Nina was sitting in a café at the airport, waiting for her flight to England to arrive.
The café was busy, people milling about, swapping stories and eating sandwiches. Nina cast a lazy eye over them all, too nervous about getting back to England to really pay attention. Her fingers drummed the tabletop and she glanced at the board showing the flight times. The one going to Liverpool wasn't going to arrive for another two hours.
Nina sighed and checked her text messages.
Three hours ago, she had sent a text to both Amber and Fabian telling them that she was getting ready to board the plane. Five days ago she had sent them each at least six messages saying she had been reaccepted into Frobisher Boarding School and would be going back this year after all.
They hadn't responded to any of them.
Frustrated, Nina tried sending a text to Patricia again, but it bounced back, as usual.
Nina collapsed into her chair and groaned. She hadn't talked to Fabian or Amber or any of the Sibuna members in over a year, and she was really missing them. Being close to the Osirian was no longer an issue. Sarah had showed her—all she needed to do was find the Shield of Bast, wear it around her neck, and everything would be okay.
If only she was able to get in touch with someone so she could tell them she was coming.
To distract herself, she pulled out a few papers from her purse. They were forms she had received in the mail six days prior, forms that she hadn't really bothered looking over until now. They said the same thing every year she got them: they were the papers detailing her admission to the English boarding school.
Having nothing else to do, Nina skimmed over them. Uniform required at all times when class is in session… too many unexcused absences from class will result in a failed grade… curfew at ten o'clock pm every night…
Till she saw something that made her pause.
Boarding Assignment: House of Sekhmet.
Nina Martin spat out her water, blinked hard, and read it again.
Boarding Assignment: House of Sekhmet.
There had to be some mistake. She wasn't in the House of Sekhmet. She was in the House of Anubis. She had been for two years.
Nina looked frantically to the top of the paper, to confirm she hadn't been given someone else's forms by mistake. But nope. Martin, Nina, read the name at the top.
Nina felt sick to her stomach.
Scrambling in her purse to find her phone, Nina then scrolled through her contacts until she found Fabian's. She hit call and put the phone up to her ear. She didn't care that they were on separate continents and that the bill would be through the roof. She needed to talk to him. Now.
"You've reached Fabian Rutter. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now…"
"Damn it, Fabian," Nina hissed, hanging up.
Next she tried Amber. It went through to voice mail also.
Her eyes blurred, frustration making them water. Were they ignoring her? She knew she had given them cold shoulder all last year, but really, she was just doing it to protect them all…
The phone buzzed and she jumped. Amber.
She flipped it open and practically yelled into it. "Amber?"
"NINAAA!" Came the loud screech on the other end, making Nina jerk away. "Oh my god, it's Nina!"
Nina allowed herself a small smile, opening her mouth to speak, but she was quickly cut off. "Nina, I love you, but seriously. Does it take ten seconds to pick up a phone? Where have you been?"
"Never mind that now," Nina said hurriedly. "Amber, I'm coming back!"
There was silence.
"I assume you mean to Anubis House," Amber said slowly. "Where I am no longer a resident."
"You're no longer what?" Nina repeated, eyebrows shooting up and heart sinking. She listened to Amber explain the long story. Mystery… blackmail… fashion school…
"So, anyway, I haven't talked to Sibuna in, like, a million years," Amber finished. "How are the guys doing? How's Fabian?"
"Amber, I don't know," Nina sighed. "I can't get in touch with them."
"They're probably ignoring you," Amber said wisely. "As you ignored us. But don't worry. Fabian will forgive you as soon as he sees your face." She sighed. "Trust me,"
"I hope you're right," Nina said. There was a bing and she looked up. "Amber, my plane's come in. Talk to you later?"
"Promise to call?"
"Definitely." Nina said. Then, "Amber, I'm sorry. For ignoring you."
"You better be," Amber said. "But don't worry too much about it. You go and have loads of fun with Sibuna, okay?"
"I'll try," Nina said.
"There's got to be some mistake."
"Miss Martin, I assure you, there is no-"
"But I'm in the House of Anubis," Nina interjected. She glanced down at the file in front of them, jabbing her finger on the paper. "And it says here, House of Sekhmet. So obviously there's been some sort of mistake."
Mr. Sweet sighed loudly, leaning forward in his chair to put his head in his hands. "Miss Martin, you were in the House of Anubis two years ago. In your absence, two new members have arrived. The house is full, there is no room for you, I am sorry, but that's the way it is."
"But-"
"Miss Martin," Mr. Sweet said warningly.
Nina groaned, stuffing the paper that had her house assignment into her bag. "Fine," She muttered, turning to leave.
"And Miss Martin?"
Nina glanced at him, her hand on the doorknob.
"Sekhmet House is that way, by the east side of the school. Next to the forest. Just in case you didn't know."
Nina resisted the urge to poke her tongue out at him, and nodded begrudgingly. "Thanks."
The school was dark and nearly empty as Nina made her way back to the grounds from Mr. Sweet's office. She hadn't been to the school in over a year-thanks to various complications with her Gran's health and changes with the scholarship terms, she hadn't been able to afford it-but now she was back, and ready to make up for the year she had lost.
Except, of course, that she had been placed in the House of Raand not in the House of Anubis with all her old friends.
Nina sagged against the wall. Her hand automatically went to her neck, feeling for the locket that wasn't there. She had given it to Eddie.
