Beauty and the Pharaoh

Chapter 12 - [Beauty and the First Snowfall]

At some point on our way home I had fallen asleep. Thankfully, I fell asleep after we got to somewhere that Atem could recognize and we made it home.

But when I woke up the next morning, not only was I still in my costume but my makeup had come off all onto my pillow and I had a massive headache.

My heels were off though, and so was my headdress.

I remembered Atem trying to wake me up when we got home to get me to drink the water, but I whined and refused and the glass was still on my side table. Filled to the top.

Well, he did warn me about the headache.

I grabbed the glass, spilling some of it and gulped all what was left down.

And then I got up, stripped out of the rough fabric of, what I knew now to be, the rather inaccurate representation of an Egyptian Queen and put on a robe. When I looked at the time, to was already noon.

I had missed my first class and I was late for my second. Great.

After freshening up in the washroom and changing into a pair of jeans and a random grey shirt, I walked into the kitchen with my large glasses on, no makeup and my hair still a mess.

To my surprise, there was a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios sitting there for me on the island in the kitchen along with another glass of water.

When I looked up, I saw Atem lying down on the couch, reading yet another book, ignoring me.

"Morning," I said, though it wasn't exactly morning anymore.

Atem nodded his head but didn't look away from his book.

I smiled before I ate up my cereal that Atem so kindly prepared for me.

Then I gulped up all the water in the second glass and popped two Advil's into my mouth before saying my goodbyes to Atem so that I could make it to at least one of my three classes that day.

Since I had a headache, the class went by very slowly. And when it was finally over, I couldn't just go home yet. I had to make a pit stop at our schools bookstore so I could pick up another, expensive, required textbook for one my classes.

But while I was there I couldn't help myself from stopping at the notebook section.

The university bookstore had just gotten a brand new shipment of lovely, hard covered, old styled notebooks. They looked almost Renaissance period like with a dark red cover that looked so pretty that I just had to buy it.

But I didn't just buy one, I bought two.

Because I had a brilliant idea!

When I got home I walked towards Atem and sat down next to him

He was still in the spot that he was in when I left, still reading the book he was reading with the sleeping Neferkiti sprawled over his lap.

At first I thought he was going to ignore me, but he didn't.

The second I sat down, he turned to look at me, "you know," he started, "I've been thinking."

I looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"Your country... your world... it's very cowardly."

"Cowardly?" I thought.

He nodded, "after reading these books and seeing the T.V. shows... that is the conclusion I have come to. Your world is filled with cowards."