Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or House of Anubis, and I don't live in England in the 1940s so some of the terms are probably historically inaccurate.
CHAPTER TWO:
Meet the Neighbors
"Mick! I'm going to stop by the new family's house and deliver the invitation!" Amber cried, poking her head out the back door.
Mick looked up from the football he'd been kicking around, about thirteen yards away. "What?" He called.
"I'm going to go deliver the invitation!" Amber shouted louder.
Mick lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, okay?" He shouted back, wondering why she had bothered to tell him, and then resumed kicking around the football. Amber rolled her eyes, shutting the back door behind her.
It didn't take her long to walk to the house the new family lived in. She knew exactly which house it was, it'd been vacant for a few years now. She stopped at the end of the driveway to quickly smooth out her pleated skirt and blouse before happily skipping up to the front porch and ringing the doorbell.
She'd been hoping that Nina would answer the door, mostly just to find out if she liked shopping and was willing to be her shopping buddy, but instead, Eddie answered the door. Amber wasn't too disappointed, though - Eddie was fit. Amber subtly ran a hand through her blonde hair to smooth it out - although, it wasn't like her hair could be more perfect than it already was.
"Uh, hi," Eddie said as he opened the door, looking a little surprised. After all, they'd just moved in and they were already getting visitors. But hey, when a pretty blonde girl showed up at his door, he usually didn't question it.
Amber smiled, curling a strand of hair around her finger. "Hullo, I'm Amber Campbell. I live at the house down at the end of the street, and I was wondering if you and your family would be interested in coming to our house tonight for dinner?" She asked. Then added, "As a sort of welcome into the neighborhood. My mum's cooking, and it's sure to be fabulous."
Amber handed Eddie the invitation, which she had especially decorated herself. Eddie read it for a moment, nodding. "Alright, we'll be there." He looked up and flashed Amber an award-winning smile. "As long as I get to know you better."
Amber couldn't help but giggle. "Aw, you're too kind," she said, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Wait, are you American?" Eddie opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter. I'll see you later, though," she smiled flirtatiously and turned around and left. Her job was done.
Now it was time to help her mum prepare for the dinner.
x.X.x
"Jerome! Time for lunch!"
Jerome groaned. He was sprawled across the bed in the guest bedroom at Fabian's house, staring at the drab white ceiling. The same thing he'd been doing for...well, however long he'd been here.
He didn't mind much, though. He liked being alone, which was hard around here. Whenever he left the room, his aunt immediately bombarded him with questions. She was always asking him about himself - his school, what he liked to do in his free time, etc. It was annoying, and weird. It's not like his life was some huge interesting thing, anyways. Usually he tried to give short answers, so she would get the point and drop it, but it never seemed to work. His aunt was nice enough, but she sure was dim.
Tossing his legs over the bed, he got up and slowly opened the door, climbing down the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Rutter and Fabian - or as Jerome liked to call him, Stutter Rutter - at around the table, patiently waiting for him. Jerome snarled to himself. The Rutters were the picture-perfect family - polite, nice, welcoming, and pretty well off, money-wise. Not to mention they all loved each other.
Jerome would never admit it, but he would give anything to be his cousin. Anything. Even if Fabian was a complete dork.
"Let's all join hands," Mrs. Rutter said as Jerome plopped down at the empty seat at the table. He groaned inwardly as he held hands with everyone around the table. "Bow your heads," said Mrs. Rutter. Jerome didn't. He never did. He didn't have anything to be thankful for, anyways.
After the short prayer, everyone began to eat. Jerome grabbed two rolls and a piece of meatloaf and piled them on his plate and began to eat while everyone else talked about some dinner party tonight. Jerome learned early on that if he didn't make eye contact with anyone, then they wouldn't include him on the conversation. So Jerome kept his head bent and his eyes on his plate.
"You've been invited too, Jerome."
Well, sometimes his theory worked.
Jerome looked up. "Invited to what?"
"The Campbells are having a welcoming party for the new neighbors that moved in next door, and they've invited us," Mr. Rutter explained.
Jerome raised an eyebrow. "Why did they invite me? I don't even live here."
"Because they're nice people, and they want you to feel included," Mrs. Rutter replied.
"Well...what if I don't want to go?" Jerome questioned.
Fabian sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Why wouldn't you want to go?" Mrs. Rutter asked, trying to be patient.
Jerome shrugged. "Not my thing."
