The question was asked and I considered my options…I knew I would need to do this at some speed…he was standing in front of me and his expression clearly indicated he was expecting an answer in the very, very near future…so what to do…tell the truth? Always the best policy my mother would argue…but then I very much doubt she had ever been in a position such as the one I found myself in…still…despite honesty having no part in being the best policy I was still steadfast in my belief that I had acted in my best interests…possibly…granted…not in his best interests but then…in a world such as this survival was/is the key…

I was, at this point, pretty certain that the options consideration was not going as quickly as it should…his look of expectation was turning to unveiled impatience…what to do…what to do…

What was I thinking? The truth would end up with me in all sorts of trouble…so I metaphorically chucked that idea out of the window and looked to see what I was left with….own up to my mistake? Definitely not.

I was getting somewhere now the options field was narrowing nicely…still more haste was required…impatience was turning to incredulity…I was sorry…but not as sorry as I would be if I didn’t extricate my way out of this predicament effectively…I didn’t want to even think about the long term impact…short term was scary enough…

So…having explored all the options the only one possible emerged…and just in time judging by the gradual onset of rage I was faced with…I took a deep breath…looked him straight in the eye…shrugged with just the right degree of naivety and said…

…”I don’t know…”