Chapter Twelve: House of Cameras/House of Numbers

Trudy wasn't allowed to stick around long. Georgie was sure that Victor was breaking some kind of workplace law by kicking her out straight away, and unreasonably so. It was the following day from when Victor had shown Sibuna, minus Georgie, the contents of his cellar. As it turned out, he had cleared everything out of there. So it looked like a normal, non-spooky cellar. And the cat was apparently still alive too. From what they had told Trudy, they had no evidence. And she was being punished for believing them against Victor.

Well, Georgie did say it was never going to work. But now was not the time for an 'I told you so.'

The Anubis House residents hovered by the doorway sadly as Trudy put her coat on, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Trudy," said Fabian, his voice breaking, as he stepped in front of her. "We're really sorry."

"We didn't mean to get you into trouble," Nina insisted. "Honestly we didn't."

"I know," she said sadly. "It's my own fault for believing your silly stories."

Fabian looked heartbroken when she walked around him and to the front door. Georgie rubbed his arm, and he leaned into her. "We're going to miss you," said Mara quietly.

Trudy patted her comfortingly, looking touched by Mara's words. "And I'm going to miss you too." She looked around. "All of you!"

Victor strode in from outside. "Your taxi's here," he said, sounding like he didn't care whatsoever. Georgie glared at him from Fabian's side.

Trudy gave Amber a hug before heading towards the doorway, where Victor still stood. "How can you do this?" Amber asked Victor. "Trudy hasn't done anything wrong!"

Victor held a hand up. "Goodbye Trudy." He flicked his hand as if to swat her away from the House for good.

They watched as she rolled her suitcase out, and Georgie could only imagine the pain on her face. Victor didn't even acknowledge her years of service to Anubis House. He slammed the door shut, and walked away, the others watching him silently.

Fabian shook his head and headed to his room, so paving the way for Jerome to put his arm around Georgie's shoulders. They could hear Victor making a noise in the kitchen, probably making them breakfast. Well, at least he was actually feeding them…

But Georgie would come to wish that he wouldn't bother. Wearing an apron and a smug grin he served them this thick, lumpy mush in a bowl which Georgie figured was supposed to be porridge. Amber gagged at the taste of her drink but this only made Victor happier, it seemed. Georgie decided she wasn't brave enough to try the tea or the mush, judging by the looks on people's faces.

"I'm not eating this," said Mick defiantly.

"Trudy always gave us toast, with a choice of jam, and-" began Mara.

Georgie and Nina laughed silently at Alfie's cup sticking to his saucer, held together by the gloop. He even turned it upside, and the cup didn't fall off.

"Forget Trudy," Victor replied. "If you don't like my cooking you can always do it yourself!"

"How about we all go and get breakfast from the vending machines in school guys," Amber suggested.

"And miss out on a five star meal?" Georgie said, pretending to be outraged.

They sniggered but there was a general agreement across the table; they put their blazers on and grabbed their schoolbags, not realising something worse was happening in the hallway.

"No way!" Georgie heard Amber say. "They're installing security cameras!"

She ran out to see if it was true. Her heart sank at the sight of two workmen indeed setting up a camera in the corner of the room. "They can't do that, it's a total invasion of our privacy," said Fabian.

"And the camera adds twenty pounds!" Amber complained. The others rolled their eyes at her priority.

Victor emerged from the kitchen, clutching a wooden spoon whilst wearing an oven glove, for some reason. "The school is always striving to improve your personal security. This is our latest measure to help you feel safe and secure."

He beamed at them. "But we already feel safe and secure," Georgie reassured him. However Victor ignored her and returned back to his gloop in the kitchen.

"This is a joke."

"Safe and secure?"

"How are we going to do...anything now?" Georgie heard Nina say to Fabian worriedly.

"Invent an Invisibility Cloak," Georgie suggested unhelpfully.

"Haha," Nina replied sarcastically. "When I first saw this place I thought I had arrived at Hogwarts," she went on to say thoughtfully.

Georgie then felt hands on her shoulders, and the butterflies in her stomach told her it was Jerome. He held her back so they were behind the others walking to school.

"So I bet you're glad you came to talk to me instead of getting Trudy into a lot of trouble huh?"

"I'm always glad to talk to you," she reminded him playfully, his fingers playing with hers as they continued to the main school gate.

"Alright, smooth-talker." She grinned at him. "You know, I'm getting so desperate to kiss you now."

Georgie's stomach tightened and she looked sideways at him. "Hm, you have to take me on a proper date before you can earn that privilege."

"Oh yeah? What happened to me having to prove myself to you?"

"You did, remember?" Georgie replied coolly. "Before Alfie interrupted you were going to kiss me."

