Chapter Eight: House of Intruders/House of Proof

"No."

Nina pulled a puppy-dog face to Georgie as they sat up in bed the following morning, still in their pyjamas. Amber sighed in relief at Georgie's defiant answer.

"But Georgie, this is important!" Nina protested.

"Nina, I need a life, and I am having a weekend off from the bloody attic," Georgie said. What she really meant was that she needed a weekend off from freaky recordings and spooky young girls. "And I've made plans with Jerome. I really like him, and he comes first this weekend. Sorry." Though she didn't sound sorry in the slightest, Georgie jumped up and grabbed her towel and dressing gown, ready for her shower.

Nina sighed in defeat. "Maybe you're right. I'll use this weekend to catch up on sleep and schoolwork."

"Me too," Amber said seriously. Georgie raised her eyebrows. "Okay...maybe not the schoolwork part."

"So what do you and Jerome have planned anyway?" Nina asked, grinning.

"Well Alfie got out of being grounded, which means he's away for the weekend, so we're just going to watch some films," Georgie said, grinning too, heading for the door.

"Wait, how did Alfie get out of being grounded?"

"Well he did clean all of the toilets using a toothbrush," Georgie reminded her. "And he's got a family wedding to go to."

"Sweet," Amber said, sighing in content. They looked at her in confusion, then realising she was talking about Georgie's date. "I remember when Mick and I were first dating, and—"

"Right, I'm going for my shower!" Georgie said quickly, wanting to avoid a re-cap of when Amber and Mick 'fell in love', shooting Nina an apologetic glance.

She left the bedroom and bumped into Mara, who was just leaving the bathroom. "Oh hey Mara."

"Hey Georgie," she said, glumly.

"What's the matter?" Georgie asked in concern, putting an arm around her best friend.

"Oh, it's just the whole Amber thing," Mara said, looking at the floor and biting her lip. "And the whole Mick thing too. I was enjoying spending time with him, you know?"

"I know," Georgie said in understanding. "But this is for the best. It won't be forever, Mara, you'll see. Amber will start talking to you again and Mick will...well, oh I don't know. I know how I'd feel if Jerome was seeing somebody else."

Mara nodded. "Well I'm glad you understand. And it's your date with Jerome this weekend, isn't it?"

Georgie couldn't help but start smiling again. "It sure is. After our last one at Amber and Mick's party, I'm really looking forward to it."

Mara smiled sadly. "Good. At least you'll keep him occupied..."

Georgie frowned. "Occupied from what?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, I just meant keep us all occupied from the usual Jerome pranks," she laughed nervously, not daring to look Georgie in the eye.

"What is going on with you and Jerome, Mara?" Georgie asked.

"Nothing!" she insisted. "I've got some work to do, so have a nice time and I'll see you later."

"But—ok, bye then," Georgie said sarcastically to Mara's back as she quickly retreated. Should she ask Jerome about it, or would it just ruin their date? Screw it, I want to have fun, so whatever issue they have going on—it can wait.

A little while later, Georgie was showered, dressed and had eaten breakfast. Jerome was a no-show for breakfast, which was unusual, so she decided to help Trudy with the washing up. When they had finished, Trudy left to wipe the dining table and Georgie felt a pair of hands touch her waist, making her jump.

"Hello there." Georgie smiled as she heard Jerome's voice, feeling it tickle her ear. She turned around to face him, and he looked...well, hot.

"Hey," she replied coolly, as he smiled widely at her.

"Alfie's just left, so if you're ready, we could watch Batman Begins now?" Jerome asked her hopefully.

"Definitely," Georgie agreed, and she followed Jerome to his room. Never had she been so nervous to go into his room before—dates are weird, she decided. They make familiar places and people different, somehow.

She gaped when she saw how his bedroom was laid out—he had a blanket and two duvets on the floor, with two pillows propped up against the end of one of the beds; this was surrounded by Georgie's favourite sweets and chocolates, including popcorn and fizzy drinks. His laptop was propped up on a fold-up table in front of all this. "Oh, Jerome—this is perfect."

"I just want to ask you something," he said nervously, playing with his hair. "This is...a date, right?"

Georgie smiled shyly. "I assumed it was."

"Oh it is," he said quickly, sounding relieved. "I just never actually said the word 'date' so I wanted to check...I really wanted to ask you out again." He smiled sincerely and Georgie was surprised at his honesty.

"Well I'm glad you did," she replied quietly.

Jerome tentatively reached out and caressed her hand and she returned the gesture by tangling her fingers with his, and this innocent touch made Georgie tingle ever so slightly, and her heartbeat slightly increase.

"So does Alfie know we're on a date?" Georgie joked, as she remembered that he, like Amber, had a motormouth when it came to these things.

"I told him," Jerome said, somewhat proudly. Georgie smiled to herself as Jerome let go of her hand to put Batman Begins on. She settled down on top of the duvet and leaned back comfortably against a propped up pillow. This was literally a perfect first date for Georgie - she loved watching movies, it was one of her favourite things to do, and with the curtains closed, just one lamp on, and surrounded by food it was almost as atmospheric as being in a small cinema.

