Chapter 7:
Kara
I walked up the stairs to my room after Victor announced the time and did the whole pin dropping gig. I was about to open the door when I heard voices coming from inside.
"I'm telling you Amber! It was her, it was Sarah!" A voice that sounded like Nina's said. Who's Sarah?
"Well, okay.. That can be either good, or bad. Good in the sense that we have her help, bad in the case that we were wrong about the beloved..." Amber replied intelligently. I pressed my ear closer against the door as Nina spoke again.
"Well, I think the beloved and the cousin's daughter is the same thing slash person because Sarah said that the beloved was a she." Nina stated. The conversation was weirding me out, so I opened the door and walked in as though I hadn't heard anything.
"Hey guys," I said. "Sup?" I walked over to my bed and plopped down.
"Not much," Nina said. "How about you? Anything on your mind?"
"Nothing." I hesitated for a moment. That wasn't entirely true, but I decided I could tell Nina. She wouldn't think I was a freak- probably. "Well, actually... I'm kind of scared to go to sleep. I- I don't want the nightmares to come back." I said with embarrassment.
Nina looked at me sympathetically. The nightmares were horrid for me, but Mick said they weren't a ball for anyone else either. He said I was flailing around on the couch screaming at the top of my lungs and nobody could wake me. I shuddered. Seeing that would probably spook me right out.
"It's okay Kara," she said. "I know how you feel. I had some pretty bad nightmares my first year and I didn't want to sleep either. But we have school tomorrow, so you really should try."
"Yeah, I guess..." I said, though I was still nervous.
"Well, goodnight!" Amber said from her part of the room. "I don't know about you but I sure need my beauty sleep!" and with that she flipped off the light and rolled over. I stifled a laugh, Amber was just too funny.
"Night," I said, and with a deep breath I rolled over and fell into a, luckily, dreamless sleep.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
I woke up the next morning feeling super eager and ready to face the day. I quickly hopped out of bed and pulled out my brand new, never been worn, super awesome, totally sophisticated uniform from the wardrobe! Obviously I was a little bit excited at the fact of getting a uniform. We didn't get that in Philadelphia, and I thought it was cool.
After I had changed into my uniform, I went back into my closet to find a pair of shoes. Shoes weren't included in the uniform, so I could wear whichever ones I wanted. After digging around for a couple minutes, I gave up and grabbed my favourite pair of trainers.
I then made my way down to the dining room for breakfast.
"Lookin' like a Brit!" Eddie said as I walked in. "It suits you, nerd!"
"Except for those ATROCIOUS shoes! Kara, there is no way I'm letting you leave this house without some proper footwear." Amber said.
"Amber..." I whined. "What's wrong with my shoes?"
"They SO don't look good with a skirt!" she said getting up. "Come on, no breakfast for you until your feet look as beautiful as your face!" she grabbed my wrist and dragged me back upstairs. I assumed my makeup was to Amber's standards if she thought my face was prettier than my shoes. Then again, my shoes were a pretty worn down pair of old converse, so it didn't serve as much of a compliment.
"You should wear these!" Amber said, pulling a pair of 4 inch pumps from my wardrobe and flailing them in front of my face.
"No way Amber! I didn't even know I had those!"
"Fine... These?" she said, pulling out the shoes she liked on my first day.
"I don't think so... I think I'll just wear my black flats." I said, grabbing the desired shoes.
"Alright, I guess it's better than those awful trainers!" She sighed.
"Shut up Amber! I love those shoes!" I defended. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm quite hungry!"
I stomped downstairs and into the kitchen taking my usual spot next to Mick.
"If my shoes had feelings they probably would have just committed suicide." I said grudgingly causing everybody to laugh.
"Amber can be quite the critic," Patricia said. "Believe me, I know." I looked at Patricia's fish net stockings and biker boots, imagining all the possible things Amber could have said about them. Personally, I liked Patricia's look. It was feisty, seductive, and sophisticated all at the same time. Not like the things I wore...
"Come on," Mick said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "We should get going. Don't want to be late on your first day of school!" he added with a wink.
"I guess you're right..." I sighed, looking longingly at the three breakfast sausages still on my plate.
"Come on!" Mick said, following my gaze. I rolled my eyes and picked my sausages up off the plate, shoving them in my mouth. I gave him a look as if to say "happy?" and then headed out the door, a chorus of laughter ringing out behind me. I smiled to myself as Mick caught up to me and casually slung his arm over my shoulders.
"You never cease to amaze me kid." he said. I swallowed my food before replying.
"Would you please quit calling me kid! So I'm a bit younger than you, I skipped a grade okay? I am 16, not 6!"
"Loser" he replied, shrugging. I cringed, he noticed. "Sorry... I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine."
"Are you sure? Because I really didn't mean it. If it bugs you, I won't say-"
"Mick." I interrupted. "It's fine."