"True," Jerome said, with a cheeky look on his face. "I would have kissed you really slow at first, to take in the moment."

"Is that right?" Georgie was sure he was doing this to make her crack. "'At first'?"

"Mm." Jerome smiled as they entered the school building, walking down the hallway and past the lockers. "There are plenty of places here we could be alone."

"Classy."

"But you can't deny that it would be -" He had stopped, and was looking at Mick and Mara who were talking by the latter's locker. He headed straight for them. "Bet? What's this about a bet?"

Georgie rolled her eyes. Honestly, he was like a dog with a bone sometimes. He must have sonic hearing when it comes to bets, pranks and money. "Mara reckons she knows more about sports than me," Mick explained as Georgie joined them. Knowing Mara she probably didn't say that, but she shared a look with her over her parents and their backgrounds…

"Yeah right!" Jerome agreed. "She's a girl."

"Exactly."

"That's sexist," Georgie said sharply, poking him in the ribs.

"Alright, well," Jerome turned to Mara, "no offence, a geek."

"That's...no better," Georgie sighed. "That's geek-ist. Or clever people-ist."

Mick laughed but Mara kept her cool. "None taken! So, if you don't believe me, why don't you give me a quiz?"

"Or, better yet, quiz them both at the same time," said Georgie.

"A little competition," Jerome confirmed. "You know, I like that action. Excellent idea as always, Georgie. Mick?"

"A sports quiz against Mara?" he replied. "Sign me up."

"And let's make it today," Mara further suggested. "Then it gives us no time to revise for it. Fair and square, right?"

"Excellent!" Jerome agreed. "Right, Georgie - Mr Winkler likes you, so can you see if the drama studio is free this lunchtime?" Georgie opened her mouth but Jerome cut her off. "Good, thank you. Mick and Mara, be there at half twelve."

Mick and Mara gave him satisfied looks and walked away in different directions confidently. Georgie decided to keep her knowledge of Mara to herself. "Come and find me in the common room during our free period later," Jerome said to her when they were alone. "You can help me with the questions."

Georgie agreed and they headed to the vending machines for breakfast, after which they headed to English. When their morning lessons were over Georgie booked the drama studio for them, and found Jerome with Alfie copying down questions and their answers onto cards. "Hey Georgie," Alfie called as she approached. "Can I borrow some makeup and some heels?"

"You'll have to ask Amber on that front," she responded, sitting down. "Wait, why?"

"I am going to be Jerome's fabulous assistant!" He swooned dramatically making them laugh. "But any excuse to talk to Amber. Later dudes."

Georgie watched him leave, amused. "I worry for that boy."

"That makes two of us." He patted the spot next to him. "Don't be shy."

"Feeling the void now Alfie's gone?" Georgie asked him, sliding down the sofa. She sat so their legs were brushing and their hips touching, grabbing a pen and copying down the questions from a quiz site on Jerome's laptop.

"Well, I wanted to continue our conversation from earlier, you see."

"Oh, is this not as important now?"

Ignoring her comment he said, "How about we go somewhere tomorrow, seeing as it's the weekend? Away from everyone, the cameras…"

"I would definitely be up for that," Georgie replied, feeling nervous about their date all over again. But also excited.

"Great," he said quietly. "Meet me downstairs in the morning and we'll figure it out."

"Ooh, spontaneous...sort of," she added. "I like it."

He smirked, "You'll find out just how spontaneous I can be tomorrow."

That sent shivers down her spine. Hurry up tomorrow…

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to Sporting Challenge!" Georgie laughed as Jerome and Alfie turned around to face their audience. The stage had been set up to look like a bad eighties quiz show, complete with Mara and Mick standing behind podiums on opposite sides. Many of their friends from their year had arrived to watch, sitting on various chairs and sofas. Jerome was wearing terrible eighties clothes, complete with flares and a thick moustache, whilst Alfie was wearing a blonde wig, heels and a pink dress. It was all quite ridiculous, Georgie mused.

Cheesy music was being played in the background as Alfie said in a sing-song voice, "Sporting Challenge!"

They all cheered as the music stopped. "I would like to introduce my beautiful assistant Fifi," said Jerome as Alfie twirled, to more cheering. "And our two lovely contestants, Mara and Mick!" He turned to Alfie. "First questions please, Fifi."

"Right!" Alfie trotted away as best he could in Amber's heels, returning with their first set of cards and handing them to Jerome, who placed himself in between Mick and Mara.

"Over which three distances is the sprint run?"

Mick pulled a face at the easy question but to his shock Mara rang her bell straight away. "One hundred, two hundred, and four hundred meters."

"Correct!"

As they cheered Mick said grumpily, "I knew that one."

"Lucky guess that's all," muttered Amber from beside Georgie.

