Chapter Eleven: House of Kidnap/House of Cat-Nap
The four friends scrambled out of the cupboard they were hiding in when the coast was clear; luckily Victor didn't hang around for long after drinking whatever was in the test tube. Amber headed straight for their passageway, but the other three examined the contents on the table.
Fabian picked up the test tube and hovered his torch over it. "What is it?" Nina whispered.
"I don't know…" Fabian lifted it higher, using the torch as their light source to get a look at what was left behind.
"Guys, can we please get out of here?" Amber said sharply. Fabian however was lifting the vial up to his lips…
"Don't!" Nina and Georgie both yelled at once, putting their hands on his arm.
"You don't know what's in it," Nina reasoned.
"Hello?" Amber said sarcastically. "Does anybody else realise we're in danger?"
"Oh for God's sake Amber," Georgie muttered.
"Let's not get hysterical about it," Fabian advised her.
"Please can we go?" Amber whined loudly.
A loud wail echoed around the cellar and Georgie felt Nina and Fabian grab her as they all jumped and gasped simultaneously.
"'Let's not get hysterical about it'," Amber hit back at Fabian.
"Let's get out of here, now," Fabian said, and it wasn't a question; they all agreed.
"Oh, now you listen," said Amber as they left the cellar, climbing up the steps and crawling down the passageway. Georgie had never been so glad to see the kitchen. She went to bed, wondering what Victor is up to. Why was he drinking dodgy-coloured substances from a table full of scientific equipment? Why did it sound like he was in the recordings? Why did a random man want the Eye of Horus to find Joy? Georgie knew that they would soon uncover something in this House, probably something that couldn't be good.
Maybe, just maybe, it was their duty, or Nina's duty, seeing as she was given the locket, to protect the treasure they keep finding.
Georgie yawned as she entered her bedroom the next morning, brushing her brunette hair. The layers were starting to disappear; she would need to get it cut soon. She rolled her eyes at Amber, who was still asleep. Georgie and Nina were already in their school uniform.
"We should probably wake her up," Georgie said, looking at the time. "You know how long she takes to get ready."
Nina nodded, and teased, "I didn't know until coming to England that a girl could need different types of hairbrushes-"
"Of all things."
"-or that a Mascara Guard is actually a thing."
"That is actually quite useful for when Amber's not around," Georgie mused. "When I try to apply mascara I look like I'm trying to recreate a Jackson Pollock painting on my eyelid."
Nina laughed and headed over to Amber's bed, prodding her gently. "Amber?" She said quietly. "Amber?"
Georgie, seeing an opportunity, grinned and sneaked up behind Nina. "AMBER!"
She gasped and shot up, pulling her eye-mask off. "What?"
"You'll have to get up, or we'll be late!" Nina told her.
"I can't, I didn't sleep a wink all night," Amber said, sighing.
"Except for right now."
Amber didn't look impressed, but then said dramatically, "Truth time. Do you believe in werewolves? Nina?"
"No," she replied, laughing slightly. "Why?"
"Georgie?"
She was packing her school bag and didn't turn around to face Amber and Nina. "I think you already know my answer to that insane question."
Deadly serious, Amber said in a quiet tone, "I think that's what made the wailing noise last night."
Georgie turned around this time, catching Nina's amused eye. "Amber, I don't think that was a werewolf."
"I know we're on a treasure hunt and weird things are going on, but werewolves do sound a bit far-fetched," said Georgie.
"Well, what else could have made a noise like that?" Amber said, in a tone daring them both to come up with a better idea.
At that, the door creaked open and Georgie frowned at the meow sound. They all looked, and were stunned at the sight of a black cat with a pink collar on.
It trotted over to Amber, who squealed and picked it up, giving it a cuddle. "Amber, please get ready at some point before Christmas," Georgie asked her, folding her arms and frowning at the cat.
"Don't you like cats?" Nina asked her, probably guessing by the look on Georgie's face.
"Not really. I am definitely a dog person."
Later on they met Fabian for breakfast and told him about the cat, who was now hiding in their room. "A cat?"
"Yeah," Nina confirmed. "A black cat, of course. Nothing could ever not be creepy in this place."
