Chapter Nine: House of Confrontation/House of Alarms

Georgie was bombarded with the mystery as soon as she awoke, the morning after they had made their pledges and sacrifices to the 'gods of Anubis House.' Nina was even muttering their new riddle as she got changed. But Georgie had just woken up and could barely hold a conversation let alone figure out their next clue. Amber on the other hand was too busy making sure her hair and her face was perfect.

"Any ideas, Georgie?" Nina had asked her.

"That I'm fancying toast for breakfast."

"About the riddle we found yesterday?"

"Oh, no."

The three of them met Fabian in the kitchen, who greeted them. "Morning," he said cheerfully.

"Morning Fabian," Georgie replied, taking a cup of tea from him. "Thank you."

"It's caffeinated," he reassured her. "Strong with sugar."

"You know me so well," Georgie sighed in content, taking a sip. "Fabian, this is perfect."

"Alright, so: when day time ends at midday, through the tears of glass the eye shall see."

Amber looked at the three of them in confusion. "Is that on the Shakespeare test?"

Fabian chuckled. "No, it's the clue that we - "

"Oh, right, right," Amber interrupted, so they could forget her dumb moment quicker. "I don't get it though. Do you? By the way, do you guys know what is on the Shakespeare test?"

"Nobody knows, Amber," Georgie told her. "That's why it's called a test."

Nina however ignored her and repeated the riddle, as if hoping the answer will come to her.

"Yep, still don't get it," said Amber.

"We need to figure it out, so lunchtime yeah?" Fabian asked excitedly.

Amber nodded, grinning, and held her hand over her right eye. "Sibuna."

"Sibuna!"

"Why can't there be, like, a map or something? That's what you usually get when you're looking for treasure."

"Because it's more fun this way," Georgie answered Amber. "And besides, they don't want any village idiot finding ancient treasure, anyone can follow a map."

"Right," Fabian agreed.

"What treasure?" Georgie looked up sharply to see Mick standing by the doorway, frowning.

"OH, nothing, just some little pirates thing on the back of a cereal box," Nina said quickly as Amber stood there, looking a little sheepish. "I'm really into pirates. Like, so much."

Georgie couldn't help herself, and so started to laugh - Nina truly was awful at making stuff up on the spot. Nina smiled at Mick as she patted her cereal box, pretending to work out the back of it.

"Right...hi Amber."

"Hi boo!"

Fabian smiled and shook his head as Georgie was trying to stop herself from laughing at Nina's new love for pirates, whilst Mick said, "Ta-da!"

Amber squealed and grabbed what Mick was holding for her. "That's lovely, thank you!"

"And I thought, maybe, you'd like to hang out this lunchtime? Seeing as you sneaked off without me yesterday."

Amber grimaced and said, "Er - yeah, the thing is, that might be a problem."

Nina was just looking down at this point, and Fabian mouthed 'no', probably at the prospect of Amber asking Mick to join them. "Fine, whatever. I know when I'm not wanted." And with that, scowling, he left.

"What's he so cranky about?" Amber asked her friends. Nina and Fabian shrugged.

"Do you really not know?" Georgie asked her in amazement.

"Stay out of it Georgie," Fabian muttered under his breath.

Amber put her hands on her hips as if inviting Georgie to tell her, but Trudy arriving into the kitchen ended the conversation.

"Are you all looking forward to Prospective Parents Day tomorrow?" she asked them, sounding as chirpy as ever.

"Well it's better than lessons," Amber replied honestly.

Trudy rolled her eyes but there was humour there. "Nina, Fabian, are you both still alright to help me with the food?"

"Yep."

"We sure are."

"Great!" Trudy beamed at their enthusiasm; Georgie suspected they might pry around the house looking for clues.

After breakfast, Georgie headed to school, walking with Mara. Who was still glum about the Amber and Mick situation. "Mick hates me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't," Georgie tried to reassure her. "You've got to give it time, for him to forgive you."

Mara nodded and told Georgie about Mr Winkler helping Patricia find out what happened to Joy. "If you ask me, it's all getting out of hand," Mara said, sighing. "She's...obsessed."

Georgie smiled sympathetically. "Mr Winkler will find out that Joy's alright and then Patricia can stop stressing. He's a teacher so he can probably get some confidential information or something."

Mara's face fell even more as they wandered down the corridor, to their lockers. "Oh, it's Jerome over there. Are you both still going out?"