"Well, you're going to have to go, because we're not leaving you here by yourself." Mr. Rutter said with finality. He wasn't as patient as his wife.
"You don't trust me?" Jerome said in mock surprise.
Mrs. Rutter ignored his sarcasm. "Besides, it would be polite to go. All the neighbors are very nice, I'm sure you'll like them."
Fabian scoffed.
"Have something to say, do you, Fabian?" Jerome turned to him, narrowing his eyes.
"Hm?" Stutter Rutter looked up, pretending to be clueless. "Oh, n-nope. Just coughing on a bit of m-meatloaf, that's all."
There was an awkward silence, and Mrs. Rutter cleared her throat. "I would greatly appreciate it if you came," she said sincerely.
Jerome was quiet for a minute. "I'll think about it," he replied, grabbing his plate and standing up. "I'm done," he said, not even bothering to excuse himself.
"You only had half a roll. Are you sure you wouldn't like some more meatloaf?" Mrs. Rutter offered.
"No," Jerome said. And, deciding to make a little of an effort, he added, "Thank you." He smirked as he saw Mr. Rutter's eyes widen in surprise. "I think I'll go take a walk, if you don't mind."
"No, that's fine," Mrs. Rutter said faintly. "Just be careful and don't wander too far."
She watched as Jerome left the house, and sighed. She was trying, she really was. But Jerome was impossibly stubborn and rude, not to mention he hardly ever came out of the guest bedroom. She might as well just give up - he seemed to like being alone, anyways. But she couldn't. He was her family, and she was supposed to protect her family. It wasn't as if there was anyone else to protect Jerome, anyways.
Jerome's life at home was completely terrible. Most people didn't know about it, not even Fabian. Even Mrs. Rutter didn't know all the details, but she knew enough to know how horrible and inhumane it was.
She knew that Jerome's father had left the family when he was four years old. It wasn't surprising, though. John Clarke hated his wife, and everyone had known it. They were always fighting and arguing about every single thing. It'd been terrible to deal with them at family gatherings.
After John left, Mrs. Clarke became bitter. She'd never been very nice before, but the abandonment made her even worse. The only person for her to take her anger out on was her son. She constantly told him that she didn't care about him and that he was completely worthless to her. And eventually, she even got tired of having the burden of taking care of him on her own. So she sent him to a boarding school in Leeds when he was only five years old. Five. Such a young age to be so far away from home without your parents.
Mrs. Rutter thought it was the most terrible thing she'd ever heard.
When Mrs. Clarke was too lazy, she would force Jerome to stay at the boarding school during the summer while everyone else was on vacation, simply because she didn't want him bothering her. Sometimes, she would send him home for the summer - three months of total and complete neglect. Mrs. Rutter didn't know which sounded worse.
Finally, this year, she decided to do something about it. Jerome wasn't her blood relative - he was her husband's sister's son - but she was his family. And she wasn't going to sit idly by and let something so terrible happen to her nephew. So, she offered that Jerome stay at her house for the entire summer.
It turned out, Mrs. Clarke had actually been going to arrange for Jerome to stay at her house that summer, instead of at the boarding school, which is what he'd been doing for the past two years. But she agreed to the change of plans, eager to have her son out of her hair. So the moment that the term was over, Jerome was shipped right to Liverpool to stay with his cousin, aunt, and uncle.
Although, Mrs. Rutter hadn't pictured it to be quite like this. It'd never occurred to her what the giant toll of being unloved by his mother and having no father figure would take on Jerome's life. And it hadn't done anything good. He was stubborn, bitter, cruel, and extremely sarcastic. It was quite annoying, actually. She wasn't sure what she'd been thinking - maybe that Jerome would be grateful that he didn't have to have another terrible, lonely summer, and that he'd have fun. Maybe that he'd make friends with Fabian and the rest of the children in the neighborhood.
But summer was already two weeks in, and the only things that Jerome had been doing so far was staying locked up in the guest bedroom. He only ever came down for meal-times.
But maybe, something would change at the dinner party. Maybe he'd see how nice people could be, and he'd open up and make friends and forget about his terrible mother.
That was what Mrs. Rutter was hoping for, at least.
x.X.x
"Do you think Fabian fancies Nina?"
Patricia groaned. "Oh, don't tell me you're all hung up on Fabian again." Mara stifled a giggle.
