Chapter 1 for: whoahstar, live0laugh0love0, TICKLES3000

Song: Masquerade by Lelia Broussaurd

~*~Chapter 1: A Reunion To Remember~*~

Eighteen-Year Old Nina Martin stared at her old laptop screen, tiny punctures and cracks embedded in it. She hated using such an old computer but since she left school to travel around Europe with her Gran; the Martin Household couldn't afford expensive 'gad-jets' as Gran would put it. Her fingers tapped against the wooden desk in the office impatiently as her email buffered.

'Why won't this load?', She thought to herself and ran a free hand through her copper brown hair. Finally the new message icon loaded and an email sent ten minutes ago was the first thing that caught Nina's eye. Interested, she clicked on the email and scrunched her eyebrows as she read it:

TO: Nina Martin

FROM: Eric Sweet

Ms. Martin,

I am sending you an email to tell you about an unfortunate upcoming event at the Academy. I know it's been a while since you've been on campus and I hope all is well. Ms. Martin I would like to invite you to a wake. Poor Victor recently passed away. Anubis House is hosting a celebratory get together over our beloved staff member next week.

As you were one of his few students to have been in his company you might be aware that your House Keeper had no family, that is why you are invited despite your three-year absence of our school. I hope that I've had offered you an opportunity to consider.

,E. Sweet

Nina blinked. Victor...dead? She let the thought roll out in her head for a minute. Of course Victor was always trying things to stay alive for eternity, it was easy to picture him alive, but dead? That was too weird-not sad; just weird. How had he died? Sitting in his old chair at his desk? Maybe he choked and collapsed while talking with Cobier? Nina had only spent a year at Anubis House before Gran pulled her out of the Academy and into Home School, but a year was enough to learn the secrets of the boarding home.

She always regretted leaving and not returning for Year 10 but maybe it was better that she didn't. If she had returned would the death of Victor impact her more?

She shouldn't have to go-in fact Mr. Sweet himself had said noted her three-year absence. Nina was so out of touch with her old friends, but if she went she'd get to see Amber, Patricia, Mara and Joy-who she'd only met once and instantly disliked after she made it clear that she didn't want the American around.

For Nina, being Home Schooled was amazing; she got to travel with Gran around Europe. She would give Nina assignments and leave her at famous monuments for the day to get them finished, she gave tests around camp fires and gave Nina a marshmellow every-time she got a question right, and wrote Nina witty quotes from famous American Authors in her lunch. Nina loved it, she had meet cute boys, made friends with foreign rich girls. visited places that starred in textbooks and ate over 170 different types of food. Nina was living the good life, her past life was worthless compared.

Although thinking about going back to the Academy made her miss walking into class late with the Sibuna Gang, helping Amber dry her nails, tricking Victor with Patricia, cleaning up after Alfie and sneaking out past ten to see Fabian in the attic.

Nina shook her head, and her fingers stopped tapping; hadn't she promised herself that she'd stop looking back at her Anubis House Life and focus on her future? The future with the new-and-improved-and-more-experienced Nina, her boyfriend Ryan, awesome Gran and the world stretched out in front of them. Anubis House was a twelve room home that was creepy. Nina didn't want that be what people remembered her as: "The Chosen One" from the 'Spooky British Home'.

Nina's computer beeped twice, she had received two messages; she smiled. One was from Amber-the two had kept in touch despite Nina's constant attempt to run from her boarding school past-and the other from a friend she'd made in Austria: Catalina; the waitress of Table Two at the 'Amazing George Bar/Grill.' She opened the one from Amber and read it aloud, Gran was sleeping downstairs but Nina still felt uncomfortable alone and reading it softened the discomfort:

"Hey Nins-are you going to the wake? Cause if you do btw fabians gonna b there + yeah i just wanted to giv u hedups. Jus cause you kno..."

Nina laughed. She could barely read Amber's email, yeah Nina was eighteen and it was her generation's interpretation of grammar but she wasn't really the kind of girl to go on her phone twenty 24/7 and text 'LOL' instead of 'that was funny!'. Nina clicked on the reply icon and the screen buffered. Of course, she thought Always happens to me! Nina's flip phone vibrated as the laptop screen buffered.

"Hey beautiful."-Ryan.

Nina giggled, the knots in her back loosening. Who knew that email scanning could be so stressful? "Umm, how do you know if I'm beautiful if you can't see me?" She retorted biting her bottom lip watching the buffering symbol flash in front of her eyes. Ryan paused for a minute before whispering in a creepy voice, "How do you know I can't see you?"

