Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters besides Laura, Kayla and Steven.
Summery: Just as Laura's trying to get through her last year in high school and forgetting about her ex boyfriend Steven, she goes job hunting for anything. Desperate for a job, she's hired as the second Night Guard at the Museum of Natural History. Working along side of Larry as history comes to life each night, she finds herself falling for Larry...and someone else. But only one of them ends up feelings the same way for her. Will she end up breaking from her heartbreak and let herself be happy once again while trying to help Larry keep peace and order in the museum?
A/N: Don't forget to check out my forum I made that I was talking about before the last chapter! In this chapter, I warn you, it's going to be dragging. But I have a special chapter planned out, so I need certain things in each chapter to lead up to that special chapter. Please review! :)
Chapter Five ~ New Exhibits
The week had passed by so slowly that I'm sure it was declared 'torture' by Wednesday. It was Friday now and I was staying after school with beginning on helping everyone start decorating the gym for next week's Prom. Jake was on the ladder, holding up the unattached end of the bright blue banner that read '11' Prom!' while I stood there, keeping an eye on how disproportional this guy was making it. Luckily, everything looked just right.
Then Jamie came up to me. "That's perfect right there," I yelled up to Jake as I turned to Jamie to see what she wanted. "What's up?"
She looked at me with excitement. "I have an idea," she said.
Good. I liked people with ideas. "What's your idea?" I asked with interest.
"How about...some type of machine hanging from the ceiling, dropping glitter...all night. Blue glitter at that!" Jamie said as she handed me a notebook that was opened to a page somewhere in the middle. It showed an add from Party On.
I smiled. "You're such a genius, Jamie," I said as I walked over to the table where my cell phone was so I can order the machine. Wasn't bad for the price it was. What was bad was estimating the amount of glitter we would have to buy and not to mention someone to clean up the mess after Prom.
Being that glitter could be too hard to get off, I was thinking of bigger glitter, coming down little-by-little. Jamie and I headed to party on to talk to the owner and we were there for about an hour talking things over about the machine. After that, I needed to stop off at home to grab something to eat and then go and cash my check. Then I'd have to head off to work.
I made sure that throughout the week, I got to bed earlier. Like, nine o' clock earlier. And if I was tired when I came home, I'd make sure I'd do my homework or study and then take a nap until supper time.
I walked into the museum about twenty minutes early with a big cup of coffee in my one hand and my messenger's bag, as usual, on my left shoulder. Larry was at the desk, talking to McPhee, who hadn't left yet. Then they turned to me and smiled, soon going back to whatever they were talking about.
"What's going on?" I asked as I took a sip of my coffee, eying Larry for the answer.
"A...new set of exhibits are being added onto the museum tonight," Larry said, giving me a secret look that warned me that it was going to be a tough night.
"Oh? What are they?" I asked McPhee, turning my head to look at him as I took another sip of my French Vanilla coffee.
"Cleopatra and King Arthur," McPhee answered.
Then a man in a suit that made him look like a mechanic entered the lobby. "Dr. McPhee, everything's ready to be set up," he announced.
"I need you two to find a place to put them tonight. Can you do that?" McPhee asked with a blank bu serious face.
Larry and I looked at each other, reading the alarm in each others eyes as we soon turned our head back to McPhee to nod our heads as our reply. This was NOT going to be good. But then again, why would they add on King Arthur without his knights? Then I remembered how this museum adds onto itself little-by-little.
When McPhee left, Larry looked at me. "This is going to be a tough night. If we work together, the job will be done easily, kay?" Larry asked me as he motioned me to follow him.
We still had about fifteen minutes before the sun would fall, so we slowly made our way to the loading dock. When we got there, we found two crates with Government stamps and lables on them. They must be pretty important exhibits.
"Here's a cart to put a crate on," he said as he handed me one of those handy carts. "You take Cleopatra, which is this one, to Ahkmenrah's room," Larry said as he helped a crate onto the cart for me.
I nodded my head and hurried off to Ahkmenrah's room, setting the crate on the floor as I soon opened it. Inside was the most beautiful exhibit I had ever seen. I can only imagine what she'll look like when she comes to life. Then suddenly, the golden tablet shined and Ahkmenrah stepped out of his tomb. I looked over at him and smiled.
But then I felt a knife to my throat. My eyes widened as I looked down at the floor. Cleopatra began talking in Egyptian tongue that I could hardly understand that sounded rather mean and harsh. Then I looked up at Ahkmenrah, who was hurrying over to us. He spoke in his tongue and before I knew it, I felt Cleopatra hesitate before she retrieved the knife, or whatever it was, from my throat.
"So you are English-speaking," I heard her say.
I turned my head to look at her, in awe of her beauty. "...yes," I replied as I slowly took a step away from me.
"Where am I?" she then asked me, her face set in a professional and important way.
"You're in New York City...Museum of Natural History," I replied as I felt Ahkmenrah wrap and arm around me.
Cleopatra looked at me for a long moment before speaking. "I am Cleopatra, queen of the Nile," she said.
I smiled. "It's an honor to meet you," I told her, bowing my head awkwardly to show respect.
"And who are you two?" she then asked me. Her voice was almost thick French. She was probably shipped from a French museum, to my guess.
"I am Ahkmenrah, fourth king of the fourth king, ruler of my father's land," Ahkmenrah as I turned my head to see him put his free hand, which was his left, of her his heart and bow, his other arms still around me.
"Ah, Ahkmenrah. I've met your brother Kahmenrah. Charming fellow. And who are you?" she then asked as she turned to me.
"Laura..." I said in an awkward way, forcing a smile on my lips and waved a bit.
Cleopatra raised an eyebrow in a lazy way. "So...I take it that this will be where I'll be staying?" she asked me.
I nodded my head. "You'll be sharing it with me," Ahkmenrah stated.
Cleopatra looked at Ahkmenrah and her face soon loosened into a soft and even more beautiful expression. "I'm sure that won't be a problem," she said as her lips tilted into a seductive smile. I wander what Octavious would think of this, I thought to myself.
Then suddenly I heard a yell. Probably Larry's. "Where, Larry Daley of New York, are...my...knights," I then heard.
I ran out of the room and into the hallway as I looked to my left to see nothing and then looked to my right where I saw King Arthur holding Excalibur up to Larry's throat.
"I told you, they didn't come with you!" Larry said earnestly to Arthur. Strength ran through me as I ran over to them, stepping between Larry and Arthur.
"King Arthur, it'd be wise of you to put your sword down and believe your new night guard," I told him with a straight face.
He looked at me and then lowered his sword, staring at me with hazel eyes. "And who are you?" he asked me in softer tone.
"Laura, you're other night guard," I told her.
"I have guards?" he asked me, impressed and satisfied.
"Yes. We're here to protect the museum," Larry added.
After I had settled things between Larry and Arthur, I headed back to Ahkmenrah's, and now Cleopatra's, room. But I stopped before my foot touched the brown stone of the floor of the room. There on the left wall deep into the room, I saw Ahkmenrah up against the wall with Cleopatra's body pressed against his. She had a tempting smile set to her lips. I couldn't read Ahkmenrah's face though.
"Now, Cleopatra, I do not like you in this sense," he told her in his charming accent.
Somehow, I felt a piece inside me break away. I sighed and looked down. "Laura!" I then heard Ahkmenrah say. He must have seen me. I hurried and walked away. Cleopatra must have stopped Ahkmenrah from following me because as I made my way down to the lobby, I did not hear or feel or even see Ahkmenrah following me.