Thanks for all of the reviews! Not gonna have a long A/N. Just gonna say you learn more about their past now. And I have a new Cover for the story! Also, I NEED Truths and Dares for them. And Willow's in the next Chapter. That's it.
Chapter 3
Nina woke up to the sound of sirens, getting closer and closer. Suddenly they stopped and the door flew open. Four police officers ran in with flashlights and he opened her eyes wide, before all of a sudden they stopped. They looked around the room seeing blankets and different snacks around the room.
"Where did this come from?" One of them said. The voice was familiar.
"Amber?" Nina asked. She took her hat off and shined the light on her face, her hair braided down her back. Next to her was Alfie, Jerome, and Patricia.
"Where the hell did all of this come from?" Jerome asked.
"I snuck out and got it from the house" Nina said.
"I knew she couldn't handle it at Anubis" Amber said. "I mean, she looks like a librarian in training"
"Welp, off to whatever house for you" Patricia said.
"No I don't think so" Nina said. "You told me that I had to stay in here for a week. You didn't say I couldn't leave for a few minutes. You also said when you came and asked if I wanted to stay, I had to say yes or I failed. I never said yes"
"You found a loophole" Jerome said. "I'm impressed"
"What do you say? She already passed her initiation, yeah?" Alfie asked them. They all smiled.
"Ready to make Anubis history, Nina?" Patricia said. Nina smiled.
"You remembered my name" Nina said.
"Yup" Amber said putting her arm around her.
Woah! For the first time EVER an Anubian finished her initiation EARLY! I knew this Nina girl was going to be interesting. Now if only she could do something about that frizzy hair... -Jackal
Nina walked into the house to hear her name being chanted and everyone was jumping up and down. The others behind her joined in. She couldn't believe it. Before they couldn't even remember her name, and now they were chanting it.
"Welcome to Anubis House!" Joy said.
"We love getting new members, it's just double the fun!" Amber said.
"Well thanks for the... warm welcome but right now, all I want is a shower" Nina said.
"Fair enough" Mick said. Nina went up stairs to her room and finally opened her luggage.
"Now that you're in..." Amber said in the doorway. "It's time for your Anubis makeover"
"Excuse me?" Nina asked.
"Everyone's done it. Haven't you noticed Fabian is probably the hottest nerd you'll ever meet?"
"It may have crossed my mind" Nina mumbled.
"Nina a makeover doesn't just make you look better, it boosts your confidence. You walk taller and smile more and excell more" Amber explained.
"Let me... think about it" Nina said.
"You have ten minutes" Amber said. Nina walked down the hall to Joy's room where she found her reading.
"I have a question for you" Nina said sitting on the foot of her bed. Joy raised an eyebrow, but put her book down.
"Shoot"
"Amber wants to give me a makeover but... I don't know if I should go through with it..." Nina said.
"Why are you asking me this?" Joy asked.
"Because I respect you and your opinion" Nina said honestly.
"Really?"
"Yeah, you were this girl who apparently had some... issues" Nina said.
"To say the least" Joy chuckled.
"But you overcame them and became this really awesome person and friend" Nina said. Joy smiled.
"Well" she started. "I don't see what harm a makeover can do"
"You don't?" Nina asked.
"No, makeovers are fun" Joy shrugged. "To give and get. And they give you a great sense of confidence"
"So you think I should do it?" Nina asked.
"If you want to" Joy said.
"Ok, I'll do it" Nina said getting up. But then she thought for a moment before sitting back down. "Can I ask you something?"
"Something else?" Joy asked.
"Yeah, don't get mad" Nina said. "But, I'm just so curious"
"Go ahead"
"Why did you leave?" Nina asked. "I mean, it sounds like you had no problems. You ruled the school with your friends, you had no worries. Yeah, it sounds like you are better now, but it seems like a life someone wouldn't want to leave"
"Oh it wasn't so picture perfect" Joy said. She looked at Nina seriously. "You know how when you're angry, but a camera comes your way, you smile anyway?"
"Yeah"
"That's how our, I mean my life was before I left" Joy said. "And you know how a toddler might show their true emotions when the camera comes, because they haven't yet learned the unwritten rule to always smile?"
