"My favourite period of History, Nicky, is the French Revolution."
Nick Daley looked up from his plate of unappetizing cafeteria food and gave Effie Kensington a slightly baffled look, his fork hovering mid air en route to his mouth. He swallowed a bite quickly and rubbed at his lips for any sauce with his napkin.
"Uh, What?"
"The French Revolution. I love it. The 1917 Russian Revolution also, but the French is the tops for me."
"Umm… okay." He replied, wracking his brains for any scrap of information to indicate he knew what the hell she was on about, but he came up short. "I don't think we've learned those yet, Effie."
"Oh I know you haven't." She replied shortly, tucking a lock of her carrot-ginger hair behind her ear. "But I have. Or at least I taught myself. With help from my step-father."
"Okay… so where exactly did this train of thought come from?"
"That biscuit." She replied with a smile, motioning towards the Chocolate Cream sitting on the edge of Nicky's plate. It was one of those sandwich styled ones, with a layer of creamy chocolate in between to slithers of biscuit-y chocolate. Nicky looked at it for a moment, before glancing back up at his friend with a distinctly puzzled expression.
"I don't get it…"
"Back in the UK we call them Bourbon's," she explained, plucking the confectionary from Nicky's plate and holding it up. "They say 'Bourbon' across the top. They're my favourite kind of biscuit – or were. My mother used to buy them for me as treat."
"Fair enough." Nick replied, still somewhat confused. "But how did you get the French Revolution from that?"
"Well the ruling Royal Family at the time belonged to the House of Bourbon. The biscuits were named after them."
"That's… random."
But Effie's conversations usually were, Nicky thought, as he tucked back into his greasy cafeteria spaghetti. Yesterday at lunch she had started a conversation about Istanbul and it's history as a Christian city or something, and some random Sultan with a huge cannon Nick knew nothing about. He'd tried to joke about it at first, asking Effie if that had been a euphemism, but she'd simply stared at him coldly before continuing on.
Not-surprisingly, these were now one-sided discussions.
At least she was talking to him again though, he mused, pushing a forkful of mince into his mouth. Effie had been giving him the cold shoulder for a few days after her trip to the museum, but had finally given in after his twentieth apology. Nick didn't usually beg but he'd found himself doing so after having Effie reject his umpteenth attempt at conversation, and he'd been surprised at how much it bothered him when they weren't talking. He liked her company, despite it's tendency to turn towards the strange.
"That's what the museum is missing, Nick. A display on the French Revolution," She continued with a sigh, her warm brown eyes turning distant as she considered the idea. "I would love a talk with Louis… I would have so many questions."
"Well I could always ask Dad if there was anything available." Nick offered tentatively, but Effie shook her head quickly in dismissal.
"No never-mind. It was just a thought."
"When are you planning on coming back, anyway?" Nicky asked after anoher moment, watching as Effie pushed her own pasta around her plate. She never seemed to eat – that was one thing he'd noticed.
"I'm not sure. My step parents were furious after last time."
"What if you told them you were going to go though? Would they mind then?"
"I don't think they'd like me to be out that late, Nicky. They can be quite protective…"
"Ask them if you can stay over at mine then. Tomorrow. Or even tonight. I'm at my Dad's for weekends, so I go with him to work. You can come too – he won't mind."
"Are you sure? I mean, will your Dad want the responsibility?"
"He won't mind." Nicky repeated confidently, and Effie smiled, sitting up a little straighter. She had been hoping to return to the museum – even though her last visit had been a bit of a shambles – as she was growing impatient trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of the exhibits and Ahkmenrah's tablets. Another visit would enable her to talk to the young Pharaoh once again, and hopefully get a bit more information from him than last time.
"So how about it?" Nick asked suddenly, looking expectant, pulling Effie out of her breif reverie. She nodded and he broke out into a grin, his cheeks pinking slightly. "Great! So I'll send my Dad a quick text and you can go call your step-parents." He pulled his phone out of his pocket when he thought he was hidden from any teacher's sight, and was about to head to the nearest bathrooms before he noticed Effie looking up at him with a distinctly embarrassed expression.
"Um Nicky. Would I be able to borrow your phone? I don't… I don't have one."
"Uh, sure." Nick smiled, successfully quashing his surprise. Most people he knew in their grade had their own phones, but Effie was quite poor wasn't she? Or maybe her stepparents were the kind of people who were convinced they gave you brain-cancer or something.
Four hours, two phone calls, and a long walk home later and the two were in the lift* going up to Larry's apartment, chatting and laughing about some incident involving Tara Manesti and a Poetry assignment.
