Christmas 2002

Matt was aware that Mr Wammy was speaking to him. On the other hand, he had the brand new Gameboy Advance SP in his hands. It wasn\'t even officially launched yet. The due date was March next year. It wasn\'t even out in Japan yet! There was a Pokemon game with it that, Matt realised with a shiver, no other child in the country would have even seen yet, let alone played. He would have it beaten and be the first on the internet with the walkthroughs and cheats. The others on his favourite forums already looked up to Mariomatt. They would be kissing his feet when they had the information before the game was even in their sweaty, little paws. A delighted grin felt plastered across his face.



Mr Wammy was still talking to him. "Matt, I can tell that you\'re on autopilot. You don\'t seem to understand, still, that this is a sign of genius. You are able to answer my questions with perfect clarity, but you are not engaged in the conversation. You are thinking at least two thoughts simultaneously. That is very special."



"Thank you." The praise did register, but as a note of alarm. Matt did not react further. To react was to provide fuel for conjecture. It was better to leave them guessing. The Gameboy Advance SP was smaller than its predecessor. It felt compact, up-to-date, as special as the \'SP\' part implied. It was graphite. It had a fliptop which would render it even easier to shove into his pocket.



"Matt." Mr Wammy paused, then did something surprising. He switched from English to Spanish. "Did I do the right thing bringing you here? You were very young. I wonder sometimes if it would have been better to have let you have a normal life. Tell me, Matt, would you like to succeed to the L code?"



For the first time, dark green eyes stared through orange goggles straight into the webcam. This was thin ice for Matt. The wrong answer could see him removed from the institution. The wrong answer could see him pitted more fully against Mello and Near. The Spanish language was sparking feelings deep inside that he had trouble quantifying. Anxiety and yearning were foremost amongst those emotions. He realised that it had also disarmed him to a certain extent. Matt smirked. "Thank you for getting the SP for me."



There was a pause at the other end. An absense of noise that made Matt certain that the microphone had been momentarily switched off. It returned and Mr Wammy continued, still in Spanish. "Matt, would you kill to gain the L code?"



Matt frowned. This conversation was travelling so far off piste that he was actually having to concentrate. He considered the route of it so far and concluded that his dissociation strategy was failing. His benefactor and saviour was going to see him, if Matt didn\'t take urgent action. He metaphorically held up a mirror, deflecting the question agressively back. "You are asking if I have the potential to become another B." He smirked. "No. Mello has a better strategy. He will be L\'s heir and he is my friend. L never befriended B. Mello understands that emotional strategy is often more effective than intellectual strategy, if your opponent is an intellectual too."



There was silence on the other side of the webcam link. Mr Wammy eventually spoke up. "There is no guarantee that Mello will succeed, though he is certainly a strong contender. How would you react if Mello isn\'t chosen?"



"Do you actually know people in Nintendo? Like can you \'phone up the factory and go and watch them design the games?"



A new voice cut through. One which hit Matt\'s ears and shot through him like a lightning bolt. "You are stalling, It Matters." L\'s voice. L was listening. L was speaking to him. Matt felt suddenly breathless. He stood up, his head turning towards the door. Everything in him told him to run as fast as he could out there. "Matt is aware that if he can just keep Mr Wammy talking in circles for another ten minutes, it will be time for the next child to come in. I have worked out your gameplan. It was very easy. You think that Mello and Near will burn each other out in their rivalry. You will then just be able to step over them into the succession. But Matt, you haven\'t accounted for the fact that we have no evidence that you have what it takes."



"No." Matt gushed. He knew he was flustered and he knew that was dangerous. There were only two possible responses. He could confirm L\'s conjecture and have them suspect that he was a new Beyond Birthday waiting in the shadows or he could deny it and risk being thrown out of the institution. L was trying to force him to jump one side or the other. He stared down at the SP and blinked. His mind cleared. He sat back down. "I am doing my best. Hopefully one day, I will surpass Mello and Near, but if I don\'t, then I don\'t deserve to be your successor. I will be a loser." Then he grinned back up at the webcam. "Oh my God! I\'m speaking with L! I can\'t wait to tell them! Mello\'s going to freak when he knows you\'re there too! You are speaking with everyone, aren\'t you? Have you been following my work? Have I moved up in the rankings yet? Wow!"



L replied lazily, his voice muffled like he was eating something. "You\'re not fooling anybody, It Matters. I will think of a way to test your full potential. Your mind interests me."



It was Mr Wammy who spoke next. "Matt, I would appreciate you not mentioning this to the other children. L is a very busy man and had just stepped into the room. He may not be available to speak to the others."



"But he will speak with Mello, won\'t he?" Matt beamed. "Mello\'s next on the list to come here and L is there right now. I\'m going to bump into Mello on the stairs and I won\'t be able to contain my excitement. I know I\'m going to blurt it out." He leapt off his seat, clutching his SP tightly. "I\'m too excited! I\'m going to tell him! Thank you for talking to me, Mr Wammy! I\'ll go and get him."



"Matt!" Mr Wammy called, but the redhead was already at the door. "Matt, sit back down, our conversation isn\'t concluded." The boy was outside the door and yelling down the stairs to his friend. Mello footsteps could be heard pounding up them. Mr Wammy sighed. "Merry Christmas, Matt. We will speak again."



"Merry Christmas, Mr Wammy." Matt grabbed Mello and whispered in his ear. "I\'m going to hide on the windowsill in our room with the curtain closed. Cover for me. By the way, no promises but he\'s just hinted that you might be beating Near in the New Year rankings." But all their benefactor saw was the communication and he could not hear. Matt could have been saying anything.



Mello\'s eyes opened wide and a grin appeared on his face. His response wasn\'t whispered. It was quietly shrieked. "Really?"



Matt turned at the door and smirked at the webcam. "Bye, Mr Wammy. Thank you for the little talk."



"Goodbye, It Matters." Mr Wammy coughed. "Good afternoon, Mello. I trust you are having a wonderful Christmas Day."



Matt closed the door behind him and didn\'t hear Mello\'s response.