Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Miles loved coming to school, which according to his Dad was quite unusual. He couldn’t understand why; free books from the library, learning about history and science, practising his cursive. He didn’t care for the other children much, but enjoyed playing a few games at break times and then finding a quiet spot to read a book, preferring his own company. He knew there was so much left to learn in the world, and woke up excited everyday to whittle away at the unknowns. 

Today should’ve been no different, the routine he had grown used to, but upon entering the class the tables and chairs were moved to create almost a stage. Most of the class sat off to the side, a table and chair in the middle of the classroom, with two tables facing each other on opposing sides. The boy sitting in the middle chair was crying, and there was whispering amongst the other students.

“Class, settle down, please. We need to assign some roles, yes?”

Miles was very confused and slightly overwhelmed. It was quite noisy in class, and he walked in expecting his usual first period tutorial lesson. Instead, it seemed more like he had walked into his dad’s workplace. He approached his teacher as quietly as possible after setting his bag down against the back wall of the classroom.

“Excuse me, Ms. Clarke? What’s happening?”

“Oh, good morning, Miles. Your lunch money went missing yesterday, yes? Your P.E teacher told me you couldn't seem to find the envelope."

"It's okay. I had some spare, and my father always packs snacks for me just in case. Um, what does this have to do with the classroom, though?"

"Do you remember what our topic is going to be in Ethics this week?”

“Yes, equality and justice, I think.”
Miles knew for a fact it was, he’d been extremely excited to show off what he had learned from his dad.

“Spot on, well done! Well, I thought a class-trial could tie into that quite nicely, don’t you think? This way we can find out who took your money, and learn a little ahead of schedule.”

Miles thought for a moment. He really did not mind about the money and honestly would've preferred a fuss not to be made, this seemed a little extravagant for $38. Gregory just laughed it off when Miles told him what happened, replacing the envelope without a second thought. Miles would be lying if he said he wasn't a little intrigued, though. He had seen a few trials after begging his dad to let him go along and watched in awe as the opposing counsellors parried each other's arguments. This was a chance to be involved in a case, not just watch, even if the prospect was somewhat daunting.

Hmmmm. It would make father really proud of me!
Miles thought, and then he was convinced.
“Oh. Okay. I guess so. Is that boy the one on trial then?”

“Yes, he’s what’s called the ‘defendant’, meaning he's the one who has been said to have committed the crime. I’m sure you knew that already from your dad, of course."
Ms. Clarke paused in thought as Miles surveyed his surroundings, trying to get a better grasp at the setup - there was obviously the defendant, a witness, a prosecutor, and a couple of others who seemed to be presiding over the trial. The desk opposite the 'prosecutor' was still empty, and Miles smiled.
"Actually, Miles, we need someone to be a defence attorney for him. Do you think you could do it?”

Ms. Clarke was very gentle in the way she spoke, not pushy or abrasive. It was obviously a big task she had ask Miles to do, and saw the way he fiddled with his hands nervously as he considered it. She and Gregory Edgeworth had spoken at length about Miles; he truly was a delight to have in class, but was significantly more reserved than the other children. He never liked to speak up much, avoiding the attention and silently getting on with the tasks set. Gregory had mentioned that he was concerned that Miles didn’t really have many friends, all he wanted was for his son to enjoy being a child without worries or pressure. Gregory was of course honoured he looked up to him as much as he did, in certain ways this kept him more accountable than the law ever could, but Miles was his kid, and sometimes Gregory wondered if he had exposed Miles to too much of the 'real world' too early.
Ms. Clarke struggled to think of a more perfect scenario to coax Miles out of his shell. She had seen the way his eyes lit up each time he mentioned Gregory and his work and it was practically unheard of for a boy so young to have such an interest in the law. If any student of hers could do this and do it well, it would be Miles. She just hoped Miles believed in himself enough to see that, too.

"I think I can do it. I'd like to try, at least!"

"I'm sure you'll do great, Miles. Can you promise me something? If it gets too much or you start feeling overwhelmed, you let me know, okay?"

"Okay, I will. I promise."

