riddle me this. ― ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴᴜʙɪꜱ

thirty.

"i'm looking for eleanor," bella stated. "about this tall, blonde hair ― she has my science notes." she continued, explaining the girl descriptively even though he probably knew who she was talking about considering they all live together.

"yeah, sure." he nodded, again surprised by her abrupt change of topic. "let me go grab her―"

"can we come in?" bella quickly added before the boy could turn away. confused as to why she was asking, he simply nodded his head and stepped out of the way for the two girls to enter. bella and amber were amazed at how similar the house looked to their own, it was practically identical. the floor plan was the same, with the sitting room and dining room to their left, a long hallway in front of them and the staircase to their right. it even had the crazy egyptian decor, albeit a little less intense than anubis house. 

"i'll be right back," the boy caught their attention again. "i think she's up in her room." bella and amber nodded, watching as the boy made his way up the stairs. "oh, by the way," he turned around, grabbing their attention before they could begin snooping around. "the name's jake," he smiled, showing off his pearly, white teeth. "jake moore." and after that, he finally disappeared up the stairs. 

"what a pain." bella mumbled as amber chuckled. 

"was he seriously flirting with both of us at the same time?" amber questioned, causing the two to giggle at his behaviour. bella shook her head, sobering up as she stepped into the foyer and had a look around.

"amber, look." bella pointed at a painting on the wall a little down the hallway, walking over to it as amber followed suite. 

"it's the flower on your ring." amber commented as bella lifted her hand next to the painting, the ring sitting still. the painting itself was almost like a wallpaper print, with the lotus flowers outlined and connected to each one. however, after a few seconds, the outlines of the flowers began to glow the same orangey-red that her ring also copied.

as if finally being awakened after hundreds of years, the house seemed to make a weird groaning sound before the painting swung open like a door, almost taking bella out had she not stepped back in time. the two curiously peaked inside, knowing that they had no time to waste trying to understand why it opened.

"a book?" amber questioned, disappointment clear in her tone as bella reached in and lifted the said book into her hands.

"not just any book," bella smiled, showing amber the cover. "mei's diary." however, the two had no time to discuss their discovery when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. bella hurriedly shoved the book into her bag and shut the painting door as she heard it click back into place.