Georgie was glad she didn't mention being blackmailed by him, as Georgie thought that Mara was in the wrong too, and she didn't want to go there again. "I'm not sure. We haven't had a chance to hang out and talk really...and I blew him off yesterday to spend time with Fabian, so…"

Mara nodded. "I understand that you like him and everything, but he's not...the nicest person in the world."

"Oh great," Georgie said sarcastically. "That's what I want, somebody else telling me that he's not good enough." She thought about overhearing Mick and his thoughts on Jerome. "Nobody's perfect, Mara. At least who I like has a bit more of a personality than who you like."

"He can be a bully!"

"You were only his victim because you did something equally as shit first." Georgie slammed her locker door shut and stormed off to first period, which was History, ignoring protests from Mara behind her. She really needed to sort out her short temper...

"Hey...woah, is everything alright Georgie?"

She slowed her pace and turned around to see Jerome leaning against the wall by their History classroom. "Jerome," she acknowledged. "I'm fine."

"Hm," he said curtly, which told her he didn't believe that. "Who do I epically prank for messing with you?"

Georgie softened. "Nobody, Jerome. It's just Mara being...Mara. But thanks anyway."

He came up to her and stood very close, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let her bother you so much. Come hang out with us next time." He was so close that it was making Georgie nervous - she was terrified he would hear her heartbeat because it was thumping so fiercely.

Mr Winkler then called everyone into the classroom, and Jerome simply smiled, winked and walked into the room, brushing his fingertips against hers. Georgie blinked a couple of times and wondered why Jerome was suddenly acting very confident…

Georgie walked past Amber asking Mick why he was in a mood, and him replying that he didn't like being ignored. Mick doesn't seem to have many friends, Amber made sure of that, so when she won't hang out with him, then who will? Georgie wasn't trying to be spiteful, but it was the truth after all. Nobody else would be that annoyed at their partner wanting to spend time with friends, or so Georgie would like to think. Sitting by somebody she knew from Isis House, Georgie was glad to talk to somebody different about nothing in particular for a change.

"OK, settle down everyone, please," announced Mr Winkler. "Right, let's talk Prospective Parents Day, shall we. Seeing as there's been such a poor show of volunteers, I've decided to allocate you tasks myself." The class moaned simultaneously at this. "I think you'll all find I've catered to your academic strengths."

"Is Mick doing nothing then?" Jerome asked, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. Some of the class giggled, and Georgie tried to suppress a smile. She felt a little bit mean, but he really did struggle, bless him.

After the lesson, Amber was leaving the room and saying to Mick, "Do you think Mr Winkler chose me to hostess the parents because I'm the best-looking girl in school, or was it my bubbly personality? Wait...or was it my shoes?" Georgie rolled her eyes and decided on hating Mr Winkler for the time being because he boosted Amber's ego.

"You're both so lucky that you get to eat Trudy's wonderful cake mixture out of a bowl all day tomorrow," Georgie said to Nina and Fabian as they walked past Amber and Mick.

"What is it you're doing, anyway?" Fabian asked her.

"Helping to run the English and P.E. stalls."

"Hey guys, wait up!" Amber called, running after them. "Catch you later boo!"

"Is that really a good idea, ditching Mick again?" Georgie asked her skeptically. "This is why he thinks you're ignoring him, Amber."

"I'm not," she insisted. "We've planned a picnic together, how am I ignoring him when we've practically made a commitment?"

"Alright, it's your funeral."

"No, it's not," Amber scoffed. "It's a picnic."

"What do you think, strawberry passion or bashful cinnamon?" It was lunchtime now, and they were in the common room trying to figure out the riddle. Or at least, three of them were. Georgie looked up to see Amber holding up two tubes of lipstick.

"Amber, I don't care what the label says, it's either a red or brown decision," Georgie retorted. "And I'm pretty sure that cinnamon is more of a red-brown colour, so it's wrong. And no-one cares."

"You're right."

"I am?"

"Either looks cute."

Georgie huffed in defeat and Nina suddenly sprung to life from intently flicking through a book. "OK, so midday is twelve o'clock. Unless it's a cryptic reference, but let's just go with that for now."

"When daytime ends," Georgie thought aloud. "So why would daytime end at midday?"

"The apocalypse?" Nina suggested.

"No, that's the end of the world, not the end of the day," Fabian told her. "But think, when does the sun go down at midday, ever?"

"Scandinavia?" Nina suggested.

