Young Writers Society

"You know when I said we should do something fun tomorrow?" Irem screamed over the sound of thirty guns going off and the insulation of the earmuffs.

"I remembered." she told him.

"This isn't what I meant." Sheri looked over at his target then ran around to his separation where he was standing holding his gun with two hands, trembling.

"Your only saying that cause your losing." she held her hand-gun with both arms to balance out the repercussion. Then she took a shot that landed right in the center of the target.

"Yeah well I'm not a police officer."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't know how." she moved him backwards with her arm. She took a deep breath then aimed her gun and shot twice, turned on her heel 360 degrees and shot again. All three shots landed in the red center. "That's how it's done sister!"

She motioned him back, laughing to herself the hole time.

"Now show me how you'd hold the gun." he held the gun with both hands at arms length, the small angled directly at the target. She looked around him, sticking her head above him arms and in front of the barrel then finally right beside him with her pistol pointed the same. "Not bad."

"Really?"

"No, if there was a person attacking you, you'd be dead. So fire!" he held down the trigger and a bullet hit the yellow area of the target.

"Is there any actual reason we're doing this?" he asked, as Sheri moved his arms up and down slightly.

"I like guns, they're dangerous." she motioned for him to fire again. His bullet hit right on the red center of the target.

"You miss being a police officer?"

"Only a tad." she held her own gun up and shot the center again.

"Well, I have an idea that's less-" He paused for Sheri to take her next shot, "-violent."

***

"Now just turn back to the glowing magnify glass."

"This is excruciatingly tedious." Sheri decided, putting the mouse down to turn her virtual detective back to a suitcase.

"I thought you'd like this, it's like a real mystery."

"This is nothing like what I do." she helped the pixel Nancy Drew unlock the puzzle lock. "Who has a lock like this?" What she didn't notice was that Irem had his arm over her shoulder as he watched her make quick work of the puzzle.

"Then try this one." he took back both his arms and the laptop in order to change the game to another one.

"I don't understand this." Sheri said after five minutes of playing.

"Well, you see it's like a real crime that you solve. Only you play as the lesser companion to a brilliant detective named Alfendi."

"No, no, no, I get that. This is just completely unrealistic."

"The killer can't be Lucy!" he said exhausted of saying that.

"It's the only thing that makes sense. Besides, brilliant detective? I could out wit him in my sleep." Irem smiled.

"You know what else we could do?" he said putting the laptop on the coffee table.

"No, Irem." Sheri said awkwardly.

"Why not, you said we couldn't kiss last night either." Sheri gazed at the floor nervously. "Why can't we kiss? I mean at first this was just for the press, but I really like you Sheri."

"How'd you know my name?" Sheri pulled herself out from under his arm and stared at him. No one had ever seen through her disguise.

"Come on it was obvious." he reached for her hand and held it. "Why won't you accept that someone could like you?"

"Sorry, but I'm not seeing how it was obvious." Sheri said with some serious de ja vu.

"You, I mean I had a hunch when I first saw you, but then I said your name and you were so relaxed it had to be rehearsed. Eva Blackwell, what kind of Alias is that?"

"I wanted Agatha." she said taking her hand back. He smiled at her kindly, Sheri couldn't even look at him.

"I understand that you're here for my picture, but I think we both know we have feelings."

"I don't." Sheri said clenching her hands into fists.

"Why don't you? I know about Mariana and what happened that day." Sheri's head jerked back to him.

"How could you possibly-"

"I deduced it. I looked you up, eventually I got back to...well, you know, and I figured it out."

"I covered my tracks." she said frantically, "I never told anyone. I changed my accent, for gods sake!"

"I can see why you'd be reluctant to let people in after that, but it's been twelve years, Holmes."

"Twelve years, seven months, eight days, and three hours." she said quietly scrunching herself up on couch cushions.

"That's a long time without a hug, Sheridan."

"Irem, I know you think you know how I feel, but you couldn't possibly know. I proved every doctor who ever treated me right. I-I hurt the one person who wanted to help me." Irem lowered his head so he was looking her directly in her stunning eyes.

"And now there's at least three who really care about you." Sheri looked away again, "Sheri, you won't get anywhere if you won't let people in."

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"I CAN'T!" She shouted, "There's no treatment for what I am. No amount of therapy can change the fact that I don't care for people." Suddenly the fire alarm sounded. Irem's head shot straight for the bedroom. "Not even you can change the fact that my work means more."

She got up and went into the bedroom, within a ten seconds she was back with a picture of Irem kissing the cheek of the first lady to-be.

"You're right." Irem said, "I can't change you. But if you're going to take that picture, I'm going to have to ask for something in return."

***

"I got the picture, Watson." Sheri said rushing into the lobby of the apartment building. Eli ran to catch up with her.

"I sorta..." Eli held a small blackened fire alarm out to Sheri's hand.

"Dear god, you set the fire alarm on fire." Eli smiled nervously. Sheri took it and looked at the wires. "You could have at least done a better job of it."

"I wasn't trying to!" she said defensively. Sheri threw it in a trash bin outside of the apartment complex. "Hey Sheri?" she asked after a while.

"Mm?"

"When I was hiding out in kitchen-"

"Waiting to set his fire alarm on fire." Eli's cheeks turned red.

"I didn't mean- oh whats the point. I heard a bit of what you and Irem were saying..."

"Oh?" she said walking a little bit faster.

"What did he ask for?" Sheri relaxed a little bit.

"Nothing that concerns you." she said.

"He kissed you!" Eli said with a huge grin on her face.