The film started, and Jerome sat next to her, sitting a lot closer than he usually would. Georgie liked it, and could certainly get used to it. Not too long after the film had begun, Jerome was holding her hand and running his fingers over hers; he looked like he was really into Batman so Georgie wasn't sure if he knew what he was doing, consciously anyway, or not.

About three quarters of the way in, after Georgie's breakfast had gone down, they tucked into the food that lay around them. The film was almost forgotten as they had a competition to see how many marshmallows they could fit into their mouths, and trying to catch flying maltesers, also in their mouths. This is really what Georgie liked about Jerome, that they could just have stupid fun together.

When the film had finished, they were lying down on the floor, still on top of the duvets, gossiping about school.

"You know, it's really funny to see Patricia just losing it completely," Georgie said, sighing in content. "Even if Joy disappearing is getting weird."

"I can't believe Patricia actually thinks she's been murdered," Jerome said, snickering. "But do Nina and Fabian have a thing going on?"

"I think they both like each other a little bit, but it's early days yet, so who knows."

"Alfie still pines for Amber you know," Jerome said, sighing. "He doesn't shut up about it sometimes."

"What's new?" Georgie grinned. "He's been crushing on her since...since before I can remember, anyway. Has the Maestro run out of ideas for Alfie?" She then joked, referring to his earlier nickname.

"Nah, he's just focusing on...other things," he replied smoothly, winking.

"I'm glad he is."

The conversation soon turned to their home lives. "...my parents split up before I even turned one," Georgie was saying. "But as you know I see my dad and his girlfriend quite a lot. What about you?"

"I have no idea where my dad is," Jerome told her quietly."And my mother just dumped me here when I was younger, I guess I'm out of her way." Georgie looked at him sadly. "My sister Poppy is the golden child in my mother's eyes, but I think she may be worse than me."

"Well she learnt from the best," Georgie joked. "I still can't believe you kept Poppy hidden all this time."

"It's easy enough when your family doesn't really bother coming up here," Jerome pointed out. "And her name is Poopy."

And finally, before they put on The Dark Knight, they decided to play Truth or Dare.

"Truth or Dare?" Georgie asked Jerome.

"Truth."

Georgie grinned and asked, feeling somewhat confident, "So do you like me? As more than a friend?"

Jerome smiled at the question. "Yes...I have done for a long time."

"Really?"

"Yep." Jerome coughed nervously, and said, "Well, Georgie...Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to...kiss me," Jerome said, shifting towards her as they still lay down. "On the cheek," he quickly added.

Georgie winked, feeling some of that confidence once more. "Easy." She leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lower cheek, nearer to his lips, to tease him. She felt him shudder at her touch and she was very pleased that she could have that effect on him. Whatever the reason for Jerome daring her to kiss him on the cheek and not on the lips - perhaps wanting their first kiss to not be part of some game - Georgie was thankful for it. She wanted their first kiss to be...special. For some reason. Her and Dean's first kiss certainly wasn't anything to shout about. But maybe that's why this time it has to be different.

Whilst The Dark Knight was playing they had gotten even closer; Jerome had put his arm around her waist as they sat back up to watch the next film, and she rested her hand atop his leg, as she had done at Amber and Mick's party. This film they watched intently as it was one of Georgie's absolute favourites - Heath Ledger as the Joker was just amazing.

By the time it had finished, it was early evening, and Jerome popped out for five minutes. When the door re-opened, the smell of pizza filled the air and Georgie perked up at the sight of Jerome bringing in a huge takeaway box.

"I forgot to mention, I ordered this for us this morning," Jerome said casually.

"Jerome!" Georgie gasped. "All of the food and drinks and pizza must have cost you a fortune."

He waved a hand. "Don't you worry about that," he grinned, setting the pizza down. "I asked you on this date."

They tucked into the delicious pizza, and Georgie felt as if she could not stop smiling. They never ran out of things to talk about, and she was never going hungry or thirsty. When Georgie had eaten all of the pizza she could manage, she yawned and leaned against the pillow.

"Late night last night?" Jerome joked as he cleared the pizza box away. It was getting dark outside and it was making her feel sleepy.

"You could say that," she muttered, thinking back to the attic. And then it hit her: the attic stuff she does with the other three was technically a secret she was keeping from Jerome. Right? How was she going to navigate the secrecy, with Nina being a terrible actor whenever people approach them just as they're discussing the latest developments. Not that Georgie should be complaining about finding an ancient mystery in her own boarding school, but it can sometimes get in the way...

Once the last film of the evening, The Dark Knight Rises, had started, Jerome hesitantly put his arm back around her waist as they bought the duvet up around them. Georgie sleepily leaned into him this time, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Honestly, Georgie had never felt safer or more at ease in a long time. She liked that feeling. Though she didn't see, Jerome was smiling down at her before turning his attention back to the movie.