"And we're hiding it in our room," Amber said excitedly. "Cat-napping. Get it?"
"Original," Georgie muttered, sipping a hot cup of tea, again which Fabian had waiting for her.
"And you think that it was making the wailing noise last night?"
Nina nodded, and Amber began making loud wailing noises to prove their point. Georgie groaned, as it was definitely too early for this. "Alright Amber, once is enough," she said, grimacing at the painful noise.
"Stop making that dreadful noise!" ordered Victor, who had sneaked in behind them, seemingly looking for something.
"Thank you," Georgie muttered.
"Why were you making that noise exactly?" Victor then asked curiously.
"Drama exercises," Amber replied confidently. "Mr Winkler says I have to breathe from my diaphragm."
"Have you lost anything, Victor?" Fabian asked casually.
"Maybe we can help you find whatever it is you lost?" Nina said, trying to persuade him.
"Yeah, Nina is super-sleuthy," Fabian agreed.
"'Course I haven't lost anything," he snarled, as if losing things were below his standards. With that, he left the room.
"Did you see that reaction?" Georgie exclaimed.
"It's obviously Victor's cat."
"Victor doesn't have a cat."
"Tell that to his cat." Georgie laughed, as Nina continued, "He must have been hiding it in the cellar, that's why the wailing sounded so loud."
"And now it's escaped-" Fabian began.
"-and he's looking for it," Georgie finished, as they smiled at each other.
"Well, I'm going to take Kitty some milk," said Amber as she poured some milk into a bowl. "I bet it's hungry. Do you think it was meant to be tied to that rope we saw in the cellar?" She put the jug down, with a pained expression. "That's so cruel. I'm really starting to think Victor's up to no good."
"Excellent detective work Holmes," said Georgie as Amber left with the bowl of milk. She inwardly sighed as Patricia strolled in past her, and sat down next to Nina.
"Thought anymore about what I said last night?" She asked Nina.
"Yeah, and I'm interested in hearing what you have to say," Nina said cautiously. "If you keep your hands where I can see them at all times."
Georgie shared a dark look with Fabian. Patricia looked at them both. "In private."
Nina shot them a sympathetic look. Fabian grabbed his things, and Georgie picked up her tea. "This is a public space," she muttered, following Fabian out. She stopped, gave Fabian her tea and returned to the table, picking up the jugs of milk and orange juice. Patricia had a reputation for pouring their contents on people's heads. "Just a precaution."
After receiving a scowl from you-know-who, Georgie placed them safely in the kitchen and was handed her tea by a grinning Fabian. "Good idea."
"Thank you."
She followed him into his bedroom, and sat next to him on his bed. "So what's the latest with you and Jerome?"
"No new developments. We're still playing the game," Georgie said, using her fingers as speech marks. "Oh, actually, he's asked me out on another date."
"Oh great, when?"
"This weekend," she replied. "I'm a bit nervous to be honest."
Fabian grinned, "You, Georgie Carrington, nervous?"
"It happens," she teased. "What about you and Nina?"
Fabian shook his head, blushing slightly. "Nothing's going on-"
He was stopped by Mick entering the room, looking glum. "We get our Biology assignments back today, don't we?"
"If Sweetie has marked them then yeah I guess so," Fabian replied.
"I think if I got a D I'd be lucky," he sighed, falling onto his bed.
"Mick if you're struggling, why don't you ask Mara for some help?" Georgie asked tentatively. She had heard that they had made up, or were on speaking terms at least, after she cheated for him.
"What's the point?" He said, exasperated. "I'm hopeless!"
"Mick you can't be good at everything. And you may not be as academic as others, but that doesn't mean you're worth less. It's this stupid school system we're in, unfortunately it's how it works in the world."
"You've been reading more anti-Capitalism books haven't you?" Fabian teased.
"Yep, consider me inspired," Georgie joked. Mick didn't look any better, so Georgie patted Fabian's leg. "I'll go and check if Nina is still alive."
He laughed. "Ok, good idea."
She headed to the dining room area, but it was empty, so she walked upstairs to their bedroom to find Amber sitting at her mirror, her face covered in round pink spots, and Nina handing her a pack of makeup wipes. "Amber, what are you doing?"