Ms. Clarke gave Miles a thumbs up as he approached his desk and took his seat. As he sat down, he looked over to the boy in the defendant's chair, and gave him a shy smile before grabbing a notebook and pen from inside the desk. The boy blinked away tears and stopped sniffling for just a moment.

"Seats, please, everyone! We have all of our assigned roles. You guys sat here can be the jury, you oversee the happenings of this class trial. We have our defendant, Phoenix, who will sit in this middle chair. These two will be our judges, and I'll be helping them out too. We have a witness, Larry, and finally our prosecution and defence, Cain and Miles."

"But isn't it Miles' money that's gone missing? Why would he want to defend Phoenix? He obviously stole it!"

"I didn't! I didn't take it! Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
Phoenix hadn't really stopped crying since Miles entered the classroom. He was snotty and kinda gross, and looked genuinely quite afraid. His pleas of innocence did nothing but add fuel to the fire as the whispers started again from the 'jury', convinced of his guilt.

"I don't think he did it, so I will be defending him."

"YEAH! You tell them, Miles! He didn't take it!"
Miles was unsure he had ever come across a louder child in his life. The boy in the witness's chair, Larry Butz, is unmistakable for many reasons. One being the extremely bright orange shirt he somehow manages to wear daily, and another being the fact that he is always in some sort of trouble. Miles wasn't sure that it was right for a witness to be protesting the defendant's innocence so harshly, but he wasn't going to complain.
Phoenix relaxed a minuscule amount upon hearing that Miles really didn't think he did it, and managed to take a couple of deep breaths before starting to cry again.

"He obviously did, he's upset because he got caught. Who else could it have been? It wasn't any of us!"

"This is the purpose of this trial, to figure out if anyone else could've done it, and ultimately if Phoenix is guilty or not."
Ms. Clarke took her position behind the two student judges, and directed a soft smile and slight nod to Miles' direction.
"Miles, do you want to explain to the class how trials usually begin?"

"Oh, um, yes, okay. Usually, I think we start with a statement from the prosecution and defence, and then…"
Miles' voice was quiet as he tried to find his footing. He knew this, he had read about this, seen this, even, but speaking aloud in front of everyone was proving difficult. He kept his eyes fixed to the floor and repeatedly moved his thumb around his index finger. Every word was a struggle to get out, so Ms. Clarke picked up where he left off.

"Then it's cross-examination of the defendant and witnesses, right, Miles?"

"Mhm. I think so. We present our evidence and state our individual cases."

"Perfect, exactly right! Do we all know what cross-examination means? Cain?"

"Uh, that's where I, like, pick apart what someone said, right? In their testimony?"

"You got it! Are we all ready?"

It was nearly a unanimous yes, but Miles was very nervous. He could count on one hand the amount of times he had had actual conversations with his classmates, and now he had to argue with one to prove the innocence of another. He thought back to being in his dad's office before a trial, and how Gregory twirled his pen and tapped his foot more frequently just before they'd need to leave for the courthouse.
Oh. Maybe father still gets nervous, too!

"Okay then, your opening statement please, prosecutor."

"Uh, Phoenix Wright stole Miles Edgeworth's lunch money yesterday, around the time we had P.E. The defendant was absent from the lesson, making him the only one who could have taken it."

"Good start. Miles? Your response?"

"Um. There is no evidence to say that Phoenix is guilty. We will need to hear from him, and Larry, in order to prove his innocence."

"In that case, I think it's time for the witness testimony. Larry, if you could stand behind that desk please, and tell us what you know?"

"You got it, Miss!"
Larry bounded up from his chair, nearly knocking it backwards, and faced the rest of the class.

"Right, so, like, Phoenix definitely didn't take the money. He was too sick! He was basically dying! I saw him just before P.E, and he walked into another classroom, it's why I was a bit late. But he didn't have the time to steal anyone's money!"

"Thank you, Larry, for your spirited testimony. Counsel, you may cross-examine. Cain, you first."

"Alright, so, like. You didn't see him take anything at all?"

"Nuh-uh. If I did, I would've said so."

"Okay. Well then what were you talking about that made you late to P.E?"

"None of your business!"
The class broke into some muffled giggles.

"Larry. This is important to the case. You are a witness."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Uh, probably about like, the rest of the day and stuff. I was going to go to his house after school."