"Of course not!" Joy cried defensively. The three girls sat on the porch swing in Mara's backyard, gently swinging back and forth. Joy shifted in her seat, avoiding her friends' gazes. "I'm just curious, that's all. "
"Joy, come on. You're such a bad liar," Mara said, giggling.
Patricia nudged her. "You're one to talk, Mara! Don't you remember the time at school I asked you to cover for me and you starting babbling to Mr. Sweet about endangered hedgehogs?"
"How could I forget?" Mara laughed.
"Hullo? We're talking about my problems, remember!" Joy cried, gesturing to herself.
Mara sighed. "I doubt he fancies her, Joy. He only met her yesterday, after all," she reasoned.
"But the way he was talking about her-"
Patricia groaned again. "Come on, Joy, this is Fabian we're talking about. We've known him since we were little, not to mention he's a complete nerd."
"No, he's not," Joy insisted. "He's sweet, and cute..."
"Ugh, you're impossible," Patricia moaned.
"So, what are you two wearing tonight?" Mara asked, changing the subject. She really didn't want to go back up the "Fabian Road" again - Joy had a massive crush on Fabian a few years back, and it had been terrible. He'd been the only thing she'd talked about for months.
"What, do we have to wear something special?" Patricia asked. The three girls were sitting on the porch swing in Mara's backyard, swinging gently back and forth.
Mara giggled. "Yes, Patricia. It's a formal event."
Patricia sighed and slumped into the porch swing. "Well, I've got nothing to wear."
"You could borrow something of mine," Joy offered.
"You're too short. No offence," Patricia added.
Joy shrugged. She was used to it. "What time is it?"
"Um, I think it's just past three," Mara replied, peering through the screen door to see what the clock in the kitchen said.
Patricia sighed and slid off the porch swing. "Well, I suppose I should go home and find something to wear. God knows it'll take all day," she rolled her eyes and waved to her two friends. "Bye Joy, bye Mara."
"Yeah, I should probably be going as well," Joy said as she hopped off the bench. "Mrs. Campbell asked my mum to bake some of her cherry cheesecake, and she asked me to help her. Bye, Mara."
Mara nodded. Mrs. Mercer's cheesecake was rather good. "Bye, Joy. See you later." Sighing, Mara swung back and forth on the bench in silence. It had been a rather calm day - she'd woken up unusually late, and missed breakfast, so she'd spent what was left of the morning in her father's vacant study, reading a book. Her parents hadn't been around - they'd gone off to play cricket with one of their friends. Mara's parents were sports fanatics. From an early age, they had tried to get her involved in sports, but she'd never been any good at it. She excelled in school, however, and although she knew her parents were proud of her for that, she always felt like she was disappointing them by never having an interest in sports.
Mara sighed again and hopped off the porch swing, going inside and stopping briefly to pet the family cat. "Hey, Mum?" She called upstairs. Her parents had just gotten back from their cricket trip an hour ago.
"Yes, honey?" Mrs. Jaffray called back.
"May I go outside for a walk?"
"Sure. Just be careful and don't stay out too long! Remember, we've got that dinner at the Campbells at six-thirty."
"I won't!" Mara called back, and with that made her way out of the house and began strolling down the street.
She liked to take walks. She figured she could always use some fresh air, seeing as she didn't spend much time outside, anyways. Plus, it was easy to clear her mind when she took a walk. She hesitated in front of the Campbells house, briefly wondering whether she should go around back to see if Mick was out. He usually was, playing football or some other type of sport. He was a sports fanatic as well, just like her parents.
Mara chewed her lip and finally decided to keep walking. She doubted Mick wanted to see her anyways.
Mara fancied Mick. She couldn't help it. It'd started out as a small crush, but every time she saw him, her liking for him seemed to grow. It'd started about three months ago, when Mick had asked her over to his house to help him with a problem for school. Of course, she said yes. She loved to help her friends, especially with school. Amber and their parents weren't there, so it was only Mick and Mara. She'd always known he was attractive - everyone did - but that day, something changed. After she'd finished helping him, she'd stayed over there for about another hour or so. They talked, but to Mara, it was more than that. He told her about his dreams, what he wanted to do with his life, how sometimes he felt like he just wasn't good enough. And she told him about herself in return - how she always felt like she was disappointing her parents, etcetera.
That day she realized that he wasn't just some sporty lad who wasn't smart. He was sweet, he was kind, and he was funny. And that day, she realized that she, Mara Jaffray, liked Mick Campbell.
