Whim Manor And the Boy Who Wasn't.

Infinite Geisha Attack!

Nora was the first to arrive. A small crowd was gathering, but no one had approached me.

"She's here for assaulting a peace officer, and not for any cultural reasons." Nora spoke slowly.

"What?" I asked.

"That's what the sign says. He underlined 'not for any cultural reasons.'" Then she asked, "How did you assault him?"

"I tripped him."

"Wearing that? What did you 'sweep the leg'?"

"Well, he kind of tripped himself, pushing by me. But I did help... accidently."

"What do you mean 'accidentally'?"

"I was thinking about it. I stuck my foot out a bit, but then I was pulling it back when he pushed by me."

"Oh, Jesus..." Nora groaned.

"Don't you believe me?"

"I do, but cops—they don't exactly give people the benefit of the doubt, not if they don't want to."

My phone started ringing, 'Justin' visible on the caller id. Nora snatched it out of my hand and answered it.

I overheard her part of the conversation: "Justin...... He's got Harper...... You need to turn yourself in...... He's going to shave Harper's head if you don't...... At sundown, that's eight thirty."

"Can I talk to him?" I asked.

Nora held the phone up to my ear.

"Justin, dude," I said.

"I know. I'm coming back. I'm going to turn myself in," he said over the phone.

"If you do, he said he was going to 'prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.' "

"He's going to shave your head if I don't."

"I was going to cut it before the school year anyway."

While this was true, it wasn't because I wanted to cut it. Rather, all the little trims I was getting whenever the girls gave me makeovers had made it progressively—girlier. So I was going to have to cut it, because, you know, bullies... Though I wasn't planning on shaving it or cutting it any shorter than I had to.

I yelled into the phone, "You'll get juvie or worse. Stay away—"

At that, Nora snatched the phone back and hung up. "Oh Jesus, Harper," she groaned.

"You know he'll go easier on me," I said.

"You call this easier." She knocked on the wooden pillory.

"Easier than jail," I said. "He hasn't threatened me with any charges."

"Uhhh..." she huffed, "I hate to admit it, but you know who I really wish was here?"

"Whim?"

Nora nodded. "She'd know what to do."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. She disappeared after the makeover. We found her phone, but she'd slipped it into Christie's pocket."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Nora pulled at the pillory boards, testing them, vainly trying to free me. "And Ms. Windsor, she's been trying to talk sense into Graham. But she's not having much luck. She keeps spouting on about the fragile male ego... what do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, maybe look for Whim again?"

She bit her lip. "Okay, will do." Then she held my phone out to me.