Work Text:
When Emma Aamani Singh woke up on a rainy Saturday morning, she yawned and decided to sleep in for a few minutes.
The rain pitter pattered on her room's window and made calming sounds which would have lulled her to sleep if someone downstairs hadn't turned the TV on full volume.
She practically jumped out of her skin and her sleep was ruined. Mumbling curse words under her breath, she got out of bed and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and do her skin care routine.
She showered the day before in the evening, so after she finished with her duties, she headed downstairs to get some breakfast.
She yawned loudly which alerted her parents Pippa Fitz-Amobi and Ravi Singh that she was awake.
Those two were happily married (for the past 19 years) and annoyed her to no end but since they were happy, she was happy too. They married almost as soon as her mom finished university and had her two years later. And now she was here, looking at them as they were laughing at one of their numerous inside jokes.
"Good morning, pumpkin. Sleep well?" Her dad greeted and she hummed in agreement and walked into the kitchen. She spread some jelly on her toast and joined them on the couch to watch the news.
"Why don't you eat that at the table or at least the counter?" Her mom questioned and she shrugged and turned her attention to the TV.
"The Little Kilton Police Department has uncovered a body this morning on 6th Avenue. They are currently researching what has happened and will release further information as the investigation goes on." The reporter finished and the camera switched to some other reporter, explaining the details they have.
She noticed her dad giving a strange look to his mom and Pip shook her head.
"No, Ravi. I'm not doing this again." Emma took that as her sign to go back upstairs.
"C'mon, Sarge. You can solve the case, just like in the old days!" She overheard her father and stopped on the stairs.
The old days? Was her mom a detective when she was younger? What was this about?
She heard her mom deny the request again.
"Come on, you know how that ended. I don't want to do anything like that ever again." Emma ran upstairs, not hearing what her father had to say and decided to search up her mother's name online.
Pippa Fitz-Amobi
The first result: A Good Girl's Guide To Murder
She looked at the description of the podcast and realized what they were talking about.
She solved a murder mystery. For a school project.
And another one and then reported another one.
And then she quit.
Her mother did all that.
And Emma had no idea why but maybe she could listen to these podcasts.
And maybe Emma could be the next Good Girl Guiding Through Murder .
She was going to study cyber security. Is it really that different from murder solving?
She didn't think so.
So she would do it. Solve the mystery and revive the memory of her mother's murder solving days.
But right now, Emma had to get to her best friend's place. So, she packed her belongings, bid her parents goodbyes and left for her best friend's house.
Emma knocked on her best friend, Anna Bellingham's door and waited until she appeared and opened it for her. The girl let her in, greeting her and Emma greeted her back. They had a project to work on and since she knew Anna's parents weren't going to be home until lunch time because of her sister's ballet competition, they had the house to themselves.
"Do you want something to drink?" Anna offered, as Emma set down her backpack near the couch in her living room. It extended into the dining area and kitchen.
"Just water, please!" And she pulled out her pencil case with markers, pens and different pencils while Anna brought two cups with water, one for each.
Her friend then went up the stairs next to the living room and came back down with a giant piece of paper.
Their project: make a poster about an issue you care a lot about.
And since they just wanted a good grade, they decided on the most basic global issue (but still very important and not to be overlooked), global warming.
"Do you have glitter?" Emma asked and Anna nodded, as she ran upstairs to get it. Meanwhile, Emma made a big title GLOBAL WARMING in the middle of the paper.
Anna came back with three different colors of glitter and they got to work.
Writing, drawing and decorating the paper took them a few of hours, with snack breaks in between. After they finished, Anna invited her friend to stay over for lunch, Emma texted her parents and they agreed.
Emma and Anna were in the kitchen, making lunch when Anna's parents, Jack and Maria Bellingham and her sister Claire Bellingham, returned home.
"What are you cooking? It smells delicious." Jack asked, as they all took off their coats and shoes and joined them in the kitchen.
"Just pasta with tomato sauce. Emma will be joining us for lunch, by the way." Anna answered her father and Emma nodded along.
"Alright, make yourself at home." Jack said to Anna's best friend and, along with Maria and Claire, went to wash his hands for lunch.
It was done soon and they all sat at the table.
"How is your mother, Emma?" Maria asked.
"Very well, her last project really reached success."
"That's very good to hear. And your father?"
"He's doing great as well." Emma answered and Maria turned her attention to her daughter.
"So, what is your project about, dear?"
"We decided on global warming since it's a pretty important issue. We already finished and that's why me and Emma made lunch." Anna explained.
"Good to hear. I'm sure you'll get a high grade for it." Maria said and the rest of the lunch was spent chatting with each other.