Slightly tart. [ he says with a wrinkle of his nose, as if the opposite suggestion of sweetness left a bad ghost-taste in his mouth.

to chase it away, he takes a big bite of his chosen apple. the crunch is loud. he has to draw the back of his hand across his mouth the catch a rivulet of juice. and -- at length -- he clarifies his clarifier: ] Technically, I got into some mischief on the way through those years. Technically. All under orders, of course.

[ kinda. sorta. ]