Force of Nature ▸ House of Anubis [3]

chapter sixteen. house of projects

☾ ☽

            At school, we go our separate ways, searching every inch of the school for our blonde, fashionable friend just in case she came here instead of the house. No such luck on my end, but I did manage to walk in on one couple who was taking advantage of an empty classroom to make out—that wasn't fun.

            I meet up with Patricia, Fabian, and Alfie near the entrance to the hallway. Alfie's holding a large box with a boom-box on top of it, and before I could get a chance to ask him about it, Patricia says, "She's not in school. I've looked everywhere."

            "Guys, this has gotten out of hand," Alfie tells us. "We need to tell someone about this."

            "And say what?" Patricia asks. "'We're sorry we broke into Miss Denby's house'?"

            "Okay, look," Fabian says, "let's get back to the gatehouse this lunchtime when Denby's not there. If we still can't find Amber, then we tell Sweet."

            I nod. "Okay, seems like—seems like a good plan."

            Willow appears out of nowhere, speaking Fabian's name. I look at her weirdly as Fabian tells us he'll catch up. Patricia pulls Alfie and I away, only for Jerome to also appear out of nowhere, not even uttering an apology to them before putting his arm around me.

            "So, about the business project," he greets me. "It appears as though my, uh, Alfido hot dog idea has gone down the drain."

            Right, the project. I've got nothing else to do until lunchtime. I reach up to grab his hand, retorting, "Does that mean I win by default?"

            "Yes, it means you win by default," he concedes in a reluctant tone. "So, what's your brilliant-but-not-as-brilliant-as-mine idea?"

            "Chocolate chip cookie bar," I answer.

            Jerome blinks. "That's... oddly brilliant."     
            "Oddly?"

            "No offense."

            "Is it better than yours?"

            He purses his lips, admitting, "It's better than mine." I smile. "Do you have a name for your fancy chocolate chip cookie bar?"

            I shake my head. "Nope. I figured I'd leave that to you, Alfido."

            "Hey, Alfido is Alfie," Jerome corrects. "I just came up with it. Oh, speaking of Alfie—where's his better half? I didn't see Amber at breakfast today. Matter of fact, I didn't see you or Alfie either until just now."

            "Oh, we, uh, had something to do," I respond vaguely. "Before school. Forgot about breakfast."

            "Alfie forgot about breakfast?" He sounds skeptical, with a raised eyebrow to go along with it.