A Question of Promise #9 by Thuyen Nguyen

I would never do such a thing.

A Question of Promise #9

a comic by thuyen nguyen

“Late Night Talk” Backstage

Then Why else would he let Eve move in?

No. Does Eric need money?

Are you in some sort of dirty love triangle?

It's... complicated.

You can tell me, Eden.

Hardly.

You're just after some juicy details! I don't deny that.

I won't judge.

Well, sorry to disappoint you, Erin.

What's a “mecha”?

There's no love triangle.

Speaking of juicy details...

No pop songs or mecha either, sadly.

You and Richard Croft on the cover of Gossip!

Richard and I are just friends.

Not according to the article.

What's going on here, missy?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec condimentum consectetur justo, aliquet. Richard Croft and Clockwork Erin were seen hand-in-hand at Jin-Ju. Donec eu porta libero. Etiam scelerisque, nisl id placerat pharetra, est turpis imperdiet eros, aliquam consequat leo nulla ut ligula. Nulla facilisi. Donec convallis elementum metus, ut

Jin-Ju has really nice sashimi.

Everything tastes better when it's free. I didn't pay.

I'll be watching. Good luck.

I gotta go. I'm on now.

...

I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Know.

Nice try.

It better be nice. I heard it costs an arm and a leg.

Clockwork, two minutes till showtime!

Oh, one quick question: How does Richard like his morning coffee?

I Didn't think you'd fall for it.

I only go to supermarkets for the food samples.

those little bits of cheese & sausage are delicious.

Food tastes better when it's free! am I right?

! AHAHA!

HAH

She'll be on tour from next week. The dates are on our website.

Clockwork Erin, ladies & gentlemen!

Did she just steal my joke?

p! Cla lap! C

Yeah, it's my first tour, so I hope everyone-

Must be pretty exciting, eh?

No, I was talking about dating Richard Croft!

Can't believe everything you read, Jack!

But I read it in Gossip, so it must be true!

! AHA AHA! H

HAH

Forget Mr Croft. Maybe we should start dating instead.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m kidding!

Gossip: Call me. I haven't been on your cover for ages!

Anything for you, jack!

Sly temptress!

That said, God knows I need all the publicity I can get! 03

You heard her, folks! h! o! Yea Wo

This is the Quest'Dein School of Beauty!

Questâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dein School of beauty

I'm disappointed in these results, class.

This isn't some fly-by-night aesthetic sideshow.

We have standards to uphold.

She's really angry.

I wonder what today's lunch special is...?

STANDARDS! So where should we go for lunch?

Saved by the bell!

ggg

nng

n Riiiin

Umm...

You didn't say anything during class...

What's the matter, Eric?

You've been really quiet today.

No chit-chat at breakfast...

Something on your mind?

Eve, I think I might have lunch by myself today.

Why? Food's better with company!

Yeah... But I've also got some stuff to do-

Really? I'm happy to tag along.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see...

Umm...

Hey, look! That cat is moonwalking!

ooh! Where?

Eric? Whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d you go?

Two weeks...

I can't do this anymore.

24/7 for two weeks...

g... . Rin ing.. R

Ericâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s place NASA believes that the water could lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Umph, I could have told them that.

In other news, NASA has said that they have found traces of water on the moon.

ring! ing! r

Depends on what's in it for me.

She's been attached to my hip non-stop for 2 weeks!

Hello. Eric speaking.

You've got to talk to Eve.

That's hyperbole, sir! I will not stand for it! Seriously, Dice.

Nah, just trying to make this more dramatic.

We live together.

We go to school together. 06

Dice, I need you to do something.

About what?

You don't believe me?

I'm reduced to hiding in the men's room because she's suffocating me!

Dude, I'm a pool of water. I'll hide in the toilet if worse comes to worse.

She's just keeping an eye on you just in case something happens. Me?

Isn't she your Protector?

You, however, spend your free time around humans: Ruthless scavengers.

But we can talk about this as a family at dinner.

My dear Eric; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m deadly serious.

And you accuse me of hyperbole.

Bring home some ice-cream.

Tootles!

But I haven't finishp!

Bee

This rising star has the season's hottest accessory: Richard Croft!

Can we get enough of pocket-rocket Clockwork Erin? No sir!

Check out her "girl next door" look at the premiere of Retrenchment Game 2!

I should ask Eden to get Erin's autograph for me.

I wonder how much it'd sell for on eBay?

