Theodosia

c h a p t e r t w e n t y

L A R R Y  &  A M E L I A

"We'll get you lot back to your chums," Amelia rambled as the group travelled aimlessly through the Smithsonian. "You won't get lost following Amelia Earhart."

Amelia talked a lot, enough to fill the tense silence that had settled over them ever since Larry and Theodosia's argument. No one answered her most of the time; sometimes Ahkmenrah did because he felt bad for her, but he didn't always know what to say.

Theodosia didn't know what to say either.

Half of what Amelia said she couldn't understand. She used so many foreign words, but Theodosia enjoyed her presence, nonetheless. She lightened the darkening mood. They were going to get caught eventually, there was nowhere to run to, but Amelia's optimism seemed to keep them moving from exhibit to exhibit.

Theodosia had no idea who Amelia Earhart had been, or what she had done to be put in a museum, but Larry and Nicky seemed to know her. Obviously, whoever she had been, she was amazing. You had to be impressive to make it into a museum. If not for the threat on their lives, Theodosia would have wanted to hear all about who Amelia was. In fact, Theodosia would have loved to explore the entire museum. She thought she had seen most of the world in New York, but she had barely seen anything. She could imagine late-night walks with Ahkmenrah, exploring every inch of this giant museum, and seeing all the wonders of the world together.

She let the image take over her thoughts as she watched Amelia up ahead, avoiding Ahkmenrah's worried eyes on her back. She was supposed to be keeping it together, but inside she was slowly unraveling. She was terrified of what Kahmunrah might do to Ahkmenrah. It was consuming her.

"Quick, get down," Larry whispered, panicked, causing everyone to duck behind a large ornate fountain. They watched from behind the lip of the fountain as a group of unfamiliar soldiers filed into the exhibit, looking, no doubt, for the tablet and its guardians.

"Well, well, Mr. Daley, I quite like the way you're holding me," Amelia said, drawing everyone's attention to Larry's hand on her upper back. Larry pulled his hand away like her jacket had burned him.

"Oh, sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't-I wasn't trying to—"

"Oh, please, stop beating your gums, Mr. Daley. You haven't been able to take your cheaters off my chassis since the moment we met."

Theodosia shared a confused, and mildly uncomfortable, look with Ahkmenrah. She was no love expert (not by a long shot), but it seemed obvious to even her that there was something between Amelia and Larry, not that she thought he would ever act on it. As far as Larry was concerned, Amelia was just a pretty thorn in his side.

Theodosia was perfectly happy ignoring whatever was going on with them, because she, personally, didn't want to be audience to Larry's weird love life. And yet, here she was, audience to Larry's weird love life.

"I literally didn't understand one word of that," Larry said, speaking for all of them. Theodosia was starting to wonder if it was English or if it was some gibberish language Amelia had picked up spear-hunting with foreign tribes.

The group fell into silence as they watched the soldiers search the exhibit, getting closer and closer to their hiding spot. The silence didn't last long though.

"Is it just me or is there music in the air?"

They all looked up in time to see the small, marble Cupids flying above their heads like a harp-playing beacon. To Theodosia's shock, it seemed they were serenading Amelia and Larry. As if it wasn't already awkward enough for her and Ahkmenrah. She really didn't want to be stuck watching Larry bumble his way through his first encounter with a woman in years. It was hard enough watching him exist normally.