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I write down my latest one-liner regarding Joy and Willow's relation in the tense silence of the lounge. All of Anubis House is here and rehearsals are over, so now we're just... existing together. It's very quiet, but I don't mind. It's giving me a chance to make fun of them on paper, because I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste.
"Well," Jerome's voice breaks the silence and I look over at him stepping down from the stage. "As rehearsals go, that was, uh... shocking." KT and Eddie glare at each other. "What is going on between you two?"
"Hey, there's nothing going on with me," Eddie defends. "Okay, I'm the same as I was ever was. Let's just make that clear."
I shrug as Jerome sets his hand on my shoulder, still watching KT and Eddie. KT's response to what Eddie said is, "You know what? I'm sick of this. I'm guessing it would be a lot easier if I wasn't in this play. So I'm gonna do you a favor." She stands. "I quit. Sorry, Jerome. Find another Jo."
KT leaves the lounge and I look down at my notebook, closing it. I forgot about the tension with her with the rhymes and the shocks we've had about them today. Things are just... wrong lately.
"That is just great," Jerome states sarcastically, throwing his arm toward the doorway.
Fortunately, most of Sibuna is already close by together, so we all lean forward in a tiny huddle. Patricia snarks, "See? That is not normal behavior."
"Yeah, definitely a Frombie," Alfie agrees.
I shake my head. "I disagree. Look, Fabian, you said something about expecting a sinner's behavior to be heightened, right? She's not... at all sinnerlike. She's sad."
"Well, either way," Alfie says before we (read: me and Patricia) could get into a debate about it, "shouldn't someone go after her?"
"No, let her go," Eddie states. "We can't just keep locking her up. We have to stick together. Then we'll be safe."
"If she's the sinner," I say, "or whoever the sinner is if it turns out it's not her... they're gonna slip up sometime." I unwittingly glance at Patricia as I say this. "We just gotta wait."
—
Following KT's quitting of the play, Mara and Joy are scrambling to find a new Jo and people who actually want to be in the stupid thing. I just want to do make-up and lighting, that's all I want. So after school, the two girls made all of us gather in the living room—minus KT, who quit— so they could talk us into it again. I'm sitting on the arm of the chair Jerome's in, his arm around me and discreetly pulling me toward him further.
Mara paces in front of the fireplace as she inquires, "Do you want to be in this play or not?"
"Not really," I say as everyone else gives similar answers.
"Guys," Jerome points out, and he hits his palm against my waist as well.
"Well, if we want to pass this module," Mara says, "we have to be. So it's time to shut up, step up, and get it done. Who's in?" Willow's the only one who raises her hand as the rest of us exchange unwilling looks. "Okay, I'll put it another way. We're in front of the whole school on Friday. We can work hard and not look stupid, or we can slack off and become social pariahs."
"Pariahs?" Patricia repeats.
"Oh, God, not pariahs," Fabian mutters.
"Would that really matter, though?" I remark with furrowed brows, earning a bunch of annoyed looks that I've grown used to. "It's not like any of us actually talks to anyone outside of Anubis, far as I know. What difference would it make?"
Mara shoots me a disapproving look. "Aside from Ashley, who's up for ruining their lives forever?" Willow raises her hand again but Alfie pulls it down. "And who's up for saving their reputations?"
Fabian says, "Oh, I never really had a rep—"
"Fabes," Joy interrupts sharply.
Jerome grabs my arm and puts it in the air, volunteering me for the play. "Put your hand up."
With everyone's hands raised, Mara's pleased. "Good. Okay, auditions for the role of Jo will commence in five minutes."
—
"I need my lucky hat!" Willow exclaims as she opens up the living room doors, which have been closed so we don't disturb Victor (wherever he is). The second she opens them, a chill runs through my veins, and I don't like it. But I force myself to ignore it and to keep looking through the script given to me.
"Ashley," Mara says, "you're up first. And please, try to put some feeling into it this time."
I frown, reluctantly standing from my chair as Willow comes in with her lucky hat on. "I just want to do the make-up and the lighting. You really don't want me to be in your play."
Mara tilts her head. "Joy, could you be her scene partner, please? I think she needs one."
"Happily," Joy agrees, getting up from the crew's couch. She gives me a reassuring smile, her own script in hand as she starts it off. "Jo, it—it's all right if you like Aaron." I look at the script, trying to find where she's starting from. "I'm fine with it. So... you should go for it, if it'll make you happy."
Right, this is the scene KT auditioned with. So I read the next line, trying to make it better than my original audition (which I botched on purpose, but Mara's desperate so I'll be nice and make this one better), "But Mandy, you've got it all wrong about me and Aaron. I'm a good friend. I would never betray you."
"Really?"
"Really."
Joy smiles. Then she clears her throat, nodding at me as she sits again. "That—that was good, Ashley."
"Please don't cast me," is my response. "I just... let me be the one-woman crew, nothing else. Please."
"We'll see," Mara says, marking on her clipboard. "You can sit, Ashley. And Jerome, you can't be biased toward her, you have to be objective."
"I'm never biased toward her," Jerome claims.