FLU

Well, at least I have my lunch hour free...

hey! Dice told me you were in there. Wanna get pizza?

Holy crap!

Son of a bitch.

Should I use a knife & fork?

Use your hands. That's the real way to eat pizza.

Some people like to fold their slice in half. Kinda weird if you ask me.

The trick is to put the pizza into your mouth before the cheese drops.

I like cheese.

Dice too. You have cheese where you two are from?

Not really. Perhaps that's why I like it. It's exotic.

Questâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dein Coffee & cake

OPEN FOR LUNCH

Funny. Never thought of cheese as "exotic" before.

Ericâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bedroom Does anyone knows how much a Clockwork Erin autograph is worth?

Acid-free paper stock?

Does it have a certificate of authenticity?

One of a kind, or serial numbered?

Is it in mint condition?

Bloody collectors.

Just answer the question!

Well, depends on if she's really dating Richard Croft or not.

True. She'd be more famous because of that than her comedy.

I don't think she's that funny.

She's cute, though.

Ditto!

Hey guys, incoming! Clockwork Erin sex video leak!

No way! I demand proof!

Here's the link. Sure looks like her. Holy macaroni!

Eden’s House



No school, a cold drink, and smooth tunes.

No distractions... No worries.

Ah... this is the life.

What the-? Erin? What’s going on?

EDEN! YOU HOME?

It’s horrible. Horrible!

What’s wrong?

I’M RUINED! RUINED!

Calm down.

What's going on?

You're just repeating yourself.

That’s... kinda cool-

Someone's made a sex video about me.

I'm serious!

Same hair, same clothes...

They're cashing in on my name and image!

They found some random girl that looks like me!

My career is down the tubes!

It looks like me, though, and in the Internet age, that's all that matters.

From now on, when someone searches for "Clockwork Erin," they'll get nude pics!

Yeah, but again, it's not actually you. It's just some porn star-

Are you even listening to me?

Besides, any publicity is good publicity, right?

Porn star?! My God, what's mum going to think?

Isn't that the kind of thing Amiccilo would say?

It's not actually you in the video.

Aren't you blowing this out of proportion?

Amiccilo!

Of course, he'll know what to do!

Come on!

Hey, wait a minute-!

Man, I don't think I should have had that pizza...

I'm so sleepy.

I've got Wax Engineering on now. How about you?

Damn afternoon classes.

I'm free for the rest of the day.

Lucky you!

I guess I'll see you at home then-

You want to tag along?

But Wax Engineering sounds like fun!

Sure!

But you're not enrolled in the class...

You're going to wait for me? But I'm here till 6pm...

Better than waiting in the library by myself, no?

What's a couple of hours between friends?

Umm, Eve, I've got to tell you something.

Thanks. You humans aren't too difficult to live with.

Yeah, and any friend of Dice is more than welcome-

Okay... and being classmates too is all-

We should do more subjects together. It'll be fun!

Listen, don't take this the wrong way but-

Beep! Cha-beep!

God, I hope it's not him on the toilet again.

I have no problem with you being my housemate-

Technically, I'm Dice's Protector.

Umm...

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from Dice... He sent me a picture.

Ooh la la!

Ah, just the girl I wanted to see!

Amicillo!

So you know about the video?

Video? What video?

What did they do?

Again?

What did they do this time?

I've just spent a day cleaning up after Torque Rox.

For starters, they showed up to the gig with violins instead of guitars.

What didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t they do!

Then they trashed the bar because their was no camembert.

Mental note: there could be a sponsorship deal in that.

Cheese?

Amiccilo! Someone's put out an adult video based on me!

Sure it's not you?

They got some porn star that looks like me. they've named it after me too!

What's it called?

It's embarrassing...

It's called "A Clockwork Erin"... without the "L".

Amiccilo!

Clever!

First: you calm down.

Okay.

Any publicity is good publicity!

What?!

Then, I'll get you onto TV tonight for an exclusive Interview...!

We're riding this sexy horse to the bank!

What are we going to do?

Second: we need to buy 100 copies of this film.

We'll send the film out to all the media outlets...

My God, I feel so alive!

Shopping! You need to look your sexy best for the evening news!

Come on, Erin. We're going! Where?

You have to dress appropriately for a sex scandal.

Oh, hello li'l lady. Didn't see you there.

Hmm... You're off the hook.

You're a victim! a sexy victim!

But I'm a comedian!