"And did you see him walk into the classroom?"

"Uh. well, not exactly. But he-"

"If you didn't see him walk in, how do you know he didn't hang around after you left? That would give him time to go into Miles' bag!"

"Hey! Shut up! He didn't take that money!"

"Larry, do you think a witness in court would be allowed to tell a lawyer to 'shut up'?"

Larry thought on this for way longer than needed.
"I don't know, maybe."

"No, Larry, they would not. Please continue, Cain."

"I don't know what else to say….. Larry didn't see Phoenix go into the classroom. Doesn't that mean his testimony is a bit useless? It doesn't prove much at all."

In all honesty, Miles agreed. Larry hasn't really done anything to prove where Phoenix was or wasn't, and they haven't established anything they didn't already know. Miles had hoped that maybe Larry had actually walked him to the classroom and watched him enter, but that would make this too easy.

"Um, Ms. Clarke? I think Cain is right."

Larry erupted into a string of incoherent yelling, and Phoenix crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them, still crying.

"Do you not want to speak to him yourself? Ask anymore questions?"

"Can…. can Phoenix take the stand instead? I think we should hear the events from him, if that's okay."

"Of course, Miles. Great idea. You okay to talk, Phoenix?"

Phoenix lifted his head as he heard his name and nodded slightly, pushing his chair back and shakily standing at the desk. Miles looked at him and smiled again, trying to be as reassuring as he could, before whispering to him.

"It's okay. I don't think you did it. Just tell the truth, and you'll be fine!"

"Um. Okay. I'm ready."

"I'd like to ask some questions first, I think."

Miles was slowly gaining some confidence. He had seen his dad do this countless times in court, and even more when he would rehearse at home. It was always so impressive how Gregory seemed to be able to make absolutely anyone be at ease, and he hoped he could do the same here. His father's usual approach was to let the defendant discuss their version of the events, encouraging them to recount it in as much detail as possible; this allowed for him to build a better idea of any potential motive the prosecution would accuse them of having, and dismiss it before it even came up. Miles had an idea.

"What did you have for lunch yesterday, Phoenix?"

"Um, I think it was, um, some soup. From home. I usually bring food with me, I, I like my Mom's cooking."

"So you don't usually need lunch money?"

"No, not really. I sometimes get a snack, um, but that's at the end of the week. My Mom says its a treat for, uh, all my hard work at school."

"See? Phoenix had no reason to take my money for lunch, he already had something with him."

"This does not prove that he didn't take the money for something else!"

"Objection! I have never spoken to Phoenix before. He had no way of knowing I had that money, where it was, and how much it was."

"Okay, but what if he looked in EVERY bag? You just happened to be unlucky? Yeah, that has to be it! He's a thief!"

"We already know that due to being ill, Phoenix sat in another classroom. If he took time to look in everyone's bag he would've been very late. The teacher would've noticed."

"Oh."
Cain did not think about this, which makes sense, as he, like almost every other student in the room, is nine years old, and what nine year old is able to consider alibis and motives for fake-class-kangaroo-court?
Miles Edgeworth, apparently.

"This means there is no motive. Do we have, um, a… statement! Do we have a statement from the other teacher? Without it we cannot prove if Phoenix is guilty or not! We need evidence to make proper arguments."

"Wait, exactly! You can't prove he's innocent, then!"

"And you cannot prove he's guilty!"

The 'jury' whispered some more amongst themselves and the student judges shared confused glances.

"Unfortunately, we do not have a statement, but great thinking, Miles!"
Ms. Clarke spoke and the room fell to silence again.
"It seems that we cannot prove either way, hmm? There is no real evidence he did steal the money after all, and Miles has demonstrated there are alternative explanations for Phoenix's actions and whereabouts. Take a moment to really think if a guilty verdict would be fair after taking all of this into consideration."

Some of the class looked at each other and shrugged, others looked to the floor, and one or two looked at Phoenix, tear-stained and red-faced. There was the odd rustle of clothing or shoes as everyone sat with what they had heard, and debated on their ruling.

"I kinda changed my mind, Ms. Clarke."

"Oh? How so, Cain?"