Outside, the England air was chilly. She pulled her jacket tighter around herself, not used to this weather after a year of being in Florida. Kids were running about with their suitcases, calling out to friends and hugging. She let her gaze wander over them. There was no one she recognized.
She dropped her gaze to her suitcase. She'd drop this off at Sekhmet first, and then she'd go over to Anubis. Just to say hi.
"You must be Nina!"
The woman who opened the door grinned broadly at her. She was tall and dark-skinned, with a thin frame that looked nothing like Trudy Rehmann. "I'm Alma, your housemother! Everyone's already here, just bring your stuff upstairs, there's a room for you on the left."
Nina edged her way inside and looked around. It was the same layout as Anubis, a little newer, maybe. It didn't have the old, mysterious feel. The wood railing was normal and Eye of Horus-less. Nina could feel disappointment burning in her stomach.
"This your first year, sweetie?" Alma said, leading her upstairs. She smelled like cleaner. Not like chocolate cookies, which was something Trudy always baked their first day back.
"Sure," Nina muttered, not in the mood to explain.
A girl appeared on the edge of the staircase, her bushy red hair trailing after her like a shadow. "Nina!" She shrieked. "You're Nina, right? You must be. Hi, I'm Olivia. Nice to see a new face, you're new, huh?" Her eyes fell on Nina's red-and-white striped bracelet. "And American! Brilliant! Never had an American in the house before. Is it nice, the States?"
"Um," Nina found herself grinning, "It is. Very nice."
"Brilliant. Hi, I'm Olivia." She extended her hand. "Already said that, didn't I? Oopsies. Always doing that. Anyway, American. Wow. You're Jamie's roomie. Not mine, unfortunately, I've got Em—"
"Alright, alright, let her breathe," Alma said, laughing. "Olivia, why don't you go unpack? Leave this girl to rest. She's had a long flight."
"Right you are," Olivia said, shaking Nina's hand hard and spinning around. "Jamie, your roomie's here! Go meet her!"
A girl Nina assumed was Jamie poked her head around the corner, looking grumpy. "An American. Yay." She glared at Nina for a second before disappearing back around the corner.
Alma patted Nina's shoulder reassuringly. "She'll warm up to you. Just wait."
But Nina only felt saddened. She missed Patricia. She missed Amber. She missed…
A boy ran onto the landing, with dark messy hair and a tan coat. Her heart sped up. Fabian—
But it wasn't Fabian. It was another boy, with brown eyes and a thin scar across his eyebrow. "Hi." He said, his gaze rocketing from Alma to Nina.
Nina smiled. "Hey."
The boy wasn't anything like Fabian, Nina realized quickly. He was slightly muscled and wearing a rock band t-shirt underneath his coat, but his smile was kind, and Nina found herself relaxing.
"I'm Peter,"
"Nina," She said shyly.
He smiled quickly. "Yeah, I figured."
"Peter is really smart and plays football," Olivia said. She had reappeared at Nina's shoulder. She gave Nina a very exaggerated wink.
Nina could do nothing but smile numbly. "Well, I'll, um, go put this in my room," She said, gesturing to her suitcase. "And then I need to go, um, see someone at the school. So catch you guys later." She darted off.
Trudging to the other side of the grounds took a considerable amount of time. Nina played with her phone while she walked, checking her email and shooting another text Fabian's way. No reply. If he wasn't going to talk to her, she'd have to come to him.
She sped up.
She turned a corner and Anubis House came into view. The familiar thrill of excitement shot through her, along with a sliver of anxiety. She shoved it away. It wasn't her fault she had to leave. If Fabian and the others weren't going to acknowledge her return, she'd have to make them.
She faltered when she saw a dark-skinned, bushy-haired girl approach.
"Oh, hello!" The girl smiled warmly at her. "Are you a new student?"
"Oh, no," Nina said quickly. "I'm just here to visit someone."
The girl had an American accent, and judging from the way she was steps away from Anubis House she was probably a resident there. Nina felt jealousy burn in her stomach.
"I'm KT," She said, smiling. "Who are you here to visit?"
Nina hesitated. "Um, Fabian Rutter?"
"Oh, Fabian," KT's smile widened. "He and Mara should be here soon- they rode in together, she just sent me a text."
"Mara?" Nina replied blankly.
"Jaffray," KT clarified. "His girlfriend?"
Nina's heart plummeted. "G-girlfriend?"
"Yeah," KT looked curiously at her. "You okay?"
Nina stumbled back, her stomach lurching, her eyes hot. "I have to go,"
"Oh—wait," KT called to Nina's retreating back. "What's your name?"
Nina didn't answer.
She pushed her way through the school parking lot, her eyes blurring and her throat clogging up. Girlfriend? Of all people, Mara? When did they even start hanging out with each other?
That explained why Fabian wasn't answering her calls. Mara. She couldn't believe it.
Minutes later she had reached the Sibuna clearing. She collapsed on a log and cried, letting the tears rip out of her and fall onto the ground. She made no effort to stem their flow. She had thought everything would magically fix itself once she got back to England, but now she saw it was all wishful thinking. She had ruined everything by leaving. She just wanted everything to go back to the way it was.
A/N: *Fringe reference, boo yah*
So that was written horribly, but apparently I need to start writing again, so who cares? Please review if you liked it, and if you didn't can you offer some suggestions to make it better? I'd really appreciate it, thank you!