Chapter Text
Outside of class, Miles had only talked to Phoenix Wright once before. It had been the first day of third grade, and Phoenix had sat across from him at lunch.
"You're Miles, right?" he'd asked.
Miles had nodded. "Miles Edgeworth. And you're Phoenix, right?"
"Yeah, Phoenix Wright." Phoenix had giggled. "But most people just call me Nick."
"I know. You said that in class earlier."
"Oh, yeah. How come you never play with the rest of us at recess?"
"I'm not interested." Miles had turned up his nose. "I prefer to read by myself."
"Oh. Well, then what do you like to read?"
"Lots of things."
"Like what? What's your favorite book?"
Miles had made a face. "Why do you care?"
“S—sorry…”
Phoenix had turned his attention to the conversation the other boys at the table were having, and they hadn't spoken again except for group work in class. The brief interaction had made Miles start to pay attention to Phoenix, though. He got along fine with the other boys, but he didn’t seem very close to any of them. He never caused trouble in class, but he rarely raised his hand to speak. He spent most lessons staring listlessly out the window or doodling on his paper, but he seemed to understand the material. The only truly notable things about him were the bright green dinosaur hoodie he always wore and the fact that he was the only Asian kid in the class, but Miles was intrigued nonetheless. Who was this boy? Why had he come to talk to Miles? It hadn’t been to mock him, Miles was fairly sure of that. Phoenix wasn’t one of the ones who did those things, and he’d left without saying anything mean. No, he must have asked Miles those questions because he wanted to know the answers. But why would he? He always played with all the other boys at recess, went along with the crowd. What would he want with a boy like Miles?
Then they’d accused him of stealing Miles’ lunch money, and Miles hadn’t believed it for a second. Of course, nobody had any actual evidence, so Miles had objected. But then after the class trial, Phoenix had acted like Miles had saved his life. Despite Miles’ attempts to calm him down, he’d insisted that he, Miles, and Larry should all eat lunch together, and so now Phoenix was sitting in front of him once more.
"Crystal Clearing," Miles said.
Phoenix furrowed his brows. "What?"
"On the first day, you asked me what my favorite book was."
Phoenix's eyes lit up with recognition. "And it's Crystal Clearing?"
Miles nodded.
"Which one?"
"All of them."
"Hey, guys," a third voice said from behind Miles.
"Larry!" Phoenix slid over on the bench to make room for him.
"What's up?" Larry asked as he sat down.
Phoenix pointed across the table. "Miles' favorite books are Crystal Clearing."
"Reading is boring," Larry said.
Miles scowled. "Nobody asked you."
"Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it has to be boring for everyone." Phoenix looked nervous. "Miles probably thinks kickball is boring, but you still like it."
Larry shrugged. "I guess. So anyways, your dad's a lawyer, huh?"
Miles nodded. "He's a very successful defense attorney. One of the best."
"So if I ever get arrested, he could get me out of trouble?"
"Well, only in California. That's where he works. He's not barred in Michigan."
"Huh?"
Miles sighed. "Lawyers have to get permission from their state government to practice law, and—"
"Practice?" Larry interrupted. "What about doing it for real?"
Miles rolled his eyes. "That's just what it's called to work as a lawyer. You practice law. But as I was saying, when the state grants you permission to practice law, that's called being admitted to the bar, or being barred. My father is barred in California, not Michigan. So he couldn't represent you unless you were indicted in California."
"Indicted?"
"Charged with a crime."
"How come he's barred in California if he lives in Michigan?" Phoenix asked.
"He lives in California," Miles said. "I live here with my grandparents."
Larry raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you live with your dad?"
Miles bit back the urge to snap at Larry. "He's too busy to take care of me all the time. But I get to visit him when we have breaks, and he takes me to court with him."
"So you've been to California?" Phoenix leaned across the table excitedly.
"Only to Los Angeles, which is where my father lives. I've never been to San Francisco or San Diego or anywhere like that."
“Well, then what’s Los Angeles like?” Phoenix asked.
“It’s big,” Miles said. “A massive city, with lots of people and lots of cars everywhere.”
“Like Detroit?” Larry said through a mouthful of sandwich.
“Even bigger than Detroit. It’s the most populous city in the most populous state.”
Larry made a face. “Who says California’s the most popular state?”
“Not popular. Populous. Meaning it has the highest population. Although I suppose that would make it the most popular state, in a sense.”
“So how many people live in Los Angeles, then?” Phoenix asked.
“Over three and a half million.”
Phoenix’s eyes widened. “Whoa. I couldn’t even count that high.”
“Why not? After nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, you go to one million. It’s not that difficult.”
“Yeah, but it’d take too long. I’d have to stop to drink water and eat and stuff, and then I’d probably forget where I was.”
Miles raised his eyebrows. “Well, obviously you couldn’t actually do it in practice. But you know how, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I never said I didn’t know how, I just said I couldn’t do it.”
Miles stared at Phoenix for a moment. Then he smiled. “You’d make a good lawyer.”