A couple of hours later, Georgie walked back to her room, somewhat sadly. Their day was over, and after the last movie had finished, they talked for a while longer before Georgie's body started screaming at her for sleep. She had thanked him for a brilliant, relaxed day and he kissed on the cheek goodnight. Well, one thing was for sure: she really, really, really liked Jerome Clarke. And he definitely liked her back.

The Sunday passed without incident; Georgie tried to finish her Chemistry homework with the help of Mara. She didn't really like science and was so glad that Mara was on hand to explain how the hell atoms worked. Georgie much preferred English and History to Maths and Science.

However, that night, things would take a slightly terrifying turn. Which amazed Georgie considering it had nothing to do with the attic...

Everybody was woken up by a loud scream. Amber leapt to her feet and fumbled around for the light switch as they awoke in an instant.

"AARGH! Did you see him? Did you..." Georgie heard a panicked voice from next door and shared alarmed looks with her roommates.

What followed was mass confusion as Trudy rang the police and everybody was ushered into Patrica and Mara's room. Georgie sighed irritably when she found out that the commotion was Patricia seeing her mystery man again, this time in her room. Trudy was lying next to her, trying to calm her down as the girls sat around her. Victor had ushered the boys upstairs too as he let the police in. Jerome stood by Georgie at the foot of Patricia's bed.

"I saw him outside the door and he was staring right at me!" Patricia insisted. "You believe me, don't you?"

Jerome shook his head at Alfie as if to answer her question. "Of course, of course," Trudy reassured her, putting a comforting arm around her.

"Are you sure about that?" Amber asked skeptically, as Mara tried to comfort Patricia too.

A policeman came upstairs to talk to everybody, but they didn't really get anywhere other than Patricia simply seeing a shadowy figure at her door. No-one else saw a thing, and Jerome and Alfie swore that it wasn't them playing a joke either. What Georgie was most surprised about was Victor, and how seriously he was taking this. What was he afraid of?

"Why does Patricia keep seeing weird men around?" Amber asked as they returned to their bedroom a little while later. She gasped. "Is this her way of expressing that she wants a boyfriend?"

"I don't think that's it Amber," Georgie scoffed. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She's freaking me out a little bit now."

"Tell me about it," Nina agreed, as she put her lamp on. "I'm not going to sleep a wink tonight..."

Georgie was glad Nina kept a lamp on, as they tried to fall asleep but the atmosphere was too...uneasy.

The following morning, the sleepy House of Anubis residents made their way to school. With the exception of Patricia, who was having a day off. Georgie was telling Fabian about her weekend, focusing on her date with Jerome of course, as they made their way to French.

"I can't even imagine Jerome being that...sweet," Fabian said quietly, looking confused.

"Well, weirder things have happened," Georgie pointed out.

"I could have done with a lie-in this morning," Mick mumbled as they entered the classroom. "I'm spent."

"Do you really think she did see a G.O.S.T?" Amber asked.

Georgie rolled her eyes at her dodgy spelling as Mick said, "No, nothing would get past Victor the death watch beetle. He'd scare a ghost to death." They laughed and Georgie sat down in front of the desk Nina was sitting on. "Where do you want to sit?"

Amber however ignored his question and bounded down next to Nina, with Fabian sitting by Georgie as they stared at Amber in confusion. "I've got something that's going to help us find treasure," Amber told the three of them, holding up an MP3 player. "Ta-da!"

"An MP3 player?" Fabian asked skeptically.

"A state of the art MP3 player," Amber corrected him. "Which also works as a digital recorder. My dad thought I might use it for homework revision. Like that would happen."

"I don't understand what you're getting at," Georgie told her.

"Yeah I'm sorry Amber but you've lost me," said Nina.

"Sometimes you are all so slow," Amber said arrogantly. "We can record all of that stuff from those phericals onto it-"

"Cylinders," they all chorused.

"That's what I said," she said, somewhat crossly. "Saves us going up and down to the creepy attic every five minutes."

"Amber..." Nina said slowly. "I'm not going to say this a lot, but you're a genius!"

Fabian and Georgie winced, as Amber looked briefly stunned before recovering. "What was that, Nina? You think I'm a genius?" Amber turned, saying it louder than absolutely necessary so the class could hear.

"Until now she did," Georgie joked as Nina pulled her back, with Fabian laughing.

"Just ssh," Fabian said, worried about people overhearing their conversation.

"I think the bling must be hidden behind another secret panel, like the one in the attic. What do you think?" Amber whispered, trying to sound like a sleuth. And failing, in Georgie's mind.

"Most likely Amber," Georgie sighed, turning back around to face the front of the classroom, Fabian following suit.

"I think you may be right, but maybe we should talk about this...somewhere more private," she heard Nina say.

"Morning everybody!" Georgie looked up to see Mrs Andrews enter the room, as the class said 'morning' back to the teacher. Georgie though felt eyes on her and looked to her right to see Jerome sitting on the table next to her. They smiled, and Georgie realised they had hardly spoken since their day on Saturday. "I have your test papers to hand back here."