Georgie shared a genuinely confused look with Patricia, who said with a smile on her face, "Oh I don't know about that."

"Do you really not remember Ambs?" Georgie asked her seriously.

"Remember what?" Amber asked her irritably; Georgie frowned at this. The three of them used to be best friends, and for a fairly long time - surely she knew that Mara's parents were athletes?

Because of this, Mara absolutely killed it. Mick only squeezed his horn three times, and even got a question wrong - Mara corrected him. She was winning by fourteen points. When Mick got two questions right Amber cheered loudly, but everyone else was impressed by Mara as her points increased on the scoreboard behind Jerome.

"CORRECT!"

Mick sighed angrily. "Where did you get these questions man?"

Eventually they got to the final category: football. By this point Mara was still leading by an incredible twenty-five points to Mick's mere five.

As Alfie retrieved this lot of questions he tripped on the way back, causing a ripple of laughter. Except for Amber, who was already riled by Mara winning. "Alfie, if you stretch my shoes!" she warned.

He looked at her sheepishly whilst handing the cards to Jerome. Mick looked ecstatic about this last category but Georgie could tell Mara was trying to hide her own confidence.

"Who beat England in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup?"

Georgie knew that, even though she was mainly a rugby fan. It was Germany, and many Brits still hadn't let that go…

"Portugal on penalties!" Mick shouted out confidently.

Georgie looked up in surprise as Jerome shouted, "Incorrect!"

Mick looked stunned. "No, no, I know the right answer! I just got the wrong year, that's all!"

Mara grinned and tapped her bell. "Mara?" Jerome inquired.

"Germany!"

"Correct!"

Everyone cheered once more. It looked like, by this point, Mick had had enough. "She's cheating!" he shouted in outrage. The audience made noises of surprise as even Jerome looked shocked by his outburst. "She must be cheating!"

"What?" Mara asked in surprise.

"Did you give her the answers?" Mick pointed his finger at Jerome as he accused him of cheating too.

"No," Jerome said honestly. And he was genuine, those who knew him knew that.

"Yes you did, to make me look stupid," Mick told the audience. "Well haha everyone. VERY FUNNY!"

And with that he grabbed his school bag, jumped off the stage and stormed out of the drama studio, leaving everyone stunned. Even Alfie, who at first had thought it was very funny, looked at Mick like he thought he was pathetic. Well, that was actually very childish…

Mara looked saddened and Georgie couldn't blame her. They were getting close again and she seemed to be really helping him with his worries over his future. Mara had also previously mentioned to Georgie that she was helping him revise for their upcoming exams.

"I think it's probably time to come clean to Mick about Mara's background," Patricia said to Georgie as people began to disperse from the room.

"Yeah I think you're right," Georgie agreed. "Let him cool off first though."

Patricia nodded. "And then I'll tell him off."

Georgie laughed. "I've no doubts that you will. Come and find me first though, will you? There's a book in the library with a piece on Mara's dad, you can show Mick."

"Cool." Georgie turned to leave but Patricia continued, "I know that things weren't great between Mara, Mick and Amber but...I see the way Mara looks at him. She likes him a lot."

"I know," Georgie reassured her. "I truly do. I hope Mick sees that in time, now that Amber seems to be getting over him."

They smiled at each other in mutual understanding. Wow. They had a conversation alone and nothing bad was said. Now Patricia has calmed down about Joy and backed off Nina she was definitely tolerable. She also seems different to before Joy went missing. As in, she's learned from her experience of dealing with it - grown up, matured, or something like that. Georgie wouldn't even mind if she joined Sibuna, which was seeming likely now.

Mick wasn't seen for their afternoon lessons, no doubt sulking in his room. Georgie as promised found the book on athletes in the library and borrowed it to give to Patricia, who was planning on showing it to Mick before dinner. Mara a few years ago proudly showed it to Georgie when they first arrived at Creedy Towers. She was glad that Patricia would tell Mick that Mara has been living, eating, breathing sports all her life and, hopefully, that will be the end of that.

She was in her room with the girls and Fabian, Nina fretting and pacing up and down past the bed the others were all sitting on. "How are we supposed to keep searching the house with cameras everywhere?"

"We're not," Georgie pointed out. "That's the point of the cameras."

Nina sat down next to her, sighing. "It's like we're on a really dull reality show."

"We're still better than that Kardashian's rubbish you watch, however," said Georgie, Fabian nodding to agree with her.

"Kim Kardashian…" Amber said, almost dreamily. They were eying her warily. "What? She just gets me, you know? And I completely look up to her too, juggling that career and her high profile relationship -"

"Please stop," Georgie pleaded. But they were saved by Patricia entering the room and throwing her phone down onto the bed.