“You think so?”
Miles nodded.
“How come? Do lawyers have to know how to count really high?”
Miles laughed. “No, of course not. Or, well, if you didn’t know that, you’d probably have a hard time passing the bar exam. But that’s not what I meant. I was referring to what you said about never actually saying you didn’t know how to count to three and a half million, just that you couldn’t actually do it.”
“Huh?”
“Lawyers have to pay attention to details like that. The exact wording of laws and testimony matters a lot. If you’d stated under oath that you didn’t know how to count to three and a half million, that would be perjury. But saying that you couldn’t would be fine.”
“What’s perjury?”
Miles almost sighed, but he couldn’t really expect Phoenix to know that. “Perjury just means lying under oath.”
“Under oath?”
“When you testify in court, you have to swear an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then you’re under oath, and lying is a criminal offense.”
“Are you guys done talking about math yet?” Larry cut in.
Miles squinted at him. “We’re not talking about math. I was telling Phoenix that he’d make a good lawyer.”
Larry groaned. “Can we talk about something more interesting?”
“Such as?”
“I dunno. What’s your favorite color?”
“Red,” Miles said flatly.
Phoenix gasped. “Really? Mine too! Hey, high five!”
Miles reached across the table and high-fived Phoenix.
“Mine’s blue,” Larry said.
Phoenix nodded approvingly. “Blue’s a good color.”
“Was that interesting enough for you, Larry?” Miles asked with a roll of his eyes.
“It’s better than ‘oh, my father’s a lawyer, isn’t that so cool, let’s talk about trials for all of lunch.’” Larry did a high voice and a silly accent in what seemed to be an attempt to imitate Miles.
“Well, what do your parents do for a living?”
Phoenix stuck his hand in the air. “My mama’s a lawyer, too. But not the kind that does trials. Except sometimes.”
Miles raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean, not the kind that does trials? What does she do, then?”
“I don’t really know.” Phoenix frowned. “She says she’s not a literator, or, no, a liti…litigator? Litamater? I can’t remember. But she’s not that, she’s a—a house council. I think.”
“A house council?” Miles repeated.
“Yeah. She works for a company, the same company as my dad. But he’s not a lawyer at all, he does business stuff.”
“Hmm.” Miles wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I’ll have to ask my father about that tomorrow night.”
“Doesn’t he live in California?” Larry butted in. “How are you going to ask him?”
“Over the phone, obviously. I call him every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday night.”
“Whoa,” Phoenix said. “Three times a week? I thought you said he was busy, too busy to even take care of you!”
Miles furrowed his brows. “That’s right. But he’s not too busy to talk on the phone for twenty minutes three evenings a week.”
“My dad’s a doctor,” Larry said. “And my mom doesn’t have a job. She just takes care of me and my sisters.”
That seemed to catch Phoenix’s attention. “You have sisters? How many?”
“Three. One older, two younger.”
“How old are they? What are their names?”
“The older one is named Shannon. She’s in seventh grade. Then Martha is in second grade, in Mrs. Harrisburg’s class. And my baby sister Daisy is only four.”
“That’s really cool, that you have three sisters!”
Larry shook his head. “They’re sooo annoying.”
“Oh. Do they at least play with you sometimes?”
“Yeah, but not as much as they fight with me.”
“They all fight with you?” Miles asked. “Even the four-year-old?”
“No, but she doesn’t play with me either. She’s only four. She doesn’t know anything.”
“Well, she must know some things,” Phoenix said. “Like her name, and the colors of the rainbow.”
Larry made a face. “Duh. That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh. S—sorry.” All of a sudden, Phoenix looked like he might cry.
“What kind of doctor is your father?” Miles asked, hoping to change the subject.
“I don’t know. He’s just a doctor.”
“You mean he’s a…what’s the word? A primary care physician. Is that what he is?”
Larry shrugged. “I already said, I don’t know.”
“How can you not know what your father does for a living? Doesn’t he ever tell you about work?”
“No, not really.”
“My parents don’t talk about work either,” Phoenix chimed in. He didn’t seem to be on the verge of tears anymore, but he had yet to fully cheer up.
“Are you guys gonna eat your food?” Larry asked.
“Oh, that’s right!” Miles had forgotten that he was supposed to be eating. He wasn’t used to having conversations during lunch.
For the next several minutes, the three of them were quiet as Phoenix and Miles ate the food they’d been neglecting. Then the whole cafeteria got quiet for the end-of-lunch announcements, and they were dismissed.
“Hey, Edgey, are you gonna come play with us?” Larry asked as they walked out to recess.
Miles scowled at the nickname. “No.”
“Well, then what if we go play with you?” Phoenix suggested.
Miles raised his eyebrows. “How is that any different?”
“‘Cause instead of you playing our games, we’ll play your games!”
“I don’t play games.”
“Oh. Right.” Phoenix looked down.
“Why don’t you play games?” Larry asked.
“I don’t like running around.”