"Measles."
"...Why?"
"I need to fake-sick to watch the cat."
"I told her Trudy will never fall for it," Nina said to Georgie.
"Hm, and that Victor has already seen you looking perfectly healthy this morning," Georgie pointed out.
"Victor caught me coming upstairs with a bowl of milk," Amber explained. "I think he's suspicious. And he's got a scratch on his arm, it's definitely his cat you know. What do you think he was going to do with it?"
"I don't know…" Nina said, trailing off at the thought of the poor cat being a victim of Victor's experiments down in the cellar.
"Well, one thing is for sure," Amber said adamantly. "I am not leaving it on its own here all day. So if spots won't do it, I'll need a fever instead."
"You can borrow my hot-water bottle," Georgie offered. "A mug of tea is probably too suspicious for when Trudy will take your temperature - oh Nina, what did Patricia say?"
"Oh right!" Nina said, jumping into life. She explained that this man is an 'expert on Egypt' and apparently thinks the locket could be worth thousands, or even millions.
"I overheard Patricia on the phone to him," Georgie told her. "He's interested in Joy, too. She's not telling you the whole story."
They said goodbye to Amber and left the House, walking to school. "Maybe I should go," Nina said thoughtfully, patting the chain around her neck. "Maybe he knows something about this that could help us."
Georgie agreed and they met Fabian by their lockers in the hallway. Nina relayed to him what Patricia told her.
"You're going to meet this 'friend' though, are you?" He asked skeptically.
"Is it a terrible idea?" Nina asked him. "I'm just so intrigued…"
"I don't know," Fabian said in concern. "It could be dangerous."
"It's someone Patricia knows," Nina reasoned. "I mean, she may be lots of things but I don't think she wants me hurt." The looks on Georgie and Fabian's faces said differently, however. "Then again…"
"But it's someone who wants the locket?"
"Someone who's interested in the locket," Nina corrected. "And maybe he'll be able to give us some information. About it's history, its power, its connection to the search?"
"I don't like it," Fabian said truthfully.
"I don't either," Georgie admitted. "But I think it's our chance to find out what Patricia's up to."
"I won't even take it with me, ok?" said Nina. "I'll leave it with one of you."
"Fabian," Georgie said immediately. "Fabian should take care of it." She thought of her promise to Jerome, to follow Patricia whenever she snuck out to meet her 'friend.'
"Are you sure?" Fabian asked, surprised and pleased.
"I trust you." Nina and Fabian smiled at each other.
Suddenly, Alfie bounded up to the three of them, looking panicked. "I heard Amber's really, really ill. What's wrong with her?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine by, say, end of classes today?" Nina said to him, as they all shared a grin.
"You can survive one day without her," Georgie told him, patting him on the shoulder as they walked past him, his horror turning into confusion.
Georgie sat next to Jerome in Biology. He turned his head and raised his eyebrow, looking so handsome, in Georgie's mind. "Good morning." He brushed his foot and lower half of his leg against her, smirking.
She cleared her throat, narrowing her eyes at him. "Morning, Jerome."
He placed his elbow on the table, his chin leaning on his palm, looking straight at her. "Do I have the pleasure of your company today?"
"You do," she confirmed, not stopping the smile that appeared on her face. "Actually, I heard that Patricia is sneaking out to visit that bloke again today."
"Excellent work," he admired.
"Nina told me, it wasn't hard," Georgie said nonchalantly. "I think we all share a free period later, so I'll come find you when they're going."
He nodded. "Wait, 'they're going'?"
"Apparently this guy is interested in this locket of Nina's," Georgie explained. "So she's going with Patricia."
"Brave girl."
They couldn't speak anymore as Mr Sweet started the lesson. At the end, though, he handed out their marked assignments.
"Georgie … Jerome … Mara - excellent as usual. About fifty pages longer than it needs to be, but excellent all the same." He continued his rounds. "Patricia, not bad! Not bad at all. And Mick, well what can I say. We're right back to square one with a resounding thump. D+, and I was being kind. What happened?"
"Ouch," Georgie muttered, as Jerome sniggered.
