User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: The Fool Who Cried Foul (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2: Opening Hand
It didn’t take me long to find Clyde. Namely because he was part of some big commotion near the mall directory. There was a girl who appeared to be absolutely livid, and Clyde and his friends were trying to rein her in and calm her down. When I got a closer look, I realized that it was Tabby; Liam’s date and one of Luna’s friends. I stuck to the shadows to see how things would play out.

“L-let me go, ya gits!” Tabby yelled. “I-I gotta make ‘em pay for what they did to Luna!”

“I know you’re upset, honey bumpkin,” said Liam. “But…”

“Don’t honey bumpkin me, Liam! What if it was Lincoln up there, huh?!”

“We get how you feel, Tabby. But there’s nothing we can do right now,” said Clyde. “We don’t even know what happened.”

I figured this was a good time to jump in and let Clyde know the score.

“I might know.”

Everyone stopped to look at me. Liam, Zach, and Rusty squinted a bit.

“Lincoln? Why’re ya dressed up in your pajamas?” asked Liam. “I thought you’d be in your SMOOCH getup.”

“Never mind that,” I said. I walked up to Clyde. “Listen, Clyde. Remember that bad feeling I had about all this last night?”

Clyde connected the dots almost immediately. “You think someone’s trying to mess up your family’s Week to Shine?”

“Maybe,” I said. “What’s more, they’re trying to pin it on Luan. She’s getting the Riot Act just because this is just the sort of prank she’d pull.”

“And you… don’t think it’s her?” said Clyde, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed. I don’t blame Clyde for being skeptical. He’s been on the receiving end of Luan’s pranks just as much as the rest of us.

“Look, I just think something’s not right about all this,” I said. “Maybe it’s Luan; maybe it isn’t. But we can’t simply jump to conclusions. We need to conduct a proper investigation.”

Clyde furrowed his brow and stroked his chin for a moment. Finally, he nodded.

“I’m gonna trust your instincts on this one, buddy. And it's nice to see you giving your sisters the benefit of the doubt for a change,” he said. “Let’s get to the bottom of this.”

With that, he discarded his SMOOCH outfit, revealing his One-Eyed Jack costume underneath. Our friends gave us a blank stare.

“Do you two always wear those costumes under your clothes just for stuff like this?” asked Zach.

Clyde and I just looked at each other. Honestly, there’s no way to answer that questions delicately.

“Yes. Yes we do,” I said bluntly. “Now then, Liam, we need to ask you a few questions.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “Hold your horses, fellas. You think just because a flock of chickens ruined this here concert that I had something to do with it?”

“Not exactly,” said Clyde. “We don’t think you did anything wrong, but those chickens could only have come from your farm.”

“Which is why we need to know if anything strange happened at your farm recently,” I said. “Like, did you get any unexpected visitors today?”

Liam scratched his head and knitted his brow. “Well, not today. But yesterday, someone came by asking about our chickens. No idea who it was; I was tendin’ to the goats at the time. Meemaw’s the one who dealt with ‘em.”

Hmm. That’s not a whole lot to go on. We’d probably be better off asking Liam’s meemaw herself, but she’s not around right now. Still, we should keep this in mind.

“What time did they come by?” I asked.

“Can’t say I remember off the top of my head,” Liam said thoughtfully. “I know it was well before supper, though.”

Meaning we need to know what Luan was doing yesterday. I already know she was helping me with my magic act around six o’clock; just before dinner. But what about the rest of the day? I can only think of one person who would have that information, and that’s Luan herself.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Liam,” I said. “If anything else comes to mind, be sure to tell us.”

“Wait, where are you two going?” asked Rusty. “Aren’t your parents gonna notice that you’re not with them?”

Hmm. That is a problem. If my mom or Clyde’s dads catch us, they’re probably not gonna let us investigate. Especially since we don’t really have a solid case yet. But that’s never gonna happen if we stop now. Luckily, I think I’ve got an idea.

“My dad’s sticking around to see if Luna’s okay,” I said. “We can convince him that we wanted to stick around to keep him company. After all, we’re just as worried about Luna as he is.”

“Nice thinking, Ace,” said Clyde with a nod. “Alright, let’s get to it.”

“Hang on, mates.”

Before we could dash off, Tabby spoke up. She had been oddly quiet since that outburst.

“What is it?” asked Clyde.