"Yes, you are. Patricia, do you want to go next?" Mara asks, but Patricia shakes her head. "Well, uh, Willow?"
Willow takes my spot in front of the fireplace as I go back to my chair. Eddie gives me a sarcastic thumbs-up and I push his hand away as Willow buzzes her lips, prepping for auditioning. She stretches next, and it goes on for a while, and it's awkward and amusing at the same time. Is... is she interpretive dancing?
"Um..." Jerome says, as bewildered as the rest of us. "What?"
"I think she's demonstrating the life cycle of a tree," Joy says slowly, "through the medium of dance." I... have no idea how she got that from that.
"Oh. Next!"
Willow sits down. Joy says, "Well, I think that's everyone. Ashley, I guess you're Jo."
"What?" I ask quickly. "No! No, no, no, no, no. Please, do not make me get on a stage in front of the entire school and do this."
Mara looks at me curiously. "I didn't realize you had stage fright, Ash. It seems... so unlike you."
"I agreed to do this play and the last for the sole reason of physical art, with a brush," I inform her. "And—and for the grade. I don't do the talking art. Or the singing art, or any kind of art you can't find at a craft store. Look, M-Mara, maybe you should be Jo. I mean, you want to do it more than anyone and Joy is already playing Mandy, so you—you should be Jo. Yeah, you should be Jo."
"I'm the writer, it'd be a conflict of interest."
Joy frowns. "Well... no. I'm in it and I'm the writer, too. And you're a good actress, too. I saw you in that play Nina and Amber wrote—"
"You were there?"
"Uh..." Joy looks over at me as everyone else gets up to leave. "Long story, but yes, I was. And you were brilliant. So... maybe you and me are Jo and Mandy."
I leave to let them work it out, going upstairs to my room, but I can't shake the feeling on the way up that someone was watching me.
—
Breakfast is the same as always. My routine is the same as always—wake up, get ready for school, go downstairs, and eat cereal and orange juice, and the occasional pancake or muffin. Sometimes, depending on if there are any non-Sibunas there, we discuss the latest find. If not, we discuss the latest gossip. Today, seeing as how at the table it's just me, Fabian, Eddie, Mara, and Joy so far, we don't talk about Sibuna. But our latest piece of gossip comes from Trudy, who's over the moon about something.
"So," she says as Alfie comes in, "today's the day. Curtain up. How're you all feeling?"
"I think I have stage fright," Alfie remarks.
"And that is why I refuse to be Jo," I state.
"So you do have stage fright?" Mara questions.
"I didn't say that."
"Yes, you did."
Eddie kicks me underneath the table as he tells Trudy, "We don't even have the last scene to the play yet."
"All in good time," Mara states.
Fabian scoops cereal onto his spoon. "You're in a very, uh, happy mood this morning, aren't you, Trudy?"
Trudy smiles warmly. "Yes, Fabian. I suppose I am. Might have something to do with the tall, dark stranger I met last night."
I immediately drop my spoon into my bowl, pulling out KT's empty chair beside me. "Tell us everything."
Trudy happily sits and begins, "Well, he was an old boy here, turned up late last night, wanted to have a little look around. Trip down memory lane, I think. I must've met him before. His face seemed very familiar to me, but..." Okay, this isn't sounding as romantic and escapist as I hoped. "Can't for the life of me place him."
"Uh, what was his name, Trudy?" Eddie asks.
"Smith. Robert Smith."
Robert... Smith. Robert... Frobisher-Smythe... he... he was in the house. He spoke to Trudy. Oh, my God.
I stare at my fellow Sibunas, unable to find any words that are acceptable in the presence of two non-Sibunas and the innocent woman Frobisher tried to get his hands on. I barely even hear Joy tell us school's in ten minutes and not to be late. I barely notice Trudy go into the kitchen.
"Smith as in Smythe," Alfie states what we all know.
"What was Frobisher-Smythe doing here?" Fabian asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" Eddie retorts. "He came to get one of us."
I shake my head, resting my elbows on the table. "He spoke to Trudy. But he didn't get her or anyone, I'd know if he did. He failed."
—
The good thing about Mara and Joy's play is that there's no chance of Rufus rushing the stage at curtain call. The bad thing is that I'm distracted because Frobisher spoke to Trudy and I think I'm still playing Jo, which sucks, too. The only way I could get out of it is if I have a medical emergency, which I'm totally not opposed to faking.
Anyway, it's complete chaos here on the stage, moving props and finishing up costumes. I've got Joy's make-up bag on my lap with some of her favorite pieces, trying to decide between lipstick and eyeshadow colors for her. I'm doing this make-up even if I have to be in the stupid thing.
"I know this hasn't gone entirely to plan," Jerome is saying, pacing while everyone else is working, "and we've had more than a few problems, but we need to pass this, guys. So if everyone could try not to ruin it, that would be great. Ashley!" I look up, an uncapped pink lipstick in my hand. "Two to one, you're out as Jo. Willow, congratulations, you're the new Jo."
