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KT sits by herself on a chair across from us in the lounge, where further auditions will be taking the place. The rest of the house is here as well; Joy's beside me as I show her the pages in Lily's diary, and to say she's excited is an understatement.
"This is fascinating," Joy says, and I can feel Fabian's judgmental eyes on us. "Your grandmother was fascinating. She wrote all of these down by memory from a dream?"
"Yeah, believe it or not," I confirm. "I'm hoping she didn't get any messed up and it's an order for take-out. That would suck."
"I doubt that. Have you translated any of them?"
I nod, pointing toward the hieroglyphs as I give her the translations. "Rise and dark sun."
"Dark sun—like that parchment. That's just two out of what—three dozen? This is going to take a while. Can I take a pic?"
Joy's already taking her phone out to take a photo of the page, so I nod. On the stage, Mara's shouting for us to be quiet, but it doesn't do anything. So, then Jerome's voice says loudly (too loudly), "Hey, guys, uh quiet down. Quiet down." Joy pushes her phone back in her purse. "So we have a—"
"I had it under control," Mara interrupts, stepping in front of him as she pushes him out of the way. "I am in charge here."
Joy leans toward me and whispers, "They're having creative differences over the script. He still doesn't understand a word of it despite us explaining it to him in Jerome-speak." I smile, elbowing her lightly.
"Actually, Mara," Jerome continues as Joy and I watch them amused, "this bit—what we in show business call 'the stage'—" he says this dramatically while pushing her to the side and holding his arms high, "—is the director's turf."
Alfie lets out a frustrated sigh as he sets his phone down. "Where is Willow?"
Sweet comes in, seemingly out of nowhere. "Apparently, Miss Jenks has gone shopping for costumes."
"Did you see Willow this morning?" I ask Joy, nodding my head toward Alfie ever-so-subtly. "He's been going out of his mind. She won't answer the phone."
Joy shakes her head. "No, she was gone before I woke up. Probably wanted to get to the stores before the day began."
"Yeah, but shouldn't she be here by now?"
"She's probably channeling Amber. She'll be there 'til lights' out."
I nod, finding it believable. Willow worshiped Amber—it's not strange that she'd want to be in charge of costumes and would use her life motto WWAD (What Would Amber Do?) to do that. "So, uh, you gonna audition? You'll know the lines better than any of us would."
She shrugs, half-smiling. "I don't know. If it comes down to it, I'll do it, but I'm not planning on it."
"What is it about, anyway? What's the relationship between the main characters?"
"Best friends," she answers. "We decided to leave it open-ended how they think of each other beyond that, if it's familial or romantic or just platonic. You know, let the audience speculate and interpret it on their own. Really, it's just a story about the relationship between women—you know, like me, Willow, and Mara. You, Nina, and Amber. Me and Patricia, too, but she's been acting a little... weird."
"Weird how?"
"I don't know. Just off. But she says she's fine."
I glance at Patricia, seated on the other couch with the rest of Sibuna excluding KT, out of the corner of my eye. "I'm sure she is."
—
After some pretty horrible auditions, I get a Sibuna emergency text from Alfie to follow them so we could talk. I left Joy to talk out the play with Jerome and Mara and followed my Sibunas save KT, learning from Fabian that's Alfie's still worried about Willow.
"I still think we should at least look for Willow," Alfie says as we follow him into an empty classroom. "She'd do the same thing for us. You know, if she knew about the whole ancient Egyptian quest responsibilities we have."
"It's completely in character for Willow to want to do the costumes," I reassure him. "Remember how much she admired Amber? And you've been in those stores in town—you can't get a signal in half of them. She's fine, I'm sure."
As footsteps sound at the door, I turn around and find that it's KT, who just keeps walking in. "Hey, don't stop," she says as we stare. "Just let me get out my notebook. Make sure I got everything down for the next Team Evil progress report."
Alfie takes a small step toward her, his voice more concerned than anything, "KT, if you know what happened to Willow—"
"Hold on, let me call my great-grandpops and ask."