Tabby sighed. “Can I come with? I’m worried about Luna, too, y’know? Sh-she’s my best mate, and this was just…”

Liam frowned and wrapped an arm around Tabby. “There there, honey bumpkin. How ‘bout we go together? I’m sure Meemaw will understand that I wanna be there for my beau.”

Tabby looked at Liam and smiled through her tears. “You really are a stand-up bloke, Liam. Th-thank you.”

I think this actually works out well for us. Dad’s not gonna question us if we all say we’re there for Luna. It’s not even a lie when you think about it.

“We’ll allow it. But stick close, citizens,” I said. “Evil always plays their cards close to their chests.”

Tabby deadpanned. “Is this gonna be a thing with you two?”

There’s… no delicate way to answer that question, either. I can’t help it. Mysteries like this just really get me into character, y’know?

“Yes. Yes it is,” said Clyde bluntly. “Now come along, citizens.”

We dashed off together back to the auditorium. As we made our way there, something came to mind. How are we so sure that those chickens belonged to Liam? Sure, he has the only farm in Royal Woods, but maybe the culprit got them elsewhere? Hmm, it’s too early to say for sure. Which is all the more reason we have to keep at it.

***

Looks like we got to the auditorium just in time. Dad was all done lecturing Luan, and the two of them were just sitting in their seats waiting for news about Luna. It also looks like Luan’s mood has not improved since we left her. I gotta say, seeing Luan look so down in the dumps will never not feel weird. Even when things are at their bleakest, she can usually think of some kind of pun to make light of the situation.

Dad was the first to notice us, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Lincoln? What’re you doing here?” he asked. “And why are you in your Ace Savvy costume?”

Alright, let’s see if he buys this. I mean, I shouldn’t be nervous, anyway. This isn’t really a lie.

“We were worried about Luna, so we decided to keep you company while you check on her,” I said. “Also, Clyde and I think there’s something suspicious about this whole thing, and we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”

Dad took a moment to think about it before letting out a sigh and giving us a faint smile.

“That’s very sweet of you, guys,” he said. “I guess it’s okay as long as I can keep an eye on you. I’ll text your mother and make sure she knows.”

Yes~! Man, I can’t believe that actually worked. I guess there’s something to be said about being honest.

“You didn’t happen to hear anything about Luna, did you?” asked Tabby.

“Not yet,” said Luan. “I’m… sure she’ll be fine.”

I don’t know if she’s speaking from her experience of pranking us all the time, or if she’s just trying to put on a brave face. Either way, we need to clear this up.

“Just out of curiosity, Luan. What were you doing yesterday?” I asked.

Luan gave me a quizzical look. “What’re you talking about? You were with me most of the afternoon yesterday. I was helping you with your magic act, remember?”

“That’s true. But I’m talking about before that.”

“I was just at the Chortle Portal practicing for my upcoming act,” said Luan. “Why?”

“So you didn’t go to Liam’s farm at all yesterday?”

“Um, no? Why would I—?”  Luan stopped mid-sentence and narrowed her eyes. “Really, Lincoln? How many times do I have to tell everyone that this wasn’t me?”

“I’m not saying it was,” I assured her. “I just want to hear your side of the story.”

Luan sighed. “I… guess that’s fair. Sorry.”

Clyde took out his handy One-Eyed Jack notepad. “Just to be thorough, is there anyone who can corroborate your story?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Luna can vouch for me. She and Chunk dropped me off at the Chortle Portal on their way to meet with SMOOCH yesterday.”

Well, it’s something. I’m not sure how much stock we can put into that, though.

“Was anyone with you while you were at the Chortle Portal?” I prodded.

Luan furrowed her brow and stroked her chin. “Well, I guess the staff were there. And Mr. Coconuts, but I don’t know how reliable he is as a witness. Don’t tell him I said that.”

…

Maybe it’s because this is Luan we’re talking about, but I can’t tell if she’s joking about that or not. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. At least we have some eyewitnesses who can vouch for Luan’s whereabouts. Meaning it’s highly unlikely that she’s the culprit. But if it wasn’t her, then who was it?

“I take it you all are here to check up on Luna?”

We turned to see one of Luna’s bandmates walk towards us from the stage. She was covered in brown feathers, and her jeans were completely torn apart. I recognized her as the girl who tried to help Luna when the chickens attacked.

“Right on the money there, Sam,” said Tabby. “How’s she holding up?”