My face lights up as I set the bag next to me, jumping up to throw my arms around his neck. "Mhm, thank you! I love you so much, thank you for getting me out of this." I pull back, prepared to kiss him, but then I notice that I've accidentally swiped the pink lipstick on his cheek and jumper when I hugged him. "Oh."
"What?"
Joy comes over to stand beside her, her hands on her hips. "You're buying me a new lipstick, Ashley."
"I know," I tell her, slowly capping it.
"What?" Jerome says again. "What? What about the lipstick?" Joy reaches into her makeup bag and grabs the compact mirror, offering it to him so he can see the pink on his cheeks. His eyes go wide and then he nods slowly. "I'm gonna go wash this off."
"Not so fast," Joy states, grabbing something else from her bag, a plastic pink package. "Makeup remover wipes—don't go anywhere without them."
Fabian comes down from the stage, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the room while Joy gives Jerome the makeup remover wipes to get the lipstick off. He pulls me into the hallway, frantic about something. "Red—red eyes. You said—you said you had them."
"Yeah, once," I say, "that I know of. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you what Harriet—"
"What Harriet said," he finishes, speaking quickly and breathing heavily. He's freaked out and it's freaking me out. "Tell me what KT said she said. Did she say anything about red eyes?"
"Uh, y-yeah," I say, blinking as I try to understand. "Um, she said that my eyes are gonna flash red when the sinners are captured or when they're doing something particularly sinful. Like... maybe attempted murder."
"So it—it's fair to assume that the sinners have red eyes, too?"
"Yeah, that sounds like it makes sense. Why, Fabian?"
Fabian swallows, shaking his head. "KT's not the sinner. It's Patricia. KT was right all along, it's Patricia who—who—"
"Okay, Fabian, take a breath," I tell him. "Are you telling me you saw Patricia with red eyes?"
"It was—it was just a second, but yeah. She had red eyes. She's a sinner."
This is... I've known Fabian for four years, been best friends with him for three. He would never lie about this. I nod, brushing my hair back. "Okay. Okay, you need to go find KT and get her here. I'll keep an eye on Patricia."
Fabian nods. "Okay."
"And Fabian, stay safe. Don't let the evil ones get you, okay? We need you."
"I will."
I watch Fabian leave the school, praying that he and KT stay safe. Then I turned around and went back into the lounge, prepared to put on a brave front and trying to think of a way Eddie would believe me. He'd believe me if he saw Patricia with those eyes, so maybe I just have to tick her off enough that her eyes flash red. That won't be hard. I have a reputation for being annoying, and I'm fully ready to put it to good use for once.
But before I can do anything, Eddie, Alfie, and Patricia herself come over to me. "Sibuna calling," Eddie says, grabbing my sleeve. "We figured out the Mercer-Jenks clue—it's the crypt. We're going over now."
I told Fabian I would keep an eye on Patricia, and as much as I would love to stay out of her way, I'm not leaving my cousin and my best friend alone with her. Not when Frobisher's capturing sinners and she's one of them.
"All right. Let's go."
—
We don't have KT's key to get into the crypt, so we have to use the old-fashioned entrance—the tunnels. Eddie's the first one to crawl out of the entrance and into the crypt. "In the place of rest, you will succeed. The artifact could be anywhere. Let's split up."
I watch Patricia warily out of the corner of my eye as I go to the other end of the crypt, vaguely hearing Alfie complain to Eddie. I bend in front of the grate, watching Patricia shoot out a text message. Not to Frobisher, he wouldn't know how to operate a cell phone. Not Victor either, I'm not even sure he has a cell phone. So that leaves Denby. It must be.
"I hate this crypt," Alfie complains as I slowly gravitate toward them, one eye still on Patricia. "I don't want to be here. Tunnels could be leading anywhere. Secret rooms: kind of intriguing. Cellars: dusty, but okay. Crypts are for dead people. All right? I'm making a stand. Alfie says no more."
He hits his hand on something long and covered with dust, making a clanging sound. My curiosity is piqued and for a moment, I forget about Patricia, and I forget about Fabian and KT. I grab the long rod, letting out a light laugh. "Alfie, I think you found it."
"The second artifact," Eddie says, looking over my shoulder. "Let's go."
So we left the crypt, much to Alfie's delight, and crawled through the tunnels out into the cellar and through the cellar door. It isn't long before we're caught, as Victor's voice suddenly booms above us, "Not so fast." I close my eyes, stepping back to look up. We're dead. Eddie has the artifact and if this is gonna help us stop Frobisher, Victor can't find it. "Truancy," he lists, coming down the stairs, "desecration... utter disrespect for the rules of this house and of the school... this calls for punishment of the highest order."
Victor points and makes us back away, into the kitchen, and Patricia is forced to wipe the smirk off her face when she sees I'm looking. They really got one of us. This is bad. This is really, really bad.
( big things about this chapter: fabian realized patricia is the sinner and told ashley, who is definitely gonna try and get a rise out of her to get her to admit it; fabian's about to get captured by frobisher as a sinner; and if ashley wants to punch frobisher again for anything, it's gonna be bc he had the audacity to speak to trudy )