The bell rang, signalling the end. Georgie bade goodbye to Jerome and followed Nina and Fabian out of the room. "So are you definitely going with Patricia then?"
"I am," she said heavily. "If I don't come back, send help."
They laughed, heading to English. After this was their free period; Georgie watched as Nina met with Patricia, and quickly went to find Jerome. He was in the common room, sitting by Alfie. She approached them from behind, putting her hands on Jerome's shoulders.
"I made Amber a 'get well soon' card," Alfie explained, as she looked over Jerome's head to see it. "It's awesome!"
Georgie laughed at the sight of a photo-shopped Amber lying inside a coffin on the front. "Amber in a coffin?" Jerome said skeptically. "Yeah, I'm sure that's going to make her feel a whole lot better."
"That's just the image!" Alfie said, as if there was something they were both missing from the gesture. "Read the poem."
Jerome opened the card and read aloud, "'I hope you didn't need an ambulance, 'cos I spent the whole day Amber-less. Without you classes were no fun, so get up Amber you lazy bum.'" Jerome didn't hesitate in ripping the card in half.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Alfie cried, taking the ripped pieces from Jerome.
"The biggest favour anyone has ever done for you." Jerome reached his hand up to caress Georgie's own that was still on his shoulder. Then he stood up, grabbed his bag and they left Alfie staring sadly at the remnants of his card.
"That was actually very nice of you," Georgie remarked. "I thought you were going to let him carry on and give it to her."
"I'm not all bad," he said, winking. "I'd hate to be predictable."
They quickly left the school, walking down the main country road and into the woods. They were conscious of the loud sound their shoes were making when they stepped on crunchy leaves and sticks, so they had to keep a fair distance, using Nina's distinctive American accent as their guide. "Why is she meeting him all the way out here?" Georgie wondered.
"Because of what we knew all along: he's a dodgy character," Jerome replied. "Honestly, sending schoolgirls into the woods."
"Christ…" They had to stop suddenly as the other two up ahead had rounded a corner and were waiting for him in a clearing. Georgie and Jerome peered through the gaps in the trees and Nina's bag appeared into view every now and then as she paced.
Georgie turned her head to look at Jerome, who was very close to her. He looked at her, as if forgetting about the other two. She reached out a hand to play with his hair, eventually resting her palm on his cheek. He put a hand on her waist and the other holding her free hand, leaning forward slightly until -
"There he is! I told you he'd...wait, is that Victor?"
"What's happening?" Their shrill voices made Georgie and Jerome jump apart, and Georgie ran until she saw Nina and Patricia peering over a bank, looking at the road.
"Get back!" Patricia warned Nina. "It's Rufus! I mean, Rene! Whatever."
Georgie stopping in her tracks behind them caused them to both turn around, as Jerome bought up the rear. "What the hell are you two doing here?" Patricia asked, outraged.
Nina however was peering back onto the road. "That's the man we saw visiting Sarah!"
Georgie ignored Patricia and stood by Nina, crouching in the bushes. She saw Victor opening the back of a truck, and 'Rufus' lying on the ground, with his eyes shut.
"What's going on? Who's Sarah?" Jerome asked suspiciously behind her. They all watched in horror as Victor dragged the man into the back of the truck, tucking his legs in and shutting the door. He looked around, so they ducked; he finally got into the truck, and drove away from them.
"Ok, what's going on?" Nina asked, snapping at Patricia. "And what's Victor got to do with it?"
"He's taken Rufus!" Patricia complained. "Now how am I going to find Joy?"
"Come on guys, let's head back," said Georgie, gently steering Nina away from where she was crouching.
Jerome and Georgie walked behind the other two as they returned to school. "What was that about?" Jerome asked her, looking concerned.
"I don't know," she said lamely, fiddling with her fingers.
"Liar." She looked at him, surprised by his harsh tone of voice. "Nina said 'we'."
"Nina still goes to see that old lady she met when she first got here, and I went with her the other day and that bloke Victor decided to kidnap was there," Georgie explained. "That's all I know."
"Is he asking around for Patricia, to help her find Joy?"