"I don't know why I'm still trying," she complained, throwing herself onto a chair. "Rufus is never gonna' pick up. This is like Joy all over again."

"Except we know who took Rufus, we don't know who took Joy," Fabian reminded them.

"Are you kidding?" Patricia asked him skeptically. "Of course Victor took her."

"And by permission of the teachers, apparently," Georgie said slowly, realising how horrible that sounded.

"But where does he take them too?" asked Amber. "And why?"

There was silence for a while as they all mulled over those questions. "Ok guys, we need to stick together more than ever now," Nina said boldly. "Sibuna."

"Sibuna."

"Si-what?"

"Welcome to the club," said Nina warmly.

"Together, we are invincible," joked Fabian.

Patricia grinned at her acceptance into the club. "Ok, I have had an idea about these cameras. But it means enlisting the help of our favourite comedy double act."

"Spongebob and Patrick?" Amber asked her in confusion.

"I think she means Jerome and Alfie," Nina clarified, grinning at the idea.

"Georgie, do you think you could persuade Jerome to get involved?" Patricia asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Trust me, he won't need persuading."

They headed downstairs to ask the two boys for their help, to which they jumped up at the opportunity. Apparently everyone needed to get involved so Georgie fetched Mara who was still upstairs studying.

Due to Mara's smiley face, Georgie said on their way back down, "So I assume Mick has apologised then?"

"Yep," Mara confirmed, smiling wider. "To make it up to me, he's letting me organise his training schedule."

"Huh?"

Georgie would have demanded a year's supply of chocolate or something if that was her, but then Mara was not conventional sometimes. They couldn't talk anymore about it as they had returned to everyone, and Jerome was explaining his plan.

Two chairs were placed under each camera, and in pairs they stood on them and looked into the camera - on Victor's end their heads would have filled the entire screen. Georgie stood with Fabian as they blocked the view to the boy's hallway. Mick stood alone, looking into the camera that observed the dining area.

"GET AWAY FROM THOSE CAMERAS IMMEDIATELY!" Georgie almost fell off her chair in shock as Victor's voiced boomed around the house. She did not realise that he had a microphone too…

They carried on waving and grinning into the camera, listening to Victor's footsteps as he stomped downstairs from his office. "Get down from there at once!" Georgie and Fabian peered down from the camera to the entrance hall where Jerome and Alfie turned around to meet Victor's gaze. "Lewis! Clarke!"

"What's wrong, Victor?" Alfie asked innocently. "We're only doing the same as you. We're watching you...watching us!" He ended this by laughing which only riled Victor more.

"You impudent-!"

"It's a peaceful protest," explained Jerome.

"Fine, fine!" shouted Victor. "You stand up there on your little chairs until lights out, you'll soon become bored of this nonsense."

Fabian looked at his watch and shared a look with Georgie. "Nah," they said together.

Georgie was impressed. They managed to stand up on those chairs until nine thirty, lasting three and a half hours. Their legs ached but they decided that that was enough protesting for one day.

Back in their rooms Georgie was lying on her bed, thinking about Jerome and their date, when Nina gasped and jumped up out of her own bed. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you move so fast."

"You have to see this!" Nina said, as she trembled in excitement. Georgie sat up, intrigued, as Nina sat down next to her, laptop in hand. "I was doing some research for our ancient history project and I found something amazing."

She scrolled down a webpage and Georgie saw that it was an article about Howard Carter re-discovering King Tut's tomb in 1922. "There were twenty-three people in his expedition party, and two of them used to live right here."

Georgie looked at her in shock. "As in...the Frobisher-Smythe's?"

"Yes," Nina confirmed quietly. "But that's not even the most amazing part. Look at this…" She clicked on a link and bought up another webpage dotted with old newspaper clippings. "They were later involved in a high-profile court case. They were accused of stealing items from Tutankhamun's tomb and smuggling them back to Britain."

"Wow…" Georgie breathed.

"They were both found not guilty, but only by a majority verdict," Nina explained. "After the trial some of the jurors were reported saying that they believed the couple had hidden the items."

"And?" Georgie asked eagerly.

"And I checked. To this day, the items have never been recovered."

"So let me get this straight," said Georgie slowly. "You're saying the treasure we are looking for could have come from Tutankhamun's tomb."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"This is big."

"Huge."

"Oh my God."

They sat in silence, trying to comprehend this latest news. Nina eventually leapt up from the bed, heading for the door. "I'm going to tell Fabian - can you tell Amber when she gets back?"

She ran from the room with her laptop, her dressing gown flying out behind her. Georgie could only imagine the uproar and excitement it could cause if they found missing treasure from Tutankhamun's Tomb. Georgie had studied Egypt before but she never knew there were items deemed missing.