The class groaned, as Georgie thought of the fun weekend she must have had marking those. Georgie looked down to see that she had a B. Breathing a sigh of relief, but noticing she only just got a B, she was extremely surprised at Mick once again doing better than her. He beat her in Biology last week, and now he was beating her in French. What was going on with the world?

"I got an A?" he said at first, sounding confused. "I got an A! Whey-hey!" He jumped up to hug-tackle Mara on the table next to him.

"I knew you could do it!" she said, beaming.

"What's going on?" Amber asked sternly.

"I got an A!"

"What?" Amber looked over Mick's shoulder to see his paper.

"I'm sure I didn't get all of these, but maybe I just did some really good guesses," he said optimistically.

Something didn't feel quite right as Jerome said, "Strange things have happened, hey Mara?" She almost cringed, and Georgie folded her arms at her reaction. Surely Mara didn't help Mick cheat? Amber tried to look at Mara's paper too but Mrs Andrews ordered her back to her seat.

At the end of the lesson Georgie had a free period next, so she sat with Nina and Fabian as they discussed plans to go up into the attic that evening and record the girl from the cylinders. That is until Amber stormed up to Georgie and demanded a word. "That is it, Georgie. I have had enough." She said this in a very low voice, and Georgie knew that Amber was really angry about something.

"What?"

"Come with me and I'll damn well show you what," Amber said irritably, taking her hand and pulling her into the common room. Georgie stopped and folded her arms at the sight of Mara peeling gum off the back of Jerome's shoe, but before she could ask Amber had said, "Hey Mara, what's going on between you and Mick? You were acting very strange earlier."

Mara looked to Georgie for backup, but there was no way she was getting it. Georgie knew something weird was going on this time. "Nothing!" Mara said angrily. "Amber please let it go, I'm not even tutoring him anymore."

But Amber wasn't having any of it. She grabbed Mara's bag and pulled out her French test, then quickly pulling out another one from her own bag, which Georgie presumed was Mick's. "Hey, that's private!" Mara shouted at her, leaping for the bag. But it was too late.

Amber compared both tests and looked up at Mara. "Funny. You and Mick must be psychically linked or something."

"Oh Mara you didn't," Georgie groaned.

"Busted!" Jerome called.

"You creep, you did this!" Mara said to him.

"I never said a word, promise," he said sincerely.

"Wait, what? You knew?" Georgie asked him angrily. "Is this why Mara has been doing your chores and now cleaning gum off your shoe?" She felt hurt at him practically blackmailing Mara so he would keep quiet, and it must have shown on her face as Jerome softened slightly and refused to look her in the eye.

"Why are you calling him a creep?" Amber asked Mara. "You're the creep stealing my boyfriend by helping him cheat!"

"I'm not stealing your boyfriend!" Mara said desperately. "Mick doesn't know anything about it!"

"What?" Amber said quietly. "I don't get it..."

Georgie pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as Jerome said, "I love this part. She did it for him secretly."

"You are unbelievable," Amber said nastily. "Did you really think you could get Mick by doing that?" She threw the tests down and grabbed Mara by the arms, trying her best to throttle her. Mara squealed and Georgie glared at Jerome who had said, "Ding-dong, round one!"

"Hey, break it up! LET GO!" Georgie yelled as the chants of 'fight, fight!' surrounded them. The cat-fight was temporarily broken up by Georgie who jumped in the middle of them, and was relieved to see Mick run into the room. Mick tried to grab Amber who was determined to take Mara out, as Georgie was shoved out of the way.

"Don't just sit there you idiot!" Mick shouted to Jerome as Georgie felt upset at the two former best friends physically fighting.

"Get off me!" Mara pushed Jerome away as he and Mick pulled the girls away from each other.

"What are you doing?" Mick asked Amber in exasperation.

"That's right, take her side just because she cheated for you!" Amber grabbed the tests to show him. "Doesn't mean you have to defend her."

Mick stared at the tests, looking outraged and upset at the same time. Georgie stared at the scene as it all unfolded, looking upset as Jerome rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"Is this true?" Mick asked Mara.

"I was just trying to help!" Mara tried to explain. "Your answers were so...wrong."

"Do you really think that I'm so thick that I can't do anything without your help?" Mick asked her incredulously.

"No, of course not! Not anything..." she trailed off, now lost for a decent defence.

"I could get kicked out of school for this," Mick said quietly, looking at Amber. "Come on." He put an arm around her as she glared at Mara one more time, leaving the common room together.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Georgie asked her angrily. "Did you really think that you could get away with this, giving Mick a straight A? Nice and subtle, Mara."

"Oh Georgie, don't," Mara snapped back, folding her arms. "I don't need it from you, too."

"I don't agree with what you did."

"What about what Jerome did?" Mara challenged. "He blackmailed me so he would keep quiet! If you like him so much then why don't you confront him about it rather than having a go at me?"

Georgie felt her blood boil inside at Mara practically ripping their friendship apart. There was no way their old group would ever go back to the way it was. So what was the point? "You should have confessed as soon as Jerome found out, rather than let him blackmail you," Georgie hit back. "Or more to the point, don't do it in the first place?" She picked up Jerome's shoe, the bottom of which really was covered in gum, and shoved it into Mara's hands. "You missed a spot."