"Yeah, I guess" Nina said.
"That's how I was right before I left" Joy said. "That's how we all were"
"Who?"
"Our little group. Jerome, Patricia, even poor Alfie" Joy said. "It became... Pretty bad"
"Really?"
"Yeah, for different reasons" Joy said. "I'm really proud of them honestly. They may seem a bit... mean-"
"And immature and rude and irresponsible-" Nina continued.
"But" Joy interrupted. "They're doing so much better"
"You still didn't answer my question" Nina said.
"I'm sure you could find it somewhere on Jack Jackal" Joy shrugged.
"What is that, who is that?" Nina asked.
"Oh, this person who finds out all of our secrets and exposes them to the whole school" Joy said in disgust.
"All of them?" Nina asked.
"Pretty much" Joy said and Nina gulped. "It was one of my problems. All of my secrets revealed, being judged, having the feeling that someone is always watching me..."
"Do they talk about you all of the time?" Nina asked.
"I'm the Lindsay Lohan of Jack Jackal" Joy shook her head in shame. "It's like I've just came from rehab and they're waiting for me to mess up again"
"Do they still talk about you?" Nina asked.
"Probably"
"What do they say?" Nina asked.
"I don't know, I don't want to know" Joy said. "I told myself before I got here that I didn't want the drama. I didn't want to even look on that app, it's part of the problem."
"Maybe you should" Nina said. Joy looked at her with curiosity and bit of confusion. "I mean, if someone were talking about me, I would want to know what they were saying"
"Then maybe you should too" Joy said. "Because I guarantee Jack's talking about you too"
"What did I do?" Nina asked.
"You walked into Anubis House" Joy shrugged. "Not to mention you made Anubis History"
"Well then, I think I will get this Jackal" Nina said. She took out her phone and went in the app store. "How did the person get the money to create the app?" Nina asked
"Dunno" Joy said. "But you're right. I want to know exactly what everyone's talking about"
Nina opened up the Jackal app. There was a large white jackal on a black screen. Above it said 'the jackal' and below it said 'knows all'. At the very bottom were four buttons. One said 'about me' one said 'Anubians' one said 'submit' and the last one said 'past posts'.
'Who better to tell me about Jack Jackal' Nina thought. 'Than Jack himself?'
She clicked on 'about me' and it brought her to a screen with a short autobiography.
I'm not even sure why you've clicked this, because this app isn't about me at all. Everyone knows that something crazy is always happening in Anubis. Everyone knows they rule the school. They're always doing something scandalous. Here is where you'll find all of the insane things that happen there. All you have to do is tell me when you know something and I'll post it for everyone to see.
Nina hit back and next clicked submit. It had a small box for people to type in and an 'upload' button below it. She hit back and clicked 'anubians'. There were ten buttons, each with a name on it. The last one said Nina.
New Nina. Unimportant at the moment. Totally irrelevant. We don't know much about her, but we hope she stirs up some trouble. *Update!* She totally made Anubis history by finding a loophole in the initiation and getting off early! Welcome to Anubis Newby!
Above it was a picture of her arriving at Anubis.
"How did they get this picture?" Nina asked. Joy shrugged.
"You learn it's best not to ask questions" Joy said.
Nina went back and clicked Joy. The picture of her looked much different to the Joy she knew now. She looked drunk and she was definitely at a party. She had bags under her eyes and a smirk on her lips that didn't seem genuine.
Oh Joy. What do I have to say about Little J? She was the Queen Bee of school. She was cruel, evil, and my favorite to write about. She got pretty crazy. Like Britney Spears meets Paris Hilton meets Lindsay Lohan bat shit cray cray. Eventually she just looked a mess. She was never in school and always at parties. She seemed to never be sober. But who cares? She was a blast to write about! Now she's back and is boring as ever. She's changed, and now is just a kill joy.
Nina went back and thought about going to Fabian, but shook her head. Something told her she shouldn't invade his privacy before their date. She went back to the home screen and clicked 'past posts'. It took her to a screen with three different years. She clicked '2011' and it showed all of the months except January and February. She clicked on March and it gave her the first post.