She thought of Jerome again. She had only told him last night that Nina had found 'artefacts', which has completely different connotations from 'treasure.' He probably hadn't even thought about much of what she told him, the part about Victor experimenting down there was definitely more alarming to everyone. She couldn't tell him everything, right? But then there would always be that secret between them. Or maybe Georgie was overreacting.

In the end, she decided she would see how she felt about it tomorrow.

"I've been grounded."

Georgie looked up at Jerome from the breakfast table, studying his guilty face. "Bloody hell Jerome."

"I know, I know," he sighed, putting his hands up. "I didn't think."

"How could you possibly get yourself grounded overnight?" Georgie asked in exasperation.

"Alfie and I covered ourselves with bedsheets and ran around downstairs, second part of the camera protest if you will…"

"Only you two," Georgie sighed.

"I'll make it up to you next week, I promise," Jerome assured her, putting his hands together as if begging her to let him.

"Stay out of trouble then," she advised, returning to her toast.

Well that was a shame. Jerome left the room and Georgie looked around - the kitchen and dining room was a mess because Trudy wasn't around anymore. She even had to show Amber how to use a toaster. Nina was actually doing schoolwork because she couldn't sneak around the House and Fabian didn't dare have another go at the numbers riddle, because of Victor and the cameras.

But she was so looking forward to finally being alone with Jerome - even if that meant waiting another week. It was almost unbearable. He came back into the room with Alfie in tow and he looked so good. His clothes, his hair...everything.

Later on, Georgie was sitting with Fabian in the living room, as they revised. "I really do think that this treasure mystery came about at completely the wrong time."

"As if we haven't got enough to worry about with our GCSE exams," said Fabian, agreeing with Georgie. "And the drama play. And the history project."

She buried her face inside her textbook, groaning. "This is too stressful. I was saying to my mum the other day the problems with schooling - I don't need to be this stressed at sixteen."

Fabian laughed as Georgie put the textbook down, frustrated with the lack of information her brain was absorbing. There is more to life than school, teachers, work...it's a shame she couldn't live it.

Suddenly Fabian frowned whilst looking over Georgie's shoulder, then his face changed to a look of realisation. "I've, er, got to go and … get something - from over there." Georgie looked at him in concern as he finished his lame sentence, getting up and heading towards the kitchen.

What was that about?

"Come with me."

Georgie looked up and saw Jerome holding out his hand for her to take, smiling as he did so. She took his hand cautiously, putting her revision down. "But you're-"

"Grounded, yes I know," he said, hurrying her out of the living room and towards the front door. "This is called sneaking out. And Victor has just gone down to the cellar so we'd best hurry."

He opened the door as quietly as possible, and when they were safe in the warm May air, Jerome shut it as quietly as he had opened it. He grinned and interlocked their hands. "Finally. It's just us."

She let herself be led away from the House by him, as he seemed to have a place in mind. Her butterflies returned as she wondered what this day had in store for them.

It was nothing short of perfect, in the end.

It really was just the two of them. Georgie didn't bring her phone due to leaving so suddenly, and when Jerome saw that Victor had left his office he left his bedroom in a hurry too and only had his wallet in his back pocket. He had taken her to a public woodland, buying a blanket for them to sit on and an ice cream each.

They had wandered around the woods hand-in-hand, finishing their icecreams and finding a perfect spot by a stream to sit down. Georgie loved the huge trees, the beautiful flowers, and the sounds of nature that surrounded them as they settled down on their blanket. They had gone off the beaten track and doubted they would be disturbed here.

They talked about everything, and nothing, lying down next to each other - looking up at the sun's rays streaming down through the cracks in the tall trees. It was such a nice day - sunny and warm, but with a gentle breeze so it wasn't humid. Jerome had held her hand the entire time, stroking her thumb with his own.

Eventually, they turned sideways so they faced each other. Jerome propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at Georgie, smiling - there wouldn't have been much to distract them from each other as they melted into each other's eyes.

"I've never felt this way about anyone before," he murmured quietly, using his free hand to play with her wavy hair.

"I haven't, either," she admitted. Not even for Dean.

Jerome looked relieved at this. "I like you a lot, Georgie Carrington."

"I like you a lot too, Jerome Clarke."

He traced his thumb from her scalp down to her lips, and she gently pressed a kiss to it. This triggered Jerome to start moving his head slowly forward; she lifted her head up to meet him halfway, his hand still gently caressing her cheek.

And when their lips finally met, it really felt like nothing else in the world mattered. At that moment, all Georgie could think about was him. The way he tasted, where he touched her - his hands gently moved down to her hips as she took his face in her own hands. They both sat up, pressing their bodies together as they eagerly continued to embrace each other. He had done what he said he would - he kissed her agonizingly slow, at first. Until they could no longer bear it. Jerome squeezing her hips and Georgie brushing her fingers through his mass of hair had signalled the change of pace.