They hadn't spoken much after that. Sometimes, it felt like Mick saw right through her. Sometimes it felt like she should just give up. After all, they didn't have very much in common. And he was Mick Campbell. She was just shy, awkward, Mara Jaffray. Why would he ever fancy someone like her?
But Mara couldn't help but hope that someday, he would fancy her just as much as she fancied him.
Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, Mara found herself toppling forward. For a second, she was suspended in thin air. She screamed, clenching her eyes shut and holding out her hands, bracing herself for the harsh pavement, but it never came. Instead, someone grabbed her by the waist, setting her up straight. Quickly, she shoved the hands off of her and whirled around to see a boy standing in front of her, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you normally trip over innocent people sitting by the street?" He asked. He was a stranger - a fit stranger, at that. He had dark blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and he was rather tall. Then again, she was also rather short.
"Er, n-no," she stuttered out, looking around. They stood beneath a lamppost, right by the sidewalk. "Wait, did I t-trip over you?"
The boy smirked. "Yeah, you did."
"What? How?" Mara asked. She was usually very aware of things - surely she would've noticed a strange boy in the street that she was about to trip over.
The boy shrugged. "I dunno, I was just sitting against the lamppost, minding my own business, when..." His voice trailed off and he gestured to Mara.
Mara blushed, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "Oh. S-s-sorry."
The boy shrugged again and didn't answer.
"Are you the boy that just moved in?" asked Mara, quickly changing the subject so the boy would know she could talk without stuttering and that she wasn't prone to falling over people every five seconds.
"No," he replied.
"Oh," said Mara, awkwardly.
"I'm visiting my cousin," he said.
"Oh," Mara said again. "Oh! You must be Fabian's cousin?"
"You know him?" He asked.
"Of course I do, I practically grew up with him!" Mara cried, grinning.
The boy wrinkled his nose. "Really? Poor you."
"Oh, no, I love Fabian! Well, not like that, I mean, we're just friends. But he's rather nice - he's very smart, too. And he's funny, though he can be a bit awkward sometimes-"
"Yeah." The boy cut her off surprisingly and abruptly. "I think he's a bit of a wet blanket, really." Mara opened her mouth to defend her friend again, but he interrupted her...again. "Before you go on rambling again, do you think I could get a name out of you?"
Mara blushed again and held out her hand. "I'm Mara Jaffray." The boy shook it. "Jerome, right?"
Jerome grinned. "The one and only."
Mara was going to point out that he was not the one and only Jerome, and in fact there were millions of Jeromes all around the world, but she decided against it. "Are you going to the dinner tonight?"
"I think I have to," Jerome replied, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, don't worry. Everyone's really nice. I'm sure you'll have fun. I'll be there," Mara said cheerily. "Oh, speaking of the dinner, I should probably be going home, but it was nice meeting you. I'll see you tonight!" Mara waved and walked past him on the way to her house. Once her back was facing him, she rolled her eyes. She hated the fact that she suddenly became incredibly awkward and embarrassing when she was talking to a boy.
"Yeah, bye," Jerome said, nodding as she walked away. Jerome stared after her, and then shook his head, turning to continue his walk. Mara Jaffray. A beautiful girl with a unique name. And a habit of being awkward and tripping over people in the middle of the street. Although, he had to admit it was kind of cute how she kept blushing and managing to completely embarrass herself. Jerome grinned to himself. If this is just one of the girls in this neighborhood, I can't wait to see the rest of them.
x.X.x
Alfie Lewis didn't normally care too much about how he looked.
Unless Amber Campbell was involved, who he saw nearly every day.
So in that case, he cared about how he looked most all the time.
Alfie scanned the contents of his wardrobe, looking for something that would really make Amber notice him. He tossed random articles of clothing on his bed that he thought would look nice on him until there was a large pile.
Alfie wasn't sure why he fancied Amber so much. Maybe it was her sense of humor, or the way she looked, or her confidence. Maybe it was a bit of everything. All he knew was that he'd had a crush on her for a long time. And he was determined to get her to like him, too.
"Are you almost ready, Alfie?" His mum called from down the hall.
Alfie groaned. "Hang on, Mum!"
Alfie stood back and examined the pile of clothes on his bed. After trying a few things on, he finally picked a nice, crisp white shirt, some black slacks, and a navy blue bow tie to go with it. He put on the outfit and smiled at his reflection in the mirror. "Try to say no to this, Amber!" He said, doing a little dance that he always did when he was excited.