"I mean, there really isn't any proof, right? Like Miles said? We all just assumed it had to be him, but it doesn't look very likely anymore."

"You all ganged up on him! I've been telling you he didn't do it! Why'd you listen to Miles and not me!"

"Thank you, Larry, but your testimony is over, isn't it?"

"Oh. Sorry, Miss…"

"It's alright. Well, do we all agree? It would be unfair for say Phoenix is guilty?"

The class all gave variations of 'yes' 'mhm!' or nods, and Phoenix relaxed his shoulders and wiped his face again.
Ms. Clarke nudged the two student judges, who cleared their throats and said in synchrony,
"The court finds Phoenix Wright not guilty."

Miles felt like there should've been some confetti or something, as this was all relatively underwhelming. The rest of the class had immediately began to talk amongst themselves after the verdict, moving their desks back to their original places like nothing even happened. This meant something for Miles, and no one else seemed to care. Other than Phoenix, of course, who was looking over at Miles with soft eyes and a bright smile, all whilst being shook quite violently by a very excitable Larry. Miles realised that maybe he didn't need anyone else in the room to care.

He was so excited to tell his dad what he had done today.
Miles still felt like there was something missing. He knew that the main thing that mattered was proving Phoenix innocent, but the fact that it got him no closer to working out who was guilty
bothered him. It wasn't even the fact that he had lost money, Miles couldn't care any less, it was the fact that someone took it and watched silently as everyone accused someone else of doing it instead. It made him feel something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Miles approached Ms. Clarke's desk again, wondering if there was any more he could do.

“Ms. Clarke, we didn’t actually find out who took the money. What do we do now?”

"Oh! Of course, hold on."
Ms. Clarke reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope.
"Here. The money you're missing."

"I'm confused. Did you take it?"

The teacher laughed and shook her head.
"No, no. I am not the thief. I just had an inkling that this is how our trial would go, so thought to replace your money myself. Think of it as a reward for winning, perhaps payment of your legal fees?"

"But I didn't find out who really did do it."

"That wasn't your job. Your job was to defend Phoenix and you did so brilliantly. I think you could give your dad a run for his money!"
Miles beamed hearing this. It was the highest compliment he had ever received. He took the envelope and slid it into his jacket pocket.
"I'm sure we will find out who did it eventually. Oh, Miles? I think someone wants to talk to you."
Ms. Clarke nodded her head towards the side of the classroom where Phoenix was standing sheepishly waiting for the conversation to be over. With a small nudge from Ms. Clarke Miles began making his way towards him.

“Miles, right?”
Phoenix said, significantly less snotty and sniffly now.

"Yes, um, Miles Edgeworth."

“Thank you for believing I didn’t do it. I tried to tell everyone! And no one would listen to me!”

"It’s okay. I knew you didn’t. My father is a defence attorney, it is his job to help innocent people. I want to be like him, so this is good practice."

“Oh, that’s really cool! So, your dad does this, like, every day?” 

“Mhm. Well, I’m not sure it is always about stolen lunch money…”

“I think you’re going to make a great defence… uh, what was it?”

“Attorney.”

“Yeah! That! A great defence attorney! Man, I wanna meet your dad, I've gotta thank him or something! Are you going to tell him about today?"

Before Miles could respond a blur of orange bounded into his peripherals, nudging Phoenix out of the way, ensuring he was the centre of Miles' attention.
"EDGEEEEYYY, we really owe you!”
'Edgey'? No one has ever called me that before. It sounds silly.

"Oh. It's okay. No one owes me anything, I was just playing my role."

"You were soooo cool. I really thought I was toast!"

"Why would you be 'toast'? Wasn't Phoenix the one accused of the crime?"

"Oh. Yeah. That's what I meant. Whoops!"

"Um…"

"Uh, Miles, this is Larry, my friend. He's alright, I promise. Might've had too much juice for breakfast or something, he's usually only this loud at the end of the day."

"HEY! I'M NOT LOUD!"
Larry said, loudly.

Phoenix and Miles shared a knowing glance and broke into a fit of giggles.

"Knock it off! Anyways, Edgey, you should sit with us at lunch. Phoenix can draw you something to say thanks for getting him off the hook."

