After a couple more minutes of walking, I had noticed that it was getting quite dark. Guess dusk is coming in earlier than usual these days, which is another sign that summer has ended, and that fall is already nearing. That means that heavier rain will also probably make its comeback, and after that who knows, we might even see some snow!

I don’t actually remember what it’s like to feel snow anymore, it’s been years since I last saw it. Simply put, Secundis is sort of near the middle of the map if you only focus on the horizontal height of it. I learned this from Schnell’s Handbook, but apparently the closer we are to what he calls the “Equator”, the warmer it is. Now to me that just spells “If you wanna experience snow again, then you’ll just have to either go south or north!”

Well, that’s a pretty long way’s away still. Right now I gotta go find out where the people of this town took Ed. Coming back to the scene of the crime, I noticed that the large crowd that was previously present had now all but dissipated. Looks like the people here had long since left after I gave them the slip. The only ones left were a few people that seemed to know about the event through hearsay.

“So, any news on that kid?” One civilian asked his friend.

“The one that pushed that other kid off the viewpoint?” The other civilian replied with a rhetorical question, “That poor kid, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be hurt by some heartless tyke. They were probably at odds over something.”

At odds? Come on, I know what I did could easily be taken out of context to make me out to be the bad guy, but at least give credit where credit is due! I saved Ed from starving to death!

“Heh, at odds?” The first civilian chuckled, “Kids their age can only turn to a scuffle over a girl or something!”

“Aw come on, man. I’m seriously worried about that kid!”

Really? A girl is the best scenario you could come up with? I know these old guys are dumb and everything, but that has got to be the stupidest explanation I have ever heard. Even still, if both of us were aiming for the same girl, I highly doubt I’d win out in the end. Ed’s way more of a looker than me.

“Worried about what exactly?” The other guy replied, “The kid’s under Harper’s care. That girl can cure just about anyone, so I’m sure a couple of scratches are a cakewalk for her. Trust me, that kid will be skipping around town by tomorrow morning!”

“You put way too much faith in her medical prowess. The girl’s certainly talented, but she’s nothing more than an off-brand Dola. Plus, the kid wasn’t just hurt physically, because from what I heard, he had almost starved to death when she took a look at him.”

Harper? From the way they’re phrasing it, it seems this mysterious girl is Stringwood’s local doctor. That, or she’s a miracle worker, because I highly doubt she can really cure just about any disease. But hey, that’s good! Now I don’t have to worry about Edward anymore! Alright, I’m going back to gramps’ place for seconds-!

“Unf!” I walked into someone, “Oh, sorry about that.”

“No worries, just be careful.” An officer turns to face me, “Hey, you kinda look like the suspect that pushed that kid off the viewpoint and punched a bunch of people in the nuts.”

“A bunch? Don’t you mean like two?”

“What?” He asked me to repeat myself.

“What?” And I refused.

Crap, it’s just my luck to run into a member of the local authorities of all people… Guess I’ll have to wait a bit before eating some more of Arthur’s dishes.

“Alright kiddo, come with me.” The officer tried grabbing me by the hand.

“I don’t wanna! Where are you taking me?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just protocol.” He replied, “I’m just gonna ask you a couple of questions over at the station real quick, since you seem to know so much about the situation. That sound good?”

Hell no it doesn’t sound good! I’m gonna get found out at this rate, and by an officer of all people! Goddammit Ed, none of this would’ve happened if you had just been a tad bit stronger! Ugh, no use in worrying about that now though. The past is the past, and there’s no fixing it. Best I can do is to try and get out of this situation and go back to Arthur’s to ask him about where that Harper girl is keeping Ed.

“Fine.” I muttered, “But make it quick, will you? I have some errands to run.”

“Errands?” He chuckled, “A kid like you has errands to run? Ooh, I can only imagine how world-ending it’d be if you were a bit late in that oh so important errand of yours!”

“Sir, I don’t mean to sound rude or anything?” I looked him in the eyes as he dragged me all the way across town to the police station, “But aren’t you being kind of an ass?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Whoa!” He got close to me, “What was that just now? Potty-mouthed kids get sent to prison, you know that?”

“Ahm!” I quickly shut myself up after realizing I stepped out of line with that comment, “I’m sorry! I’m just saying you’re being kind of a prick-err, a bit unpleasant!”

“Unpleasant isn’t the right word either.” He squinted his eyes at me, “Always remember this lesson, kid – as long as you’re a child, you bend to the wills of the adults. That’s just how the world works, and if you ever wanna change that, then I suggest you grow up yourself.”

This guy’s being way too scary to a thirteen year old! Is he out of his mind or what?! Threatening a child half your age with jail time, not to mention basically telling me to just blindly and naively listen to you, I kind of feel like the officer here is only taking up such a position to abuse his authority! I should probably look into reporting him to his superiors when I get out of here, but now I know just how serious the situation is.

“Right sir, sorry sir.” I tried playing along for now, “I’ll do just that.”

