Sleuth

Name: Riley McKinnon Campbell Age: Sixteen Losers Club. Amateur Detective.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

“Hey, dinosaurs are cool. They used to have a whole bin of those plastic dinos next to the bin of Hot Wheels back at the Children’s Home… Needless to say, I always thought the boys got the better toys.” Tessa had played with the dinosaurs from time to time as a little kid; but she always prefered the toy cars and even more so the action figures. “And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t really start talking until I was, like, three. I think I did some of that baby sign stuff before that; but all I remember now is the sign for ‘more’.” She added, signing the only sign she knew.

“They are. I mean I think I mainly got into them because I didn’t like being around other kids.” Riley nodded. “You don’t strike me as the type of girl who actually likes girl things.” He stated honestly. “Oh wow. I’m oddly boring I don’t know how much more I can tell you.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

Riley was actually pretty cool to hang out with, at least from what Tessa gathered the two times they hung out thus far. Plus in the back of her mind, she was still wondering if he was her brother. That made her want to keep even more of an eye out for him. “So Riley, tell me more about yourself.” She decided to make conversation as they started walking towards Dairy’s. “Besides your love of mysteries and vanilla or, uh, anything related to your sister.”

Riley bit at his lip thinking of what else he could say about himself. “I have a sort of collection of dinosaurs. It’s just a weird thing I’ve done since I was little. I like museums.And people actually used to think I was deaf or something because I wouldn’t interact with the others at school and stuff.” He shrugged and sighed. 

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

“But you’re not allowed to play it too safe. I don’t wanna see boring vanilla. Live a little, Riley. Life’s short. Get the specialty milkshake.” Tessa stated, a mixture of a serious and a joking tone to her voice. “But anyway, Dairy’s is, like, a ten minute walk if you wanna go?” The weather was actually nice. Some fresh air would probably do them both a world of good.

“Okay. I promise.” Riley knew that she was only trying to help out from under the shell he lived in. “Sure. It’s nice out let’s take advantage of it.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

Tessa made a face. She wasn’t about to chance him having an allergic reaction if he wasn’t positive he could have hazelnuts. “Well I do highly recommend Nutella; but maybe try it on your own time. We’ll play it safe today. No ER visits, alright?”

Riley couldn’t help but chuckle at Tessa. “Alright..” He couldn’t argue with her.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

“Well you are trying Nutella… You can have hazelnuts, right? Or have you never had them before?” Tessa wasn’t about to let Riley try the stuff if he wasn’t sure he could even have hazelnuts. She didn’t want to be the cause of him having an allergic reaction—even though she carried an epi-pen in her bag and knew how to use it. “Have you ever had one of those Ferrero Rocher candies?” 

“Okay. Y-yeah as far as I know.” Riley answered honestly he couldn’t remember if he had ever had hazelnuts. “I don’t think I’ve had them before.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

“So, like, vanilla and chocolate and strawberry?” Tessa was more a fan of less plain flavors, mint chocolate being her absolute favorite. “Oh no. I’m not allergic. If I was, I’d cry since Nutella is the nectar of the gods! I’m just allergic to bees, cats, latex, and onions.”

“Usually Vanilla.” Riley said with a light shrug. “Good. I couldn’t tell you about Nutella since I’ve never had it.” He shrugged again with a small smile on his lips at the thought of what she would say to that.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

speedytesskeller:

‘Please tell me you’ve tried their mint chocolate shake before. If not, you’re soooo missing out; and I think I might have to just buy you one.” It was obvious Riley needed something to destress; and milkshakes had always been a go-to for Tessa. Actually, eating in general had always been a go-to for Tessa. “Or the Nutella shake is good too… Y’know, as long as you’re not allergic to nuts.”

“Uh, not really. I just stick to classics usually.” Riley stated he was much simpler than most. His go-to was vanilla. “Oh. Are you allergic to nuts?” He asked her still trying to keep things normal.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley just tried his best to fake a smile. He knew he was failing when she mentioned something about de-stressing. “O-Okay. Yeah.” He managed to reply.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

“Sounds good.” Riley said with a slight smile. His nerves already rising at the thought of talking to his parents about this whole thing. But he tried to keep them from completely overwhelming him while around her. “Thanks,Tessa.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley knew it wasn’t that helpful but it was all he had at this point. He nodded slightly as he listened to Tessa speak. He knew what she was saying could be true. “I guess that’s the best option right now. “ He hoped that it wasn’t what he was thinking it could be. 

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley sighed he did have a habit of trying to listen in on his parents conversations but he could never really make out anything other the name started with a T. “I’ve only managed to hear that her name started with a T.” Then he did a gasp of realization as he remembered them saying she was sick. “They also said that she was sick but I’m not sure how if that helps?”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley swallowed hard when she said his name firmly. “O-okay.” He chewed on his lip thinking about how they could both figure this out. “I don’t know yet. I just know I can’t figure this all out on my own.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

“I-I just don’t want to up-upset you any-anymore than I have already.” Riley could tell that she was having difficulty with all this. Who wouldn’t? To be honest none of it still made any sense to him. Why would his parents tell him things that were untrue? Were they embarrassed? “D-didn’t mean to do that.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

“S-sorry.” Riley quickly apologized again. He definitely didn’t want to freak her out more. “I sh-should g-go.” He said again,feeling even worse now than he previously had because of the topic of their conversation.

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley could feel her eyeing him in an attempt to see if he had a problem with her dads. “N-no problem. I-I just didn’t know.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Honestly he didn’t know how she could do that either. He took the folder back placing it in his bag and sighed. “Maybe. Wait Dads? That means you’re adopted right?” He questioned quietly. “N-never mind you don’t have to answer that.”

[rilesmckinnoncamp]

Riley looked down. He knew that he hadn’t really been clear on what he wanted to talk about when he had flagged her down earlier. “Y-yeah.” In all honesty he was giving himself a hard time trying to figure this out on his own. “C-can you save me from m-myself?”