HOUSE OF ANUBIS ▹ SEASON FOUR ( INDEFINITE HIATUS )

S04 E01: House Of Suggestions

Edison Miller-Sweet sat in the local coffee shop, quietly stuffing his mouth with a delicious strawberry cheesecake. His mind was wondering off, as he waited patiently for his father to arrive and accompany him in the little red corner booth. It had become almost a weekly thing now for Eddie to catch up with his dad, and although he'd never admit it aloud, it was an event that he constantly looked forward to.

As Eddie shoved another huge spoonful of cheesecake into his mouth, he heard the bell on the door, signalling that someone had entered the cafè. Looking up eagerly, Eddie smiled in delight as he saw his dad enter. However, his grin was soon replaced with a frown as he realised that his father's shoulders were slumped in a depressed demeanour, and that he looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in days.

"Dad!" Eddie called out, waving his hands to get his father's attention. Eric Sweet noticed his son in the corner booth, and began to slowly make his way over to him. "Dad, is everything okay? You look absolutely wrecked."

"I'm fine, Edison, just fine," the man replied, taking a seat.

"You're not fine, dad. Look at you, you look like you've been in a fight with a raccoon," Eddie responded with a slight chuckle. "And the raccoon won."

"It's nothing, Eddie," Mr Sweet dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. "How are your College Applications going? Have you received any responses?"

"Yeah, yeah, heaps," Eddie said.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it."

The truth was, Eddie hadn't actually been accepted into any colleges. He'd sent in minimal applications, as he had been a little bit preoccupied with Sibuna towards the end of his high school years. Regardless, from the applications that he had sent in, not one of them had accepted him. He'd been rejected from every college that he had applied for, and there was no way that he could tell his dad that. Eddie knew that he couldn't avoid the subject forever, but for now, he was grateful that his dad hadn't asked any further questions.

"So, dad, how's everything going at Amun?" Eddie asked, swiftly changing the subject as he took a sip of his coffee.

Mr. Sweet hesitated for a moment, before sighing and looking up at Eddie with strained eyes. "It's closing."

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"Best friend rom—com box set marathon tonight?" Patricia asked, as her best friend, Joy, collapsed onto the black leather couch in the living room.

"Yeah, you're on," Joy smiled, sitting up and adjusting the cushions behind her.

Joy was staying with Patricia this week, while her apartment was undergoing renovations. Truthfully, the girls were at quite a young age to be living on their own, but in Joy's case, the situation was a little different. Things had never been quite right between her and her parents since they'd removed her from Amun academy for that particular term, and it was fair to say that all of their interactions from then on were quite awkward. So, naturally, as soon as she had been able to move out, she had taken the opportunity.

She did have a roommate, Rose, who she interacted with quite a lot. If it wasn't for the fact that Rose had a boyfriend, who she spent a lot of time with, and Joy had Jerome, and all of her other friends to hang out with in her spare time, it would probably be safe to assume that they would be best friends who were glued together at the hip.

"So, how are the renovations going?" Patricia asked, as she walked from the kitchen (which was connected diagonally from the living room) with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.