And with that, Georgie picked up her bag and left the common room, to re-join Fabian and Nina, wondering whether she might have been a little bit too harsh.

During lunch, she was sitting in the dining hall when Jerome sat next to her, placing his bag onto the table. Georgie turned from Nina and Fabian to acknowledge him. "Hey."

"Listen, Georgie, I'm sorry...for not telling you, and for making Mara do chores for me," he said quickly. "I guess I just saw an opportunity when I saw what Mara had done."

Well, he apologised. That's something, she supposed. "It's alright. At first I wasn't sure who I was more mad at..." she shrugged. "I didn't say this on Saturday, but...I really like you too Jerome." Georgie whispered the last bit and looked at him directly, saying it out loud to him for the first time. He nodded, seemingly in understanding, smiling widely as he fiddled with his tie.

"Nobody but you knows my sweet side." She smiled at his joke. "So, are you going to talk to Mara?"

"I probably should," Georgie sighed. "I think she's been punished enough." She spotted Mara sitting on the other side of the canteen.

"Amber won't like that much," Jerome pointed out.

"No, but then she can't tell me who I can and can't talk to," Georgie responded. "It's between them two from now on."

"Things are really changing this term," Jerome remarked and Georgie couldn't help but agree. He was definitely right about that...

"So, er...what happens next? With us, I mean?" Georgie asked him, hoping he had an answer because she certainly didn't. Jerome looked lost for an answer too and she sighed again. Alfie bounded over excitably, as he usually does, interrupting their conversation. It was as if Georgie and Jerome have hit a dead end, with both of them not really knowing where to go next or how to make the next move. They were brave in admitting they both liked each other, but that now felt like the easy part...damn the curse of being friends before dating.

"I'll see you all later," Georgie said to the table, and she then headed towards Mara. "Hey..."

Mara looked up sadly. "Hi."

"I'm really sorry about earlier," Georgie said sincerely, sitting down. "I was just...angry, and frustrated. Our group has fallen apart completely and I was disappointed with Jerome but equally I didn't want him to know I was, and Amber was sort of right about the Mick thing, and-"

Mara grinned despite everything and interrupted her. "It's ok, Georgie. I'm just happy we're still friends."

"Of course we are," Georgie said in relief, giving her a side-hug at the table.

"I'm such an idiot, though," Mara groaned. "I went to see Mrs Andrews but Mick was already there, telling her he didn't deserve the A. So I confessed to cheating for him..."

"Shit, are you in trouble?"

"No, thank God," Mara said. "But I just want Mick to understand why I did it for him, not because I think he's stupid...because I really like him. He hates me now, though."

Georgie looked at her sympathetically, despite her stupidity. "Everyone needs to calm down, and when they do things will go back to normal...ish. Hopefully." Mara shrugged. "Just don't do anything like that again. Next time you want to show Mick a token of your love then send him a pair of fancy trainers or something."

Georgie, later on that day, walked into her bedroom to find Amber doing something that she was not expecting: kneeling down, knocking on the floorboards.

After sharing a look with Nina, who was on her bed trying to study, Georgie said, "Amber, what are you doing? You could just take a walk if you're trying to get people's attention from downstairs."

"Searching for you know what," she whispered, continuing to drum her knuckles against the floor.

God, that was going to get annoying very fast. "Can't you do it somewhere else?" Georgie sat on her own bed, fishing in her bag for a textbook.

"Well I can't do it anywhere else with people lurking around," Amber replied. "Duh."

And so the knocking continued. Nina sighed, putting her schoolwork down. "Amber..."

"What?"

"That's kind of annoying-"

"Kind of? It is annoying," Georgie retorted.

"-and you're not going to find anything by knocking on the floor like that," Nina finished.

"What are you hoping is going to happen anyway?" Georgie asked. "Knock a code and a secret compartment will open?"

"Maybe, Georgie. Maybe." She wasn't deterred as she moved a desk out of the way, and began knocking on the lower half of the wall next to their window. Georgie looked up sharply at the sound of wallpaper being peeled away.

"Amber!" Georgie cried. "Victor will flip when he sees that-" But a huge gasp from Nina, who bounded over to Amber, stopped Georgie mid-sentence. "What is it?"

"Georgie, look!" Amber said, beckoning her over. Georgie knelt down by them, and saw on the wall, written by white chalk were the words: Help me! Sarah Frobisher-Smythe. Above this was some sort of a tally chart.

"Good knocking Amber!" said Nina, who was very excited by this new find.

"The Frobisher-Smythe's are the miserable looking couple in that picture in the living room aren't they?" Amber said. "Sarah must be their daughter."

"The old lady at the care home...she's called Sarah!"

"No way! Sarah Frobisher-Smythe is still alive?" Amber said in awe.

"So she really is called Sarah and not Emily," Georgie said to Nina. "And she really did used to live here. So the picture in the necklace and on that portrait could easily be her or her mother. And then you have those recordings..."