"No, they have midday dawns but not midday sunsets."

"What about the solar eclipse?" Georgie suddenly thought. "That's the only reason I can think of as to why daytime would end...in the day."

Fabian stared at her in wonder. "That is brilliant!"

"Oh...thanks!" She felt pretty damn pleased with herself when Fabian started typing furiously into his laptop. "It happens."

"Listen to this - partial eclipse, midday sunset!"

"You've got it!" Nina said excitedly.

"Got what?" Georgie looked up, smiling, to see Jerome and Alfie approaching. They were, for some reason, hugging the skeleton from the Biology lab.

"Looks, brains, charms," Fabian said coolly. "You know, all those things you don't have Jerome."

"Aw, of course he does," Georgie responded, looking Jerome right in the eye, feeling that if Jerome can be suddenly all confident and flirty then so can she. She winked at him, and looked back down at her laptop.

"Hm," Jerome said, with a hint of mischief in his voice. "Your girlfriend was missing you, Rutter. Kiss me, kiss me darling!" Laughing, they pushed the skeleton's face into Fabian's.

"Ok," Georgie announced, handing her laptop to Nina and standing up. "Leave the poor kids alone Clarke."

"Only if you come with us," Jerome responded, grinning. Georgie watched, however, as his face suddenly fell. "Alfie…" Georgie narrowed her eyes as Alfie looked a little nervous and watched as they made a hasty exit. "Well as stimulating as your non-conversation may be to each other, it's a little bit dull for the likes of us. So, we're going to kick up a storm somewhere else."

While they all but ran from the common room, Georgie remained standing. "Hm. That didn't feel right to me." She grabbed her bag, said goodbye to the group and followed Jerome and Alfie. "Jerome, wait up."

He turned to Alfie. "See? I'm irresistible."

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Something to tell me, Clarke?"

"Absolutely nothing, other than you look beautiful today," he responded smoothly, smirking and folding his arms.

"Nice, man!" Alfie said, impressed. "You really are an expert - " He stopped short as Georgie and Jerome were staring intently at him, and he got the hint. "Oh, right, well we'll be going now." Laughing nervously, Alfie took the skeleton and wandered off down the corridor.

Georgie turned back to Jerome, who was still smirking. "What have you done?"

He pretended to look offended. "Why do you assume I have done something?"

"Because I know you," she replied.

"Well, the game is up," he said, putting his hands up. "But something tells me you'll find out sooner rather than later."

"What is up with you today anyway?" she asked him, amused, as he began to step closer to her, like he did before.

"Just making sure that nobody else takes your attention," he said quietly, looking serious.

Georgie thought for a couple of seconds, before realising he may have had suspicions about Fabian. "Oh for God's sake Jerome, if you really think that me and Fabian - "

"No no," he said, his smile coming back.

"Wait...were you jealous?"

Jerome spluttered. "Well, no, I mean, not really, not you and Rutter of all people...maybe a little bit, yeah."

"There's no need to be," she reassured him, standing on her tip-toes and making sure her lips brushed his earlobe ever so slightly so he shivered at the touch. "I'm only interested in you."

She pulled back, winked and turned to go back to the common room. Jerome behind her smiled widely, watching as she turned out of sight.

Georgie sat back down by Nina as Amber said, "Georgie, Fabian said that there were over two thousand solar eclipses between...between what years again?"

"Two thousand?"

Fabian chuckled. "No, two hundred, Amber. Two hundred and forty two eclipses between 1801 and 1900. But who knows how many between 1901 and 1923."

"Why not ask Sarah?" Amber suggested.

"You've seen for yourself Amber, she's not exactly playing with a full deck…"

"Duh! Not Sarah, Sarah." She impersonated a little girl's voice whilst holding up the MP3 player. "You never know, she might mention something." Nina looked quite impressed so Amber continued, "Not just beauty and sophistication, I've got smarts too. Tons of them." She smiled serenely whilst Fabian laughed.

"Alright, alright, don't get too big-headed," Georgie said, leaning forward and punching Amber lightly on the arm.

"Never ever."

"Let's go to a classroom and listen to Sarah," Fabian suggested. "I've uploaded the recordings onto my laptop so we can hear them better." They agreed and headed to an empty classroom, Fabian setting up his laptop as they sat down.

"What are those squiggles? It's like a heart machine."

"This is the sound translated as a picture," Fabian slowly explained to Amber. "So this bit is really loud, these bits are all really quiet. And this music software is clearing all the interference."

