“Just one puzzle?  Someone that strapping should be able to figure this one out easily!” The woman giggled, waving a fan of cards in front of her face.

“I would normally accept,” the professor said, crossing his arms in thought, “But frankly, Madam, we have little time and must be off.”

“Shouldn’t take you nary a moment for someone with your brains!” Martha proclaimed, a smile on her face, “Try it out, that is, unless you don’t think you can handle it?”

“The nerve!” Little Luke shouted, “The Professor can solve anything; we’re just busy right now!”

“Luke,” the professor chastised his apprentice, “It’s rude to raise your voice to a lady.”  He touched the rim of his top hat and smiled in the woman’s direction, “Madam, please tell us what puzzle you have for us today.”

“Right then!”  Martha crowed, fanning herself with her cards, “Now then, the puzzle.  The chance of rolling a three on a die is one in six, and the chance of rolling two threes in a row on a normal die is one in thirty-six.  If you roll two threes in a row, what is the chance that you will roll yet another three?”

Luke’s jaw dropped.  He fumbled with the math, “Six… times six is thirty-six… thirty-six times six is…”

“Have you figured it out, Luke?” Professor Layton asked.  Luke swerved to stare at him.

“You’ve already figured it out, Professor?” The boy asked, “My, you’re a whiz at math, too!”

“There is no real math equation in this puzzle, My Boy,” the professor said, “Every puzzle has an answer, and Luke, here’s my answer!”

“My, you got it right immediately!” Martha said; she wasn’t surprised a bit, “So smart and handsome, it’s a wonder no one’s picked you up by now!”  Luke frowned a bit at the woman as she continued, “Are you on your way to the tower?  Shall I accompany you?”

“Madam, I was under the impression that you were afraid of the place,” Layton said.  Luke knew that his mentor wasn’t under any impression; he was just being polite, like usual.  The child frowned at the woman as she replied:

“Oh, I am!” Martha giggled, “But if I was with you, Professor, I’m suuuure I could gather up the courage!  The two of us, exploring a scary tower…!”

The two of them!?  Where did Luke fit in all of that?  The child grabbed Professor Layton’s coat, “While that’s all well and good,” the teenager said haughtily, “I’m sure we can do it ourselves.  Come on, Professor.”

“Now Luke, you know that a gentleman never dismisses what a lady has to say,” Layton said.  Luke tried very hard not to say that he never saw a lady that looked like THAT, but bit his tongue back.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want a little ‘feminine’ company, Professor?” Martha asked.  Luke yanked on the professor’s coat, and Layton went walking off.

“Perhaps we shall discuss this another time, Madam,” he said quickly as he fell in step with his apprentice.

“Come visit some time, you tall glass of hot, dark chocolate!” Martha waved them off with her card fan.  Layton continued walking alongside the infuriated Luke until they went around a corner and were out of earshot.

“What was that all about, Luke?”  Professor Layton asked as they continued on.

“Don’t you know what it’s about, Professor?” Luke pouted.

“Of course I do, but it’s better if you say it aloud.  It’s always better to say what’s on your mind rather than to bottle it up,” the professor replied.  Luke’s pout began to disappear; the professor was right, like usual…

“I just… she was just getting on my nerves, that’s why!  We didn’t even ask her to come!” Luke fumed, “It’s rude to invite yourself places!”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, Luke,” Professor Layton said.  He said it softly but the words were sharp, and they made the young man wince, “you weren’t very kind to her.”

“But she said that it would only be the two of you!” Luke suddenly shouted.  Layton wasn’t surprised at Luke’s outburst.  He was holding it in the whole time.  Luke grasped the handle of his bag and wrung it as he stared into his mentor’s eyes, “Professor, to go without me, you wouldn’t!”

“Luke, whatever gave you an idea like that?” the professor asked calmly, his face showing no hint of emotion, just cool calculation.

The child bit his lip and looked away, “I’m just… you’re the professor… you’re… you’re like my father.”

And that’s when the conversation started getting interesting.  Young Luke grabbed Professor Layton’s sleeve and clutched hard, “Please, Professor.  Please don’t ever leave me alone.”

“Luke…” Layton knew that time was of the essence, but with Luke the way he was, there was no way he could solve the puzzles that lay ahead.  And so, he dealt with the problem before him, “Now now, no more tears.  I never said anything about leaving you.  Come now, My Boy.  You know that a gentleman needs not make a spectacle of himself.”

Luke held onto the professor tighter, “Then for the moment, can I not be a gentleman?”  He snuggled into the man’s coat, “For now, I just want to be Luke.”

Professor Layton found that they were walking again, which solved the problem for now.  The man looked down at his apprentice as the two walked alongside each other, and he slowed his strides for the teenager.  Lifting his arm, he placed it around Luke’s shoulder and squeezed tight, “Right then, Luke.  But when we get to the tower, I expect you to be on your best behavior for anyone we meet in there.”

Luke smiled, his eyes closed in delight and his face buried in his Father’s coat, “Alright, Professor.  That’s a promise.”

The End!