5: Talk about the best birthday you’ve had.

“The best birthday… I suppose this is a question of relevant interest, time-wise, as my birthday is next week. Ah, let’s see. I got to drive my car for the first time on my 16th birthday… Ridiculous that I had to wait in the first place, since I bought it outright with my own money, but I suppose parents were never purported to be logical, rational human beings…

"Ah, but no. The best birthday was probably my 5th. My parents were still together then, and took me to Scotland for the weekend so that we could explore castles and – the best part – visit Loch Ness to look for Nessie. We didn’t find her, of course, but my mum and dad humored me the entire time and kept the film rolls readily supplied while I searched for evidence. God, as intolerable as they both are, they can be quite thoughtful sometimes." 

12: Talk about the worst dream you’ve ever had.

"Oh, God, I’ve had so many nightmares in my life… Hm. The worst dream… I think it might be the one in which I went back to London on an ex-lover’s request, reconciled, and then found out that he was working for Father Ramson… God, I’d never…”

36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.

“Guilty pleasures, hm? Do the scotch and cigarettes count? Actually, I’m going to go with the alcohol. I take great pride and pleasure in persuading bartenders to serve me as their customer, even though I’m underage. I know it’s wrong and it’s a little bit cruel, too… Most of them know by now that I’m affiliated with the police force, and yet… Aha, I sometimes go into it thinking of it as my own little ‘heist’ of sorts. Shameful, isn’t it?” 

39: Talk about things you wish you’d known earlier.

"Oh, so many things. The older I get and the more that I learn, the more I realize just how much I don’t know. Ah, I wish that I’d known that I’d be falling for my quarry, because then I would have planned my career and education goals out a little better.

"As it is, I have no idea when I’m going back to London at this point. Some days I want to toss my hands up and leave straight away. Other days, I consider trying to make it work here in Japan… find a good university, ignore the nationalistic attitude, and come to accept a less than stellar pay grade and rank despite my exemplary work. 

"I really don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but it’s left me in a precarious position. I have the rest of high school to consider, as well as my bachelor’s and master’s degrees to earn, which I’d hoped to do back home. Cambridge and Oxford. A paid internship with Scotland Yard. And here I am, going to some nothing public high school in Ekoda, Japan, chasing after a thief that may or may not feel anything for me but contempt.  

"…All right, that was a little unfair, I know. But I still wonder what I’m doing with my life. I suppose I wish I’d known that it was going to be so complicated so that I could have tried to prepare for it more adequately.”