Believe it or not, Emily and I quickly discovered some common ground - neither of us liked Sarah and Mike's relationship. I assumed Emily's reasons were rather different from mine. I sincerely hoped so. I didn't need any more competition just then.
Apart from the occasional glare, nothing much happened until we were halfway through the new stack of posters.
I didn't quite understand it at the time - we had seen five campus patrol officers already and most of them had waved at Sarah as if she were an old friend. The sixth, though, didn't seem to see anything special except for the posters in her hand.
"'Scuse me, ma'am, but do you have a permit to put up those posters?"
He sounded nice enough, but the glint in his eye was a real giveaway. As soon as Sarah opened her mouth I knew I'd have to intervene, because there was no doubt that she would tell the truth. "Yes, sir," I said, "I believe we do have a permit but it isn't with us. Right Sarah?" I gave her an exaggerated wink.
Sarah looked thoroughly confused but, to her credit, managed to stammer, "Uh... yes? Yes, I think so."
"Yeah, of course," chimed in Mike. I don't think he had a clue what was going on, he was too busy staring at Sarah.
Emily seemed to wilt a little in the corner of my eye.
The guy was obviously no idiot, and he didn't look convinced. "Can I see a copy of your permit?" The question was addressed (thank goodness) to me, rather than Sarah.
"Sorry, but we don't have it with us." He was looking skeptical and Sarah was looking murderous (she's not too fond of liars) so I decided it was time to spin a big one before Sarah gave us up. There was no way the officer was letting us off the hook now. And if Sarah ratted, she'd be in just as much trouble for lying as I would.
Of course it was just that moment which Dave chose for coming back, still skulking, into my conscious mind. You want some divine advice?
Oh dear, hear comes my guardian angel to save me by smiting down the horrid little cop! I tried to mentally mimic a swoon, but it didn't work. Where's the little devil guy? Isn't he supposed to sit on my shoulder and tempt me into the lie?
My sarcasm was lost on Dave, who said, Actually, I was just coming to give you a bit of advice. If you want to give him a really convincing lie I'd suggest telling him that you aren't actually in charge of the group and that the leader is in class at the moment and that the permit is inside her locked dorm room. What do you think?
I think you're trying to take credit for my own ideas! I was just about to do that.
Actually, I was the one who planted it in your subconscious.
Liar.
I had been slightly out of touch with reality for the moment it had taken to talk to Dave. The cop was giving me a funny look, as was Sarah. Before anyone could ask, I said, "I... Well, the person in charge of our organization got the permit, but she never gave it to us. I would get it and show it to you but she's in class right now and her room is locked so we can't get in. Would you rather we stop putting up posters for now?"
The guard gave me a scary little grin and said, "No, I'd rather you come with me to see the dean. There is no permit required to put posters up on campus."
Sarah paled. Mike started paying attention to the rest of us. I was fed up. "Why should we be taken to the dean? You just told us we've done nothing wrong, so-"
"Nothing wrong, huh?" asked the cop, "Then you must not have lied to a campus police officer?"
I glared at him for a moment, but it was useless, so as he turned smugly toward the dean's office I gave him the nice-guy treatment. "I guess you have a point there; I shouldn't have lied to you. Clever trick! Say, what's your name?"
"Officer Charlie Parson. And sucking up isn't going to do you any good."
Too bad about the sucking up, said Dave. But at least you got his name. That'll do for revenge, won't it?
I fell back in our little caravan so nobody would notice me glaze over. You call yourself an angel? I thought you guys were supposed to be against revenge. "Love your neighbor" and "turn the other cheek" and "pearls before the swine" and all that jazz.
Dave paused for a moment, and when he spoke again it sounded quizzical. "Pearls before the swine?" How does that relate to revenge?
You tell me. You're the angel. I'm a nerd, not a bible scholar. Why don't you just smite the little twerp?
I can't do that. I have no power over the physical world.
Fat lot of use you are. Do you have any idea how to get us out of this?
Nope, sorry.
Pathetic. Dave returned to his skulking, leaving me to think for everyone. This was becoming a pretty common situation.
So, you think I'm late enough this week? Things have been busy lately, though that isn't the real reason. It's more because I had trouble deciding what to write. I was considering skipping to the next day's brass quintet practice, but this seems like it'll set off an interesting plot arc, so why not?
Things have been busy, and they're only going to get busier. .. / .- -- / -... .-. ..- ... .... .. -. --. / ..- .--. / --- -. / -- -.-- / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / .-.-.- (I am brushing up on my Morse Code.) I'm also brushing up on my radio electronics, so I can attempt to build a few low-power Morse Code transmitters and receivers.
And then there's November. For those who don't already know, November is National Novel Writing Month. In short: I will attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I would encourage you to do the same - it is an incredible experience. And even if you don't finish, you can tell your friends that you're a novelist. Visit the web site to find out more and to sign up.
No comments:
Post a Comment