The comment took Nina by surprise, creepy voices and occurrences still freaked her out since Anubis House. Gran had tried taking to her therapy but Nina just told her it was fine-she was eighteen; she could take care of herself. What she needed was to take care of Gran.

"You little!" She started, regaining her normal tone trying to cover up the surprised tone. Year 9 at the Academy was something she never talked about with Ryan, why would she? Her life started the moment Gran pulled her out. Nina opened her mouth about to tell him about the email and ask for his advice but then she pressed her lips against each other quickly. He knew about the boarding home and school but to Ryan, Anubis House was just a little sliver of his girlfriend's life. "I love you Nina-but I got to go." Ryan rushed, cutting off Nina.

"Wait Ryan?" The line went dead. "I love you too." She muttered. "NINA!" Nina's Gran called in a hoarse voice from downstairs. Looks like she was awake. Nina turned her head to the door behind the desk where she sat. "NINA HONEY, MY HEAD IS HURTING COULD YOU PLEASE COME DOWN AND MAKE SOME TEA?"

"I'll be downstairs in a minute Gran, sorry I was just talking with Ryan on the phone." Nina called as she typed a new email to Amber Millington, she was trying to distract her Gran from calling again. If she was still thinking about Anubis Life and if she still felt some connection to the home and school then she needed some closure, right? Plus, she was one of Victor's few residents-despite his evil like nature, he deserved the respect that she could offer.

'Yes-yes I'm going.'

Being back at Anubis house didn't scare Nina at all like she expected: she expected it dark outside, raining and cold; black birds flying and flickering lights in the windows but instead it was sunny, dragonflies weaved in and out of the garden in front of the home and the house was re-painted into a clean red.

Two Christmases ago, Nina Martin met Ryan Moss; it was her seventieth birthday and she was in Austria at the 'Amazing George Bar/Grill'. Table two: Catalina was severing her. For the first time in her life she was going to try a beer, in Austria the legal drinking age is sixteen.

About to take her first sip in came Ryan Moss-at the time he was age eighteen-he convinced her not to, that a beautiful girl like her could get a little carried away with no one with her. After dating for two years ago Ryan had become the one to 'convince her', and now standing in front of Anubis House she wondered what Ryan would convince her to do. The front door was open, a desk set up on the little outside porch. A framed picture of Victor and Cobier sat on it with a vase of fresh looking roses bobbed in the-what looked like-old, fizzy water beside it.

Three years ago she stood in the same place, except she wore a smile and held her suitcase tightly. Nina took a breath, inside that house was a life she left; was she ready to revisit it? She blinked, 'Closure is always the answer'. Nina thought, and she walked up the walk-way and up the steps. '1-2-3'. She counted the steps up to the porch in her head. 'I can do this', and she walked inside.

Standing in the hallway wearing an ankle-length black dress with shawl and curled hair was Trudy. Despite the three-year time difference since Nina last saw her she looked the same. "Trudy..." She said surprised, Nina expected the House Mother to disappear at any second. "Oh Nina sweetheart!" Trudy said in response. Nina could tell that Trudy was struggling with her words, the house-mother looked like a mournful ghost. Trudy had always been oblivious to the true Victor and the weight of his death was probably too hard for her

Trudy looked at Nina. "Come here Sweetheart, you look so young and beautiful." Without permission Trudy pulled her into a hug, her mother-like alter-ego rubbing Nina's back as she let out a choke. "Oh Nina, the poor old man wasn't even eighty-nine!" Nina hugged back,trying not to come off as insensitive. Nina knew the real age of Victor and Trudy wasn't even close. Finally Trudy pulled away wiping away the tears that smeared her light make-up.

"Neens," A high voice squealed from behind Trudy. "Your back!" Trudy turned and Nina and her watched Amber Millington flinging her thin arms in the air with excitement. Nina couldn't help but smile forgetting that seconds ago she was comforting Trudy about the death of Victor. "Well I'll go make sure the service is going alright." Trudy excused herself, her head facing down so she could slip more tears away.

Amber ran over to her old friend and squeezed Nina-who felt under-dressed-in a hug. Nina was just wearing a black dress and black flats while Amber wore a tight sophisticated back dress with a high neckline that fit her like a glove, lace leggings and black pumps, her blond hair curled into tiny coils that framed her make up induced face-leave it to Millington to turn a funeral into a fashion show.