"Ok, so where do we start?" Nina asked.

"The beginning sounds reasonable," Georgie said heavily.

Fabian pressed play. "Sometimes he says things in the hope that I react. But I don't. Instead I think of mother and father and I sit in complete - I took-eth myself up to the attic and there was one massive surprise! The lady in the house was locked away, and -"

"What is that?"

Fabian pinched the bridge of his nose, and George recognised the laughter in the background. "Bloody Alfie and Jerome. Well this explains their hasty exit earlier."

"Ok, they heard this," Nina said softly. "They might know something."

"Then again...this is Alfie and Jerome we're talking about, no offense to them," Georgie reasoned.

"I'm glad you still see that," Fabian joked.

"Of course Fabian, your best friend will never lose sight of the facts," Georgie reassured him. The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. "Well, we'll ask them later if they heard anything else. Come on guys."

As they left the room, Georgie bade goodbye to her friends and rounded a corner, bumping into Jerome. "Miss Carrington, we must stop meeting like this," he said, smiling away as usual, holding her arms steady from where they almost collided.

"But where would be the fun in that Mr Clarke?" Georgie smiled mischievously, calmly removing his hands, playing with his fingers for a few seconds before stepping around him and down the corridor, wondering where this new game of theirs was going to end up…

That evening Georgie walked into the living room; Mara was in there, reading Romeo and Juliet. They looked at each awkwardly, as they hadn't spoken since Georgie's outburst this morning. Mara opened her mouth to speak but Jerome and Alfie entered, causing her to close it again.

"Careful, careful…" Alfie was muttering to himself whilst balancing a few cardboard boxes in his hand. It was a tall pile (Alfie couldn't see over it) and she waited for Jerome's opportunity. In true form, Jerome bounded up to his friend and knocked the boxes out of his hands. "Oh dear!" he said sarcastically, laughing.

"Hey!" Alfie protested. "These are the costumes for Prospective Parent's Day!"

"Muhahaha...suck it up Alfie." Jerome grabbed a long, red dress-type thing, holding it up uncertainly. "What is this?"

"You're just jealous," Alfie hit back. "Because Jason asked me to perform, instead of you." He finished this with a little robot-dance at the end.

Georgie walked over to the boys as Jerome threw the costume back into the pile on the floor. "Uh-huh, yeah, sure. A bunch of boring parents with no taste whatsoever is really my idea of a great audience...OW!" Amber had hit him.

"THAT is for going through my stuff, and THAT-"

"OW!" Alfie yelled, looking a little stunned as it was his turn to be hit by Amber.

"-is for recording over my file."

Amber hit Jerome in the arm again, as Nina and Fabian followed her into the room. "Now what was that for?"

"Just for fun," Amber said in a normal voice, shrugging.

"Did you see that? Unnecessary," Jerome muttered to Georgie.

"You do deserve it," she admitted. "But it won't stop me from kissing it better later." Surprised by her own confidence when it came to flirting, she refused to meet his probably shocked face as Nina then spoke up.

"So, how much did you hear or...understand?" Nina asked. Again, subtle. Not. If that was Georgie she would have asked Amber to ask Jerome if he had enjoyed the E-book and how much he had read because he had better not ruin the ending for her. But no, let's go with Nina's strategy of jumping in and asking on behalf of somebody else's MP3 player. That won't arouse suspicion. Not at all.

"Well if you must know we only heard that one bit," Jerome replied. He then pointed at Amber. "And you by the way have some really weird taste in recorded books, Millington." I was right, he thought it was a book! These guys really need to start consulting me on future people-approaching…

Jerome continued to rub his arm and Georgie's heart dropped when she saw Mick walk in. Amber didn't go to their picnic…

"Hi boo! I-" She saw Mick's face and must have suddenly remembered, as her face dropped and she looked mortified. In fact, Georgie would say she even looked frightened. "I'm so sorry, something came up-"

"We're done, Amber!" Mick said angrily. "And I hate it when you call me 'boo'!"

Fabian and Nina looked really surprised at Mick's outburst but they were nothing compared to Amber, who said quietly, "Did he just dump me?"

"You bet he did!" Jerome told her.

"Georgie, what do I do?"

Blimey, this was a first. Georgie rarely saw this side of Amber, she kept it well-hidden most of the time. She wanted so badly to tell her to move on, but knew that she did like Mick a lot. "Leave him to cool down, Amber, he's as hurt as you are...probably."