"It was hilarious." Effie giggled, nudging Nick with her bony elbow. "I've never heard such a load of twaddle in my life."
"What did it say? I heard it was bad." Nick found himself giggling in response, half because he found Effie's laughter contagious, and the other half at her use of the work 'twaddle.'
"Yes, it really was. Look here, I wrote it down." She hastily pulled a crumpled looking piece of lined paper from her bag and held it out before her with a flourish, before she cleared her throat theatrically, before she began to read.
"When the baby was born a lovely pink
From a pink nipple it did drink-"
"What!" Nicky snorted, pulling the paper towards him. "How did she get away with saying 'nipple?'"
"She didn't. Mr. Jacobs was really annoyed. But listen, there's more:"
Just before the journey home
It was dressed in pink.
It's tiny socks were a wooly pink
Its diaper was also pink
It was placed in a black convertible
The upholstery was a lovely pink
Then they arrived home at last
To be greeted by a hot pink house
Where it had a lovely bath
A pink bubble bath
In a plastic pink tub
Then mother put it to bed
In it's little pink cot
With it's lovely pink quilt
And it's pink teddy bear
No wonder my baby brother
Thought he was a little girl
When they put a pink ribbon
In his hairs. "
"That is the worst poem I've ever heard." Nicky exclaimed when she was done, giggling between his words. "She can't have been serious when she handed it in."
"No, I think she was taking the Mickey, to be honest. She hates English."
"Does she have a brother?"
"I don't know. I hope not. He sounds like a transvestite in the making."
The pair stumbled, still laughing, out the lift as it opened up onto Larry's floor, and Nick lead to the way to his front door, pushing his way in.
"Hey Dad, it's me and Effie!" He yelled, dumping his bag by a plant pot and kicking off his shoes. Effie did the same, gazing around in awe at the apartment and it's furnishings. It was ultra-modern, with lots of glass and white paint. A few minimalistic paintings hung in strategic positions on the walls, but they were otherwise bare, interrupted only by a great floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Hudson. Effie compared it to her own small and shabby apartment she shared with her stepparents, and felt an instant but distinct wave of jealousy towards the Daley's. How could a man living of the salary of a night guard possibly afford all of this?
"We just moved in." Nicky explained, catching her looking around. "Dad's started up his own business a year ago, and it's just taking off. He invents all this weird but useful stuff, and it's getting pretty popular."
"What sort of things." Effie asked, pushing her jealously away. Nick was her friend, and Larry had evidently worked hard for what he had gotten.
"This is the latest one." Nicky showed her into the kitchen – all white and modern, again – and pulled open the fridge door, plucking out what looked to Effie a lot like a glue stick. He handed it over to her and she examined it doubtfully, unable to see what was so different.
"Read the label." Nicky prompted her, and she did so, her eyes widening when she saw the words, 'chocolate' and 'spread' printed in a appropriate brown.
"Wait, it's-"
"Glue stick chocolate spread." Nicky finished for her, before grabbing a slice of bread and showing her how it worked. "It's just like a glue stick, see." He explained, popping of the lid. "You just rub it on! It's great, and so much easier than spreading it with a knife. The bread always rips to pieces when you do that."
"Quirky." Effie breathed, having a go with the chocolate spread herself. "It tastes really nice too!" She proclaimed, licking a bit off her finger.
"Well the chocolate spread is actually Nutella. I offered the glue stick idea to them." Larry said suddenly from behind, shoving a new looking BlackBerry into his jeans pocket.
"Hey Dad," Nicky greeted as he was pulled into a strong hug, shaking his head in embarrassment as Larry hand ruffled through his thick brown curls. "Daaadd!"
"Hey Effie. How's it going?" Larry asked her next, and she wiped at her mouth quickly for any offending chocolate spread.
"Good, thank you. Your glue stick idea is genius, by the way. And thank you so much for having me."
"Thank you, and no problem!" He grinned bashfully, perching on one of the chrome stools up against the kitchen counters, glancing quickly at the mess of crumbs and bread. Nick ran a hand over it hastily, scooping them into the bin. "So you wanted to come back then, huh? To the museum I mean."
"Yes." Effie nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot since my last visit. I really want to know more. I'm hoping to ask the Pharaoh – Ahkmenrah was it? – A few more questions. Do you think he'll mind?"
