Rose's Rush Hour.

Chapter Three.

Ed came to see me at home the next morning, and I could tell from the bounce in her step that she had new and progressive information for me.

She shouted good morning to my mother, who was on her way out of the house, then slapped Jerry on the head before proceeding to grab my wrist and drag me to the patio out back.

"Big news, big news, big news!" she pronounced as she pushed me down on a chair by my shoulders. She then pulled up a chair next to me and sat down.

On the patio was a table and a couple of chairs for when we wanted to have meals outside, or simply sit or talk privately. The stool Mr. Vaughn carved was in a corner, and my mother usually sat there when she weaved or pounded something.

"What is it?" I asked Ed in anticipation.

She'd worn grey slacks and a grey sweater vest over her long sleeved white shirt, while I had worn a simple long dress as usual. It was lime green with short sleeves. I'd held some of the braids in the front and middle of my head back in a short ponytail.

Ed snapped her fingers and gave me a toothy smirk. "I found your prospective date."

I gasped and leaned on the table, towards her. "Already? How did you find him so quickly?"

"I did what a reasonable person would do when they're searching for someone," Ed replied. "I asked the police."

My jaw dropped. "The police? Ed, we are looking for a simple date, not a missing person!"

"Well, regarding the impossibility and urgency of the matter at hand, I had to employ the most effective measures," she reasoned.

I groaned, but let it slide. I needed the information. "What did you find?"

"Hey, do you have any cakes or left over toast or something?" She asked. "I was so excited when I left home, the adrenaline must've caused my breakfast to digest faster on my way here."

I was too invested in her 'big news' to get side-tracked at that particular moment. "I'll get you breakfast after you tell me what you discovered, now out with it already. Hurry up."

"Alright then." Ed shifted a bit in her seat as she prepared to spill the beans, which heightened my anticipation. "So I went down to the station because who else knows the people in this town more than law enforcers who protect and investigate them every other day? So I told Inspector Raphael about our particular issue-"

"You told Inspector Raphael I was looking for a date!"I exclaimed, appalled.

"No, of course not!" Ed shook her head fervently. "I just told him I was looking for a new friend who is unpopular and reserved. Told him I was bored with everyone in this Town and needed to meet someone who is about my age and is not like me at all, because unlike poles attract."

I raised an eyebrow. "And he bought that?"

I knew Inspector Raphael a bit, and I knew he suspected Ed was always up to something. He started harbouring that suspicion when three years back, she started a rumour that a gang of robbers were to attack and plunder the Town in four days. It spread like wild fire and caused a ruckus within the station.

If Inspector Raphael hadn't gotten to the bottom of it, Richard Town would have gone to war with the next town down the valley, in which the gang was rumoured to live.

So imagine his shock when Ed went up to him the following week and declared her dream of becoming a police inspector.

Ed shrugged. "He still gave me the information, so I guess so," she answered and smiled cockily. "He must finally be warming up to me as his apprentice. You know, since we did help him catch that carrot thief a month ago-"