Phoenix stuck his hand in the air. “Well, then what about games where you don’t run around? Like—like 20 Questions, or In My Aunt’s Trunk?”
“In My Aunt’s Trunk?” Larry repeated. “What the heck is that?”
“You go around saying all the things that are in your aunt’s trunk, except they’re not really there, it’s just pretend. But the first person has to say something that starts with A, and then the second person has to say something that starts with B, but they also have to say what the first person said, so it gets longer and longer and you have to remember.”
“I know that game,” Miles said. “But it’s supposed to be that you’re going on a picnic, and you list all the things you’re bringing.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Well, it doesn’t make a difference. It’s not very realistic either way, and the game is the same. But that’s what my grandma calls it.”
“It sounds boring,” Larry interjected.
Phoenix frowned. “Oh. Okay. What about 20 Questions?”
“That’s fine, I guess.”
“Alright,” Miles said. “Let’s go sit on the grass.”
Phoenix pointed and waved his hands excitedly. “Do we get to sit on your picnic blanket?”
“Of course. Did you think I was going to make the two of you sit on the wet field?”
“The field’s not wet. It hasn’t rained in days,” Larry said.
“It’s always a little damp, because of dew and the sprinklers.”
“So? That dries off right away.”
“Yeah, but Miles is wearing a nice suit, so he has to make sure it doesn’t get stained.” Phoenix gestured at Miles’ clothes.
“Fine. Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Larry took off running.
“But Miles—wait! Miles just said—” Phoenix sighed. “Too late…”
Miles waved his hand. “You can go ahead. I don’t care about being labeled a rotten egg.”
“But if we get there at the same time, then neither of us are rotten eggs, right? ’Cause no one was last.”
“Or he might say we’re both rotten eggs. But we won’t actually be rotten eggs, even if Larry says we are.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, though. We can’t both be the last one.”
Miles shrugged. “You’re right, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to convince Larry of that. I don’t think he cares about logic. He just wants to call someone a rotten egg.”
“Well, then maybe you could convince him, like you did earlier in class!”
“That really wasn’t anything special,” Miles said, averting his gaze. “All I did was say that no one had evidence, which is just basic logic. And that only works if the person you’re trying to convince is willing to listen to reason, which Larry probably isn’t.”
“Oh. So…so we’re gonna be rotten eggs, even though it doesn’t make sense?”
“No, we’re not. Larry Butz saying something doesn’t make it true.”
“But…” Phoenix flapped his hands up and down in front of his chest. “That’s the game! Last one there’s a rotten egg. If you’re the last one, you have to be the rotten egg.”
“Your argument still holds, though. Even if Larry doesn’t accept it, you and I both know that you’re right.”
Phoenix’s eyes widened as if Miles had said something utterly revolutionary. “Y—you think so?”
“No, I know it. If the last one there is a rotten egg, and neither of us is the last one there, then we’re not rotten eggs. That’s a fact, regardless of what Larry has to say.”
“Oh…wow.”
“You guys are so slow!” Larry shouted at them as they approached the field. “I said last one there’s a rotten egg! Why are you just walking and talking?”
Phoenix looked down. “Miles said he doesn’t like running around. And—and now neither of us is the last one.”
“What? That’s not how it works! You guys are ruining the game!”
“S—sorry…”
“It is how it works,” Miles shot back. “And neither of us agreed to play this so-called game.”
Larry rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s just play 20 Questions already.”
“Alright.” Miles unbuttoned and unfolded his picnic blanket and laid it out on the grass. Phoenix leapt onto it and sat down cross-legged, bouncing in place and tapping his hands on his knees, and Miles and Larry sat down on either side of him.
“One, two, three, not it!” Larry shouted.
Phoenix’s finger flew to his nose. “Not it!”
“What do you mean, not it?” Miles demanded.
“Well, it’s 20 Questions,” Phoenix said. “Someone has to pick a word so the other people can guess.”
“But that doesn’t mean you’re ‘it’ like in tag, does it?”
“Ughhh,” Larry groaned. “Just hurry up and be it already!”
Miles scowled. “Picking a word isn’t the same as being ‘it.’ Why should I have to do it?”
“I can if you don’t want to,” Phoenix offered.
“Alright. Pick a word, then.”
“Hmm…okay, got it.”
“Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” Larry asked.
Miles raised his eyebrows. “What? You’re only allowed to ask yes or no questions.”
“Yeah, except animal, vegetable, or mineral. You’re allowed to ask that.”
“Is that true?” Miles looked at Phoenix.
“Maybe? I don’t know.”
“What does it mean, anyways? There are plenty of things that aren’t animals, vegetables, or minerals.”
Larry shook his head. “No, it’s like, is it made of animals, plants, or metal?”
“What about plastic?”
“That counts as mineral.”
Phoenix stuck his hand in the air. “But isn’t plastic made of oil, which is made of old dinosaurs? So then wouldn’t it be animal?”
“Whatever,” Larry said. “It can be animal, I guess.”