Georgie shrugged, not wanting to lie anymore. She couldn't tell him the secret she shared with Sibuna. They caught up with the other two, and they all walked in silence back to school.
Jerome left Georgie's side without saying a word when they got there.
"We have to tell Patricia everything," Nina said to Georgie, Amber and Fabian later that day, when they were back at Anubis House and in the girl's bedroom. Amber's sick day was in vain, as she had lost the cat when she fell asleep.
Georgie sighed. "Yeah. I suppose you're right."
"Is Jerome...asking questions?" Nina asked Georgie slowly, sharing a look with Fabian after what happened earlier.
"No. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks for not telling him," Nina said quietly. "I know how you feel about him."
Georgie didn't answer, so Amber sent a message to Patricia with a time and place to meet. After dinner, when they were sure everyone else was in their rooms, the five of them sat around the dining table.
Nina took a breath, looking nervously to and from the door. Georgie sighed. "I'll keep watch."
She smiled in thanks as Georgie moved to the main doorway. And then, she explained everything to the person they all probably expected the least.
"So you saw Rufus visiting this old lady Sarah?" Patricia confirmed, when she had finished.
"Yeah, she was the one who gave me the locket."
"The locket that Rufus is so interested in," said Fabian.
"Maybe Rufus was a jewellery trader, and Victor also collects diamonds," Amber suggested seriously. Fabian sighed at the unhelpful suggestion and Nina smiled at him sympathetically.
"What if the voice on the recordings is really Victor," Fabian said quietly.
"That would make Victor about a hundred and twenty!" Said Nina.
"Well remember Sarah on the recordings," Fabian said, explaining his theory. "She talked about experiments down in the cellar, and what was Victor making a toast to when he drank that funny-coloured stuff down there?"
"'To life'," Georgie said, hearing his own voice in her head as she said it to the others.
"Ok, so you're saying that Victor has some kind of an elixir that keeps him from growing old?" Nina asked Fabian.
"Oh yeah, and a jewellery heist is such a crazy idea," said Amber crossly. Well, she had a bit of a point there.
"This is mad!" Patricia exclaimed. "What's any of this got to do with Joy or Rufus?"
"Who knows," said Georgie, peering out of the doorway.
"And the cat?" Amber asked worriedly.
Georgie gasped and sat back down. "Everyone act cool. He's coming."
"I hate to break up this little chat," said Victor, sarcastically, entering the dining room. "But ten o'clock is fast approaching. I shall of course wish to hear a pin drop so I suggest you start getting ready for bed, immediately."
Quietly, they got up from the table and warily walked past him to go to their bedrooms. It was weird that she had spent a while in the same room as Patricia, and they had both got along. Patricia was even nice to be around, or normal rather. Georgie couldn't help but think about Jerome, though. It was Thursday tomorrow and the weekend was nearing...was their date still on? She wondered if she should even go on it, as there would always be this secret between them. Would it seriously be a choice between Sibuna and Jerome?
The next day, Georgie still had a horrible pit in her stomach. Her night was restless, and she so badly wanted to spill everything to Jerome, so he would be normal with her again. He didn't speak a word to her the whole afternoon when they returned from the woods, and barely looked in her direction. Georgie kept a straight face on the outside, to show it wasn't getting to her. But it was.
Liar. She heard his voice over and over again. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was expecting, following Patricia and Nina. When they agreed to follow Patricia in the first place little did Georgie know that Nina would be going with her. Maybe a part of her wanted Jerome to know something was going on…
She was in Physics, as they were revising electricity for the exam. She snapped out of her trance to hear Mr Sweet say, "What is the relationship between the electrical current and charge flow?"
I can't wait to drop this in September, she thought, peering down at her notes for the answer. Alfie had his hand up and Mr Sweet said in surprise, "Alfie?"
"I thought we were going to be dissecting a rat this week Mr Sweet."
"Eugh, gross," deadpanned Amber. "I think experimenting on animals is cruel and unnecessary -"
Georgie looked up at Fabian, who was sitting next to her. He was nodding to agree with Amber.
" - especially experimenting on cats." Fabian stopped nodded and looked sharply from Amber to their teacher. Georgie sighed, cupping her elbow in her palm. What is the point in keeping this secret if Amber was just going to give them away at every opportune moment?