He heard a snort and whirled to face his mother, who was standing in the doorway to his bedroom. She quickly straightened, trying to pretend like she hadn't been laughing. But Alfie had heard her. "Muuuum! I told you to always knock!"
"Well sorry, Alfie, but your door was wide open," said Mrs. Lewis, snickering slightly. "Are you ready yet?"
"Yes," Alfie grumbled, putting on a pair of shoes and stomping out of his room.
Alfie and his parents left their house and began to make their way up the street to Amber and Mick's house. Mr. Lewis was the one who rang the doorbell, and almost immediately, Amber opened the door. She looked stunning. As usual.
"Alfie, yay! I'm so glad you're here!" Amber cheered happily, wrapping him in a big hug and nearly crushing his arm. He didn't mind, though. Not at all. "And you look great, by the way!" She grinned at him.
Alfie grinned to himself. "Why thank you, Amber. You look very stunning, as well."
Amber smiled at him, a real smile, not one of those "I know, I'm so gorgeous" smiles. "Thanks, Alfie," she said.
Alfie just grinned wider. Success.
x.X.x
"What to wear, what to wear..." Nina murmured, rummaging through her wardrobe. Almost everything had been successfully unpacked earlier that day, including her clothes, which were now hanging in her wardrobe. Earlier, Eddie had told her that a girl had come over and invited them to go to dinner at one of their neighbors houses to welcome them to the neighborhood. Word gets around fast here, Nina thought to herself. Still, it was awfully kind of them.
"Nina, you've been going through your wardrobe for about an hour. Just pick something," Eddie groaned as he poked his head in the door, bringing her back to the present.
Nina just rolled her eyes and didn't answer him.
Finally, she decided on a black skirt and a yellow lacy blouse with some black ballet flats and her favorite necklace with a pendant shaped like an eye on it. It had been her mother's necklace, and now Nina wore it all the time.
She examined her reflection in the mirror and smiled. The outfit was perfect. Two hours of ransacking her wardrobe had definitely paid off.
Finally, Nina met her grandmother and her brother out on the lawn, where they made their way down to the Campbells house at the very end of the block.
"Hi!" The door swung open to reveal a blonde girl that looked about Nina and Eddie's age, grinning brightly. "You must be Nina, and you're...?"
"Eddie," Eddie said, giving the girl a bright smile. Nina rolled her eyes. Eddie would try to flirt with a girl he'd only just met. Amber then exchanged greetings with Gran.
After exchanging greetings with Gran, she said, "It's nice to meet you! I'm Amber." Nina squinted at the hue surrounding the blonde girl - again, it was a mixture of colors (it was like that for everyone most of the time, unless they were as dull as a brick), but pink and yellow stood out the most. Bubbly and girly. Although, Nina didn't even have to check Amber's fuzzy glow to observe that she seemed like the girly type. The pink dress and silver glittery heels were a big clue.
Amber opened the door wider and Nina, Eddie, and Gran stepped inside. Gran did her best to be polite, but Nina and Eddie openly gawked as they stared around at their surroundings. The house was huge from the outside, but the inside was even more fantastic. There was huge glittering chandelier, a spiral staircase, a large dining hall...
"Wow, your house is awesome!" Eddie said, his eyes wide.
Amber grinned. "We just put in the chandelier a few months ago. I think it's a great addition, but Daddy says it's too fancy..."
"It's lovely," Nina assured her, smiling.
"I know! That's what everyone says, but Daddy just can't be pleased, I suppose." Amber rolled her eyes. Eddie just stared at her as if she was speaking another language. "Anyways, the adults are dining in the large dining room," she said to Gran. "You can go ahead down there if you want - it's the room to your right. You can't miss it." Gran said thanks and made her way down the hall, telling telling her grandchildren to be careful. "You'll be eating with all the other children in a separate dining room," Amber explained as she led Nina and Eddie down the hallway. She glanced at Nina. "You met Fabian the other day, right?"
"Yeah," Nina replied, nodding.
"Who's Fabian?" Eddie asked, then his eyes widened with recognition. "Oh! Is that the boy you were so- ow!" He cried as Nina harshly shoved him in the ribs.
Amber lifted an eyebrow, but continued anyways. "He told all of us about meeting you. Just wondering...do you like shopping?" She peered curiously at Nina.