"I can? I mean, yeah, if, um, if you'd like that Miles? I'm only really good at cartoons, though. Larry has been making me draw a bunch of Steel Samurai characters for him. Have you seen it?"

Miles had absolutely seen it. He had every single episode on VHS and DVD. He could talk for hours uninterrupted about each line from the show if he had the time and a willing ear.
"Yes. I, um, I really like the Steel Samurai."

"Oh! Perfect! I will draw you your favourite character, then!"

"Edgey, you've gotta convince Phoenix to watch it. He always says he will and then never does!"

"You don't do a great job of explaining what it's about, Larry. I get confused! I feel like I know less about the show than I did before you started bringing it up."

"Um, maybe I can try to explain? I can go episode by episode, if that would help?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. I have all of the DVDs at home, you could watch them with me sometime, too!"
Miles had suddenly gone from never exchanging much more than small talk with the pupils in his class, to inviting one over to his house to watch cartoons. All in the space of one morning.

"That sounds so fun! Maybe save the explaining for tomorrow, though. I feel gross and tired and it's only first period. I wanna be able to pay attention!"

"Tomorrow sounds good."

Miles had never found it so easy to talk to anyone before. Conversations for him usually consisted of constant worry about eye-contact, tone of voice, gestures, basically everything possible. He hadn't thought about any of that once the entire time he'd been chatting with Phoenix, and it was really quite lovely.

Very shortly after the boys' discussion stopped, the school bell rang signalling the end of the lesson. The rest of the class had returned the classroom to its natural state a while ago and returned to their seats, leaving them three the only ones still standing.

"Oh, that went quick. What lesson is it now?"

"History."

"Uggggghhh. I am so bad at history. My memory sucks. There's too many eras and ages."

"I like history. Did you do the homework?"
Miles had moved to his bag at the back of the classroom and pulled out a neat folder full of paper. Phoenix's eyes widened and his face dropped.

"We had homework?"

"Oh dear. Um, yes. Did you want to look at mine?"

"Miles! Are you sure? You don't have to. I can just say I was too sick to do it or something…"

"I'm sure Ms. Clarke would understand. Maybe I could ask her if I can sit next to you today, in case you don't understand something, then you can ask me?"

"You're really the best. You've done so much for me today already, but I think that would help me a lot."

Miles carried his homework over to the teacher's desk where she was sat organising the lesson materials. He had never asked to move seats before and the prospect seemed quite daunting, but he really wanted to continue talking to Phoenix.

"Excuse me, Miss? Is it possible that I could change seats today? I know we don't really have an exact seating chart, but I wanted to ask just in case."

"Is everything alright? Did something happen for you to want to move?"

"Everything's okay. I have just, um, been speaking with Phoenix and he seems to struggle a bit with history. I am quite good at it, I think, and wondered if I could maybe help him if he got stuck."

"That is very, very kind of you, Miles."
Ms. Clarke was trying her best to not melt. Miles had always been thoughtful, but this was something so genuinely special. She had never considered that perhaps Phoenix would be a good match up for Miles, but now it was happening it seemed so glaringly obvious. Phoenix was funny, kind, understanding - not a judgemental bone in his body. He was a great kid, and so was Miles, and she was extremely proud of them both.
"Of course you can. Lauren is absent today anyway, so the desk is free. Try not to talk too much at the start though, alright? I've got some things I need to go through first before setting you all the task."

"Thank you, Ms. Clarke! We'll be quiet, I promise."

The day seemed to pass very quickly from here on. History was mainly filled with Miles explaining unfamiliar terms to Phoenix, and Phoenix teaching Miles how to draw the cool 'S'. At lunch Phoenix kept his promise and drew Miles a picture of the Steel Samurai as the three nattered away. Miles insisted Phoenix signed his artwork and the little 'P.W :)' in the corner made it look much more complete. Miles sat at his new desk next to Phoenix for the other lessons and the time seemed to fly by. Home time came around, and Miles remembered that this meant he got to tell his dad what he had done today.

Everyone from the class grabbed their bags and coats from the back wall, but Miles' wasn't in the spot where he set them down. He looked around briefly and saw Phoenix holding both scanning the classroom for where Miles got to. He spotted him eventually, and walked over holding the items out with a wide smile plastered on his face.