"Nina?"

"Go after him!" she insisted. "I think. Not my greatest area…"

Amber weighed up what Georgie and Nina said for a couple of seconds. "What's the point? He's already made his feelings pretty clear. In front of everyone." Georgie followed her line of sight to where Mara was sitting, who was trying, not very hard, to suppress a smile.

Amber left, with Nina following her quickly, but Georgie threw a pillow at Mara, Romeo and Juliet flying on the floor. "What was that for!"

"To wipe that smirk off your face," Georgie scowled, folding her arms.

"Is this ding-dong, round two?" Jerome asked excitedly.

"No!" they both said, raising their voices. Georgie sat down by Mara and lowered her voice. "I don't know what's got into you lately, you're putting your feelings for Mick over Amber, and-"

"You're hardly one to talk, you've put your feelings for Jerome over me! And over the whole house as he's not exactly the nicest guy in Creedy Towers!"

"You believe what you want, but back off Mick and let him come to his own decisions in the next few days. You owe that to Amber."

Mara sighed. "Georgie I don't want us to fall out again, but-"

"Actually, it's ever since you've been hanging out with Patricia that you've been acting like a different person. I know you've fancied Mick for ages and you can't help who you fancy, I get that - trust me, I do - but the way you've been acting lately...it's not you."

"Who else have I got? You've clearly taken Amber's side, and you've got a new group now."

"I didn't take a side originally, but you're making it very hard to…" Georgie sighed, changing her mind on what she was going to say. She thought back to this time last year, when it was Amber, Mara, herself as a tight-nit group, having an-almost rivalry with Patricia and Joy. And also when she thought Dean was the cat's pyjamas. "Do you know what, I think we're just going around in circles. Things have changed, as they usually do with a new school year, but this time the change has happened to us."

Mara nodded and sighed too, picking up Romeo and Juliet from the floor. "I guess so."

"I'm sorry for throwing a pillow at you, and snapping earlier," Georgie said, getting up. "I'll see you later." In a very un-emotional way to say goodbye to a friend, which felt weird, Georgie smiled at Jerome and Alfie mucking about with the costumes by the dining table and headed upstairs to see Amber.

In a reversal of what happened before the Easter holidays, Georgie was now the one comforting Amber after a breakup, sitting up on her bed. She was on one side and Nina was on the other, with tissues and a Galaxy bar.

"But I love him, I really love him guys…" she said quietly, sniffing. "I really didn't want to mess things up!"

Georgie couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to convince herself as well as her friends...as she knew all too well, your first love and breakup is always a hard one. Who knows what's currently going on inside Amber's head.

It was a long evening, and they were also still going up to the attic to re-record the little girl from the phonograph, and to listen out for any midday/daytime ending references. She almost didn't care if she was being selfish but there was no way she was sitting through that again. She recommended Amber get a decent night's sleep but she, for some reason, wanted to go up to the attic with Nina and Fabian. Georgie stirred slightly as they crept out to meet Fabian, but otherwise had a peaceful, much-needed sleep, ready for Prospective Parent's Day…

After a quick briefing from Mr Winkler, and also one from Nina and Fabian (apparently Amber had spotted a sunset stained glass window in the attic, and they deduced that that's what Sarah meant, the light shining through it meant daytime ending at midday and Amber had certainly perked up because she was the one that had spotted this), Georgie knew what she was doing for the day. She was manning the P.E. stall first and then helping out with English afterwards, as apparently one of her classmates has a hospital appointment that afternoon and has to leave early. As she walked through the Drama department and towards P.E., she saw Alfie practising his performance and Jerome watching him…

"You see, this is your best chance to win Amber's heart dude," Jerome told Alfie, jumping up from his seat and approaching him. "She's been dumped, she's vulnerable, she needs a sensitive guy like you with a big, shiny shoulder to cry on." He referred to Alfie's silver robot costume, or whatever he was supposed to be. After Georgie and Dean ended things badly, Jerome was her second shoulder, so to speak, after her friends...but that was out of instinct, and not intentionally. But there was no harm in spicing up the way it worked to help out a friend...and to have a laugh along the way.

"I don't know man, Jason said I can't get the costume wet."

Jerome looked at him unemotionally before saying, "If you want to win the girl's heart, you have to follow my four step plan. Step one: attention. Make sure she notices you. Step two: intention. Show her you're interested, because women want to be swept off their feet."

