You told her the story

‘Oh my god, are you okay?’ Becky was genuinely shocked and concerned to hear of your trouble. ‘Were you hurt?’

‘No, I’m fine,’ you replied. ‘I got away lightly.’

‘Did they take anything?’

‘No. They eventually just gave up and left me alone. In fact, weirdly, they apologised and gave me some money for a taxi home.’

‘Wait, what?’ She was confused at this, understandably so. ‘So it was like, a reverse mugging? You actually came out of it with more money than you went in?’

‘I know, right?’ Saying this out loud did make it sound like the most ridiculous story.

‘So, hang on. You got mugged by four twats in the park, they hold a knife to your throat, then they apologise for the inconvenience and give you money for a cab?’ There was obviously more to this story than you had shared so far, and Becky could tell. Her eyes narrowed into suspicious slits as she sipped her wine. ‘There’s more to this story than you are letting on.’

You tried to laugh it off. You obviously couldn’t explain what really happened.

‘Well, once I was able to show off my Kung Fu moves they realised what a badass they were messing with!’

Something happened at this point, but you weren’t quite quick enough to catch it. You saw something register in Becky’s eyes, and her suspicious expression changed to acceptance, understanding.

‘Oh, of course! That was lucky! How long have you been learning Kung Fu?’

You went along with the joke. ‘Oh, I’ve been training with Master Bates at the Community Centre for the past year. He says I’m a natural.’

‘Fuck,’ Becky was open mouthed, an impressed expression on her face. Still, as far as you were aware, part of the joke. ‘So did you break all their arms, these muggers?’

‘Well I would have taken them down quicker,’ you took a sip of your beer, a short pause before delivering the classic punchline. ‘I just had to get them to wait while I took my shoes and socks off.’

Becky laughed. At first you thought she was laughing a bit too hard at your crap joke. ‘So you were actually there in the park, barefoot, fighting off your muggers? That’s amazing, I’m very impressed.’

You couldn’t quite tell at this point if Becky was just carrying on with the joke, or whether she was believing your Kung Fu story. You decided to try to push this a little bit further.