“But what about things that are made of multiple different materials? Or things that aren’t made of any of those?”
“Well, then couldn’t you just say no?” Phoenix suggested. “Like, is it animal, vegetable, or mineral? No, it’s not.”
“Fine. But what about multiple materials?”
Larry rolled his eyes. “Then say you don’t know! Can we just play?”
“Is ‘I don’t know’ a response you’re allowed to give?” Miles asked.
“Obviously!” Larry threw his hands in the air. “What else are you supposed to say if you don’t know the answer?”
Miles shrugged. “I was just confirming.”
“Well, let’s play already! Please!”
“Fine, fine!”
“So, Nick. Animal, vegetable, or mineral?”
Phoenix blinked. “Oh. Uh, animal.”
“Is it an actual animal?” Miles asked.
“Yes.”
“I know!” Larry exclaimed. “A dinosaur!”
“Yeah!” Phoenix grinned and bounced his knees.
Miles folded his arms and glanced pointedly at Phoenix’s hoodie. “That was too easy.”
“S—sorry…” Phoenix flapped his hands and looked down. “I just thought, ‘cause—since it was the first round…”
“Yeah, c’mon, Edgey! Practice round!”
“Alright, then. Pick another word.”
“O—okay. Um…got it.”
“Is it a thing?” Miles asked.
Larry made a face. “Huh? What do you mean, is it a thing?”
“I mean what I said. Is it a thing, or is it something like a person or place, or a verb, or a concept?”
“Y—yes. It’s a thing.”
“Okay, animal, vegetable, or mineral?” Larry asked.
“Um, vegetable.”
Miles nodded. “Is it a vegetable?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not what the question means!” Larry exclaimed.
“I know. That’s why I asked separately if it was a vegetable.”
“It could be anything made out of plants. Even something made of wood, ‘cause trees are plants.”
“I know that! Obviously!” Miles rubbed his temple. “If I thought Phoenix saying ‘vegetable’ meant that it was an actual vegetable, I wouldn’t have asked if it was a vegetable!”
Larry rolled his eyes. “Know-it-all.”
“Wh—b—guys!” Phoenix exclaimed. “It’s just a game!”
Miles nodded. “Very well. Is it green?”
“Um…” Phoenix frowned. “N—no.”
“Red!” Larry exclaimed.
Phoenix shook his head.
“Orange?”
“No.”
“Yellow?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it corn?” Miles asked.
“Yeah!”
“Hey, I was about to say that!” Larry made a face.
“S—so you both got it!” Phoenix exclaimed, before Miles had time to respond. “That’s good!”
Miles held out his hand, and Larry rolled his eyes and shook it.
“Do either of you wanna pick next?” Phoenix asked.
“Not it!” Larry shouted.
Miles sighed. “First of all, choosing the word still doesn’t count as being ‘it.’ Second of all, Phoenix only asked if we wanted to. There was no need to shout out like that.”
“I can keep picking if you guys don’t want to.” Phoenix half-raised his hand.
“That sounds good to me.”
“Yeah, what Edgey said.”
They were able to guess quite a few miscellaneous nouns before the bell rang. Larry had little to do with it, however—his questions were basic at best and wasteful at worst, although despite the name of the game, Phoenix and Larry didn’t seem interested in keeping count. The game itself was entertaining enough, but it would’ve been nice if they had some playing cards or something, or even paper and pens for hangman or the dot game. Still, the way Phoenix grinned and bounced up and down whenever they guessed correctly was reason enough to keep playing. It was bizarre to think that Miles could provoke such a cheerful response from another kid—but then, everything about the way Phoenix had been acting since the class trial was bizarre. His excessive gratitude, his bouncing and hand-flapping and arm-waving, and most of all how he talked to Miles the way friendly adults did, like he cared what Miles had to say. Miles wasn’t sure what to make of it all, and it made him a bit nervous, but at the same time, it was sort of nice, somehow. He wanted to keep guessing correctly, and when the bell finally rang, Miles found himself almost disappointed.
The entire rest of the schoolday, Miles could barely focus on his classwork. No matter how hard he tried to pay attention, his mind kept wandering back to Phoenix. Hopefully, whatever debt he felt he owed Miles had been paid off by spending all of lunch and recess with him, and things would carry on like they had before, but something inside Miles told him it wouldn’t be so simple, and he wasn’t completely confident that he wanted it to be. Even with Larry there, talking to Phoenix had been…pleasant. Despite all the risks, Miles thought he might not mind doing it again.
So when they got out of class and Phoenix came skipping up to him, Miles didn’t fold his arms or turn up his nose. Instead, he raised his eyebrows as calmly as he could. “Hello, Phoenix.”
“Hi! So, Larry takes the other one, but I think me and you take the same bus!” Phoenix exclaimed, jumping up and down in little hops.
“Yes, that’s right.” Miles knew that—Phoenix was always somewhere on the bus, backpack on his knees. “And that should be ‘you and I,’ not ‘you and me.’”
