The Mute and the Liar (36 page)

It’s
not
good.
One
lie
supernovas
into
distrust.
Soon
it
all
snowballs
together
to
create
a
whole
avalanche
of
problems
and
questions
and
eventually,
all
you’re
left with are just
that: lies.

2:05
PM

“T
hat’s
sick!
I
got
to
go
now,
yeah?
Listen,
me
and
Sasha
are
having
a
joint
party
tomorrow.
My
house,
starts
at
six,
and
God
knows
when
it
will
end.
I
know
it’s
short
notice
but
come
if
you
can,
okay?
Ask
your
mates
if
they
can
make it
too.
Any friend
of
Jayce
is
a
friend of
mine, right?
”

“
Yeah,
that
will
be
wicked.
It
was
great
seeing
you.
”
Jayce
says
goodbye
to
Ryo
and
his
gang
and
after
a
round
of
man-hugs
and
backslapping,
they
head
off.

“
Ryo
Harada.
My
best
friend.
He
likes
to
make
sure
I
know
that
he’s
my
best
friend,
because
he
strongly
believes
he
picked
me
up
from
the
gutter
all
those years ago. A word of advice; don’t associate
with
people
like
him.
”

Jayce
turns
to
look
at
me.
“
I'm
in an
advice-y
mood,
actually.
Want
some
more
advice?
Number
one:
never
chase
a
limping
man.
Number
two:
never
lean
on
a
falling
man.
And
number
three:
never
trust
a
lying
man.
”

Okay
then.
I
don't
really
know
what
to
make
of
that.

We
continue
walking
and
reach
a
group
of
people
all
crowded
around
something.
They
all
appear
to
be
watching
some
kind
of
magician,
who
is
just
setting
up
his
show.
We
manage
to
find
a
space
right
in
front.

Eventually
he
greets
his
audience
with
a
smile
of
crooked
(And
half
missing)
teeth.
His
voice
is
very
croaky
and
raspy,
probably
choked
from
all
those
years
of
supposedly
“
e
ating
fire.
”
His
smile
is
sweet
and
goofy,
although
his
teeth
are
a
little
crooked,
and
he’s
got
kind,
soft
brown
eyes,
H
e’s
one
of
those
people
who
are
just instantly likeable.

He
starts
off
his
show
juggling
knives,
which
are
unashamedly
plastic.
Still,
it’s
quite
a
performance
he
puts
on.
He
has
them
whizzing
above
his
head
and
artistically
glissades
beneath
them,
his
nimble
fingers
quick
to
catch
and
send
them
spinning
once
more.
He
even
messes
up
a
few
times,
but
he just
laughs
and
says
that
'n
obody
noticed
'
and
continues.
After
a
particularly
impressive
move,
involving
a
kind
of
tap
dance
whilst
catching
the
knives,
he
even
has
the
cheek
to
grin
and
exclaim
proudly:
“
Well,
that
surely
deserves
some
applause?
”
They
all
immediately
clap
and
cheer,
and
soon
a
huge
crowd
of
people
is
surrounding him.

Several
children
hover
around
his
box
for
donations
on the
ground
beside
him jangling
coins
and he
jokes
that
they
“
Need
to
put
the
money in,
not
take
the
money
out,
”
which
everyone
laughs
at.
“
If
there
are
any
tourists
who
don’t
know
much
about
British
money,
just
put
in
the
purple
note,
”
he
continues
in
the
same sprit.

“
Does
anyone
want
to
see
me
eat
some
fire?
Should
I
eat
some
fire?
Is
there
anyone
out
there
that
wants
to
see
a
fire-eater?
”
He
pauses
after
every
question,
making
sure
his
audience
all
cheer
in
a
pantomime
way.
He
keeps
this
up
until
the
cheering
goes
down.
“
Well,
confession
time,
I
don’t
actually
have
a
lighter.
I
was
an
idiot
and
forgot
it
this
morning.
Does
anyone
here
have
a
lighter
on
them?
Anyone?
”

Everyone
stops
cheering
and
falls
silent.
They
turn
to
each
other
shrugging
their
shoulders.
After
an
awkward,
suffocating
silence,
Jayce
sighs
and rummages
in
his
pocket.

“
This
is
dire.
I
can’t
let
him
humiliate
himself
anymore,
”
he
mumbles
to
me.
He
fishes
out
a
neon
green
lighter
from
pocket,
waves
it
in
the
air
and
throws it
to
the
fire-eater.

He
uses
the
lighter
to
set
fire
to
a
tin
of
something
on
the
ground,
and
then
puts
three
unusual
sticks
inside
to
make
them
catch
fire.
He
proceeds
to
juggle
them,
and
then
in
his
big
finale,
he
manages
to
extinguish
t
he
m
by
'eating'
them
whilst
still
juggling
them.