"Hey, look," Fabian says sharply, "we really want to believe you, but that's not helping."
KT looks at him, eyes narrowed. "Yeah. You've already decided I'm guilty, so... what's the point?" She hitches her bag on her shoulder and goes back to the door before anyone says something. She turns back around and looks at all five of us. "You want to know the worst thing for you guys... is I know it's not me, so it's one of you, which means you're in more danger than I am."
As KT leaves, I let out a deep sigh, sharing a look with Fabian. He has to be more likely to believe that Joy gave me KT's complete alibi now.
"That's it," Alfie says. "I've got to find Willow."
"Where are you going?" Eddie asks as our comic-relief possible-Cherry-in-the-play begins to leave.
Alfie turns back. "To look for her... someplace."
The gatehouse—it's where he would go if he thought Willow was in danger. I make sure my bag doesn't fall off my shoulder, catching up with him. "You're not going alone. Not there. I'm coming with you."
He doesn't argue.
—
The gatehouse—one of the various hellmouths of the school. Also a place I promised not to go back to alone, but I'm not alone this time. I'm not even here for me. I'm here for Alfie, my best friend, and Willow, the girl he loves. On the chance she is here, we have to get her out. And before Denby or Frobisher catch us.
I motion to Alfie to be quiet as we enter through the secret passageway and he nods, pointing toward the stairs. I nod, following him, but one of the steps creaks and we both freeze in place. Honestly, I'm fully prepared to push him out the door but he shakes his head and continues up the stairs, outside the study.
"It's Willow," he whispers to me, and I peer around the door. Willow looks terrified and she's backing away from something—someone we can't see until he decides to stop hiding from behind the bookcase. "Frobisher!"
"Stay back," I warn him quietly, grabbing his arm as I push him behind me. "Don't worry, my hand's been healing."
"Like that helps! We just gotta keep calm, we can do this."
"Yeah. Just be prepared to grab Willow and run."
"What?! What are we doing? What's your plan?"
"I don't have one. I was just gonna wing it."
"Oh. Okay, we'll just wing it."
(We're still whispering through the entire conversation.)
But we don't get a chance to do anything, because I push Alfie back a little more and he bumps into a coat rack in the hallway, therefore making a lot of noise. Alfie and I both grab onto each other's sleeves, but no footsteps sound. Taking a risk by looking into the room again, Frobisher's advancing toward Willow again. He has to be trying to take her as a sinner.
Is he stupid? Does this girl even know the definition of the word sin?
"No, don't go up there, Willow," Alfie whispers as Frobisher backs her up toward the door that leads to the tank room.
"Did I get the role?" Willow asks.
"Oh," and there's Frobisher's chilling, evil voice, "I think I can find a part for you to play. A tragic one."
I lean toward Alfie, whispering quickly, "I'm gonna punch him."
"You're not gonna punch him," Alfie says just as quickly, looking like a lightbulb lit above his head. He reaches into his pocket and looks at something, a pen with his name on it. "I've got an idea. Come on." He doesn't try to be subtle as he runs out, and he even shouts, "Frobisher, come and get me!"
"Oh, that's your idea?!" I ask incredulously. "How's this any better than mine?!"
"Quick, open that door!" Alfie instructs. I do as he says, as he's the one with the plan. He hits the button for the elevator, pulling me onto it. The doors barely close before Frobisher and Denby make it down. It's an agonizing ride back to the study and Alfie runs out. I remain in the elevator, ready to pull the lever and get us back down. Alfie grabs Willow and pulls her into the elevator, and I pull the lever.
The doors are barely closing before a hand reaches through the gap and takes Willow's forearm. Alfie runs forward and grabs Frobisher's arm, trying to get him to release his grip, whereas I try to pry his fingers off her arm. It succeeds, and his arm disappears and the doors close. When the elevator opens and we get her to run out the door with us, I look at her.
"Hey, Willow," I say, breathing heavily. That was quite a ride. "What's up?"