Hey guys, I'm Jack Jackal, and I'm gonna dish to you the latest gossip. Like did you know in drama class Amber totes half cheated on Mick with Alfie? During the Romeo and Juliet rehearsal, and no it was not the kiss scene. But that didn't stop her! They're fighting about it right now. There's more where that came from!
"I remember that!" Joy chuckled. "The class was shocked to say the least"
Nina went to 2012 February.
Spotted, Joy, Alfie, Patricia and Jerome were caught drunk and streaking all around campus! When caught by Sweet they were being disciplined while he had his hands over his eyes and was looking away. They ran away while he was still lecturing them and were found this morning asleep in their birthday suits by the pool! -Jackal
"Woah" Nina said.
"I... don't remember that..." Joy said. "That section of my life is full of colors, blurs, and blackouts"
"Colors?"
"I wasn't exactly... sober most of the time"
"Huh, well I think I'm gonna talk to Amber now, but thanks for everything Joy" Nina smiled.
"No problem!" Joy said not looking up from her phone. Nina walked to her room to see Amber brushing and braiding her hair.
"I'll do it" Nina said. Amber looked at her.
"I know" Amber said. "But I changed her mind. We'll do it tomorrow before school"
"Before?"
"Yeah, and you'll make your grand entrance tomorrow at school" Amber said.
"I don't think that's a good ide-"
"Night!" Amber said climbing into bed. The next morning Amber got Nina up extra early, there was plucking and pulling and waxing and by the end she felt naked and bald on her body. Possibly both. Nina figured the outfit should be easy, since there were uniforms. Boy was she wrong. She had to try on the perfect fitting shirt and skirt and a jacket. She needed the right accessories, and then there was the makeup. By the end she looked almost completely different.
Starting from the top and going down, her hair was brought back with two bobby pins on each side and neatly brushed down her back. Her jacket was snug but comfortable. Her shirt was tucked into her high waisted skirt and connected with a black belt. She wore red, sheer, thigh high stockings, but she kept her dirty, dingy high tops instead of the black pumps Amber tried to force her feet into. She didn't regret her decision. The outfit was cute, but very un-her. She felt like she wouldn't be lost with her two year old sneakers.
When she came to breakfast everyone stopped and stared at her. She felt uncomfortable, but flattered at the same time. Amber was smiling brightly at her creation.
"Nina you look..." Fabian started.
"Incredible!" Mara finished.
"Hot" Alfie and Jerome said. Nina couldn't help but smile, but being shy and very conservative, she hid it. When she got to school everyone stopped in front of the door.
"Are you ready for your grand entrance?" Patricia asked her.
"Knock them dead" Joy encouraged. Nina took a deep breath and stepped through the doors. All eyes were on her. Suddenly the hall exploded with cheers and catcalls. She beamed, and made her way to her class.
Joy couldn't stop herself. She found herself sneaking the phone out all of the time just reading every post that has been published about her since she left last year. She wanted to stop. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. She would get so wrapped up in her phone that she would block out what everyone said.
"Joy!" Trudy yelled at her. She suddenly looked away from her phone and looked around her. When did she get to Anubis House?
"I'm sorry Trudy, what were you saying?" Joy asked trying to get the harsh words of Jack out of her head. At least for the moment.
"I think you need to go to Mr. Winkler's room" Trudy said seriously. Joy was confused, but got up and made her way nevertheless. Arriving there she was surprised to see many students in a circle from many different houses. They all looked up at her. As she looked around at the familiar and not so familiar faces, she stopped short at Jerome who looked at her with curious eyes. Next to him was Patricia who looked annoyed and beyond angry. Finally was Alfie who looked confused as always.
"Hello Joy" Jason said kindly.
"Uh, Trudy sent me here" Joy said. "What is this?"
"It's group therapy" he said. At that moment he looked again at her three housemates but differently. Alfie's eyes were shimmering with tears he was fighting. Patricia was gripping her arm so tight she could see her nails making marks in her skin. Jerome didn't meet her eyes. "Are you going to join us?"
Joy was very familiar with group therapy. And she was feeling a bit depressed lately. She didn't want to find herself spiralling back to those days. She figured maybe this group therapy could help her. She grabbed a chair as the circle shifted allowing her to squeeze in. Jerome forced her to take the spot in between himself and Patricia, much to both girls dismay.