"Let's go and talk to her then!" Amber suggested. "She might know something."

"I've tried Amber," Nina said sadly. "But she's not quite with it."

"Oh, sad," Amber sighed.

"I hope she's forgotten what happened here, though," Georgie said, trying to find some positive from the negative of her having a form of Dementia. "Because as a little girl she was definitely terrified of this house."

"She said there was evil here," Nina added.

"Poor Sarah. What was she so afraid of?" Amber asked them in wonder.

"I know one way to find out," Nina replied quietly.

"The cylinders," Georgie said, shivering slightly at the thought of going up to the attic.

"Tonight it is," Amber said defiantly.

After patching the wallpaper up as best they could, the girls got back to doing homework. Well, Georgie and Nina did.

"I still can't believe what Mara did," Amber said in disgust, flicking through a magazine. "To think, we were best friends once."

"It wasn't that long ago," Georgie said sadly.

"She shouldn't have done it," Nina said, agreeing with Amber. "Especially after you and Mick have only just gotten back together and the whole misunderstanding with Alfie."

"We're stronger than ever now," Amber told them. "An alpha couple must face challenges such as these to come out even better on the other side."

"If you say so," Georgie muttered, trying to concentrate on the Romans. "Is Patricia feeling any better after having the day off?"

"I don't think so," Nina said, scoffing. "She yelled at me earlier for 'being worried.'"

"Ah, she's back to normal then," Georgie joked.

"What's the latest with you and Jerome?" Nina asked, cocking her head and grinning.

"Well...we had a great time on Saturday, and we admitted we both liked each other, but that's been it, really. It's like we've hit a wall on what happens next."

"Maybe you should go out on another date?" Nina suggested.

"But then what? Just the same 'goodnight' as the last one," Georgie said, falling back onto her pillow. "Oh, I don't know. It's probably because we were really close before he asked me out."

"Oh absolutely," Amber said, as if an expert on the topic. "My magazine says you should date other people, you know?"

"No?"

"To reel him in, obviously."

Amber was the last person she was taking advice from. Especially after advice from some magazine didn't work out well the last time when it came to her and Mick. "Thanks but no thanks, Amber."

"Mother and father have given the house a name. Anubis. I think it's Egyptian."

"Nina?" Amber pleaded. "Can you tell me a story about something nice please?"

And for what felt like the hundredth time, they stopped the cylinder and the MP3 player than was recording it. Maybe taking Amber up into the attic with its spooky atmosphere listening to depressing cylinders was a bad idea.

"Ok, Amber, these are the rules," said Fabian. "We sit and record every single cylinder in silence. We need total silence to be able to hear these things later. Ok?"

Nina nodded at Amber, as Georgie rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Ok...sorry," she said sadly.

"It's fine," said Nina, rubbing her arm in a comforting way.

Fabian re-started the cylinder. "I wish my parents could come back. Sometimes I see their faces in the mirror, but I know they're not there. And I know it wasn't an accident. He did it! He murdered them!"

They gasped in horror and sat in a stunned silence until the crackling noise of the cylinder faded away.

"'Murdered'?" Nina repeated, her voice trembling.

"We may be way in over our heads," Georgie muttered as they stared at the phonograph.

"How many cylinders are left?" Nina asked Fabian.

"Only a couple more," Fabian said, sounding determined. "Come on, let's record the last ones."

"We might as well," Georgie told Amber, who looked as if she could cry. Well, who could blame her?

After they had recorded everything, the four of them left the attic as quickly and quietly as was humanely possible. Georgie was pretty sure she would not get much sleep. She was way too spooked. As they delved deeper into this mystery the worse Georgie felt...it was almost as if they should leave it alone, because she had a bad feeling about what they might find out at the end of it.

The morning could not come quick enough and Georgie was quite happy to be sitting in a non-spooky History classroom when first period started. "Right, everyone settle down please. Ok, before we start the class the school is having a Prospective Parents Day next week and I would like some volunteers to help show the outside world what a talented bunch you all are."

Before he could get any responses from the room, the door opened and Miss Robinson, the P.E. teacher, entered with a load of students. "Aw man, Miss Robinson," Alfie said dreamily behind Georgie, who rolled her eyes and smirked at his teacher crush.

"Miss Robinson," Mr Winkler started, "I'm in the middle of a class here."

"This is my classroom Mr Winkler," she replied. "If you look on the timetable I've had it booked for weeks."

"Ok...quiet everyone, please. Can you go to the drama studio and we'll carry on there."

Georgie laughed with everybody else at Alfie falling flat on his face when he got up. "Right behind you Mr Winkler," he grimaced, picking himself up to find Jerome had tied his shoelaces to the table.

"Hey Georgie, can I have a word?"

She looked up to see Mr Winkler. "Sure." They hung back from the class and followed them slowly to the drama studio.

"I wanted to talk to you about Patricia," he said quietly, surprising Georgie. "I thought you could give me more of a straight answer as to what is going on, especially as you two are not quite friends."

"What about her?" Georgie asked him.