“Great! Then let’s go already, the Sun’s already setting.”

I wonder if that means it’s too late for dinner…

***

Hello everybody! It’s me, your friendly neighborhood felon, Lune! I’m here at the Stringwood police station located just a couple of blocks away from where I was just now. Entering the place, I felt an immediate chill in the hallways that surely wasn’t present while I was outside. It’s a pretty scary place, I feel like no matter what wall I leaned on, or seat I took, I would always feel uncomfortable. As if the facility wasn’t meant to be a place kind to its visitors or something…

Well, that’s probably what it’s like in a prison, just way worse I assume. I wonder though, would being in jail be as cool as it actually sounds? Like, I know it’s not a good idea to ever be found in one, but a jail cell basically provides you with all of your basic needs. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you take into account the fact that the only people with the privileges to go there are actual criminals.

“Oi! You listening?” The officer that took me to the station asked, “I’m talking to you here, don’t zone out!”

Ah crap. I thought he was just giving me a stern talking to and a slap to the wrist before letting me go, but apparently this guy’s actually seriously doubting my innocence. Looks like I’m gonna have to whip out my other secret technique – Lying 101!

You see, my parents were always strict with me while I was growing up, so I quickly learned how to lie reliably in order to get out of their clutches. Ed’s not really like that though, but that’s because his parents are way more lax in comparison to mine. In any case, there are four points I’d like to make about how to lie believably:

* Manage your lies

Don’t tell one person one lie, and then the next person a conflicting second lie.

* Create a coherent narrative

If you just lie about a single thing, it might be smart to add a bit of dots to connect. For example, “Jeff was there, he can vouch for me!” or “I was at place A at that time”, etc… and leave it at that.

* Don’t try too much to sound innocent

The worst thing to do is to say things like “What? No, I wasn’t there! What do you mean? I was somewhere else, so 100% I couldn’t have been there.”

Laughing it off is also a grave mistake in lying, as it comes off as suspicious, same goes for being too self-conscious. Really, anything you say can and will be used against you, so just make sure to only say what you absolutely must, and nothing more.

That being said, the best thing to do is to just remain calm, and do as you always do. Don’t change your behavior and keep on telling half-truths that even you would believe. And finally…

*

As the old saying goes: “If I tell someone my aunt died, I want that news to reach her.”

No matter what, the more weight a lie holds, the longer you have to keep it afloat. This ties into the first point, you don’t wanna get complacent and forget about your first lie when you tell someone a conflicting second one.

And that’s it for Lune’s class in professional lying! Now it’s time for me to use what I’ve taught you practically against this officer and see how it all pans out. Shall we start from the top?

“You said you don’t know who Edward Saint is, but you had just corrected me when I had approached you about the situation. Mind explaining to me why that is?” The officer spoke.

“I heard from my gramps.” I thought about Arthur as I replied, “Apparently he heard from a neighbor that some kid punched two guys in the groin and, much like you, suspected I was the one behind it. Sheesh, just because we both have brown hair doesn’t mean I did it!”

“Hmm, alright…” The officer wrote something down on his clipboard.

Alright! That’s Rule 1, now let’s try and use two and three! Three is kind of a reliant rule, as it doesn’t really work on its own. I mean, you can be confident as much as you want, but without stringing together a good lie, then you’re just gonna give yourself away in an instant. I should choose my next words carefully.

“That’s also why he sent me out to go buy him groceries. And to think, if I just had a different color of hair, I wouldn’t have gotten stopped by you. Ugh, I’d already be home by now, gramps is probably worried sick…”

The guard felt a bit bad about my predicament, so he showed some empathy and remorse as he apologized for suspecting me. Wow, he’s so meek all of a sudden, guess using Arthur as a responsible adult in my lie really guilt tripped him into believing me.

“O-Oh, sorry kid.” He scratched his head before sighing, “Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m getting so worked up over this. I mean, Edward Saint said himself that he forgives that tyke for doing that to him, so I couldn’t even do anything to him even if I were to find him.”

A-ha! Those are the words I was waiting for! The classic You won’t get in trouble if you confess trick! Wow, pupil, you’re lucky! You got to witness this semi-rare phrase and learn practically what to do in such a situation. As for what Rule this occupies, that’d be none other than Rule 4 – Commit.

“Uh huh.” I sounded disinterested, “Yeah, real shame there, bud. Can you let me go now?”

“Yeah, of course.” The officer once again apologized, “You’re home free.”

Woohoo! I did it, I managed to make use of every Rule to claw my way out of this pesky situation! Now I just need to find out where Harper’s Clinic is and I can go pick up Ed-!

“Oh, but it’s getting quite late.” The officer noticed, “The Sun’s already set. It’s quite dark out, so how about I escort you back home and explain to your grandpa the situation in detail with you? That way he won’t get mad at you for failing to get the groceries, and I could make it up to you at the same time. Two birds with one stone, get me?”

A-ha-ha… As I said, Rule 4 – Commit…