"What? No!" But Sheri's face betrayed her, she turned bright red when she thought about it. "What would make you think such a thing?"

"Too late, you're blushing. I know you have a crush!" Eli smiled proudly.

"Think what you must, but when you write this up, promise to leave out this part."

***

Myka got a private jet to pick them up, but Sheri had enough time to change back into her regular clothes before it landed in the middle of a private airfield.

"Myka." Sheri cursed under her breath as she entered the plane. Eli walked on after her, marveling at the posh red carpets and leather seats. In three of these seats were Myka Holmes, Mack and Sylvia Turner, the almost president and his wife. Mack was exactly like he looked on his lawn signs. Forty year old with a pointy chin and tired eyes. His wife had a fluffy head of strawberry blonde hair and an elegant blue dress.

"Sheri." Myka said, then motioned to the last three seats. Sheri sat down, still scowling at her sister. "The picture?"

"Oh yes, I had it." everyone looked at Sheri surprised. "I got pick-pocketed. Very sorry to say. However he did leave this in it's place." she pulled a letter and a small picture of just Irem out of her pocket. "I assume, this is meant for you, but I already read it." she handed the two to Sylvia and slumped back in her seat.

"How could you not-" Sylvia began to scream, but Sheri cut her off.

"I did what I said I'd do. I had the photo in my possession, but Irem beat me at my own game."

"You let him get away with it." she said glaring at her.

"Away with what? If you read the letter he wrote he clearly says that he was not, and will not, be taking the photo to the press. You made the first move, right Sylvia?" the woman's lip trembled. "You remembered that he had the picture and sent your groups in to retrieve it, but he was smart. He kept the picture to make sure you couldn't come back to cut out his tongue or try something more drastic to shut him up for good. He put it in the one place they wouldn't think to look. Taped to the bottom of his pillow cover. He won, just get over it."

"You insolent little-"

"Don't talk to my sister that way." Myka said, keeping one eye on Sheri. She looked calculating rather than defensive. "Clearly Shirley doesn't think that he will release the picture, and we should respect her professional opinion." Sheri vaguely looked surprised at her sister. She kept the same vacant face she had while her sister was around, but to Eli, she looked a little proud of her sister.

"My companion and I have other arrangements home." Sheri said standing up, "I just wanted to make sure these got to the right owner, but I still want payment for my work." Myka opened a small handbag and retrieved a small picture that she quickly handed over to Sheri. Then Sheri turned to Mack Turner and said, "If you don't mind, I think I would find more use for that picture." Mack, poker-faced, pulled the picture of Irem out of his wife's hands and handed it to Sheri. "Thank you." she smiled, putting both pictures in her pocket.

***

Sheri called in a favor from an old pilot friend and got them on a small aircraft home. It took a few hours, but they made it home before four in the morning. They would have made it there sooner, but Sheri made a small errand before they left and refused to tell Eli what it was. So the entire flight she questioned Sheri about what it was. Sheri countered with "fire alarm", which shut her up for a few minutes at a time.

It was a week later when Eli finally got Sheri to talk about Irem. Eli was listening to the radio one morning, when she heard the radio DJ announce the next song. "This is I.A.'s new song, 'The Woman'. Hope you like it." It didn't take long for Eli to realize who it was about.

"She's never been in love, but she has years of blood on her hands. In love with the game, but not sure what the rules are. Star-crossed lovers with no love, but I will always remember the woman." It was a pretty catchy tune, even if the lyrics were a little all over the place.

Instantly she ran across the hall, burst into Sheri's living room and tuned her radio to the station. Sheri was sitting upside down in front on her safe box again. Her legs draper over the back of the couch.

"What?" she said dazed, "Is that I.A.?" Eli nodded clutching her heart.

"It's about you." she gasped, she ran a little to fast for once. Sheri listened for a second then turned back to her box. "Don't you care?"

"Look, it's nice and all, but I'm sure it's just another meaningless song written by his personal song-writers."

"Come on, 'The Woman?' That's so about you." Sheri sighed and pulled herself upright.

"Watson, I know you like your little fantasies, but Irem and I are not an item. I, as you well know have no interest in dating." Sheri looked at her box again. "But that does give me an idea." she reached for a paperclip on her coffee table. She unbent the end and inserted it into the dot of the "i" on Sheridan. There was a click and the top popped open.

"What's inside." Eli asked, looking around for somewhere to jump if it was a bomb.

"A receipt, for a safe box." she took out the small scrap of paper and turned it over. "This is interesting." she handed it to Eli. The back read, "Watsonian360, May162000"

"That looks like a date."

"It's a username and a password. I believe it's the username and password for your Blogger Brain account. Apparently they want you to continue on your own."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then delete the account. Obviously they don't see that as a risk to the plan. Personally I think you should keep it. It's fun to read, even from my point of view."

"Really?"

"Of course, I could always use the inferior brain's take on a case." Eli was still smiling on the inside despite the frown on her face.

"Hey, Sheri." Eli suddenly remembered.

"What?" she said, opening a box on Oreos in the kitchen.

"What was on that picture Myka gave you?"

***

Irem checked under his socks one last time that night. He had to find a new hiding place for the pictures after Sheri told the Turner's where he hid them before. On top he had the picture of him and Sylvia, but underneath he had a picture of a tall, sixteen year old in a pink fluffy dress. A pageant sash ran over it and a tiara sat on top of her black hair. The more notable characteristics were her paper white skin and her bright green eyes.

On the back, written in someone's curvy hand writing were the words, "Sheridan Holmes, age 16. May 16, 2000."