Stranger Than Fiction

Kobo had read Ageless's adventures in the museum with mounting disbelief. So he hoped she was reading it, did he? That proved he was making it up!

He had probably never even left the museum.

She asked Baby Pierre if he would mind checking up on her unreliable boyfriend.

Oh come on, Aunty Kobo! said Baby Pierre. He couldn't have invented it all. He's just winding you up.

But Kobo insisted, so Baby Pierre waited for the rain to stop and then caught the bus into the city.

It was the day of the Norwood Christmas Pageant, and the bus was full of wet people in tinselly hats. Baby Pierre had to sit at the back.

Three boys got on with a big canvas bag, a large metal amplifier and a bowl of cooked livers. They attempted to open a window, but the bus windows were locked. The boys laughed. The livers were smelly, but at least they had tried.

Baby Pierre was glad when he had to get off. Now, should he go to the museum or the library?

That depended on the exact point in Ageless's story where it had turned counterfactual. He was sure it was after the hypnotism, which had the ring of truth. Baby Pierre had seen QI as well.

Yes, he would go to the museum. Ageless would be there. In fact, if the story was true, he might be in need of first aid.