“Oh. Sorry. But, um, can we sit together? Or, do you want to? Is that okay? On the bus, I mean.”
Miles dug his nails into his palm. Pros and cons were racing through his mind faster than he could consider them, but Phoenix was standing in front of him waiting for an answer, so he scrambled for the first words he could think of. “Um…okay.”
“Yay!” Phoenix jumped up and down a few times, waving his arms around wildly. Then he grabbed Miles’ hand and started running towards the buses, but he screeched to a halt almost immediately. “Wait!” he exclaimed. “No running around. I’m—I’m really sorry.”
Miles shrugged. “It’s not as though I’m allergic, I just prefer not to.”
“Okay. We’ll walk, then! Can I still hold your hand?”
“U—um…”
“Never mind.” Phoenix let go and took a step back. “Sorry. But let’s go!”
Once they’d gotten on the bus, Miles made his way to his usual seat and gestured to it. “After you,” he said, since his stop was before Phoenix’s.
Phoenix bounced his way into the seat on tiptoes, and kept bouncing once he’d sat down. As soon as Miles joined him, he turned to face him eagerly. “So have you read all the Crystal Clearing books?”
“Um, yes. Have you?”
“No, I haven’t read any of them. What are they about?”
Miles blinked. “Wh—why do you ask?”
“What do you mean? You said they were your favorites, right?”
“Well, yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“It has to do with you.”
“Yes, but—” Miles sighed. “Why do you want me to tell you about them?”
Phoenix looked down. “I was just asking. But if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay.”
“I never said I didn’t want to.”
“Oh. Well, then tell me!”
“Al—alright.” Miles fiddled with the hem of his sleeve, trying to remain calm. “It’s about two best friends, Ellie and Aiden, who find this clearing in the woods that’s supposed to house the Crystals of Life. But the crystals have been scattered all across space and time, so Ellie and Aiden have to travel to different historical periods to find them and bring them back.”
“Why? What do the crystals do?”
“They sustain the life force of the forest. If they’re gone for too long, everything will wither up and die.”
Phoenix nodded. “And how did they get lost?”
“The Winds of Change took them and blew them all away. But the Winds aren’t inherently evil. When Ellie and Aiden visit the past, the Winds help them find the crystals, but in the modern day, the Winds are violent and aggressive, because all the humans destroying nature to build cities and dams and roads and whatnot have driven them into a blind rage.”
“Wait, so then why do the Winds help them when they time-travel?”
“Because they go back to times before the humans made the Winds angry. Ellie and Aiden are from the future, but the Winds have always been there. In the first book, when they go all the way back to the Late Jurassic period, they introduce themselves and explain that they’re looking for the crystals, so in later time periods, the Winds already know who they are and what they’re doing, but they have to make sure they never explain what happened to the crystals in the first place.”
“Oh.” Phoenix furrowed his eyebrows. “So then how do they time-travel? And how do they know where to go? Or when?”
“The Guardian of the Forest shows them. He’s a magical stag with a special connection to the crystals, so he can sense where one has gone, and then when Ellie and Aiden touch his antlers, they’re sent back to that time. And once they have the crystal, they’re brought back to the moment just after they left, so their parents don’t have any idea how long they’re spending in other time periods. Sometimes it’s several days.”
“That sounds really cool! You said they go to the Late Jurassic period, right? Do they meet dinosaurs?”
Miles glanced at Phoenix’s hoodie, with its blue spikes and cartoonish eyes. “Yes, they do. But I’m not going to tell you everything, in case you want to read it yourself.”
“Oh!” Phoenix’s eyes widened. “I will, then, especially if there are dinosaurs! Then can we talk about it more, once I’ve read it?”
“I—I suppose so.” Miles was certain Phoenix would forget about the whole thing as soon as he got home, but that was probably for the best.
“So what other books do you like?”
“Um…there are quite a few.”
“What’s your second favorite?”
Miles eyed Phoenix warily. “Why are you so interested in what I read?”
“I—I—” Phoenix flapped his hands. “I just thought maybe you’d wanna talk about it, since you read all the time.”
“That doesn’t explain why you should care.”
“Well, I—I just want to talk to you. I don’t really care what we talk about.”
That couldn’t be right, couldn’t be true. But whatever Phoenix was hiding, Miles wasn’t going to be able to get it out of him just by asking. “Alright, then. Do you read much?”
“Not really. Or, sort of. Mostly just books about dinosaurs, though.”
“What do you do in your free time, then?”
Phoenix hesitated. “Um…I like—I draw sometimes.”
“What do you draw? Dinosaurs?”
“Y—yeah. But other things, too! I’m making a street right now.”
“You’re making a street?” Miles repeated.
“I—I mean drawing one. Sorry.”
“I understood that. What I don’t understand is how you’d draw an entire street.”
“Well, it’s not the whole street. It’s just one side of a block.”
“I see. That’s…interesting, I suppose.”
“It is?” Phoenix sounded surprised.