—
"Wow." Eddie's reaction to Alfie and I telling him what went down at the gatehouse is simple. Alfie's plan was brilliant and way better than mine, which was to punch him. What? It was fun the first time. Painful, but fun. "I'm impressed."
"I had to save her," Alfie says. "Frobisher—who is seriously creepy and a teensy bit mad, by the way—was really angry with her." I nod to agree as Patricia mumbles something under her breath. "Willow is one tough cookie."
"Yeah, she didn't even crack," I say. "She thought it was an acting class."
"Dude," Eddie says, "I'm so sorry we didn't help you out. I just didn't think they'd go after her."
"None of us did," I say, trying to absolve some of his guilt. "If they're looking for sinners, Willow's the last person I expected them to go to. And honestly, I wanna know what idiot told Frobisher Willow's a prime candidate for a sinner when the only sin she's ever committed is... nothing. She's a literal angel."
"But you two got away," Fabian says, pointing between me and Alfie. "I mean—I mean, you're safe. But they don't know it was you two?"
"Please," Alfie scoffs off the idea. "I know how to pull off a rescue mission. I left not a trace."
"Neither did I, by the way," I say. "But seriously, you should have seen him—Alfie was a hero. No, he didn't ask me to say that. It's my genuine thoughts."
Alfie smiles proudly. "She just wanted to punch him again."
"Well, don't we all?" I remark, and he chuckles lightly. "We didn't leave anything behind."
But then Alfie's face falls. He checks his pockets and says slowly, "Except my pen... which has my name on it."
"You left the pen?" I ask him with wide eyes. "Alfie!"
Fabian's initial reaction is the complete opposite of mine. "You have a personalized pen?!"
—
"Thank you, Patricia, please take a seat."
Patricia steps down from the stage after a particularly horrible audition. She throws the script onto the stage. I get up from my chair in the lounge to stand by Jerome, inquiring, "Has anyone good auditioned so far?"
"Only Joy," Jerome says. "She nailed it. She's definitely going to be one of the leads. We're just looking for the other one. Would you care to audition?"
"Definitely not. I'm already getting my credits through make-up and crew stuff."
Jerome chuckles lightly and says, "KT, you're up." KT hesitantly and shyly steps onto the stage. "And—"
"Action," Mara interrupts.
"I'm going to kill her."
"Keep her alive," I advise him, "she's my roommate."
KT looks at all of us, all of Anubis House, and looks over at Jerome. "I'm not sure I can do this."
"Go on, KT," he encourages, "go for it. Stage is yours."
KT swallows and glances at the script in her hand, reading from it in a sad and truthful tone. Clip notes from what Joy told me: Mandy (main character) thinks her friend Jo (other main character) might have a crush on Mandy's cheating ex (who doesn't actually appear as a speaking character) and she's upset about it. The actual lines are, "But, Mandy, you've got it all wrong about me and Aaron. I'm a good friend. I would never betray you."
That's not acting. She's reading these from her heart. She just sold that she's innocent completely to me and I hope to everyone else. KT's not our traitor.
"We have a winner," Jerome states certainly. "KT, you've got the part. You're Jo."
Alfie stands up as the ones who aren't Sibuna clap for her. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hold on. Hold on. She doesn't deserve to be the lead." Eddie grabs Alfie's jumper and pulls him back to the couch, whispering something to him I can't hear. Whatever it is, I can still tell Eddie doesn't believe KT, and she turns around and leaves the stage.
"Oh, great, a diva," Jerome snarks.
I hit his arm. "She's got a lot going on, okay? I don't think she can do the play."
"But she has to. You saw her, she was brilliant."
"Yeah, I know, but...give her a day."
"What if she says no? Are you going to audition?"
"No way. I'll convince Mara to do it. I can probably do her make-up better than my own," I comment, taking note of the tilted head my boyfriend is giving me. "I don't want to audition!"
"Oh, come on," Jerome says. "Just once. You need the credit."
"I'm a one-woman crew! I'm not doing it."
"Ash..."
"Bite me, Clarke, I'm not auditioning."
Anyway, that's how I was forced to audition to be an understudy and how I completely botched it on purpose.