"Would you like to start?" Jason asked.
"Er.. sure" Joy shrugged.
"Why don't you start with your name and your grade-" Jason started.
"No everyone here already knows all of those things" Joy said quickly and a bit harshly. She looked around and out of the estimated twenty-five people in the room she could only remember four of their names besides her housemates and including Jason. "That's kind of why I'm here"
"Ok" Jason nodded for her to go on.
"I know you all know who I am. You all have the app. You all probably read up on me at some point of your life here. You read stories about me. Probably all of them are crazy. I'm sure you saw the post. 'Psycho Queen Bitch' and 'Little J's gone Cray!'" Joy shook her head remembering the posts. "But nothing is private. I told myself before I got here I wouldn't even download the app. But I did. And I've been reading non-stop ever since. I'm not allowed to have secrets, I don't have secrets! They're almost all exposes. I used to want to be a movie star. But I don't want this. The paparazzi? Always fearing someone's watching me. Always waiting to be the next headliner. I'm like the Lindsay Lohan of the school and everyone is waiting for me to mess up again and go crazy. A normal school year is too much to ask"
They all sat in silence letting the words soak in. Then almost simultaneously, there were snaps. Two in a row. She looked at her housemates.
"We snap when we agree with something" Jason said.
"Oh please" the sound came from a boy across from her. He looked annoyed and angry.
"Brighton do you have something to say?" Jason asked.
"Damn right I've got something to say" he said. "Do you expect me to be sympathetic? When I get in trouble I get two weeks detention and kitchen duty. When you get detention you get a warning"
"That's not true" Jerome said immediately. He knew much about consequences.
"You walk around thinking you rule the school. You're all anyone talks about. I know your name but do you know mine? If we never saw each other for a week would you remember my face?"
Joy sat in silence.
"All four of you! You don't know how good you have it!" he yelled. "I'm on a scholarship and I still have to dig for loose change to be able to come here! That is a real problem"
And then, the room erupted in snaps.
"You don't think we have real problems too?" Patricia spat at all of them.
"I'm sorry did you daddy buy you a brown horse instead of a white pony?" Brighton asked.
All four's hearts stopped. He said the 'D' word.
"Did he forget to give you an allowance?" Brighton continued. "Sorry I can't feel sorry for you, I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself"
Joy listened to every word he said and waited for him to finish. She raised her hand asking permission to speak. When she got the nod she looked at him, straight in the eye.
"Fuck you" she said and walked out.
Joy needed to clear her head. How could he say something like that? He knew nothing about her, about any of them. She thought she was going outside, but she found herself finding her way back to the theater, into the prop closet. Behind the mess of crowns and capes was a door. She looked in the fake bush for the key and unlocked it. Inside was a small little couch with a few bean bags and christmas lights all around the room. She had decorated it. She looked behind the couch and saw it. The stash. She picked up the bag of marijuana joints and the lighter next to it.
"I thought you changed" Jerome's voice startled her. She turned around to see him and Alfie. Though Jerome's voice was subtly mocking her, neither of them were smiling or laughing or joking. They looked very serious, almost angry. Patricia came in next looking unmistakingly angry.
"That little cockroach, how dare him!" She said storming in and plopping in her usual bean bag.
"Thought we'd find you here" Alfie said to Joy then looked at the bag. "Just not with that"
"You wanna hit?" Jerome asked.
"I stopped" Joy shook her head putting the bag down.
"So did we" Jerome, Patricia, and Alfie all said.
"Really?" Joy asked.
"Yeah but what do you care?" Patricia asked.
"I always care" Joy said.
"I've been sober for three months" Alfie said.
"One month and a half" Jerome said.
"Since you left" Patricia said. Joy looked up surprised. "It didn't feel right any more"
"What helped you?" Joy asked Jerome and Alfie.
"My dad got out of prison and I'm mending things with my sister" Jerome smiled.
"I stopped caring about what my dad said" Alfie nodded. They sat in silence. A lot of good memories, a lot of bad memories. Then she heard subtle sobs. She looked up at all three but they were all looking at her. She realized the sobs were coming from herself.