“Um…sort of? I don’t find streets especially interesting most of the time, but it’s interesting that you like to draw.”
“I—interesting like how?”
Miles stared at him. “Interesting because I didn’t know that about you. Or, well, I suppose you’re always doodling in class, but I’d assumed that was just because you were bored.”
“O—oh.” Phoenix’s eyes went wide. “I—I don’t—I mean, some of it’s interesting. I know paying attention is important. It’s just, we have to just sit there for so long, and if I don’t draw anything, I’ll go crazy. But it’s—I know I shouldn’t.”
“I don’t care if you do. I can’t blame you for getting bored in class when they hardly ever tell us anything we don’t already know.”
“Wait, you get bored in class too?”
Miles rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. It’s boring. We’ve spent two and a half weeks learning what a fraction is.”
“But you like reading, right?”
“Yes, and writing, because it’s less repetitive.”
“Well, what do you like to read, then? Besides Crystal Clearing.”
Miles gave Phoenix one last wary look, then gave up on trying to decipher his motives and resigned himself to explaining the premises of Neptune’s Bridge, The Owl of Fiddlefern Hill, and Ezekiel Woodsley. Phoenix listened attentively and asked good questions, and Miles was almost beginning to believe that he might actually care when he held out a hand.
“Oh, this is my stop!” He stood up and slung his backpack over one shoulder.
Miles gasped and shook his head, heart sinking. “But I’m supposed to get off before you!”
“O—oh.” Phoenix’s eyes widened. “Well, then get off now!”
Miles nodded, grabbed his bag, and got up in a rush. His heart raced as he hurried down the aisle. What was he going to do? Grandma must’ve been so worried. Even if she didn’t get angry at him, he knew he’d made a mistake. He should never have let himself get distracted like that, not even by Phoenix Wright. How was he going to explain himself to Grandma when he got home? And how was he even going to get home? Looking out the windows, he didn’t even have any idea where they were. Nevertheless, when he and Phoenix had made their way down the steps and onto the sidewalk, he stuck his chin in the air and made a stoic face.
“Which stop is yours?” Phoenix asked.
“F—Feldtman and Birchwood.” Miles internally cursed himself for stuttering.
“Oh, that’s not far.” Phoenix seemed calm. “It’s the stop right before mine. You just go down that way two blocks and then turn left, and it’s right up ahead.”
“I know that,” Miles lied.
“Well, then what’s wrong? Do you want me to go with you? I can hold your hand if you’re scared.”
“No! I don’t need your help!” Miles snapped.
Phoenix’s eyes filled with tears, and he started to flap his hands up and down. “I—I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean it like a bad thing, I promise.”
Miles clutched his elbow and looked away. He knew better than to let any of his fear show, but Phoenix was crying. Somehow, Miles had made another boy cry, without even meaning to. He’d tried to fend Phoenix off, and that had made Phoenix sad, which must have meant that Phoenix…wanted to be close to him? That was consistent with the way he’d been acting since the class trial, like he thought Miles was amazing, an incredible hero of justice. But it was absurd. Unless, of course, the hunch that Miles had been harboring all schoolyear was correct, and Phoenix wasn’t like the other kids. It seemed too good to be true, but Miles doubted Phoenix would be able to fake-cry this convincingly. And then, if he was being genuine…
With a sigh, Miles gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and held out his hand. Phoenix sniffled, and then Miles felt another hand slip into his. When he opened his eyes, Phoenix was smiling at him.
“It’s okay to be scared,” he said. “And I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
Miles did his best to return the grin. “I, um…”
“Come on, let’s go!” Phoenix gently tugged on Miles’ hand and started walking.
Miles followed along quietly as they made their way down the sidewalk. After a moment, he looked over at Phoenix and tilted his head, puzzled. “Aren’t your parents going to be worried if you don’t come home on time? Why didn’t you tell them where you were going?”
Phoenix shook his head. “They’re not home yet. They still have work for a couple more hours.”
“Then who takes care of you after school?”
“Takes care of me? No one. I just go home.”
“Alone?”
Phoenix nodded. “I had a babysitter in kindergarten, but then I was old enough to be by myself for a little while.”
“But—but you’re only eight! And even younger, in first grade!”
“Well, I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere until this year.”
“Huh?”
“I had to stay home. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.” Phoenix gestured at nothing with his free hand. “But now I’m allowed to walk to the park or the library, or to a friend’s house, if it’s nearby. I had to learn the streets first so I don’t get lost. That’s how I know how to get to your stop.”
“I see.” Miles wasn’t sure what to make of that. He wasn’t allowed nearly so much freedom, but then he wasn’t sure he’d want to come home to an empty house every day. It was nice to be able to talk to Grandma, to tell her about his day at school while she prepared a snack. What Phoenix had described seemed…lonely.
When they’d walked two blocks and rounded the corner, Miles saw Grandma up ahead, standing on the porch. He almost called out to her, but when he thought of having to explain himself, he felt suddenly tongue-tied. He knew she probably wouldn’t be angry if he just told her he’d made a mistake and he was sorry, but she must’ve come outside to look for him. She must have been worried, and it was his fault.