"Er...sometimes, I guess..." Nina said hesitantly.
Amber grinned and clapped her hands together happily. "Yay! I love shopping! We could go shopping together all the time! There's so many great shops downtown, I go all the time but it'll be so much better going with a friend..." Her voice trailed off as they finally reached the smaller dining room. Nina's eyes widened again. If this was the smaller dining room, she couldn't imagine what the larger one looked like. A large bay window overlooked the Campbells' backyard, and a radio was positioned in the corner of the room. Six children sat around a large table and immediately smiled and said hello as they entered the room.
"Everyone, this is Nina and Eddie," Amber declared. "That's my brother, Mick, right there," she said, pointing to a fit blonde boy, "that's Joy Mercer," she pointed to a petite girl with dark hair and tan skin, "that's Mara Jaffray," she pointed to another petite girl with dark hair and skin a little darker than Joy's - Nina had a feeling she was going to get her and Joy confused, "that's Fabian...although you already met him," Amber pointed to Fabian. "That's his cousin, Jerome," she pointed to a blonde boy, who barely looked up when his name was called, "and that's Alfie Lewis." She lastly pointed to a skinny boy with dark skin.
"Best for last!" Alfie cried, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air. Amber raised an eyebrow, looking unamused. Disappointed, Alfie lowered back into his seat. Nina hid a smirk.
"Anyways...where's Patricia?" Amber asked. Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, feel free to go ahead and sit down," she said to Nina and Eddie.
"Actually, I think I'm going to go stop at the toilet for a bit," Eddie replied, quickly backing out of the room. Nina just rolled her eyes and sat down at the empty seat between Amber and Fabian, blushing slightly as she waved at the brunette. He smiled shyly and waved back. Joy watched the exchange, her eyes narrowed slightly.
Eddie hummed slightly as he walked down the corridor. "Now where on earth is the bathroom.." He said to himself as he turned down another corridor, and then another, and another. "This house is so big, I wouldn't be able to find the bathroom even if I lived here," he muttered to himself.
Bam! Eddie turned a corner and promptly ran smack dab into something...or a someone. Eddie blinked, steadying himself, and looked down. A girl was sprawled on the carpet in front of him, having been most likely knocked down from the force of him running into her. She had short dark red hair, and was wearing a white button-down shirt with a tight, dangerously short black skirt.
Yep, he'd run into a someone, all right, and it sure was an attractive someone. This must be Patricia. He was about to lean down and help the girl up, but before he could even start, she snapped, "Watch where you're going, weasel!"
Great. Pretty, but with a temper.
Well, two could play at that game. Eddie crossed his arms in front of his chest and narrowed his eyes at the girl he was assuming was Patricia. "Don't get yah knickers inna twist," he said, mocking a British accent. Patricia narrowed her eyes. "It's not my fault you ran into me!"
"Excuse me, you're the one that ran into me! And you're not even going to help me up, either? What a gentleman! Not to mention you've got a fantastic attitude! All the girls must absolutely love you!" She snarled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Well excuse me if I'm a bit bitter that I'm stuck in Boresville, UK, listening to some whiny girl blame me for something that was her fault." Eddie scoffed. "Sorry, but I don't usually make a point to be kind to others while they're screaming at me."
Patricia gave him a steely look and stood up, brushing herself off. "American, huh? No wonder you have such bad manners."
"Oh, are we stereotyping now?" Eddie scoffed. "How clever." He leaned against the wall behind his back, crossing his arms and watching Patricia amusedly, like he was so much better than her. Which, of course, absolutely infuriated her.
"Who are you, anyway?" Patricia demanded angrily. "The boy that just moved in, I presume?"
"Who are you?" Eddie shot back, ignoring her question.
"I asked first."
"Really?" Eddie snickered. "How old are you, five?" Patricia sneered at him. "Fine then. I guess I'll just take a shot in the dark and assume you're Patricia." Patricia crossed her arms in front of her chest and lifted an eyebrow. "The pretty blonde girl was looking for you."
"She has a name," Patricia spat, glaring at the blonde. "It's Amber. If you would be ever sokindto use it. And next time you run into someone, remember it's considered polite to apologize in this country."
"God, do you ever stop talking?" Eddie whined, rolling his eyes. "You should've been named Blabs or something. Patricia's far too nice of a name for you." Patricia narrowed her eyes. "Or Yacker. Hey, I like it. Maybe I should just call you Yacker instead."