"Amber! I'm back" Nina replied and pulled herself from the hug. "Your dressed...?" Nina trailed off. "Magnificent? Beautiful? Stunning? Vogue worthy?" Amber cut in smiling while her manicured hands fluttered around her. "Not the words I was thinking," Nina said thought-fully looking around as Amber moved around. Evidently the blond wasn't upset about the recent death. Seeing Amber was unreal, just like Trudy.

Like a dream.

A dream that wasn't even close to ending. "Hey Amber, is Fabian around? I could really talk to him and..." Nina didn't really have to talk to Fabian, it was just an excuse to soothe her self-reassurance. Amber's perfect face turned deadly serious almost as if the funeral was for Fabian and not Victor. "About Fabian, Nina. There is something." Amber started but an approaching dirty blond boy cut her off.

"Oh look the American decided to show up!" Jerome joked interrupting Amber. Jerome Clarke wore a button down black shirt tucked into his black slacks held up by an over sized black leather belt, a white handkerchief folded and tucked into his pocket. "Jerome." Nina dragged out the j as if the old prankster's presence was a downer. "What pranks did I miss?" She joked. Apparently among the eighteen year old teens no one was upset about Victor or his 'disappointing' death.

"Thousands." Jerome smiled, his thin lips curving up; he hugged Nina tightly picking her up off the floor-in a brother-kind-of-way. 'I just keep getting hugged!' When Jerome put Nina down, his icy blue eyes locked with her brown ones. He seemed so serious nothing like the old Jerome, 'What happened in the three years that I was gone?' Nina thought to herself.

"What," Nina asked incredulously looking between Amber and Jerome who stared intently at her. "Is there something wrong?" She laughed without humor. Jerome leaned in and whispered; his hot breath too close. "Your face." Nina pulled back in surprise as his pupils dilated. "Jerk." That was the Jerome she knew. Amber snorted as if old roommates reuniting was boring. "Jerome go back into the sitting room-and tell everyone that Nina is here." She commanded with that oh so manipulating smile.

"Yes my queen." Jerome bowed unnecessarily and did a funny skip back to the kitchen where he came from. "My queen? Are you two dating?" Nina inquired with an arched eyebrow, skinny arms crossed. Amber made a humours gagging noise. "GROSS!" Nina smiled, Anubis House never seemed more comforting...and they were at the time of death. "So I take that as a no?"

The two started laughing, just like they used to in the old days in their bedroom rolling around the floor reading tabloid magazines or playing Truth or Dare like the young teenage girls they were. The two composed themselves realising that they were in the company of mourning people in the room next door. Their faces attempted to look serious but a small smile slipped in on Nina. Amber turned solemn after collecting herself. "Hey Neens," Her voice seemed soft. "I got to tell you something."

Nina ignored what Amber said, What was I so scared of before? She thought to herself with her smile widening, what about Mara, Patricia, Alfie, Mick...Nina looked up at Amber who seemed so blank. "Look I know this is a Wake and taking advantage of this time is wrong but I'm only staying for a few days and I want to see the rest of the old gang, just tell me whatever you needed to tell me, later." Nina grabbed Amber's jewelry-covered wrists as she assured her.

Amber didn't say anything, Nina was making it harder by smiling and getting excited. Why couldn't Amber just tell Nina what she needed to tell her? "OK, I'll tell you later." Amber compromised and Nina sighed relieved and let go of Amber. Back on the porch Nina had to count her steps up to the house, she had to wonder if someone else would agree with what she was doing, now Nina Martin didn't count the steps to the sitting room or wonder if anybody would care to disagree with her actions she just walked in like she used to back in Year 9.

Sitting, or standing in various solemn statue-like-positions were the Academy facility members all dressed in black. Meanwhile Alfie sat at the dinning table eating at the sliced sausage pieces set out by the caters, Mara was standing with her hands smoothing out her dress as she talked to a dirty blond haired, sneaky grinning boy-that Nina didn't recognize him-and Jerome talked to Patricia.

A girl who Nina had only met once came up to her holding a glass cup and wearing a black dress with a short feather skirt and pin-stripe top. Joy Mercer. A little much for a Wake. Nina thought. Joy's lightly tanned skin and chocolate-brown, pin straight hair-which matched her large doe-like eyes above her skinny nose were all the same. Joy wore a sly smile, the same one she had when she poured juice down Nina's dress at prom. "Nina Martin right?" Joy asked innocently, one of her small hands clutching her own waist.

"You used to date my boyfriend, Fabian Rutter?"