But, the need for air broke them apart. They stayed close together, smiling widely at each other and breathing heavily. Nothing was said, but words were not needed. They knew. The attraction and chemistry between them: it was real. And unlike anything Georgie had felt before. Her stomach felt like it was on fire and her heart was still racing because his hands were still resting on her hips. Jerome looked very flushed, telling her he felt the same.

Georgie moved so she sat in between his legs and resting against his back, sighing in content as she leant back into his body. Jerome wrapped his arms around her, rested against a tree trunk and they closed their eyes - taking in the rare moment of being alone and having no worries, even if only for a few short hours.

Jerome leant his head down and brushed her ears with his lips. "I suppose I haven't actually asked you properly…" Georgie leaned to one side to look up at him. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course I will," she replied instantly, kissing him gently. "Only if you'll be my boyfriend."

"Always." This time, it was his turn to kiss her.

Late afternoon, or so Georgie guessed, they returned to the House, hand in hand. They had walked to a little cosy Italian restaurant in the nearest village to the woods and enjoyed a meal together, and now they reluctantly admitted it was probably time to return before Victor had a fit. Because the sun didn't set until nine it was hard to tell the time with the sun still in its peak position and the temperature still warm.

The telling-off they received the moment they walked through the front door didn't matter - that day was completely worth it. And Georgie loved every minute.

Jerome brushed his lips against her knuckles before Georgie returned to her bedroom, her eager roommates wanting to hear exactly what happened.

That night, Georgie fell asleep with a smile on her face, despite being grounded for a week. Jerome was hers, as she was his. Finally. And it felt...amazing.

The weekend passed and come Monday morning the residents had used up the majority of their supplies, as they usually did. This time, there was no Trudy to go shopping, to cook, to clean. Grabbing something to eat was slightly chaotic.

"Who's eaten all the bran flakes?" Amber was trying to find some cereal from the remnants they had left, whilst Nina was trying to find clean cutlery amongst the clutter in the kitchen - it turned into a free for all as everyone tried to find something decent to eat. Mara was devastated to find that she couldn't scrape anymore peanut butter from the jar whilst Georgie made herself a cup of tea in the corner.

Jerome hobbled in with one shoe on, muttering something angrily about someone taking the shoes out, Mick managed to burn his toast shouting 'FIRE!' which Georgie thought was rather unnecessary. It was a tiny bit of steam. Jerome noticed her and was making his way over, walking behind Patricia. He stopped, looked at the oven and said, "Patricia, what's burning?"

"Oh no!" Georgie walked over to the counter and Jerome joined her, kissing her gently on the head amidst the chaos. "Who likes their bacon well done?"

Patricia held up a very-burnt piece of bacon, before flinging it onto the counter where it landed in a jug of milk. "Ew!" said everyone.

"STOP!" They looked up to see Fabian, staring at the sight of them in despair. "We can't go on like this. We're going to starve!" Well, that's a bit dramatic. Hopefully the teachers would step in if the students all walked in looking pale.

"We need Trudy back!" said Patricia defiantly.

"And those cameras taken down," Nina added. Georgie thought that Nina was probably dying to start sneaking around again.

Jerome was still putting his tie on when Patricia said, "We need to show them that we mean business. And I know exactly how to do it."

Fabian nodded in relief. Bless him, he really was worried. Patricia's big plan was to sit around the dining table and do their school work at the House rather than go to their lessons. Another peaceful protest.

Georgie looked over her English notes and cast a glance down to her watch. It was almost nine; Victor surely would realise they should have left for school by now. She looked up furtively to the camera.

And as if reading her thoughts, Victor stormed into the room. "What is going on here?" He pointed to the front door. "Get to your lessons immediately."

"Not until you've taken down the security cameras," said Patricia.

"And brought Trudy back," added Nina.

"And gotten softer toilet paper." They all stared at Amber. "What? As long as we're making demands."

"You dare deliver ultimatums to me?" Victor snarled. "I'll soon bring you all to your senses when I speak to Mr Sweet about having you all thrown out of school!"

"You don't have the power," scoffed Patricia. She cowered slightly under his gaze, adding softly, "Do you?"

"Oh Miss Williamson," said Victor quietly, as he bent down to intimidate her. "I have more power than you could ever imagine." He straightened up, facing the entire table. "Now get to school all of you unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences."

Patricia looked around, urging everyone to stay in their seats. Georgie was quite pleased with their united front...until Mick spoke up, that is. "Thing is...it's this sport scholarship. I need a good reference from the school." He smiled sheepishly and began packing away his things.