"Be noticed, sweep her off her feet," Alfie repeated.

Jerome nodded. "Step three: Longing."

"Ahh, I've already got that one covered," Alfie said dreamily.

"No, she has too long for you. You have to be her hero."

"Hero?" Alfie asked, looking very lost by this point. Maybe four steps was too much for the poor man…

"Look, try to be more of an Iron Man-" Jerome put the cardboard helmet over Alfie's head, "-than a Tin Man."

Alfie posed as a confident superhero. "How is the four step plan working for you and Georgie then? You're obviously way ahead of me," he asked cheekily.

"Well, Georgie is special. She needs, nay deserves, her own plan, my friend. Let's just say, she's following my game. Well, our game now. We're both playing each other, and it's rather fun, if I do say so myself."

"At least the girl you like likes you back," Alfie muttered, folding his arms. "Everyone can see she's into you."

"Which is why you need to follow my plan for you," Jerome said, putting an arm around his shoulders, feeling triumphant. "Amber will soon be to you what Georgie is to me."

Later on, as Jerome was putting up flyers with the help of Alfie, he noticed Miss Robinson rounding a corner, and nudged Alfie who muttered, "Well hello Miss Robinson!" Jerome laughed slightly at his teacher crush, and presumably even more so today because she was out of her tracksuit and in a dress and heels.

"Doing a good job there boys," she said as she passed them.

"Men, Miss Robinson, men," Jerome reminded her.

"Mm, you keep telling yourself that," she retorted, carrying on down the corridor and back to the P.E. department.

Alfie looked disappointed. "Man, why do none of the chicks around here take us seriously dude?"

"Speak for yourself. But I refer you to step four of my plan, Alfie: heroics. And what do you need to become a hero?" Alfie shrugged. "A damsel in distress."

"I have an idea," Alfie said immediately, running away from Jerome before he could say anything else to enact his plan in 'saving' Amber.

Georgie sighed, leaning against the English stall having left the P.E. department. She cursed Nina and Fabian who were seemingly still at Anubis House, baking cakes with Trudy. They definitely had the best deal. Something exciting needed to happen soon as she was getting rather bored with repeating herself over and over to the parents who were looking around…

Her friend from Isis House, Abby, sniffed. "Can you smell that?"

"Oh yeah, smells like something's burning…" She shrieked with everybody else as a pop erupted, smoke suddenly filling the air and the fire alarm also piercing their ears.

"It's ok, everything's ok!" Georgie looked up as she heard Jerome's voice through the din, he was wearing a high-vis jacket and what looked like a fireman's hat. "Stay calm, nothing to see here, everything is under control so let's go, smoke is a silent killer!"

Georgie started coughing and Jerome noticed her and ran over, his face falling and his jokes subsided. "Oh bloody hell Alfie. Georgie have you got your inhaler?"

"Oh Jerome I can't find it, what if I didn't pack it?" she asked him in a panic, holding her chest, as they both searched her blazer pocket and her school bag, pulling it out from under the stall.

"The panic only makes it worse, just calm down," Jerome tried to soothe her. "From now on I'm always having one of your inhalers on me in case this happens again…" he muttered this as he finally felt plastic and pulled it out. They both sighed in relief.

Jerome felt for her hand and they followed everybody else out of the building. "So what's Alfie done?"

"Well...to leave out a few details he wanted to be Amber's hero so I think he let off one of those smoke bombs. I genuinely didn't know that was his plan, by the way, otherwise-"

"I know, I know, don't worry about it," she reassured him as she revelled in the fresh air, using her inhaler. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic. I was only diagnosed last year, so I guess it still freaks me out when I feel I have a tight chest."

"Perfectly understandable," he said softly.

"Thanks for helping me out, too."

"You really don't have to thank me, it's what I'm here for," he said, a little nervously now.

"I guess, er, Alfie really does need you around for guidance, huh?" Georgie said lightly, to relieve the tension between them, as the atmosphere does get a little intense when the subject of them, especially in a serious context, comes up.

"The poor boy would be lost without me," Jerome agreed.

He didn't let go of her hand as they waited outside for the all-clear.

Victor found the smoke bomb and waved it to Mr Sweet, who clapped his hands to get everybody's attention. "Everyone, back inside please! Apologies, visitors, just a bit of spirited fun. We pride ourselves on having a sense of humour in this school!" He laughed to keep the atmosphere light, as Alfie bounded over to where Georgie and Jerome were standing.

