Honesty is the Best Policy {Comic Edition}

Chapter 11: An Intermission Justification

"Just set your bag in the corner there so it doesn't get lost. And don't forget to pick it up at the end of the day or else I'll be forced to eat them," Doctor Finitevus quipped. His humor, however, seemed to be lost on Shadow as he was currently staring bullets at him from over at the door.

"No, you'll keep them safe until Honest arrives tomorrow."

"He's just teasing, Ultimate Stick-in-the-mud," Honest called over her shoulder. After lifting the lid, Honest jumped up the side of the cooler as if she were going to climb inside it, only to gently drop her bag in the front left-hand corner of the refrigerated container.

"I'll be back for it at 3:15 in the afternoon. We have work at the cafe after school today, so we'll store it there then," Honest told the Doctor as she made her way across the room back to where Shadow stood by the door. "By the way, you should totally come visit the cafe sometime! Perhaps I can trade some of my tips for a discount on your order."

Shadow wondered if she was really serious about that.

Finitevus nodded, as though he were considering it.

"Oh, and Shadow," he said as they left. With one hand on the door, said black pineapple turned around.

"Remind Scourge to come in later, perhaps at lunch, to retake Friday's quiz, which he miraculously failed in spite of us practically reviewing all the answers minutes before he took it."

"Alright, it will be done," Shadow assured, closing the heavy wooden door with a thud.

"Certainly, thine will be done," Honest mocked him as soon as the door shut behind them. She used her universal masculine voice impression to say it, which was just low-pitched. Shadow glared at her out of the corner of his eye as they walked.

"But keep in mind that we won't be obeying any of his commands. He actually listens to us, er, me," Honest reminded him.

"How exactly did you manage that?" Shadow inquired, concern carefully tucked away beneath a scowl of confusion.

Honest tapped her chin with her finger. "Hmmm... It was complicated. But if I can persuade the Ultimate Mercenary to put on a dress and assist us in cleaning Snow's massive house, there should be no limit to what I can accomplish." Honest then brightened up. "Ooh! You should ask Doc Fin why he decided to become a teacher later when you have his class. That's a story and a half." In the corridor, they passed a clock that read "7:25."

"Well, Hm... We've still got some time before the first bell. You want to go see if there's anything interesting worth eating in the cafeteria?" Shadow questioned, hoping to find something better to do than wandering aimlessly around the school.

"You can," Honest said as she pulled out her phone and searched for a particular app. "I have some story-related matters to attend to."

"All right..." Shadow was slow to respond. "Like brainstorming? Is it not possible to brainstorm while eating?"

"Shadow, brainstorming isn't everything I do. I have a lot of work to do besides that," the blond cat answered with a retort. She quickly typed something into the on-screen keyboard of her smartphone and hit "send".

"Alright, then. I guess I'll be seeing you later?"

"Yes, definitely! Bye, Shadow!" Honest embraced the hedgehog tightly before bounding down a set of stairs behind them with a huge grin on her face. Shadow staggered for a second, almost losing his binder.

"Oh, I don't wanna do this," Honest stated aloud as she made her way to the library on the first floor, her smile fading away completely. "I hate admitting my mistakes, but I hate losing allies even worse."