Chapter 3

House of I give up with getting these names right

"And there it was, staring out at me, 'Help me-Joy!" Patricia's voice flooded through my ears when I awoke the next morning. Obviously something had happened or the girl wouldn't have been talking so loud. Throwing on a bra and some slippers I looked over the banister to see an already dressed Patricia frantically telling her story to the boys. With a roll of my eyes I dressed in my new uniform quickly and went downstairs for breakfast.

"So Joy is dead then," Jerome said softly in the kitchen causing me to stop in my tracks. What?

"Of course not," Patricia answered, but apparently the thought hadn't crossed her mind yet. "I mean that's not possible."

"She has to be a ghost," Alfie answered with a shake of his head. "I mean she's obviously not in the house so how else could she leave the message if she's not dead?"

"Why aren't you two more upset?" Amber cried looking between Alfie and Jerome. "Our best friend is dead!"

"Please," Eddie told her sitting down at the table with a swagger. "Joy's not dead because she didn't leave that message. I saw Alfie do it."

"What?" Alfie's cry was so fake even I knew it. "Oh course I didn't do it. It was probably Eddie if it wasn't Joy's spirit."

"You're not actually considering it was ghost right?" I asked while pouring some OJ. "Ghosts don't exist. Personally I think it was one of the boys trying to mess with you."

"No one asked your opinion newbie," Patricia growled.

"Fine," I told her before grabbing a muffin and sliding out of the door. "I'll just go to school early and find out what work I have to catch up on then."

"You know what I have to go over too," Eddie told me looking down at his phone. Of all things said that morning that probably surprised me the most. I imagined Eddie would be more the kind of kid who got to class late on his first day. "Don't give me that look," he demanded slinging a backpack over his shoulder. "There's something wrong with my transcript and I have to go meet Mr. Sweat or whatever his name is."

I heard a few giggles at Eddie's Mr. Sweat joke, but I was already out of the house to quick to hear much else. Honestly I didn't really want to walk with Eddie. Maybe he was nice to me, but anyone who could be so rude to others wasn't my type of guy.

"Wait," I heard him cry and I slowed down my speed. Even if I didn't want to be friends I already had enough enemies as it was. "I almost thought you were avoiding me for a second," he said with a grin upon catching up.

"Of course not," I lied, "Why would I…" before I could finish my sentence I found myself face-to-face with an ancient, but smiling, women. "Are you okay?" I had no idea why there was a women in a hospital gown out, but it probably wasn't good.

"That's my house," she told me pointing to Anubis house. Eddie flashed me a 'is she crazy look', but I scowled before turning back to her.

"I don't think it is," I told her kindly. "It's a school."

"That's my house," she insisted and I just smiled and sat down with her.

"Okay, it's your house." I knew you weren't supposed to give in to someone's hallucinations, but this women probably had a severe case of Alzheimer's. She looked like she was almost a hundred. "It kind of suits you. Maybe you could tell me where you really live and we could take you back?"

The old women looked between Eddie and I before an odd sense of understanding dawned on her face. "It's you isn't it?" She asked with a sad smile. "And you're him." Eddie and I exchanged a befuddled look before the women spoke again. "I knew you'd come."

"I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about," Eddie told her moving close for the first time.

"Sarah, my name is Sarah," she told us with a smile. As my concern for this women's mental state grew I looked to Eddie for suggestions. Unfortunately he just shrugged.

"Sarah, why don't you come inside so we can find out where you live," Eddie suggested kindly despite him clearly being out of his comfort zone.

"I can't go in there!" Sarah cried suddenly getting very nervous. "He's waiting!" With anyone else I'd be worried about what they meant, but Sarah thought she lived at my school so clearly what she said was nonsense.

"Eddie, why don't you go back inside and see if Trudy knows where our friend might live." I suggested more to get the boy out of my hair than anything else.

"No!" Sarah cried. "You can't leave her! You must never leave her!"

"Um," Eddie mumbled looking to me for direction. "I'm sure you'll be fine. It will only be a minute."

Before the women could object any more, Eddie set off at a run towards the house while I sat rubbing her hands like I do with Gran. "He must not leave you. You need him," Sarah kept repeating while he was gone. The minute he returned Sarah seemed to relax and take her first full breath.

"Trudy say's there is an old folks home down the street. I'll tell the teachers where you are if you want to bring her home," Eddie suggested clearly out of breath from all his running. However, as soon as he mentioned leaving I knew that wasn't an option because Sarah started freaking out again. "Okay. You know what we'll both bring you home then," he decided.

Our walk to the old folk home was filled with the noise of Sarah mumbling about 'them' and 'protect'. Finally, we arrived at the home and found a kindly women who helped us bring Sarah inside. "You're not usually one to wander off Emily."

"Emily?" Eddie began but Sarah/Emily cut him off with a shushing finger.

"She's rather confused," the women told us, "As I'm sure you realized. But she's not normally a sprinter."

"Isn't that our house," Eddie asked pointing to a picture on the wall. I hadn't noticed it before, but at his direction I saw the sketch of Anubis house. "Any idea why 'Emily' would say she lived there?" he asked of the attendant.