"I grabbed yours for you, here! Before you go, thank you again for today. I actually think I understood way more than I usually do, thanks to you. Oh, and the whole 'not guilty' thing too, obviously."

"I've had a really fun day, too. I'm glad I could help."

"You've got to be on top Steel Samurai form tomorrow, alright? I'm counting on you!"

Phoenix waved goodbye as he headed for the door and Miles heard a distant 'See ya, Edgey!' from somewhere down the corridor.
As Miles went to swing his bag around to put his arms through, he noticed the zip slightly undone and a folded piece of paper sticking out. He opened his backpack in order to take the paper out without it ripping and began to unfold it.

It was another drawing from Phoenix. This time, it was of him, standing at the make-shift defence bench, arm outstretched and finger pointing. Phoenix had wrote 'To Miles Edgeworth, Defence Attorney' on the top left, following up with 'Love from, Defendant Phoenix Wright :)' on the bottom corner. It was obvious Phoenix had tried really hard with the drawing, and Miles decided he would treasure it forever.

Miles made his way to the playground where parents gathered to collect their kids and looked around for his dad. He was luckily easy to spot, the beige trench-coat and grey hat combo making him stick out like a sore thumb amongst the other adults. Miles set off towards him, and greeted him by putting all of his momentum into a hug.

"Oh! Hi, Miles! What's all this for?"
Gregory stumbled back a little with the force of the hug before crouching down to return it. He squeezed Miles as tight as he could without hurting him, just how Miles liked his hugs, and received a giggle in return before letting Miles go.

"We had a trial in class today! You know how yesterday my money got stolen?"
Gregory thought that Miles seemed much happier than usual. Sometimes he was completely exhausted after school, barely saying a word, immediately retreating to his room the second they got through the door. The conversation continued as they walked towards the school gates to make their way home.

"Yeah, I do. Go on."

"Well, Ms. Clarke thought to hold a trial for the person accused of taking it. We all had our own roles."

"That sounds like an exciting class. What role did you have?"
Gregory had to ask and not immediately assume the obvious. He knew that Miles was shy in school so expecting him to take on a major role like defence attorney was just not feasible. Whatever role he had, Gregory would not mind, and knew Miles would've done his best at it.

"Guess."

"Hmm. Jury member?"

"Nope!"

"A judge?"

"Also nope. I was the defence attorney."

Gregory Edgeworth was certain he had the best kid in the world. He stopped walking and crouched a little, turning face-to-face with Miles.
"What! Miles, that's incredible. I'm so proud of you! How did you find it?"

"It was really scary at first. I wasn't used to talking in front of so many people, but I used some of the words you had told me, and Ms. Clarke said I did really well. I felt a lot more confident by the end."

"So, go on, what was the verdict?"

"Not guilty."

Gregory was swelling with pride. He did not think it was possible to love his kid any more than he already did, and each new day proved him wrong. He often worried, as any doting parent did, about if he was making the right choices for Miles; if he was too hard on him, if he was present enough, if Miles could see how much he adored him, but it was times like these that proved he must be doing at least one thing right. Watching Miles grow into himself has been the single most rewarding thing in his entire life, no career or achievement could compare. Gregory was honoured that he would get to see the man Miles would become. He wouldn't miss it for the world.
"You're going to take over the firm before I know it, son. Eddie's got some competition already! Congratulations on your first win, Miles. It sounds like you earned it. It's difficult to stand up for someone like that, I'm thrilled you gave it a go."

"Oh! Wait! I have something to show you!"

Miles reached into his bag and fished out the drawing that Phoenix did of him.
"The defendant drew this. His name is Phoenix, he signed it, see?"

"Woah! This is really good. We should find a nice frame for it."
Gregory re-folded the piece of paper and put it safely in his breast-pocket as they both started to walk again.

"Can we? I think Phoenix would appreciate it! He said he wants to meet you, by the way."

Gregory laughed a little and ruffled Miles' hair.
"I trust you told him only good things about me. Who is this Phoenix, anyway? I don't think you've mentioned him before. Tell him I said hello, though."

