Force of Nature ▸ House of Anubis [3]

chapter sixty-one. house of treachery

            "Maybe Fabian was dreaming," I suggest with a sigh, exiting the antechamber and heading back to the passageway. "Maybe he dreamt the crash."

            "No, he was freaked out," KT denies as she follows me through the oven. "He heard something." Within ten seconds, we meet up with everyone else in the entrance hall. None of them look like they found anything either. "Nothing."

            "It would help if we knew what we were looking for," Alfie adds.

            "Well, look," Fabian insists, "I'm telling you, there was a huge crash."

            "We've looked everywhere," Eddie says.

            "Not everywhere," Patricia states, and again, I get that feeling. Her voice is exactly the same but... "What about the secret room?"

            Fabian swallows and nods. "Let's go." He's the first one into the secret room, taking lead on the mission because he's insistent he heard a crash. It's dark and I've fallen back with KT, and hear him say, "No, no, no, no, no, no." I share a concerned look with the others and push forward. "Not the phonograph!"

            "What?" I ask sharply. The phonograph—it's been destroyed! "Oh, my God."

            "It's wrecked. This is a disaster."

            "But no one knows about this place," KT says. "Except us."

            My eyebrows raise high as I look over at her with wide eyes. "KT, you're not implying that..."

            Patricia cuts in, "Maybe it was Denby or Victor."

            Fabian stands from the phonograph pieces. "Okay, look. If they went to this much trouble to smash it, then it must have been important. Maybe this has the answer we need to stop Frobisher."

            "Then we have to fix it," Eddie states.

            "Right now," KT says, "we have to get out of here before anyone finds us. Come on."

—

            "And I just wanted to check on the progress of this term's drama module." Sweet's voice drones in our ears as he speaks to the entire class about something frankly irrelevant to me. Someone destroyed the phonograph and the last thing we need is fake drama. "Have you given any thought to what your final piece might be?" Yeah. You really think anyone in this class has been focused on the drama module? "Um, anyone?"

            "Uh, perhaps a school play," Denby suggests. Was it her or Victor that destroyed the phonograph or... "And I'd be happy to assist in any individual one-on-one coaching." I sigh deeply, tapping my pencil against my notebook. I literally could not care less.

            "School play it is, then!" Sweet decides.

            "Awesome," Alfie's voice remarks, and he actually sounds happy about it.

            "And don't forget, this will count for your final grades."

            "Not awesome."

            Mara raises her hand. "Can I write it, sir?"

            "That's an excellent idea, Mara," Sweet agrees. "Unless any other bright spark would like to put their hand up."

            Before anyone (including Fabian beside me) can raise their hands to volunteer, Mara adds, "Can I write it with Joy, sir?" Joy looks confused about being volunteered without permission. I'm so gonna be comparing their co-writing expedition to Amber and Nina's writing of The Mysteries of Anubis.