"I don't think anybody experiments on cats nowadays Amber," replied Mr Sweet cooly.
"How do you know?" Amber asked. "I mean, what if someone was trying to make something. Like, I don't know, just off the top of my head - an elixir of life or something." Mr Sweet went from looking amused to concerned very quickly.
Nina, Fabian and Patricia looked furious. "What a strange idea...what a ridiculous idea…" Their teacher laughed nervously.
"It was just something I read in a book that's all," Amber quickly explained.
"Yeah, Nina and Fabian are researching Ancient Egypt for a History assignment and Amber was...er, in the room when the subject came up." Georgie received grateful looks from the others, as she tried to rescue the situation.
"Well, some alchemists in the Middle Ages did devote their life to searching for an 'elixir of life' and I'm sure they experimented on animals as part of their quest," Mr Sweet said with great interest. Clapping his hands, he continued, "And now, can we please get back to electrical charge flow?"
Outside of the lesson, Patricia tapped Amber's shoulder and asked abruptly, "What were you doing in there?"
"It's called 'research'. Didn't you hear what he said about experiments?" Amber said, justifying her actions. "That's why Victor had a cat. He was using it to experiment on." There was silence between them as their fellow students continued filing out of the classroom behind them. "See? I'm a genius."
"Didn't we guess that already?" Georgie snapped. "And next time do your research on bloody Google." With that, she stormed away, feeling anger bubble inside her. She shouldn't have snapped at Amber, even Patricia kept her cool, but the whole thing was just becoming a nuisance.
She sat in the drama studio a few minutes later, cooling off. They had drama next period. She sighed, regretting what she said now she felt her anger dissipate. Her short temper was definitely a flaw.
"Hey…" Georgie looked up to see Fabian and Nina entering, and sitting by her. "Are you ok?" Fabian asked her, sounded worried.
"Peachy," she murmured. She smiled at Fabian, despite everything. "Where are the other two?"
"They've gone down to the cellar," he told her. "To rescue the cat. But we really need some evidence, and some help."
"Maybe not yet Fabian," Georgie reasoned. "Who can we trust? Mr Winkler? Trudy?"
"Patricia said Jason was a no-go," Nina sighed. "But possibly Trudy." She started studying something on her phone, probably hoping for a message from Amber or Patricia, so Fabian leaned over to Georgie.
"I know when something's wrong with you Georgiana," he whispered. "What is it? Is it Jerome?"
"I suppose," she mumbled. She explained about what happened in the woods, and the silent treatment she's been getting since. Then again, she was too scared to say something to him in case he full-on ignores her.
Fabian rubbed her arm comfortingly, and using his free hand he pulled out the ring they had taken from the cellar. "Fancy a math challenge?" He grinned. "If that won't cheer you up, I don't know what will."
Georgie smiled, appreciating his effort to make her feel better. "Go on then."
Fabian wrote down the numbers that were inscribed on the pull-ring onto a piece of paper, and they tried to work out what it could mean. After a little while, Georgie's non-maths brain needed a break so she jumped up to stretch her legs. Nina too was pacing.
Georgie crossed her arms as Nina peered through the doorway to check nobody was coming, as they were on their own in the corner. She looked down at Fabian, still in his seat, puzzling over the riddle.
"This is really frustrating," he said. "It's nothing to do with prime numbers, square roots, sudoku ... are you ok?"
Georgie saw him look at Nina, who again looked out of the doorway. "I'm just worried that Amber plus Patricia plus cellar equals trouble. We should have all gone!"
"All five of us sneaking down there in the middle of the day?" Fabian said, not sounding convinced. "It's far too risky."
"Mm…" Nina paced towards Georgie, as Jerome walked in behind Fabian. They shared an awkward look.
"What's too risky?" asked Jerome. Fabian quickly shoved the tethering ring back into his bag as Nina shot an alarmed look in Georgie's direction. Jerome peered over Fabian's shoulder at the riddle written down on paper. "What is that?"
"It's just a math problem," Fabian said casually, as if it were no big deal. "Nothing you would understand!"