"There's a class on today which I really want to hear, it's being taught by a visiting professor … sorry Patricia." Mara followed Mick's lead and too packed her schoolbag.

"My parental units will kill me if I get expelled from yet another school." Well, Georgie couldn't blame Alfie for that. She was surprised that Jerome didn't follow Alfie out and call the whole thing 'a bad idea.' Instead he just winked at her from the other end of the table.

"So much for solidarity guys," grumbled Patricia as they all exited.

To everyone's surprise, Amber slowly stood up, looking guilty. "Amber…" Nina said softly.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding genuine. "I'm really, really sorry. I'm just...scared of the consequences." She whispered the last part whilst looking at Victor suspiciously.

"Don't be intimidated!" Georgie said to her, but she ducked her head as she grabbed her things and headed for school.

"Very wise, Miss Millington, very wise indeed." Victor shut the door behind her. "And so, we have the ringleaders." He was pointing his finger at Fabian, Nina, Patricia and Georgie who were sat at one end of the table, as Jerome was still at the other. "Mr Clarke, come now. There's no need for you to be a part of this."

"Oh, but I think there is." He grinned at his girlfriend, and she returned the favour.

"May I remind you, Clarke and Miss Carrington, that you are both already on very thin ice after your little escapade on Saturday."

"Why, what are you going to do?" challenged Georgie. "Ground us some more?"

Victor scowled even harder. But he knew she was right. "I'm giving you all one last chance to obey my orders."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you," Georgie muttered. Why were some humans intent on getting other humans to 'obey orders'? It was definitely a power thing.

"Go. To. School."

"No," Nina said bravely.

Victor rubbed his temple, sighing irritably. "What did you say?"

It was clear he had heard her, but then he wasn't used to people saying no to him. "I think I said...no," Nina repeated quietly.

"Yeah," Fabian agreed, giving an encouraging nod of his head. "She said no."

"No," Patricia and Georgie chorused.

"Nope," said Jerome, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

"NO!"

At the five of them shouting this together, Victor's face contorted into rage. He pointed at them before leaving the room dramatically. Well, that could have gone a lot worse. They sighed in relief, and Jerome grabbed his stuff, moving to sit by Georgie and the others.

Patricia looked happy at how that worked out, but Nina looked worried. "Don't worry," Georgie said reassuringly, rubbing her arm. "It'll work out, you'll see."

For most of the morning, nothing exciting happened. Fabian moved to the sofas to work out the riddle, so Jerome and Patricia wouldn't see, and the others continued revising on the dining room table. Georgie couldn't help but smile at Jerome who absentmindedly kissed her on the forehead whilst playing with her fingers. She was easily getting used to them being a couple, and the others were not surprised when they had finally gotten together. No one really made a big deal out of it, to Georgie's relief.

She flinched at Fabian flicking her on the ear. She looked up crossly, to see him nodding towards the kitchen with Nina already waiting for them. Jerome still seemed lost in thought and Patricia was busy texting, so she slid out of her seat and walked into the kitchen.

"What's up?" she asked quietly.

Fabian put his notepad down and tapped it with his pen. The girls saw he had worked out the numbers riddle: 1922. Jerome had been right: the numbers that did matter were one, two, and nine.

"The year Tutankhamun's tomb was re-discovered!"

"That is what the numbers meant!"

"Check you out!" Nina elbowed Fabian playfully, who blushed. "Can you imagine if there really are relics from Tutankhamun's tomb hidden in Anubis House!"

Georgie breathed out as Fabian checked behind them. "This could be huge."

"The next clue must be linked to this date somehow."

They stared at Fabian's notepad, as if inviting his scribbles to tell them where the next clue is.

"Well…" Georgie started slowly. "The big thing about finding King Tut was his sarcophagus, and the famous death mask."

"The inner coffin was made of solid gold," Fabian added.

"Right. So if the clue was referring to the year that his tomb was discovered, then maybe the next clue is on our sarcophagus in the entryway?"

Fabian and Nina's faces lit up. "I think you're onto something."

"Thank you, I'm actually rather impressed with myself." Georgie saw Nina head out of the kitchen, so she lunged forward and grabbed her arm. "The camera's, remember? You can't just waltz out there and examine something Egyptian. Victor is already suspicious of us as it is."

"Oh, right…" Nina bit her lip, as they thought of ways they could examine the sarcophagus. Nina suddenly grinned and pulled out her pocket mirror. "I'll pretend to be looking into it when we're out there."

"Not perfect," Georgie admitted. "But it's probably the only plan we've got."

"And then when Victor notices us hovering in the entryway I'll, er, distract him...somehow," said Fabian.

"That wasn't a great pitch about selling your confidence," Georgie joked.

"Ok, let's go," Nina said, determined to grab this next clue.

