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Now, sitting down at the table again the following morning, you know it's too soon to expect to see anything.

In the meantime, you glance at today's headlines.

More surprising than any shocking news, however, is that fact there's really nothing too notable about today's news at all. It's all pretty much what you'd expect, with the conspicuous absence of any stories about the protest, or the developments, or even any new trees that have appeared somewhere in town. You can only assume that the person responsible for the others has decided not to risk any more for now.

After making sure there's nothing else you've missed on the front page, you close the news site and open up your email inbox.

You weren't necessarily expecting anything—but right away, you find Nic's name sitting there.

Hi Huknock,

This is kind of random, but I was wondering if I could ask a huge favor. I'm stuck at work on my own and I was supposed to make a delivery, but I can't leave the store unattended. I know you're probably busy, but is there any chance you could help me with the delivery? Don't worry, there'll definitely be some cash.

Please don't worry if you're busy! But if you're happy to help, I'm at the pet store right now, so just come and meet me there.

Below Nic's message, you see another short email from Marlowe, reminding you that they're free for lunch today if you want to spend some time together. Given that you haven't seen each other since Monday night, lunch at Skippy's seems like a great idea.

Your only other email is from Rana. In stark contrast to her message from the other day, you can sense a lot of agitation in her words:

Hey Huknock,

Today's the day that we're handing our petition over to the Town Council. We lost a couple of the pages in all the chaos after the protest, but we're hoping it will still do some good. We also think it might help if as many people as possible come with us when we hand it over. It should show that we haven't given up after the protest. So if you're interested, it would really mean a lot if you met us outside the Town Hall this morning.

I asked Tobias to come as well, and he said he would. I know this isn't the most fun situation, but I'm happy I'll get to see him.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know our plans. This petition could be a really big deal, so come and join us if you want to support it. Don't worry if you're busy; I just wanted to give you the choice.

Rana

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