"Can I have a try?"
"No."
Georgie exhaled as Jerome put his bag down next to Fabian. "Ok." He snatched the paper from Fabian's lap and walked away, studying the paper and stopping next to Georgie. Fabian sighed in annoyance, and Nina said, "Um...we -"
"Sh sh," Jerome interrupted. Georgie bit her lip as Fabian looked pretty annoyed. After a pause he said, "One, two, and nine."
"What did you say?"
"I said one, two, and nine. I have no idea what the problem is, but they're the numbers that feature most." He looked from Nina to Fabian. "Five pounds, please."
"Get lost!" Jerome shrugged, screwed up the piece of paper and threw it into the corner of the room. He bumped past Georgie on purpose, knocking her shoulder, and she was about to finally say something until Amber and Patricia ran breathlessly into the room.
"Guess what guys?" said Amber. "Trudy's going to help us!"
Jerome from behind Georgie said, "Help you with what?" No one replied, as they awkwardly avoided eye contact; Nina managed an 'umm.' "'And the plot thickens', so they say."
As the rest of the class entered ready for Drama, the five of them sat down together. Apparently, the cat is now in the cellar stuffed. Amber got really upset and told Trudy about his experiments and begged her to help them.
"So you told Trudy everything?" Fabian asked, crestfallen.
Again, Georgie felt the anger inside her again. What was the point of all of this if Amber kept giving stuff away? This would never work…
"Well not everything, obviously," Patricia explained. "But enough. The cat, the experiments … Victor. We're going to make him open up that cellar and show us exactly what's down there."
Georgie looked up to see Jerome looking at her suspiciously. He actually softened his features a little bit when she caught him, and she felt relieved by that one little look.
"Afternoon everyone!" Mr Winkler had arrived, and walked through the bodies to stand closer to the stage at the back of the studio. "Time marches on, and we need to decide on a subject matter for our school play. I was thinking we should write our own! Ideas, anyone?"
Usually Georgie, being interested in English and writing, would have offered to help out but she couldn't bring herself to volunteer. Nobody else did either.
"No? Ok…" Mr Winkler laughed slightly. "How about something on...Egypt?" He looked at Nina and Fabian, remembering their History project.
Fabian's face lit up, but Amber said, "Ok, how about we do a story about a young girl who loses her parents in mysterious circumstances when they steal some treasure from an Egyptian pyramid."
"Uh-oh," Georgie heard Nina mutter. Amber was seriously out-doing herself.
Amber looked at the others for inspiration, let out a breath and continued, "AND then the girl is bought up by a weird guardian in a big, old house. BUT then the guy tries to steal the treasure, and the girl has to try and stop him, but then she gets some help from her friends who are from the future. AND they find the treasure, and the girl's really happy and the friends are very rich. And then, they all live happily ever after." She smiled innocently. "The end."
Nina had her face in her hands, and Fabian was dragging his fingers down his cheeks in disbelief. Georgie rolled her eyes at the whole thing and crossed her arms, but Amber never looked more pleased with herself. "Ok!" Mr Winkler said, his surprise at her 'story' waning. "Well done Amber! That sounds promising … do you want to have a go at writing up an outline for the next session?"
Her face fell at this request. "Um, I think I might need some help with that. Nina?"
Nina looked up and forced a smile at this, reluctantly agreeing.
At the end of the lesson, all four of them cornered Amber. "Do you want us to get found out?" Georgie asked her in exasperation. "Because that's the third person you've mentioned it to in the space of one day."
"They must see that what they're doing isn't right!" Amber insisited. "We won't take it standing up."
"Lying down," Georgie corrected, through gritted teeth. She saw that Fabian and Nina looked amused despite everything, and this cooled Georgie down. "Alright, Amber. What's done is done."
"We're meeting Trudy at some point after dinner tonight by the way," Patricia informed them. "And she's getting Victor for us so we can-"
"Guys, I'm sitting this one out," Georgie said, informing them of her decision. She had thought about it during Drama. "I don't think this is a good idea, and-"
"Yeah right," Patricia rudely interrupted. "You're just ditching us to be with Jerome, especially after he was interrogating you yesterday. You're planning on telling him."