“Which one’s your house?” Phoenix asked. “Is it on this block?”
Miles nodded. “It’s the blue one right up there. That’s my grandma standing on the porch.”
“Oh!” Phoenix started walking faster. “Is it okay if I say hi to her?”
“I—I suppose so.” Miles wasn’t sure why Phoenix sounded so excited about meeting another kid’s grandma, but—
“Hi, Mrs. Miles’ Grandma!” Phoenix called out, waving his free hand.
Grandma turned to look, then hurried down the steps and came over to them. “Miles!” she exclaimed. “There you are!”
“Y—yes.” Miles looked down. He hadn’t realized that was what Phoenix meant.
“Where have you been? And who’s this?”
“I’m Phoenix Wright.” Phoenix reached out and shook Grandma’s hand. “But you can just call me Nick if you want. I was talking to Miles on the bus, and so he got distracted and forgot to get off at his stop. But mine is right after, so we walked here together. Sorry we were late.”
Miles frowned. “It’s not your fault. It’s my responsibility to get off at the right stop. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“Oh, it’s not a problem at all.” Grandma waved her hand. “I was only just starting to wonder where you were. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Phoenix.”
Phoenix smiled politely. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Did you know Miles defended me today, just like a real grown-up lawyer?”
“No, I didn’t know that. What happened?”
“Phoenix is the one everyone thought stole my lunch money,” Miles explained. “We had a whole mock trial. Or at least they called it a trial, but no one had any evidence or anything like that. They were just shouting out baseless accusations. So I raised an objection. That’s all.”
“I didn’t do it!” Phoenix waved his hands around emphatically. “I wouldn’t do that, ever. But no one was listening until Miles saved me. Larry helped, too, but Miles was first.”
Grandma smiled and ruffled Miles’ hair. “Good job, Love-Bug. I’m sure your father will be very proud.”
“He’s a lawyer, right?” Phoenix bounced on his toes. “Is he your son, or your son-in-law?”
“He’s my son.”
“So then are you Mrs. Edgeworth?”
Grandma chuckled. “Yes, I am. But call me Alexandra.”
“Okay!”
“Well, I suppose you’d better be heading home now, Phoenix. It’s been nice meeting you. And thank you for walking Miles home.”
“You’re welcome!” Phoenix jumped up and down and waved his arms around. “It was fun!”
Miles stuck his hand in his pocket. “I’ll—I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow! Bye!” With that, Phoenix turned around and skipped away.
Grandma put her hand on Miles’ shoulder. “Come on inside now. How about an apple for snack?”
“Yes, please.” Miles followed her over to the porch and up the steps. Once they were inside, he took off his shoes and backpack and went into the kitchen to sit down as Grandma sliced an apple.
“So tell me about your new friend,” she said as she set the plate of apple slices down on the table.
“My—my what?”
“Your new friend.” Grandma sat down across the table from Miles. “Phoenix Wright.”
Miles tapped his feet against the legs of his chair. “Is…is he my friend?”
“It sure looks like it. You were talking on the bus, and he walked you home. Holding your hand, no less.”
“I know.” Miles bit the inside of his cheek. “And he sat with me at lunch, and played 20 Questions with me at recess…”
“Well, then it seems like he wants to be friends, at least.”
“Oh.” Thinking about that made Miles’ apple seem unappetizing, with the way his stomach jumped and turned.
“Is that what you want?”
“To be—to be friends with him?”
Grandma nodded.
“I…I don’t know. Maybe, but…”
“But what?”
Miles picked up an apple slice and used it to push the others around on the plate. “I don’t know. Does that mean I have to be friends with Larry?”
“Larry Butz? Why would you have to be friends with him?”
“Because Phoenix wants to. He asked both of us to sit with him at lunch.”
“Oh. Well, you could talk to Phoenix about how Larry’s treated you in the past.”
Miles shook his head. “Larry’s not the worst. They make fun of him, too. But he’s a bumbling fool, and he thinks he’s clever. That’s why I don’t want to be his friend.”
Grandma made a face like she was trying not to laugh. “Well, then you’ll probably have to tolerate him.”
“I know. But I—I like Phoenix. He’s not like the rest of them. But he’s not like me, either. He’s shy, I think. Or maybe not shy, but…sort of scared of people. But he’s kind, and smart, and I like talking to him.”
“That sounds like a wonderful person to be friends with!” Grandma smiled. “But of course, it’s up to you.”
“I…I think I do want to be friends with him. But…”
“But what?”
Miles looked down. “I don’t know. What if—what if I do it wrong? Or—or what if he really is like the other kids, and he’s just pretending to be nice? Or what if he gets to know me and then decides he doesn’t like me after all? Then it’d be even worse. Or maybe they’ll make fun of him for being friends with me, and then he’ll be angry with me. And—and the more I talk to him, the more he has to make fun of me for. But if I try to make sure that doesn’t happen, I’ll just hurt his feelings, and then—then…”
“Oh, darling. It’s scary to trust someone, isn’t it?”