"I saved Amber dude!" he told Jerome excitedly. "I leapt on her to save her!"

"That doesn't sound good…" Georgie said quietly, as Jerome suppressed a smile.

"Alfie, please consult me next time you do something like this," Jerome advised seriously, the almost-smile long gone. "Georgie has asthma for God's sake."

"Ah, shit, Georgie I'm sorry…"

"It's fine," she reassured him. "I don't think asthma kills much in the twenty-first century." She laughed at Alfie's shell-shocked face. "I'm kidding. It was only smoke, nothing an inhaler can't sort out."

"Phew!"

"Clarke, Lewis, my office. Now." They turned around to see Mr Sweet, who was no longer his jolly self.

"But sir, Clarke had nothing to do with this," Georgie insisted. "Not this time."

"It's true," Alfie sighed, being a good friend. "It was my idea and my smoke bomb. He didn't know."

"Well I am surprised but...if that's the truth, I know that you, Miss Carrington, wouldn't lie. Come on Lewis, my office in five minutes."

Jerome smiled gratefully to his friends and they all watched as Amber, who had black soot on her face, hovered nearby with Mick. "So what were you saying...before?"

"I love you Ambs, but we don't match. We're mates, not dates. Do you know what I'm saying?"

Amber looked crestfallen, but quickly recovered and said, "Yeah, I know what you're saying."

Mick left and Amber stormed up to Alfie. "Thanks a bunch for ruining everything. AGAIN!" Alfie closed his eyes in disbelief and looked heartbroken, too.

"What is she talking about?" Georgie asked him.

"I think I interrupted their conversation when I 'saved' her from the smoke bomb…" He walked away dejectedly.

"Aw come on mate…" Jerome called after him.

"Go on, go see him quickly before he gets roasted by Mr Sweet."

"And you're going after Amber?"

"Yep," she replied, noticing Mara walk past them. She must have heard the Amber and Mick conversation too.

"Let's help them put the fragile pieces of their hearts back together!" Jerome said dramatically, making Georgie laugh.

"Alright, you personal therapist, I'll see you later." She squeezed his hand and let it go, slowly. She felt almost cold, for lack of a better word, now he wasn't holding her hand; clenching her hand into a fist to get rid of the sensation she tried to focus on finding Amber.

She found her in the toilets. Crying. She looked like a mess, due to the smoke and her makeup running. "Oh Amber," Georgie said kindly, hugging her as they leaned against the counter. She was shaking and held onto Georgie, almost for dear life.

She let Amber let it all out, until her sobs came to an end. "Let's get you back to the house," Georgie told her. "I'll go find your stuff and then I'll come back for you ok?"

Amber nodded, so Georgie gave her some tissue, and left the toilets. She walked past everybody as the parents continued to look around, and found Amber's locker. Grabbing her bags, she left to find Mr Winkler.

"Mr Winkler," Georgie called. "Do you mind I take Amber back the House? She's, er, not in a good way."

"Of course," he said, looking worried. "What happened?"

"Just a mixture of Mick drama and the smoke bomb. It went off right behind her, and Alfie tackled her to the ground to 'save' her, just as she was sorting things out with Mick...but he just wants to be friends, so…"

"I understand, of course get her home. Tell her to have one of Trudy's cakes, she bought a load over before the bomb went off and they are delicious!"

Georgie laughed slightly. "Will do. Thanks, I'll back soon."

She opened the door to Anubis House with Amber to see Nina holding up what looked like...another puzzle piece. It actually resembled one of those very old candle stick holders you see in historical films. The smell of freshly-baked cakes also hit her.

"What's going on?" Amber asked her. Nina was seemingly mesmerised by the object and jumped, looking relieved to see it was her two friends standing in the doorway.

"Trudy showed us some old photos of the house," Nina said quietly, almost quivering from her find. "So we got this old chandelier out from the cellar, told her we were interested in the heritage of the place and helped put it back up whilst the cakes were baking-"

"The tears of glass!" Georgie realised.

"Exactly. The sun shone through the window," Nina continued, pointing at the huge, stained glass window that rested by the staircase, "and it reflected off the droplets and showed me the wall panel over there, and this was inside!"

"Wow..." Amber breathed in awe.

"Nice job!"

"Wait, what happened?" Nina asked, referring to Amber and the black marks which she was currently cleaning off, alongside her running makeup, with a wipe.