"After the trial he came up to thank me. We ended up talking about the Steel Samurai and I said he could come and watch it with me sometime. I moved desks for the rest of the day to help him with his work."

"Sounds like you've made a friend. Tell me about him, what's he like?"
This was shaping up to be one of the best days of Gregory's life.

"His hair is very pointy. He's really nice. He has this loud friend, Larry, who I don't quite understand yet, but that's okay. Phoenix can draw, um, he's not good at history, which is why I started helping him. His favourite colour is blue and he snorts when he laughs. The only downside is he hasn't actually seen the Steel Samurai."

Hmm. Gregory thought. What an interesting collection of things to note.
"What? That's got to change immediately. It sounds like he'd love it."

"It's mostly Larry's fault, his other friend, that he hasn't watched it yet, but it is why I said he should watch it with me instead. Is it okay that I said that? I know I didn't ask you first…"

"Of course it is, Miles. Your friend is welcome any time. I will need to do the boring parent stuff of checking with his guardians first, but after that? Whenever you want. Just let me know so I can ensure the house is stocked with whatever snacks he prefers. I'll even make you both that french toast you seem to like so much. How does that sound?"

"Really?! Thank you, father. I love you."

"I love you too, Miles. Or is it Miles Edgeworth Defence Attorney now?"

"I haven't passed the bar exam yet, so Miles is just fine."

"How on earth do you even know what that is?"

"There was a whole chapter about it in one of the books you gave me. I've already made a list of what I need to study for it."

"Eddie really is going to be out of a job at this rate. Let's not worry about the exam yet, hmm? We should stop by the store before we head home, you can pick out anything you'd like."

Miles thought about this intently. A whole world of options had just opened to him. This was a big decision.
"Even the fruit snacks?"

"If you can promise me you won't eat the entire box in one go, yes, even the fruit snacks."

When they got home Miles went about his usual routine, getting changed placing his clothes from the day in the laundry basket. He sat at the table and completed his homework before dinner, joining his dad on the sofa afterwards with his celebratory fruit snacks. It did not take long for his eyes to start feeling heavy and he was being nudged awake every so often.

"Might be an early night for you, Miles. You had a big day."

"I think so, too. I am quite tired. What time do you have to go to work tomorrow?"

"Less early than usual. I moved some things around so I can drop you off. I'll see you in the morning, get some rest."

"Goodnight!"
Miles made his way to his bedroom, feet dragging as he walked.
He was sure that the moment his head hit the pillow he would be out like a light, so before lying down he reached for his journal in the bedside table, ready to write his next entry.
It's a habit he picked up from his dad, sometimes they wrote them together before bed in the living room. It was a treasured part of Miles' routine, offering him space to talk without the need of anyone to talk back. He grabbed his favourite pen and began to jot his thoughts down.

Dear Dairy Diary,

Today, at school, I got to be a defence attorney! A boy in my class was accused of stealing my lunch money. I knew he didn’t do it! It was only a class trial, but I used the words father taught me to make my argument.
He was so happy hearing about my day, I can’t wait to be a lawyer like he is. He said I did a great job, and that he was proud of me for standing up for someone. My teacher seemed impressed, too. Though we don’t know who did actually steal the money…
I do have a feeling I know who it was, though.

Phoenix thanked me lots after the trial, and we spoke all day along with his friend Larry. I even moved desks today so I could sit next to them.
Phoenix seems very nice, Father says I can invite him over and I can show him the Steel Samurai. I hope he likes it…
He said that tomorrow at break we should stay inside so I can tell him all about it. He drew me a picture of the Steel Samurai to put on my wall, it's really good!
There's also a drawing of me, too. He said he was only able to draw cartoons, but I think he did a great job :)

Father is still working on that big case. It feels like it's been going on for aaaaggeeees. He has been late back from the detention centre sometimes, and it makes me sad we don't get to spend much time together. It's okay, though, I understand. He's doing a really important job, and he always leaves me some tasty food to reheat for myself, so I don't mind too much. He still picks me up from school as often as he can, and that makes me very happy. He's going to drop me off tomorrow as well!

I think that is about it. Hopefully I can talk more about Phoenix and Larry tomorrow. It is nice to have a friend.

Bye for now,

Miles Edgeworth :)