Chapter 11: Time Skip

Queens, New York...

As a new day dawned, a teenager lay peacefully asleep, bathed in sunlight streaming through the window, casting a serene ambiance in the room.

His room, featuring a lone bed, a closet, a desk with a laptop, and an empty whiteboard, appeared somewhat disheveled as pieces of clothing and crumpled papers scattered on the floor.

A tranquil silence enveloped the room for a minute before a series of knocks on the door shattered the peaceful atmosphere, rousing the teenager into a half-groggy state.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

As the knocking ceased, the door creaked open, revealing a middle-aged woman clad in an apron. In one hand, she held a spatula with her gaze bore into the young man, looking stern as she entered the room.

"Barry Parker!"

"...?!"

"Do you know what time it is?"

At the sound of her stern inquiry, Barry snapped fully awake as he swiftly grabbed his phone, powered it on, and glanced at the screen just to discover that it was already 7:00 am o'clock in the morning.

"...!"

Barry's eyes widened in shock, swiftly transitioning to a look of anxiousness as he realized that he had only 30 minutes left before the start of school.

With a multitude of tasks ahead, Barry faced the reality that he still needed to eat breakfast, take a shower, tidy his belongings, wait for the bus, and even run to make it to class in time.

Realizing that 30 minutes would not suffice for him to adequately prepare and reach school on time, especially considering the likelihood of traffic in the densely populated city where he resided, Barry felt a surge of urgency.

"You better get up now, young man or you'll be late for your first day"

"Ugh..."

Expressing his annoyance with a groan, Barry swiftly rose from his bed and hurriedly made his way to the bathroom. Determined to expedite the process, he planned for a quick shower to freshen up.

Satisfied by Barry's prompt response, Aunt May nodded as she soon exited the room, leaving Barry to attend to his morning routine.

After a brief interval, Barry emerged from the bathroom, his hair still dripping wet while clad in a towel covering his lower body and swiftly opened the closet, pulling out a simple shirt and pants as he hurriedly dressed himself.

Moments later, with his bag in tow, Barry exited his room and entered the living room. There, he found Uncle Ben seated on the couch, engrossed in watching the news while sipping on his piping hot cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Ben"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing a familiar voice, Uncle Ben turned around with curiosity. A warm smile spread across his face as he saw Barry emerging from his room, and he greeted him back with a nod.

"Did you stay up late?"

"Yeah... did a quick study"

Barry smiled and skillfully concealed the truth as he exchanged pleasantries with Uncle Ben. 

In reality, during the late hours of the night, he had been engrossed in researching information and brainstorming ideas related to Nora Parker's case.

Despite the three years of passing, Barry had yet to achieve any significant breakthroughs in the case.

The only semblance of a lead Barry managed to unearth was the mysterious key he discovered at their old house.

Up to this day, Barry remained unable to decipher the purpose of the key, uncertain about the door it might unlock or its origin.

Despite the mystery, a gut feeling persisted within him, suggesting that this key held the potential to unveil something significant.

And just like the routine visits to his father, this one too yielded no new information. His father still continues to maintain a tight-lipped stance, withholding any crucial details that could help the case.

Henry remained obstinate, refusing to divulge even basic details such as the job Nora Parker used to hold and this persistent silence only served to further irk Barry.

Barry couldn't help but feel disappointed that his mother, Nora, had been excessively secretive about her work and profession.

The lack of information as well as coupled with his father's silence, only intensified Barry's suspicion that Henry was aware of something crucial and was deliberately withholding it.

Despite his growing suspicion, Barry remained uncertain about the reasons behind his father's silence. Equally perplexing was the fact that he hadn't sought any assistance or information from others at all.

It's as if, he has already given up or was afraid of something...

In moments of frustration, Barry harbored a deep-seated resentment towards his father, even entertaining rare and fleeting thoughts that Henry might have really killed his mother, Nora. 

However, these dark musings of his only surfaced on his particularly bad days.

Despite the occasional dark thoughts, Barry held firm in the belief deep within his heart that his father was wrongfully framed. He recognized that those fleeting notions of his were only born out of frustration rather than any genuine conviction.

Back to the present...

"Hm, don't forget your health"

"I know"

Barry nodded in acknowledgment and swiftly headed to the dining room, grabbing a piece of toast and topping it with a sunny-side-up egg before devouring the entire combination in a single gulp.

And Aunt May just happened to enter the room and witnessed the scene as a look of disbelief briefly crossed her face before being replaced by a subtle expression of irritation.

"Young man, slow down or you'll choke!"

Barry merely chuckled in response and swallowed the food, following it up by chugging down a glass of orange juice as a burp escaped from his mouth.

Aunt May, feeling helpless, chose to overlook Barry's antics and ignore him, deciding to continue with her own tasks, leaving him to his own devices.

"I'll be off now"

Barry wiped off any residue from the juice on his lips before darting towards the exit of the apartment. However, not without a parting remark, reminding the two about his departure.

"Be safe, Barry"

"Don't cause any trouble for the school"

Barry smiled, waving his hand in farewell to his Aunt and Uncle as he hastily opened the door and soon exited the apartment room.