"She seems to think her friend Joy Mercer is missing, or has been kidnapped," Mr Winkler said as quietly as possible so no one up ahead heard. "She seems genuinely scared, and...sad."

Georgie sighed. "As an outsider, it is weird that Joy would have willingly left school just like that. She left our English lesson after Mr Sweet said that there was 'someone to see you' in his office. She had made plans with Patricia for that evening before she left, and hasn't even contacted her. Trust me, they were as close as anything. And...oh, it's probably nothing."

"What?" Mr Winkler pressed.

"Well, Mr Sweet and Mrs Andrews shared this look when he took Joy out of the lesson," Georgie said, biting her lip at the memory. "It was as if they knew something..." Mr Winkler looked at her in concern. "I'm sure Joy's fine," she then said quickly. "But the circumstances are...weird. And Patricia won't give up until she's spoken to her properly."

They reached the drama studio. "Well thank you Georgie," her teacher said sincerely. "I'm just doing some more digging about everything, so I do request that you keep this conversation to yourself."

"Oh, yeah sure," she replied, feeling confused about the secrecy. Maybe he really does believe Patrica.

A little while later, Georgie was standing by Fabian next to his locker and they looked up to see Nina approaching. "Hey, I'm going to visit Sarah. If she is the girl in the recordings then maybe she can tell us something about the murderer."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Fabian asked her, putting some books into his bag.

"I do, but remember how much she freaked out last time?" Nina said sadly. "I should go alone. There'll be less screaming."

"Yeah, we'll have another crack at this, if you're free?" Fabian asked Georgie hopefully, who nodded.

"Yeah sure," she said, staring at their puzzle box they found under the steps.

"It's driving me mad-"

"What are you three whispering about?" Amber suddenly cut in, looking slightly annoyed that they were talking without her. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," Nina said normally, making eyes at Mick who was rounding the corner.

"Oh sorry, of course, nowhere, totally."

"Do you fancy going into town later babe?" Mick asked Amber. "We've both got free periods so I thought maybe-"

"Hey, check out my new playlist, it's major," Amber interrupted, practically shoving earphones in Mick's ears before turning back to the others, demanding answers.

"I'm going to the home to visit Sarah," Nina whispered.

"Excuse me, you're going on a fact-finding trip and you didn't invite me?" said Amber, a little bit outraged. "Two secs whilst I fix my face."

Georgie and Fabian shared amused looks as Mick gave Amber her music player back. "So are we going into town?"

"No can do boo," Amber said cheerfully. She then muttered to Nina, "Do not go without me."

Mick frowned, and Fabian said as he walked away, "If Sarah's frightened of me, wait till she meets Amber!"

They laughed and Nina sighed heavily, probably wondering how the afternoon was going to pan out.

Georgie smiled as she saw Jerome approach them. "Hey."

"Hey Georgie," he said, leaning against a set of lockers casually. "So you've got a free period now right? Do you want to hang out?"

"Ah...I'm really sorry but I'm helping Fabian out with something," Georgie told him dejectedly. "Another time?" Damn, that was probably a shitty move on her part, but she did say to Fabian that she was free and could help him work out the combination. But Jerome would understand that she can't just drop plans at the last minute, surely...

"Oh yeah sure, that's cool," he said, looking and sounding disappointed. Well, Georgie was too.

"I will see you later on?"

Jerome nodded and walked away, and Fabian said, "You could have hung out with him, you know."

"But I'd already said that I would help you," Georgie replied, smiling. "I'm looking forward to cracking an Ancient Egyptian code. Besides, I won't be one of those girls who ditch their friends for the guy. You ready?"

Fabian grinned, "Yep." He shut his locker and they found a secluded spot in the common room, and Georgie tried not to look too cosy as she was well aware of a certain pair of eyes on them...and when Georgie tried a random combination, just trying her luck, the puzzle piece came apart and they almost cheered in success but laughed as they tried to calm each other down. But Georgie became painfully aware that they were being touchy-feeling, but then they were friends and this was Fabian, so in Georgie's mind it was perfectly fine. Jerome could look all he wants.

After their success they sat on a sofa doing some school work when Amber suddenly sat down next to them, making Fabian jump. "Right, creepy little girl Sarah says sometimes I see them in the mirror. Crazy old lady Sarah totally just said the same thing. Coincidence? I think not!"

"She's definitely the girl in the recordings," Nina confirmed.

"And what about the murder?"

"Yeah, we kind of lost of her by then, something about tipping the scales-"

"Ok," Amber announced, holding up a hand to stop Nina talking. "So I've had a really important idea. We're the only four students at Creepy Towers who know all about this. We're a club, gang, posse, whatever you wanna' call it. I think we should make it official." She hovered her palm over her left eye. "Sibuna."

"Sibuna?" They repeated.

"Anubis, backwards," Amber explained. "See what I did there? I'm a little bit of a genius."

Georgie was genuinely impressed by that. "A little bit!"

"I know, so what do you say?" she asked them seriously.

