"Hi Mattie!" Peri called, waving his arm enthusiastically as the giant man made his way into the room.

Winkle raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, blue eyes sceptical.

"Don't call me Mattie." Mr Folics muttered automatically, giving the tiny interrogator an irritated glance.

"Since when have you been this kid's lawyer?" Winkle demanded, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed.

"Since I lost a bet to Green." Mr Folics muttered, sounding as if he didn't want to admit it.

Elegantly, he took a seat opposite Winkle, sending his cool gaze down on me.

I turned away and made a point of ignoring him, not caring if he thought it was rude. I didn't need his help with this interrogation.

After all, Winkle was already beginning to crack, and it was only a matter of time before Peri followed...

"I'm glad you're here anyway," Winkle muttered irritably. "This damn kid seems to keep forgetting that we are the ones interrogating her."

Well... He wasn't wrong...

"Maddison will make sure to remain on her best behaviour from now on, won't you Miss Tramph." Mr Folics said, his calm voice making it very clear that any argument on my half would likely result in death.

I place a hand over my heart. "Scouts honour."

Not that I've ever been a scout, but what Mr Folics didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Good. Let's get this over with." Mr Folics rested his chin on his laced his fingers, meeting Winkle's eyes calmly. "Start whenever you're ready."

Winkle flattered, seeming a little uncomfortable to be under the lawyer's cool gaze.

With a small sigh, he pulled out a note pad and pencil before lowering his gaze down to me.

"Fine. First of all, would you care to explain yourself, Maddison?"

"I wanted to get off the train," I said.

He scribbled briefly onto the pad.

"For what reason?"

"I spotted something outside the train window."

The pencil stopped.

"... What exactly did you see that was so important that you had to cause a riot?" Winkle questioned slowly, obviously running out of what little patience he had managed to accumulate since Mr Folic's arrival.

I tilted back on my chair again. "A Shoe Sale. Half price on all stock."

The pencil snapped in half.

Winkle didn't even seem to notice as he lifted his gaze to stare at me, fighting to remain calm.

"....I find that hard to believe."

I raised an eyebrow, trying not to feel unnerved by the near unconscious show of strength.

Watching someone snap a pencil is a lot more intimidating when you happen to be the size of one.

"Don't underestimate the importance of a shoe sale to a teenaged girl." I smiled sweetly.

"I don't see how that's possible." He smiled back as he played along, the expression trembling in pure irritation. "Since we don't have any retail outlets at our Facility."

"Damn." I sighed in defeat. "Guess it must have been a hallucination brought on my sore feet. That's what happens to people when they don't get a seat on the train, you know."

And that is all it took to make the cookie crumble.

Winkle finally lost it, slamming his fist down on the table in utter frustration.

"That's not..!"

"Shall we skip past this nonsense and look at the footage you have of the incident, Winkle?" Mr Folics interrupted dryly, quelling the tirade with adept efficiency.

Winkle shut up instantly, blanching as he realised that he had lost his composure.

Finally noticing the broken pencil in his hand, he dumped the broken shards into the bin under the table with a sigh.

It was obviously not a rare occurrence, as he quickly pulled out another from the table's desk.

"Aww, come on, we hardly ever get to interrogate anyone," Peri said, grinning at me as he spoke to the giant lawyer. "Plus, they usually cave right away even if we do manage to get one."

Glad someone's having fun here.

"That is not my problem." Mr Folics glared down his nose at Peri, his voice uncompromising.

The small supervisor just groaned in defeat, tilting his head back. "Have it your way Mattie. Winkle, mind running the tape?"

"Don't call me Mattie." Mr Folics muttered compulsively under his breath as Winkle lifted up a glass-like device from under the table.

With a couple of light touches from Winkle, the glass lit up like a screen, the images on its surface obviously footage from the train.

Quietly, all four of us watched as the image of me standing in the train, deep in thought, and quietly talking to myself.

Which made me look like a complete nut case.

Suddenly, I leapt forward, slamming into the glass of the window.

"Get back here, Apollo! YOU COWARD"

Again, looking like a nut case.

What I said next was too quiet for the camera to pick up....thank God.

The me on the screen quickly flung herself away from the window and sprinted down the train.

"Stop! I need to get off!"

Continuing to add to my image as a nut case.

I came to a stop as I was confronted by the two punks, and after a small moment of surprise, the fight breaks out.

The very moment I gave up pacifism was painfully obvious in the cold rage that crossed my face.

Seconds later, Padding was on the floor, possibly in a coma, and I was unleashing my wrath upon his purple-haired friend.

It's official. I'm a nut case.

At this point, I couldn't watch anymore.

I gently bang my head down on the table in front of me, hoping that I would have a sudden heart attack and drop dead.

"Bring it on!" My voice shouted from the screen, making me wince in humiliation.

Honestly, all the things I say and do seem so much cooler as I'm doing them.

The sound of the footage cut off and Peri cleared his throat.

"So..." He said, his voice tense with badly concealed mirth. "Do think you could try to explain..."

He couldn't even finish the sentence before he cracked up laughing.

I lifted my head up enough to glare at the man as he bent over the table, laughing uncontrollably.

Winkle's face twitched dangerously. "That's enough, Peri. Don't make me remove you from this interview."

"Bring it on Winkle." Peri gasped, causing a whole new round of giggles.

A strangled noise came from Winkle, and the man clamped a quick hand over his mouth.

"Damn it, Peri." Despite the hand covering his mouth, snickers were starting to leak through. "Stop it, we've already watched the tape several times. You promised you wouldn't laugh during the interview. "

"I know." Peri gasped, sounding like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. "But that kids face... God... When she kneed him... Dying..."

At this, both Peri and Winkle burst into laughter... All pretence of control, gone.

I glared at the two of them menacingly as they continued to laugh at my expense.

It wasn't even that funny.

A small noise came from behind me, and I spun, my eyes daring Mr Folics to make another sound.

The lawyer seemed to have found something very interesting on the ceiling to stare innocently at.

Disgruntled, I settled down into my seat, arms crossed.

Mental note to self: Next time you decide to do something stupid, try not to get caught on camera.