"Uh… no?" Larry replied after a pause, but it came out more as a question than an answer. He wasn't really sure whether Ahkmenrah would be bothered or not – he had said something about inquisitive minds being a good thing, right? But he had also dropped the girl on Larry at the first opportunity. "Just don't tire him out."
"Or course not."
"So, what time are we going to leave?" Nick asked, and Larry shrugged, pulling his now-buzzing BlackBerry out from his pocket again, beginning to type.
"Uhm… not sure… I want to go earlier… hang on, I've got an e-mail." He lapsed into a silence, fully absorbed in the screen before him, and Effie and Nick stood about awkwardly, saying nothing.
"Sorry." Nicky whispered to his friend quietly, screwing up face apologetically. "He goes like that sometimes. I call it his BlackBerry mode."
"Okay!" Larry enthused suddenly before Effie had the chance to answer,and the pair jumped. "What was the question again? What time? Right um… how about we try to get down there earlier than usual. I'm not going to be able to go for a few days so I wanna have a little extra time with them."
"Where are you going? Why can't you see them?" Nick asked, frowning, and Larry patted his back reassuringly, albeit slightly absently.
"It's nothing big. I'm just checking out a potential investor for my company. If they bite, I might be able to take it full time!" Larry grinned, enthusiastic, and he punched Nick on the shoulder slightly. "Hey! Wouldn't that be good! You'd get an allowance raise."
"But… then what about the museum?" Nick asked, confused, chewing on his bottom lip. "You couldn't work day and night."
Larry's smile slipped for a moment and he glanced away quickly, pretending to study the kitchen countertop. Effie caught a glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes, and by the look of Nick's now slightly more aware looking expression, he had caught it too.
"Dad? Dad! What about the museum? You're not going to leave it are you?"
"We'll… we'll just see what happens." Larry said slowly after a few moments pause, his new smile strained and odd looking. Nick puckered his brown, opening his mouth to protest and push the matter further, but his Dad shot him a, 'we'll talk about it later, son,' look before he had the chance. He shut his mouth again quickly and looked at his feet, and uncomfortable lump lodging in his throat, making it harder to swallow. His Dad wouldn't really ditch his job as the night guard would he? He loved his job there as much as Nick did, who counted the various exhibits as at least seventy percent of his closest friends. Ahkmenrah and Teddy especially. If his Dad left the job he would barely get to see them, he realised, and the thought of that made his eyes sting a little.
"Don't look so down, Nick. We'll work it out, okay?" His Dad tried to reassure him, but he wasn't exactly convincing - His attention had already turned back to his BlackBerry, buzzing again against the counter. Nick glanced over at Effie who seemed equally as sceptical – but who hid her expression as soon as she noticed him watching – and suddenly found himself not certain of his dad's loyalty to museum at all.
I didn't really like this, but a fill-in chapter had to be done. It was too soon and random to get straight into the main story line. I know this is taking forever, but bear with me – I don't want to rush it.
Sorry for the long update gap but there have been a mixture of factors holding me up in the Fanfiction department: Homework and family problems mainly, but I wont bore you with the details.
I don't like this one – the writing seems a bit awkward and strained for me, especially towards the end, but I wrote this in the only available time I had (which was half an hour just before I went to bed) so it was never going to be my best. It'll start moving on a little after this, I promise. Don't get bored, although I know it's tempting.
By the way: I don't actually know if you get Bourbons in the US or not – as I've never been – so I'm really really sorry if you do but I just went on the fact that my American friend had no idea what they were when I told her about them. If you DO get them out there, could you possibly pretent that you don't for my sake?
Oh and the asterisk. I call elevators lifts, as is most common in the UK, and again I wasn't sure if this is the same in the US. Just thought I'd ask, just in case.
Shout-outs to:
TTCyclone – D'aww indeed :) I thought that Larry and Ahk needed a bit of a bond.
Rumberoar's-apprentice – Don't worry about not reviewing for that 'chapter' two chapters ago. It was short and crap and I didn't expect anything anyway :) I know, teachers are so selfish! Especially teachers teaching the IB diploma, if you know anyone doing that… It's hell. Believe me. Don't do it. Ever.
IrishSoyBean – Thank you! Don't worry about it :) Nice to know I've got another follower :D
Ballad of the Fool – Glad you fine the wife/sister thing interesting :) I thought I had to put it in there to make it more realistic – as most Egyptian royals married their siblings or half-siblings as to do as their Gods did – but I wasn't sure how people would react to it as it is obviously a bit of a taboo.
Pinkxjellybean – Thank you! I'm glad you like the background :D
Please keep reviewing, and hang on - it will get better!
Rage x