"Ok, does this mean that we make a solemn oath not to tell anyone about this?" Nina asked.

"Absolutely."

"I'm in," Nina said, smiling widely. "But no pricking our fingers or eating snakes or anything like that."

Amber nodded. "And tonight we make it official." The other three shared a look of intrigue.

"OOH!" Georgie suddenly remembered. "Guys, we totally cracked the code on the treasure-puzzle piece thing!"

Nina and Amber gasped and leaned forward to hear more, but the bell sounded and they groaned in annoyance. "We'll show you later," Fabian promised. "I'll keep it hidden away in my bag. We won't look at it without you."

It was the end of the day and Georgie was lying down on her bed, thinking. Nina received a text and jumped up. "Amber's ready for us, apparently in the woods near here." Georgie nodded sadly. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes...well sort of," Georgie admitted, sitting up. "It's just this whole thing is a secret, right? Which I understand why it has to be, I really do. But...how am I supposed to continue seeing Jerome if I'm sneaking around and whispering with you guys all the time?"

Nina smiled, to Georgie's surprise. "Well, hopefully it won't be all the time...we'll make sure we have breaks and act normal. I don't really have any other close friends other than you guys so I don't have this problem, and I'm sorry I didn't think about it before."

"It's ok," Georgie reassured her. "But we'll need a cover for our sneakiness." Nina grinned, but Georgie continued, "I really love having this mystery to solve, it's so exciting. But actually, I've also realised that me, Amber and Mara are no longer going to be the same best friends as we used to be. You, me, Fabian and Amber...we're pretty good friends now right?"

"I consider you all my best friends," Nina admitted as Georgie jumped up to join Nina by their door. She linked her arm. "You were the first person to stand up for me. I won't forget that."

"Well, then, if we're a new group of best buds then we won't need to explain anything to anyone," Georgie said confidently, as they headed out of the door and downstairs. Hopefully Jerome won't ask too many questions if he thinks that they're just innocently hanging out...

They met Fabian at the front door and headed out to meet Amber in the woodland near to Anubis House. To their immense surprise, she had lit a little fire and instructed them to stand in a circle around it.

"Let the ceremony begin," Amber said heavily. "Oh ancient gods of Anubis House: we pledge ourselves to your secrets and your quest. We are the Sibuna club, and we make these sacrifices as a pledge."

A bemused Georgie watched Amber take out a teddy from her bag and hand it to Nina, who said, "Wait, hold on, you are not sacrificing Merrell," Nina said quickly, taking her stuffed bunny, which Georgie would guess she had when her parents were still alive.

"And this is my signed copy of The Solar System is Your Friend!" Fabian protested, taking the book from Amber's hand.

Georgie wondered what Amber had bought for her, and watched as she pulled out a small wooden elephant. It was carved for her by some locals in a small elephant village in Thailand, as a thank you for volunteering there. "Damn, Amber..." Georgie had nothing on her apart from her phone that she could replace the elephant. As much as she loved that little elephant, if it was going to be burned then she could use that as an excuse to go back and do more volunteering (and get another elephant).

"Ok, even though these things seem really dumb to me, I know they mean something to you. It has to be a sacrifice," Amber insisted.

"Yeah but such a big sacrifice?" Nina pleaded. "Look, you can have this." She pulled out of her own bag her set of keys and pulled off a keyring. "But you can't have Merrell. This guy: he's my lucky mascot. So it's still a sacrifice, but just not such a big one."

Amber nodded as Nina raised her arm and dropped it into the fire. Fabian had nothing in his pockets and he begrudgingly dropped his book in, too, followed by Georgie and Amber, who put in a photo of herself. Georgie smirked at the 'sacrifice.' Fabian stared in horror at the sight of his book burning.

Nina held a hand up. "I, Nina Martin, being of sound mind...well, semi sound mind...promise to protect the secrets of Anubis House and stand by my fellow club members, Georgiana Carrington, Amber Millington and Fabian Rutter."

The rest of them said the vows, and Nina finished the ceremony. "These are our sacred vows. Let no man, or woman, tear them asunder. Sibuna!"

"And Fabian, if you will," Georgie gestured, and he took out the puzzle piece from his bag. They huddled around it, as they took apart the three pieces, removing the middle that was holding it together. Inside there was writing, and they held the pieces together in the correct order to read it. "When day time ends at midday, through the tears of glass the eye shall see."

"What does that mean?"

They stared at each other in wonder at the next riddle as the mystery continued on...

Author's Note:

I hope you enjoyed! A big shout to a good friend of mine, Sam, who is on this site as the author Sammiemoosam. She has also written a Jerome/OC story, and I implore you all to check it out :) it's better than mine, her OC is amazing, and she updates quicker than I do ;) I've had a heavy term of Uni assingments, including half a dissertation, and then I toured Egypt so I've been a busy bee! Now I've only got exams left, so HOPEFULLY the next update should be soon. Hopefully...review if you can :)

ALSO I didn't quite get around to closely editing this so I apologise for the mistakes, they shall all be corrected soon, I just wanted to get this chapter out there :)