"'Us'?" Georgie asked, outraged. "You've only known about this for five minutes! And yes I do plan on explaining myself to Jerome, because he deserves something, but I don't plan on spilling everything because my name's not Amber."
"Alright," Fabian said, attempting to defuse the conversation as Amber opened her mouth to retort. "We're all in this together, we need to be untied for later on. But Georgie if you don't like our plan - and I'm not convinced telling Trudy was the right thing to do either - then I understand if you won't be there."
"Thank you," she said.
Amber sighed sadly. "It's 'this' that caused my breakup with Mick. You might lose Jerome, Georgie, if you're not careful. I understand, too."
Georgie felt surprised at her wise words before hugging her tightly. This was the best friend Georgie loved, and Amber hugged her back.
"Good luck, guys."
After dinner that evening, Georgie knocked on Mara's bedroom door. She opened it and smiled instantly, "Hey Georgie."
"Hey Mara." She followed Mara inside and sat with her on the bed. "So I thought, we haven't spoken in a while, since our group split up. Fancy a catch up?"
Mara's wide smile was her reply. Georgie thought she must be feeling a bit lonely seeing as Patricia has been with them all day.
Georgie found out that Mara has been encouraging Mick to discover his own career path, as his dad has been pushing for him to become a doctor. Mick's even taking science at A-Level, for that bizarre reason.
Mara asked how Georgie's netball training was going, and they caught up like nothing had ever happened.
She was the easy one. Georgie left and saw the others sitting in the living room, waiting for Victor seemingly. She nervously walked to Jerome's room, knocking on the door and entering.
He was lying on his bed, and he was alone. "Not with your posse I see."
She sighed. "Jerome, I didn't…" She had rehearsed in her mind what it was she was going to say, but it wouldn't come out of her mouth. He was looking at her, as she hovered in the doorway, hand on the doorframe.
"Come in," he muttered, and she shut the door, sitting on the edge of his bed. He sat up and crossed his legs. "Look Georgie, something is going on, and you're keeping it from me. You knew before we saw that man Patricia was seeing get put into the back of Victor's truck. He could be dead for all we know."
Georgie's eyes widened. She had hardly thought of him. "Alright. I'm sorry for not telling you, but I'll tell you what I know. The reason why I didn't say anything because technically it's not my secret to tell." He nodded, so she went on. "Nina found some old Egyptian artefacts and some old recordings from somebody who used to live here in the attic. At the same time Patricia tried to dig deeper to be able to talk to Joy, but she got stopped by the school, and even by the police. So she got in touch with that man we saw in the woods, and he asked her to look for Egyptian artefacts. That's why she took Nina with her yesterday. Plus, Nina thinks the girl in the recordings she found is this old lady Sarah she visits in the Care Home."
Jerome stared at her in surprise, taking in the information. "Wow."
"To search for more Egyptian stuff we sneaked down into the cellar and saw a lot of weird things down there. Including this cat. And we have this theory about Victor…" She looked at Jerome nervously. "You'll never believe me, so here goes nothing. We think he experiments down there. He drank something out of a test tube." She decided it was better to omit the elixir of life theory, for now. They definitely needed more proof of that.
"So that's why you're all so secretive."
"Nina hates people knowing, it takes a while for her to accept somebody new," Georgie explained. "Trust me, sometimes I wish I didn't know."
Jerome nodded in understanding. "Thank you for telling me. And I'm sorry, too."
"Do you … do you still want to date me?" Georgie asked uncertainly.
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
"Prove it," she dared him, whispering.
He licked his lips, as she smirked. Placing a hand on her leg, he uncrossed his own and leaned forward. Georgie turned her head slightly to the side, and moved to meet him halfway -
There was a commotion happening outside. They both stopped, looking confused. Georgie looked to his closed door, frowning, as Jerome sighed, dropping his head. There were raised voices, and a door slammed. Why was there always an interruption?
Alfie bounded into the room, looking ready to explain the noise.
"Trudy's been fired!"
Author's Note: I'm a tease, I know. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for waiting patiently for it! Thank you so much to you guys who reviewed, and to everybody who has favourited/followed the story. :)