"For all we know she did," the nurse said with a shrug. "We know very little about Emily's past. ISN'T THAT RIGHT EMILY?"

"You don't have to shout," Emily/Sarah said with a exasperated look. "I'm not deaf you know."

After leading us into Emily's room the nurse settled Sarah/Emily into a chair. "Do you kids have time for a cup of tea before you go?"

"Well I'm in no rush to get to classes," Eddie confessed. "But I don't do tea."

"We have coffee," the nurse suggested with a smile causing Eddie to nod vigorously. "What about you hon?"

"I'd love some tea," I told her with a smile. Normally I'm not one to ditch classes, but I really didn't want to face either my housemates or the new-girl stare.

As soon as the women left however, I wished I hadn't stayed. Emily quickly rose from her chair and pulled Eddie and me in tight so we formed a bit of a secret. "I've been waiting so long. Keeping the secret. Now it's your turn." Eddie stepped away, worried about how mad this women was, but I only moved in closer. "Here, take this," before I could say anything Sarah's eye of Horus necklace was sitting in my hands. "But keep it hidden or they'll take it from you. They take everything from you in the end."

"I can't possibly take this," I told her attempting to replace the necklace around her neck. Sarah however only pushed me away with unexpected strength.

"But you must!" She demanded. "It will keep you safe." Sarah looked over to Eddie, "You must keep her safe too."

"I'm sorry I don't…" Eddie began but Sarah kept speaking hastily.

"There is treasure hidden in that house," she swore. "And only you have to power to find and protect it." Sarah's gaze was hard on me as she spoke. I so desperately wanted to help the senile old women, assure her I would protect this treasure, but something about her words sent a shiver of fear down my spine. Almost as if I too was mad enough to believe her. "And only you have to power to protect her!" Sarah cried at Eddie.

"Emily I don't think…"

"SARAH!" she cried with a harsh whisper-yell. "My name is Sarah and I know you." Her head swiveled to Eddie. "Both of you."

"I'm sorry," I told her softly moving in for a hug. "I know what it's like to miss the place you come from."

"And you know me Nina!" Wait, what? How did Sarah or Emily or whatever her name was know my name? I turned to Eddie to see if we'd mentioned it, but his shrug said we hadn't. There was absolutely no way she could have known my name;It just wasn't possible. What on earth was going on?

"How do you know her name?" Eddie asked kneeling so he could be at eye-level with the sitting women.

"Beware the black bird!" Sarah cried desperately. "You must protect her from the black bird, Eddie." Maybe she heard me say Eddie's name before… but that still didn't explain how she knew my name. How was any of this possible?

"Here we go," the nurse said breaking apart our intense powwow. "Oh? Did I interrupt something?"

"It's… it's nothing," I stuttered looking between Eddie and the old women. "Thanks so much for the drinks, but we've really got to go now, don't we Eddie."

"Beware the black bird," I heard Sarah whisper again as we set off towards school.

"What the hell was that?" Eddie asked as we crossed the yard. "How did she know your name? And what's the black bird?"

"You must have said it," I told him even though I knew as a fact he hadn't. "She's just a senile old women who's confused."

"I don't believe you," Eddie told me stepping in front of me so I couldn't walk farther. "You know it too, whatever she meant it wasn't an old women's ramblings. She clearly sees danger at Anubis house."

"There you two are," Mr. Sweet, the headmaster who was crossing the lawn called when he saw us. "Trudy said you were helping an old women, but now it's time to get to class. Festina lente!"

I used the man's Latin as an excuse to break off the conversation as I ran for class. Both at lunch break and after school Eddie tried to find me so we could resume the conversation, but I avoided him.

I knew Sarah wasn't mad the same way I knew that I had to keep her necklace safe. Something was going on and Eddie and I were a part of it. Treasure Sarah had said. We had to find treasure, whatever it was, but where did we start looking?

"Caw caw caw, beware the black birds." I was startled awake by Patricia who was standing over me dumping some sort of black feathers.

"What are you doing?" I asked her rubbing my eyes, but the girl was so busy laughing it took her a while to respond.

"You woke me up 'beware the black bird'," she finally said before crawling into bed and shutting off her light. "Aww are you scared?" she asked upon noticing my lamp was still on. "Going to sleep with the light on newbie?"

While Patricia was right and I was terrified, I settled down, turned off the light, and then studied the locket Sarah had given me. By phone light I saw a picture of a beautiful young women, who I assumed was Sarah.

She's just old and confused and you're just stressed. I told myself placing my phone back on the nightstand.Get some sleep and you'll realize just how ridiculous you've been.

Settling back down to sleep my dreams continued to be plagued by dreams of Sarah rambling about treasure, but when I woke up the next morning and told Eddie that it really was nothing he wasn't the only one who believed my words. There was no way this house held treasure, of evil, or anything supernatural. Emily is just confused and heard Eddie say your name. As I set off for my first full day of classes I smiled knowing that I had to be right because the only other option just wasn't possible.