"Okay..." he said as he removed his arm from around me. I sighed.
"Sorry... Touchy subject." I apologized. He looked at me as if to say "go on" and I hesitated. "I... I've always been teased..." I admitted. "Smart people called me stupid, so did some of my teachers. Kids who didn't know me but instantly hated me called me a nerdy loser. I... You, Amber, and Nina are the only friends I've ever had..." I admitted. I had never told anyone this, but for whatever reason, everything came so easy with Mick. I could be myself, and I could talk about my past. He accepted it.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I won't call you a loser again."
"Thanks" I said, flashing him a small smile.
"No problem," he said, returning it.
As we walked up to the school I let out a small gasp. It was so big and old looking! So cool... Mick chuckled at my expression and then led me to our first class as I certainly had no idea where I was going.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Our first class was history. We walked into the classroom where there was a young man writing something on the board. He turned around and smiled.
"Mara's spirits must have rubbed off on you Campbell, never once have you been first to class." he said. Mick shrugged with irritation, his eyes flicking to the floor.
"I didn't want my friend here to be late." he replied, pointing to me. "It's her first day, plus she can get a little sidetracked sometimes. I wanted to allow room for her distractions" he winked as I blushed.
"I do not get distracted..." I defended. Lie.
"Well, I don't believe we've met," the man said, holding out his hand. "My name is Jason Winkler; I'll be your history and drama teacher for the year." I shook it and gave him a small smile.
"My name's Kara." I said.
"Well Kara, I hope you enjoy my classes." he said.
"I'm sure I will! Drama and History were always my two best subjects." I assured him with a smile. Mick rolled his eyes.
"Trying to stick true to my promise.." he said in a singsong voice before turning and plopping down at a table near the front of the room. I laughed at the confused expression on Mr. Winkler's face.
"This morning he promised to stop calling me a loser," I explained. "History is my favorite subject, and I have quite the passion for learning about other cultures."
"Well then," he said, all confusion gone. "I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time in my class." I nodded enthusiastically before sitting down next to Mick. I leaned back in my chair as all the other students started to file in.
Nina
Fabian and I were walking to school, hands intertwined and swinging between us.
"Happy to be back in Harry Potter land?" Fabian asked and I laughed.
"Very. I'm so glad I came here, I absolutely love it! I'd hate to imagine my life if I never met you guys! Imagine how normal things would be!" I replied. Fabian laughed as well.
"Ah, but things wouldn't be as fun! What's life without a little excitement? And I don't know about you but evil spirits and missing students are extremely exciting!" he said, wiggling his fingers in front of him.
"Haha, too true!" I replied, winking.
We walked into the school and turned down the main hallway towards the history classroom. When we walked in, I saw Kara and Mick conversing happily at a table. Fabian and I took the table behind them.
"Good morning class!" Jason greeted once everybody was seated. "Glad to see you all again! Now, I guess we'll start with roll call..." He pulled a folder off his desk and opened it to the first page. "Shannon Auberly?" he asked, followed by a "here" from a girl in the back. "Rachel Auno?"
"Here"
"Anthony Bou?"
"Here"
"Tracy Bullia?"
"Present!"
After Jason had called a few more names, he reached the near end of the list.
"Fabian Rutter?" He called and Fabian raised his hand.
"Kara Smythe?" he called, almost knocking me out of my seat.
"Here," Kara replied. I looked at Fabian who was looking at me.
"Do you think it's just a coincidence?" I whispered urgently.
"Probably... It's not even the whole name." he replied. I nodded, but then something hit me.
"Fabian..." I hissed, frozen in fear from what I had just realized.
"Nina? What is it?" he asked with concern clear in his voice.
"Frobisher-Smythe is a combination of two last names. Robert's mother's name was Frobisher and she married a Smythe. But she kept her last name and her son inherited it as well." I paused looking up at him.
"So...?" he said, trying to see where I was going.
"What if Robert had an uncle. His last name would just be Smythe, and if he had a child. The child would be Robert's cousin, and then.."
"The cousin's daughter!" Fabian exclaimed. "Could it be Kara?"
"She did locate the papyrus..." I said, looking at the laughing girl in front of me.
"But... What... Could? I don't even know what to say right now." he replied. "Should we talk to her?" I thought for a moment.
"No. How about we keep an eye on her, and if she shows any sign of... I don't know... Being related to Robert, we'll ask her." I said.
"How would she show signs of being related to Robert?" he questioned. He had a point.
"I'll try and get her to talk about her dreams. Maybe there's something in there? Also, all her books on Egypt are super old, like, published decades ago. I'll ask her where she got them, see what she says." I explained.
"Got it." he said before turning to pay attention to the lesson. I groaned quietly to myself, my head going to rest in my hand. There really was no such thing as peace and quiet for us was there?