Don't you owe me a dinner?

Well, half a dinner, technically-

Absolutely. No dinner with some broad can compare with a delicious crisis.

I'm relieved... and yet offended?

I'm not much for dresses. My knees are kinda fat-

Sexy red leather dress!

Really?

How do you look in a dress?

Makes front pages pop on the newsstands!

...Help?

Time's a wasting!

eek!

I guess he knows what he's doing...

Oh, hey Eric. What’s up?

Spoilsport. Well, how about this: there's a long queue to buy it!

RING! RING!

If this is about Erin, then I already know about the video.

Eden, I've got saucy news for you!

It’s on sale already?

I'm outside Harry's Hot House. The address is-

You betcha!

Why does she know where Harry’s Hot House is?

I know: 98 West Street.

I'll be there soon.

I must admit: I've never bought porn with a girl before.

This is exciting.

It's a thing you kinda do by yourself. So you do this often?

And to think of all the time I wasted in my youth trying to see boobs.

Nowadays I can click a button and bingo!

You don't feel weird that you're the only girl in the queue?

Do you feel weird to be the only guy at our beauty school?

Not since the blessed arrival of the Internet.

The kids of today have it way too easy.

Not really.

Good point.

Yeah, first place. Doesn't happen often.

So will we watch this when we get home?

It's lucky that we got here early.

Umm... Yeah, maybe.

To be honest, I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thought that far ahead.

We can watch it with Dice.

all three of us.

Dice isn't into this sort of thing.

Not after his first day on the Internet, anyway.

Oh?

Disgusting humans.

Okay, I guess it's just you and me then! We can eat popcorn!

You don't eat popcorn when you watch a video like this.

So what do we do then?

Something my girlfriend would strongly disapprove of.

Sure.

Listen, Eve.

Can I be frank with you?

No, I mean... I'm really glad that Dice is not alone anymore.

And you're pretty cool, except for the whole metal pipe thing.

Don't get me wrong: I enjoy hanging out with you.

But I need some “me” time, if you know what I mean.

I enjoy spending time with you too-

Can I still be Eve?

But since you've moved in, I've spent more time with you than Eden.

Harry’s Hot House is now open! step right up! Who wants the Erin video?

You at front: move it slowpoke!

OPEN Son of a-!

Calm down and wait your turn, pervert!

Look who's talking!

Press Conference, 6PM

That is definitely not me in the video.

I’m here to clear my name.

I'm just not that type of person.

The Clockwork Erin sex video!

I would never do such a thing.

Starring in a sex video!

Don’t think that I’m just going to sit back on this.

They're dragging my name and image into the mud.

The producers of the sex video!

We've just received a court injunction banning its sale.

And I'll sue any shop that tries to sell it. Trust me.

By the way, this is my manager-

sex video!!

Nearby

You're going down, punk! Reports of a disturbance on West Street.

Copy that. I’m en route.

p p! woowoo

ck!

Eve... Help!

Cra

CH!

PUN

Why didn't you jump in earlier?

Didn’t you say you wanted some "me" time?

I should have known You & Dice would have the same Sick sense of humour...

Break it up!

It's the cops! Run!

p p! woowoo

Looks like you...

You! Stay where you are. What the-?

This video has been banned from sale. I'm confiscating them under court order.

Nice pipe.

That's a nightstick.

No way man, this is a free country!

I'll see your "free country" and raise you some hard justice!

Hand them over, or I shut your store down.

I know my rights!

Look.

You can shove your court order up your-!

Fight! Fight! Fight!

If we get caught with that-

The video? How'd you get that? Sneaked in and grabbed one. ! ht Fig ht! Fig

Eric! Eve!

Eden! Perfect timing... ! ht Fig ht! Fig

Fight! Fight!

...And out like bandits!

Next morning ... So that's what happened.

How's Erin now?

Here.

Erin was peachy enough to sign it too.

Well, as far as porn shop riots go, yeah. Sounds like it was fun.

Great. Her tour's sold out thanks to the publicity.

The only copy that wasn't confiscated.

Anyway, I gotta go. Eve's waiting for me downstairs.

I wonder how much it'd sell for on eBay?

I guess Mark Twain was right.

It's a collector's item now.

Erin’s career is on the up and up. She’s now the subject of rumour, gossip, and unwanted attention. Meanwhile, Eric and Eve’s days and nights together is making him more and more uncomfortable. How do you gently tell someone to back off?