"And maybe I should call you a cab back to America," Patricia shot back.
Eddie put a hand over his heart, putting on a mock hurt look. "Ouch. That hurt."
Patricia scoffed. "As much as I'd like to stand here exchanging stereotypes, I think I'll leave now. I'm starting to forget what it's like to be around civilized human beings," she spat, marching off down the corridor.
Eddie laughed out loud, rolling his eyes and heading off to the bathroom.
Without a word, Patricia entered the small dining room and plopped into her seat next to Joy, still scowling.
"What's wrong with you?" Alfie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Patricia muttered, stuffing a roll in her mouth.
Amber cleared her throat, but Patricia continued to glare at the fancy tablecloth. She cleared her throat again. "Patricia."
"What?" She asked shortly.
Amber gestured to Nina, who sat awkwardly on the other side of her. "Patricia, this is our guest, Nina."
Patricia swallowed a piece of the roll and lifted an eyebrow. "When did you get here?" She demanded.
"Patricia..." Mara hissed under her breath.
"About five minutes ago," Nina replied, feeling extremely awkward. Patricia didn't seem very nice, not to mention the girl that was sitting next to her - either Joy or Mara - kept shooting glares at her, especially when Fabian was talking to her. Weird...
"Her brother Eddie is here, too, but he's using the loo right now," Amber explained.
Patricia scoffed. "Oh, don't worry. I met him. And speak of the devil..." Her voice trailed off and she glared at the blonde boy as he entered the room. He rolled his eyes, walking around the table and ignoring everyone's stares.
The only empty seat was next to Patricia. She scowled and crossed her arms in front of her chest, slumping down in her seat and groaning.
"Well, don't you just love how things turn out," Eddie grinned at the red-head, plopping into the empty seat next to her. "It's an honor to be in your presence again," he said sarcastically.
"Eddie, this is Patricia," Amber said slowly, obviously confused.
"Yeah, Yacker and I already met out in the hallway. Didn't we?"
Patricia raised her eyes from her plate and glared at Eddie. If looks could kill, the snarky blonde boy would be dead.
There was a long, awkward silence where everyone stared at Eddie, their eyes traveling to Patricia, and then back again. It didn't last very long, however, because Eddie immediately changed the subject. "Well, I never knew the girls in England were so gorgeous," he said flirtatiously, causing all the girls at the table to giggle - minus Nina, who groaned, and Patricia.
"Oh, come on, are you kidding me?" Patricia looked around the table, expecting at least one of her friends to realize how obnoxious this boy was, but everyone was just busy making big moon eyes at their new American neighbor. Patricia sighed loudly and slumped more in her seat.
"We should've moved to England a long time ago, Nina." Eddie continued, completely ignoring Patricia. Nina groaned louder, putting her face in her hands. The other girls didn't notice, their full attention now directed at Eddie. And who could blame them? He was very attractive. "Names?"
"Amber!"
"Joy."
"Mara."
The three girls chorused at once, smiling flirtatiously at Eddie.
"How lovely," Eddie said, flashing them award-winning smiles. All of the boys glanced at each other uncertainly, wondering if they should be worried about this new American. Alfie just glared at him. No one flirted with Amber other than him. Well, actually, lots of people did, but he didn't like it!
"Dinner is served!" Mrs. Campbell shouted and entered the room, carrying several large dinner platters and large pink apron. The other boys sighed in relief. Mrs. Campbell set the platters on the large table and everyone immediately dug in.
"So, how are you two liking the neighborhood?" Mick asked, his mouth covered in sauce.
Nina stifled a giggle, but was eager for a subject change. "It's really nice. I like it."
"Yeah," Eddie said, his mouth full of food. "It's awesome."
Nina looked at her twin brother distastefully. "Gross, Eddie."
Eddie grinned widely at Nina, showing food remnants in his mouth, causing Mara, Joy, and Amber to giggle. Nina just grimaced. Mick laughed, too. "I like him," he declared, reaching over the table and giving Eddie a high-five.
"I hope this isn't intrusive, or anything," Mara spoke up tentatively, clearing her throat. "And I've been wondering for a while...but are you two American?"
She said it mainly to Eddie, but Nina was the one who answered. "Yeah, we are, actually. We've been living in California."
"Why did you move?" Joy asked blatantly.
"Our Gran loves England, plus she wanted a change of scenery," Nina explained.
