What Lies Beneath ▸ House of Anubis [1]

chapter twenty-five. house of fakers

☾ ☽

            "Good morning, good morning, good morning," Alfie announces, more cheerful than usual as he and Clarke come in for breakfast. I glare at him and his happiness, exhausted. I hardly got any sleep last night after the incident in the cellar, whatever that was. "I trust everyone slept well last night."

            "What's it to you?" Patricia asks roughly.

            "I just care. Sleep is an essential part of life."

            "So, tell me," Clarke remarks, and his voice is literally the last thing I need this morning, "did anyone hear that cat last night? Sounded like a combination of a very old goat and a screaming baby."

            "It wasn't a cat, it was me," Amber states. "And you would scream, too, if you were cornered by a pair of zombies!"

            "Amber!" Fabian whisper-shouts.

            My eyes widen. "What did I say about mentioning the z-word in front of Alfie?!"

            But Clarke's not fazed, nor is Alfie. "And once again," Clarke says, "we enter the strange and unpredictable world that is Amber's mind."

            "Jerome," Alfie starts, "you must've heard the rumors of what's buried down in the cellar."

            "Yes, I have. The two teachers who were buried alive."

            "You can hear their stomachs rumbling. And at night, they come out and eat your brains!"

            "Alfie!" Amber exclaims as he pretends to eat her.

            I tear my muffin in half and throw each half at Clarke and Alfie. They were the skeleton-zombies in the cellar last night! Of course they were! No wonder they look so pleased with themselves this morning! "You're both dead to me!"

            "I think we found our zombies," Fabian remarks.

            "You pig! I've never been so scared in my whole life!" Amber shouts at the Tweedles. They're just smiling. "Except for that time when my dad froze my allowance."

            "Amber—" Clarke puts the exact zombie mask he had on last tonight to his face and roars in hers.

            "You think you're really funny, don't you?" Patricia snarks. Clarke and Alfie high-five. "Well, you're not."

            "Lighten up, it was a joke," Clarke comments dismissively. I shake my head, glaring. "And what were you doing down there, anyway?" None of us answer. What exactly does he expect us to say? "Oh, haven't they gone quiet all of a sudden, Alfie?"

            I roll my eyes. Mara comes in, saying a happy hello to Mick (and others) which is returned awkwardly by him. Wonder what that's about.