The second is someone from the United States, son of a police officer who currently works in the New York Police Department.”

He thought about this.

A lady from where he had come from, and the son of a police…

“L, the last time we took in a police’s son, he…you know how he ended up,” he finished rather lamely, folding his arms over his chest. “How do you know that he’s worth hiring?”

“His father is renowned there in New York, but that’s a different topic. I have looked over their bio data and have found nothing wrong with them.”

“So how can I contact them?”

“It’s quite simple. I have the young woman’s file and have already sent them to you, together with that of the male’s.”

“But we didn’t even put any kind of advertising–”

“I have my ways.”

Choices: College -- A Caffè Americano Challenge Short

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s just right for you, bro.” It was amazing what coffee could do to his brother, Samuel thought, Jake looking exactly how he did before he moved across states just so he could pursue his pre-med studies. He ran a hand through his thick hair and studied the brochure Samuel held in his hands, “I thought that you were going my way first, but then I noticed you were taking up BA and not BS.”

“Medicine just isn’t my type,” Samuel muttered, glancing next at the papers inside the brown manila envelope that was mailed. “So from here, I drive or take the train.”

“I’d drive. You can get gas at least and drive around during breaks to the café nearby or hang out elsewhere until your next class,” Jake suggested.  “Unless you want to dorm to save up on gas or anything.”

“No, no. I just want to go to college and study. I already aced the SATs,” he stretched and took a drink of coffee, “Aced them as much as I could. Manhattan accepted me and I’m enrolling as a Psych major. I just want to study, graduate, and then do police training.”

“Y-You want to do police training?” Jake’s eyes were wide as he sat down, “Are you serious, Sammy? Be like dad and go for the NYPD…?”

“Shut up,” Samuel hissed, and lowered his voice. “No, I’m not going to go like dad.”

“Then what do you plan to do–”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t know for now. But I’ve researched. They don’t care which course you take, but it’s nice if you took something that could be beneficial.” Jake listened, “So I decided to take Psychology. It was either that or Sociology, but Psych seemed like a better choice,” the younger of the two sighed. “If I took Psych, I’d be able to get into people more. No, not like that, goddamn. I’d know what makes them tick, whether child or adult.”

“Does dad know…?”

“He might have. I hinted it to him a bit.”

“How about mom?”

He sighed. “I don’t think she’ll like the idea a lot.”

Birthday Justice: A Caffè Americano Challenge Short

He was seven when his father missed his birthday.

Samuel remembered sitting there on the dining room chair. It was 1995, the twenty-eighth of June, and it was sweltering hot. Samuel sat on the chair, looking at the untouched cake, complaining about his father’s absence while his older brother Jake played at his console in the living room.

Kate wiped Samuel’s forehead, noticing that the more irritated he got, he more he sweat, and barely contained a chuckle. It was just like Nathan, she thought, and her smile faltered slightly.

“Dad’s taking a long time,” he complained to his mother, swinging his feet in pure impatience as he pouted. The Spiderman cake was getting, well, cold. Kate had asked that the three of them eat the cake, but Samuel stubbornly refused to do so, insisting that his dad had to be there and eat the cake with them – as it always had been. “Call dad. Call the station. I want dad.” He said this over and over until Jake entered the room, three years older and stretching. “Jake, call daddy.”

“I can’t do that, Sammy.” Jake walked to his brother and ruffled the younger’s brown hair rather playfully, “Dad’s always on business. We can’t distract him.”

“But it’s my birthday and I want cake,” he whined, banging his fists on the table and pouting even more, his eyes watering. It had never been like this, Samuel knew that.

Nathan Peters had different traditions for whoever birthday. For Kate, it would always be simple and sweet. For Jake, he would take him out and come back, Jake grinning ear-to-ear.

For Samuel, he had something special for him.

Nathan would always take Samuel outside, and play sports. Samuel would get to pick, and every year, it varied. Last year, it had been baseball, and both of them came back inside the house, sweaty and dirty, yet laughing hysterically. Kate would chastise both of them while Jake would shake his head, but smile has he helped Kate prepare Samuel’s favorite dinner: burgers with lettuce (strictly no tomatoes or pickles), boiled potato balls with cheese, and orange juice, newly bought and deliciously cold.

On that day, his father had to leave earlier than usual. So he sulked rather sadly, this time clutching a football in his hands and wearing a blue jersey with “BRONX” white and bold across the front. Jake had offered to play with him, open to dumping his game just to see his brother happy. Samuel declined. Kate offered to make him cookies, which was a weakness of his. 

Again, Samuel declined.