"Oh, smoke bomb," Georgie said casually. "And...Mick drama."

"Where's Fabian?" Amber asked.

"He's in the attic-"

"Oh, Georgie, Amber!" Trudy greeted warmly as Nina hid the object behind her back. "Is everything alright girls?"

"I asked Mr Winkler if it was alright to bring Amber back, she'll explain what happened," Georgie assured her.

"Is everything alright sweetie? Talk to me about it," she said kindly, putting an arm around Amber and guiding her to the living room area.

Fabian ran down the stairs, checking his watch. "Did we miss it?" He whispered. "Oh hey Georgie."

Nina held up the new puzzle piece. Fabian beamed at the two girls. "What did it look like, when the sun shone through the window?"

"Amazing! Incredible, so...oh, wow."

"Do you think there's something hidden inside it, like the one before?" Georgie asked, looking at it curiously.

"Well that'll be our next job!" Fabian said as they smiled at one another. They were one step closer to finding out what this mystery is really about.

Nina suddenly turned to Georgie, realising what she had said earlier. "Wait, smoke bomb?"

"What?" Fabian asked, alarmed.

"Oh yeah, Alfie set one off. Who else?" Georgie winced. "Also, I think Mick finished with Amber for good today. Text me and let me know she's alright yeah? I've got to get back to school."

"Right you are."

"Bye Amber," Georgie called.

"Ooh Georgie before you go, I've got some more cakes ready!" Georgie heard Trudy rustling in the kitchen before emerging with a plastic box full of fairy cakes. "Thank you very much."

"Let's hope I don't get cornered with these by some hungry parents," Georgie joked, and left to head back to school.

It was after dinner now, and Georgie was sat next to Fabian on his bed, relaying the events of that day. Particularly with Jerome.

"I really think you're changing him a little bit," Fabian said sincerely as he rested his head back against the headboard. "Not completely as he'll always be Jerome, but I think you've seen something that nobody else has."

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"Are you playing it cautiously for a reason?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, this time last year when we were talking about Dean, you were really excited but this year when you talk about Jerome you're a lot...cooler about it."

"I suppose. I don't know why...because I like him a lot, and I find him so attractive, and I love how we're going about things. But we're both being cautious, it's not just me. We've told eachother that we like eachother, but…"

"Nobody is willing to make the first move?"

"Exactly. Not yet, anyway. I blame the fact that we've been good friends for so long now, so it's breaking that barrier isn't it? You know Amber said, in that bloody magazine of hers, that you should date somebody longer than usual if you were friends first."

"For the first time ever, that sounds sort of right," Fabian said, surprised. "I can't believe I said that about Amber and her magazine."

Georgie laughed. "You wouldn't say no if Nina asked you out though, right?"

Fabian blushed slightly. "No, I guess not. But then she shot down there being an us, so…"

"Oh she didn't mean it...I mean, probably didn't. She's never really dated properly before so she just got nervous. I expect." Georgie decided to omit that Nina told her about this incident.

"Maybe, but I'm happy being her friend at the moment, as long as she stays my friend," Fabian told Georgie honestly.

"I thought Mick was out of line yesterday though," Georgie admitted. "He was such a pig, dumping her like that, and in front of everybody."

"It wasn't the best way to go about things," Fabian agreed. "Hopefully he apologised to her for the way he acted."

They were interrupted by the door knocking. "Come in."

"Hey guys," said Nina as she hovered by the doorway. "Amber suggested we finish re-recording the phonograph cylinders tonight." Georgie remembered that Amber had been too upset last night, so they couldn't carry on. "Also I've found another cylinder, it was in my box where the puzzle pieces are so I must have missed it. That needs recording too."

"Sure."

"He frightens me. He spends a lot of time in the cellar with dead animals. Dead animals that he stuffs. But what frightens me the most is his raven, Corbiere."

"What did she just say?"

"I'm more convinced than ever that he's responsible for the deaths of my parents. But I can't prove anything." Sarah gasped. "He's coming!"

"You have five minutes! And then I want to be able to hear...a pin drop."

"Victor?"

Author's Note: Well...that was a long update! Balancing life and writing apparently isn't my forte. Hey ho, here it is and I hope you enjoyed :) alongside this chapter, and in the original episode, Patricia met up with her P.I. and I expect him to shake things up for Georgie and Jerome's relationship in the future...until the next one!