"Yeah. She's one of those kinds of people who doesn't like to stay in one place for very long," Eddie explained.
"You live with your grandmother?" Amber asked. Nina cringed, but nodded, worried about what would come next. "Why don't you live with your parents?"
Nina shifted in her seat, and Eddie's face immediately hardened. "Amber, you can't just ask-" Mick began.
"No." Nina murmured. Everyone looked at her. "It's okay." She turned to Amber. "Our parents died in a car crash. So we were sent to live with our Gran."
"Oh," Amber said softly. A heavy silence fell over the table as everyone stared at Nina and Eddie. It was so quiet, you could've heard a pin drop.
"That's terrible," Mara said softly, "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, really," Amber agreed sincerely. "I shouldn't have brought it up."
Nina just shrugged. "It's fine. It was a long time ago."
Fabian cleared his throat. "So, is your Gran English, then?" He asked, changing the subject. Nina silently thanked him in her head.
"She lived in England for fifteen years...before we moved here, obviously." Eddie responded. "But she was born in America."
"So, how old are all of you? I mean, I'm assuming we're all around the same age," said Nina.
"Mick and Mara are both sixteen," Amber explained. "And I'm not sure about Jerome..." she glanced at the blonde.
"I'm sixteen," he said, shrugging.
"He and Fabian are cousins," Amber explained to Nina and Eddie. "So he doesn't live in the neighborhood, but he's visiting. Anyways, the rest of us are all fifteen. How old are you two?"
"Fifteen," Eddie said.
"Both of you?" Alfie asked.
"Yeah, we're twins," Nina explained.
"Oh!" Amber said, her eyebrows shooting up. "Really? That's exciting. I don't really know any twins, actually." She leaned forward. "Can you read each other's minds or something?"
Mick groaned, rolling his eyes, and Eddie snorted. Nina shot him a look, and then smiled at Amber. "Afraid we can't."
"Well, that's disappointing," Amber scoffed, sitting back in her chair.
The rest of the night went well for everyone. Patricia and Eddie didn't get into any more arguments, Jerome actually started talking, Joy glared at Nina less, and Nina and Fabian got along particularly well, much to both of their delight. It turned out that both of them were into Egyptian history and mythology, and Fabian offered to let her borrow one of the textbooks he had about it. At the end of the night, Nina had a huge grin on her face that she couldn't hide no matter how much she tried.
x.X.x
Nina was running...again. Once more, things like paintings, windows, and a suit of armor flashed in front of her eyes. Except this time, everything was more clear. She was running through a house, she was completely certain of that now. Except the house was completely unfamiliar to her and she still had no idea why she was running...except she heard faint counting in the background. Well, that's weird.
Now, she was stopping. She was in the empty room except for the large thing at the back, but once again, she couldn't tell what it was. Only, she knew the color now - it was dark brown. Maybe it was some wooden object?
But before Nina could ponder about it more, the flashes of white came. Except now they were more defined, and now she felt...cold? It took her a while, but then she realized - it was snowing. She'd never seen snow before, at least not in real life. As soon as the realization hit her, she was awake again, sitting up in bed and panting.
"It was just a dream, it was just a dream," Nina told herself. "It doesn't mean anything."
But her breathing still didn't slow down.
It wasn't the dream that made her feel scared. No, the dream had been harmless.
The thing that scared her though, was that she'd dreamed almost exact thing last night, only this time, the dream had been more clear and more defined.
And that had only happened to her one other time in her entire life.
And that time, something terrible had happened.
A/N: Hope you liked chapter 2! I just had to throw in the endangered hedgehogs bit...that was one of my favorite scenes in season 1. I also By decided to have the ten Anubis kids live in Liverpool because that's where House of Anubis is filmed. Speaking of filming, I'm so excited for season 3! It started filming like last week and seeing all the cast's tweets just makes me really happy, although I'm sad that Nathalia isn't returning. I was actually starting to really like Nina.
By the way, what do y'all think about Nina leaving and the new characters? At first I hated the idea of having new characters, there's enough students at Anubis House as it is, but I think the idea has grown on me. I like Alex Shipp and Louisa Burnham seems really cool too. And I have a feeling I'm really going to like Willow. I'm not sure about KT, though, because she sounds a lot like Nina...which is really dumb. I guess I'll have to see, though.
Anyways, thanks for the reviews and favorites for last chapter and please review this one too! I like getting feedback! Thanks :)