"I haven't seen you cry since-" Alfie started but Jerome slapped him on the head and told him to shut up. Patricia couldn't help but come next to her and hug her. Suddenly Joy felt as if it were freshmen year all over again. Patricia comforting her, Jerome and Alfie looking at her with sorry eyes. They've all shed tears in this room. On many different occasions. There was something about the room that just brought them out.
She would come in and find Jerome making a mess of things kicking walls and swearing words she thought may have been illegal. But with tears flowing down his face. She witnessed Patricia have a nervous breakdown, which did more than broke her heart. It scared her. Because Patricia wasn't nervous. She was tough. She saw Alfie laying on the floor, saying nothing. For days. Until finally he began to pound his head on the ground waiting for himself to black out. She remembered herself fighting the others. Screaming at them until she broke down and cried until she was dried out.
"I hate this room" Joy said through the subtle tears. The others chuckled a little, knowing exactly what she meant.
"Oh don't be like that, there are some good memories from here too" Alfie said. The three of them looked at him in confusion.
"Like what?" Patricia asked.
"Like getting away from the drama, feeling free from Jack" Alfie said. "It's the one place where he can't get to us"
"Decorating the room was fun" Joy said.
"Remember that time when we got locked in here, and we thought we were gonna die in here because no one but us knew about the place?" Jerome laughed.
"But it turned out to be pretty cool" Patricia said.
"Did it?" Alfie asked. "I barely remember it"
"I remember some of the day" Patricia said. "I remember playing card games a board games, but I also remember you and Joy acting odd"
"Me and Joy?" Alfie asked. Patricia nodded.
"I hate that day" Joy shook her head. "That was the day I introduced marijuana to you guys"
"It was?" Jerome asked.
"Yeah, that's why Alfie doesn't remember it" Joy said. She turned to him. "You were feeling particularly upset that day. Exhausted and angry. Everyone was having fun but you. The board games? You ruined them. The card games? You threw the deck across the room. You needed a pick me up and I had it"
"Oh yeah, Jerome and I were like, babysitting you two, and messing with you" Patricia said.
"That's why it was so fun!" Jerome recalled.
"After a while we tried it" Patricia nodded.
"I feel bad, I can't believe I was the one that started you on it" Joy said sadly. Jerome groaned.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. We all tempted each other on something" Jerome said. "Who gave us all our first drink?"
"Me" Patricia said.
"Who gave us our fake IDs?" Jerome asked.
"Me" Alfie said.
"And we all know who tempted everyone to do that thing on that night" Jerome said.
"We don't speak of that!" Patricia grimaced.
"Point is, we were all messed up" Jerome said. Joy smiled.
"I think we should get back home" Joy said.
"Ok, but don't think that because I was nice to you this one time we're on good terms" Patricia told Joy. Joy rolled her eyes.
"Fine" Joy said.
"Yeah, Alfie, we aren't exactly good and happy again either" Jerome said.
"What's wrong with you two?" Joy asked.
"He thinks I'm sleeping with his crush" Alfie said.
"You like Mara?" Joy asked. "I think that's adorable!"
Jerome groaned at Alfie before walking out. They walked in the house and everyone bombarded them with questions.
"Where have you been?"
"Out"
"What were you doing?"
"Nothing"
"I was so worried!"
"Don't be"
"Why were you out this late?"
"Time got out of hand"
"Where did you go?"
"Nowhere"
"It feels like tenth grade all over again"
That came from Amber. Everyone looked at her. She shrugged, knowing what she said was true and went to her room.
"Do I need to get the flashlight?" Trudy asked.
"No Trudy not the flashlight!" Patricia protested.
"We weren't doing anything!" Joy assured her. Trudy looked skeptical, but eventually nodded.
"It has been a while since anything bad happened. I believe you" Trudy said. The four smiled, and made their way to their rooms.
Could the Fearsome Four be at it again? Didn't think that would happen any time soon. Looked like Joy was out of the crew for good. But I guess old habits die hard. Amber better watch out, or she'll be off the island once again. Just that sad little girl who tries so hard to be in, but never is. I guess we have to see how this plays out. I'll be keeping my eye on them. xoxo-Jackal.