Miles nodded and swallowed hard.
“I know you’ve had a rough time at school, but there are good, kind people out there. I swear it. And I hardly know him, but it seems like Phoenix might be one of them.”
“I know. He—I—you know, on the first day of school this year, he came up to me and asked why I never played with everyone else. And when I told him I liked reading better, he asked what my favorite book was.”
Grandma raised her eyebrows. “Did you tell him?”
“No, not then. I did today. But I’ve been paying attention to him ever since, and he—he seems different.”
“Different how?”
“I…I don’t really know how to describe it.” Miles’ stomach started feeling funny again. “He’s not like me. He fits in just fine with everyone else. But…there’s something about him. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s…it’s interesting. It makes me want to get to know him.”
Grandma got a look on her face that Miles couldn’t decipher—almost curious, but also like she knew something Miles didn’t, and somewhere between happy and sad and worried. “Then I think you should. It’ll be scary at first, but I’ve got a feeling it’ll be more than worth it.”
“A—alright. I’ll try.”
“Good. Now eat your apples.”
The next morning, when Miles left the house and walked down to the bus stop, Phoenix was standing there waiting. “Hi, Miles!” he called out as Miles approached.
“Phoenix,” Miles said. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to say hi! ’Cause your stop is so close to mine.”
“Oh.” Miles looked down, then took a deep breath. “Phoenix, do you—do you want to be my friend? Is that what’s going on with you?”
Phoenix frowned. “W—well, if—if you want to. I thought—’cause, you know—but if you don’t want to be friends, it’s okay. I can leave you alone.”
“I never said I didn’t want to. I’m asking you. Do you want to be my friend?”
“Yeah, unless you don’t want to.”
Miles stared at Phoenix for a moment, then sighed. “Why?”
“Huh? Because—because you saved me! Everyone else was calling me a thief and yelling at me and saying they didn’t like me anymore, and you defended me! Even though it was your money, and you hardly even knew me, and you’re so much smarter and fancier and cooler than me. You still stood up for me. And so I—I thought—I thought I should be your friend. But if you want me to leave you alone, I can do that, too. I—I don’t want to bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me.” Miles felt like he might disintegrate. Phoenix thought he was cool? The idea was preposterous, but Phoenix seemed so genuine. He’d said it so casually, as if it were obvious, and moved on immediately. Moved on to worrying about what Miles wanted. None of it made any sense, and the whole world was going topsy-turvy, and Miles felt like he was burning, even in the cool spring air. He was tired of trying to keep his bearings, to cling to the reality he knew. Maybe it was best to just let it go, to let himself free-fall into a universe where someone—and not just anyone, but Phoenix Wright—might actually like him. “I…I want to as well. To be friends.”
“Oh! Okay! Then can we sit together on the bus again?”
“Y—yes.”
“And play at recess with Larry, and sit together at lunch?”
“Yes.”
“Good, ’cause I brought some games in my backpack, in case you guys are bored of 20 Questions. But I also thought of a whole list of words, if you wanna keep playing, so you don’t have to wait for me to think of one every time.”
Miles blinked. “That’s, um, nice.”
“Oh! And after I left your house yesterday, I went to the library and started reading the first Crystal Clearing! I couldn’t take it home ’cause I don’t have a library card, so I only got to read a few chapters before I had to go home for dinner, but I’ll go read more today. It was really good! I liked Ellie a lot, like how she convinced the Winds of Change to help them. That was so smart, and she was so brave about it! It was really cool. But she was also nice to Aiden even when he was scared, and I—I liked that, too. And I really liked the dinosaurs!”
“You…you actually read it?”
Phoenix tilted his head. “I said I was going to, didn’t I?”
“…You did.”
“Yeah! So I’ll go this afternoon, and then go finish it tomorrow, and then we can talk about everything! But it’ll take a long time to read all the rest of the books, so you can’t tell me what happens in them.”
Miles nodded slowly.
“What’s wrong?”
“You—you really do want to be my friend, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”
Miles was saved from having to answer by the bus pulling up, but the question stuck in his head—why wouldn’t Phoenix want to be his friend? He hadn’t thought of it that way. There was no good reason everyone at school disliked him so much. It was just that they were immature, or jealous, or felt threatened by Miles. So if Phoenix was a reasonable person, then there was no reason he shouldn’t want to be friends. And it was much simpler to assume that Phoenix was reasonable than that he was trying to trick Miles, or that he’d lost his mind and might decide he actually hated Miles at any moment, or that the world had turned upside-down. Ockham’s Razor said Miles didn’t need to worry. So when they sat down on the bus and Phoenix insisted Miles finish explaining how the dragons’ powers worked in Ezekiel Woodsley, he let himself get caught up in describing the magic of the Prismaforce and the way each color interacted with Ezekiel’s amulet, ready to believe that Phoenix would join him.