Sam sighed. “Well, physically, she’s gonna be fine. When you rock as hard as she does, you sorta develop a tolerance to intense noise. But, she’s kinda taking this pretty hard. This was our biggest gig as a band, y’know?”

“Yeah, and someone screwed it all up just for a laugh.”

We looked up to see Luna join the conversation. I know a lot of people think that Luna’s this laid-back rocker who just lets things slide, but take it from me. I’ve seen her get mad plenty of times, and it’s never a pretty sight. This time was certainly no exception, as she was staring daggers straight at Luan.

“You needed a break from Chunk’s PR stuff, too, huh?” said Sam with a half-smirk. When Luna didn’t return the smile, she sighed. “Look, I’m sure he’ll get everything sorted out. We’ll bounce back from this; I know we will.”

“Hang on, back up,” said Clyde. “PR stuff?”

“Chunk and Mr. Uppenheimer are hashing things out after this whole fiasco,” explained Luna. “They’re probably gonna reschedule the concert, but it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll still have me and my band open for them.”  She then leered at Luan.

“Et tu, Luna?” Luan groaned.

“Dude, I know you better than anyone,” Luna said sternly. “I know that you love a good joke at our expense, even if you’re just goofing around and you don’t mean to hurt anyone. Well, this did hurt. We had a good thing goin’ with this whole Week to Shine business, and there you are, throwing a wrench into the works just because you think it’s funny. Well, no one’s laughing, mate.”

“That includes me,” Luan shot back. “How would I have pulled this off? I didn’t even go to any farms yesterday! I was at the Chortle Portal practicing for my act! You dropped me off there; you can vouch for me!”

Luna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I get it. I don’t want to think the worst of you or anything. But you have to admit, you’ve pulled this kinda stuff on us before. Or do I need to remind you of your little April Fool’s Motel of Doom?”

“That’s different!”

“Is it?”

“Yes!”

“Both of you, cool it.”

Sam rushed in and held Luna back while Dad placed a firm hand on Luan’s shoulder. Luna let out a gruff snort.

“Luan, let me be real for a second here,” she said solemnly. “I don’t know what to think right now. If you really did this and you’re just putting on an act to get out of trouble, just stop it. It’s only making you look worse. If you really didn’t do it, maybe you should find a way to prove it.”

“Th-that’s not how…”  Luan stopped herself mid-thought and sighed. “Luna, what am I supposed to do if you’re not going to vouch for me?”

Luna sighed and shrugged. “Think for yourself, dude. ‘Cause I won’t be there with you.”

With that, Luna walked off. Sam and Tabby quickly followed her, with Liam bringing up the rear. I don’t really blame Luna for being upset. She has every right to feel that way after what happened. But I can’t help but feel bad for Luan, too.

“Alright, we got some information, but it’s not a lot to go on,” said Clyde. “What should we do now, Ace?”

“The only logical next step, Jack,” I said. “We need to investigate the scene of the crime.”

“Hang on, you two,” Dad said sternly. “You can’t just run off like that.”

“But how else are we gonna investigate?” I countered. “You can still watch us.”

“Shouldn’t we be helping Luna, though? She needs us right now.”

“Dad, we are helping Luna. She deserves to know what really happened.”

“I’m sure Chunk is gonna figure that out. Why don’t you two leave it to him?”

Dang it. I guess the truth can only get us so far. What do we do now? Before I could think of anything, Luan stood up.

“I can keep an eye on them,” she said. “You go help Luna. She obviously doesn’t want my support, anyway.”

I could see Dad’s lip quiver a little as he let out a heavy sigh. “Honey, you know we love you, and we always will. Even at times like this.”  He looked back over at Luna, who was being comforted by Sam and Tabby. After a pause, he turned back to Luan. “Look, if I trust you to look after these two, will you promise to take this seriously?”

“I promise,” Luan said with a nod.

After a pause, Dad nodded. “Okay. I really want to trust you, honey. I’m sure we all do. Just… try to earn it, okay?”

“Okay.”

Dad gave Luan a final pat on the shoulder before walking over to Luna. I… honestly have no idea what to make of that. I guess Luan’s being given a chance at least, but it doesn’t really feel like it. If we’re gonna prove her innocence, we really need to get cracking.

“To the scene of the crime, Jack,” I said. “We need to gather more clues.”

“Right behind you, Ace,” said Clyde. And with that, we made our way to the stage.

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