They walked past the sarcophagus and stopped when they were directly in front of it, Nina holding up her mirror, pretending to play with her hair as she inspected the antique behind her.

"Well? Anything?" Georgie asked in anticipation.

"It's 1922!" she whispered in excitement.

"Yes!"

"Victor must have spotted us by now on his computer," said Georgie. She looked at Fabian in alarm. "Fabian, this is not the time to start stripping."

He grinned. "I sort of have a plan." He held up his jumper which he had just removed.

"Sort of?"

"When I say go, you've got around thirty seconds, max., to get a closer look OK?" Nina and Georgie shared a look; this was very risky, with Jerome and Patricia just on the other side of the wall, and Victor himself upstairs. "GO!"

Fabian threw his jumper over the camera and ran upstairs. Nina fled to the bottom of the sarcophagus and inspected the inscribed numbers. Georgie stood at the doorway - as luck would have it, Patricia wasn't in sight (she must be in the bathroom or kitchen). Jerome looked up at her from the table, frowning.

They could hear Fabian's voice. "Now I'm not that technical Victor, but I think one of your camera's has gone down."

"I know, out of my way."

"But shouldn't you call the security company to take a look?" Fabian asked lightly. "You could get your money back!"

"I said, out of my way!"

"What is going on out there?" Jerome asked, bemused. He got up from his chair to take a look.

Georgie rushed forward, stopping him. "Nothing, really. Just Fabian playing another prank on Victor and his cameras."

"Fabian?" Jerome asked in surprise. "Wow, he's really been acting out against his sensible nature recently. I think Nina's a good influence on that boy."

Georgie grinned. "Just like I've been a good influence on you?" She reached up to kiss him, and Jerome hummed in content at her touch.

"I think today you've been a bad influence, defying Victor's orders," Jerome muttered against her lips. "Not that that's a bad thing, of course."

"Oh yes, oh yes!" they jumped at the sound of Victor's voice; he was already down the stairs. "How very amusing!" Peering around the corner they saw him take down Fabian's jumper from the camera.

Everyone was ordered back into the dining room, including Patricia who had returned from the bathroom. After yet another telling off from Victor, he stormed back upstairs to his office, practically trembling because he was so annoyed. Georgie caught Nina's eye, who gave her a thumbs up. She must have found something!

Georgie's phone beeped, and she quickly checked it; it was a text message from Mara. "Guess what guys!" she said, grabbing their attention. "Amber convinced Mr. Campbell, Mick's dad, to force Sweetie to take the cameras down and re-instate Trudy!"

They all cheered. Georgie smiled at her phone - Mara also mentioned that together with Mick she managed to convince Mr. Campbell to support his son taking Sport Science instead of Biology and Chemistry next year. That must have been why he visited the school in the first place. From what it sounded like, Mick was extremely happy with her help. Mara would know all about parental pressure, but her younger sister is extremely sporty so they have backed off of her now.

Only five minutes later did Victor re-appear downstairs, putting on his coat. Soon after they heard the front door slam shut.

"You know, we should buy Trudy something, as a welcome back gift," Georgie suggested, knowing Nina was desperate to look at the next clue. "Jerome, whilst Victor's out, do you want to come with me to the shop?"

He agreed and Georgie winked at the others. She knew that Patricia still didn't know too much about the treasure hunt and the clues - Nina would have to explain all of that to her before showing them the next clue.

Dragging out their outing as much as she possibly could, they bought, for Trudy, a box of expensive chocolates and a huge bouquet of flowers. When they returned, the other three were staring at something in horror. Nina, Fabian and Patricia were gathered around the cupboard under the stairs, surrounded by old boxes and dusty books. Georgie assumed they were sorting through them because they had figured out the clue already.

"What is wrong with you lot?" Jerome asked them, as he put the flowers down on the side. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think we have," Nina replied quietly.

She held out an old photograph for Georgie to take. Her eyes widened as she realised what she was looking at - it was Victor. He was standing outside of the House, leaning on a shovel. She turned the photo around to see the date this black and white photo was taken.

1925.

Jerome was looking at it from over her shoulder, and Georgie turned her head slightly as he said, "You know you told me about Victor and his...experiments? What kind of experiments, exactly?"

Georgie sighed, returning the photo to Nina. She took Jerome's hand. "There's more you should know. Is it alright if I tell him everything now? He deserves to know." The others nodded; Georgie smiled in thanks.

"Know what?"

She took a deep breath.

Author's Note: Well, they're finally together now! I was going to drag that out for a lot longer, but I changed my mind and thus my plan. Thanks for everything guys, I've finally finished my final year at Uni. It was stressful and slightly traumatic near the end, but I've done it. And going back to writing is my reward! Hopefully see you all soon :)