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A second later, however, they catch sight of their watch.

"Anyway, I'm—oh, crap, I'm gonna be even more late now. I write for the—I'm—newspaper—I mean, I'm Marlowe, and—I've gotta run—sorry for almost hitting you!"

With that, they slam their helmet back on—but after taking one look at their bike, they give a muffled sigh and start to push it along the sidewalk, apparently not wanting to risk getting on it again even if it does mean being late.

Your head is still kind of spinning as you watch them go, not entirely sure what just happened. Oh well—at least you're not far from home.

It's only a few more minutes until you're back on your street. As you look a little further down the road, you notice that the house opposite yours has been transformed while you were out, and even from a distance you spot what seem to be banners and little flags draped around the windows. You realize the party must be starting sometime soon; remembering Tobias's request that you come along, you decide to make your way over once you've gotten Arctus settled at home.

As you pass the house next to yours, however, you're a little surprised to see some activity in the front yard for the first time. You see the top of someone's head appear over the low wall, complete with curly red hair tied back with a bandanna, and a moment later you catch a glimpse of some weeds being tossed in the air as if thrown over someone's shoulder.

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