Force of Nature ▸ House of Anubis [3]

chapter twenty-three. house of sisters

            "No," the five of us say.

            "Oh. Then I may have made a small error in judgment."

—

            The next morning at school, Willow corners me, appearing beside my locker out of nowhere. I jump at the sudden sight of her but before I can say something, she holds out a clipboard and a pen to me.

            "Hello, future roomie!" Willow exclaims, giving me a wide grin. Oh, no. "We can be roommates and everything you've ever wanted if you sign my petition to join Anubis House."

            My eyebrows raise as I close my locker slowly. "Willow—"

            "Yes, Ashley?"

            "I mean this in the nicest way possible," I say slowly, trying to think of the best excuse possible for my not wanting her as a roommate, "but I think that maybe Amber's bed should be kept as, say, a shrine to her. To remember her and her handprint on our hearts."

            Willow frowns, looking at her clipboard. "Oh. I understand." She stays quiet for another second and I'm about to sneak away, but suddenly she snaps her head back up with another grin. "But! I think she would've wanted me to take her bed, you know, knowing how close we were."

            Or how close you wanted to be. That sounds more accurate. This girl just doesn't stop, does she? I mean, if I didn't already know what sucks about Isis House, I might wonder why she wants out of there so badly. But to move into crowded Anubis House, where we're, like, one second away from moving two of us into the creepy attic?

            "Listen, Willow," I say, "I've really got to go so maybe—maybe I'll look at your petition later. Or never. I've got to go. Sorry." With that I turn around and walk into the classroom where Fabian, KT, and Alfie are waiting. I stop in my tracks, seeing Alfie looking out the window blinds and close them back dramatically. Walking closer to KT and Fabian, I say quietly, "He's still in zombie-mode?"

            "When has Alfie ever not been in zombie-mode?" Fabian asks in the same hushed tone. Alfie turns away from the window, tapping the tips of his fingers against the others, like a cheesy movie villain talking about his diabolical plan. Patricia comes in, also seeing Alfie's zombie-hunter-ness, but instead of questioning it, she just raises an eyebrow, shrugs, and sits on top of one of the desks. "Good to see you got over the whole zombie attack thing then, Alfie," Fabian remarks as Alfie comes near us.

            "What?" Alfie says. "No way. You're playing right into the zombie's hands. No, no, I've just gone mobile, a moving target. Also, Victor said that if I don't get out of his sight, then, uh, he'd make me wish I'd never been born."

            "A verbal warning?" Patricia questions. "That's it?"

            "I know. It's weird, right?"

            Eddie walks in, talking to someone on his phone. "No, no, that's impossible. All right, just check again. Hello?" He lowers the phone from his ear, shaking his head as he joins us. "All right, so that was the clinic hanging up on me."

            "Because they're in such a hurry to come and collect their escaped patient?" Patricia asks hopefully.

            "No, I wish," he answers. "The nurse said Harriet Denby's there." What? She's there? Then who is teaching us business ed? "So, if they've got Harriet—" He's interrupted by the woman herself, Harriet Denby—or whatever she name is—telling a student not to run. She continues walking past the classroom, fortunately not spotting us. "Then who's that?"