Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 24: The Parent-of-the-Boyfriend Trap

"So you and Mr. Sweet, huh?"

Kira froze in front of the sink, the water still running and toothbrush still stuck in her mouth as she made eye contact with Joy in the bathroom mirror. Cautiously, she spat out the toothpaste into the sink, wishing she could swirl down the drain along with it. "What about me and Mr. Sweet?" Kira asked slowly, unsure exactly where this was headed.

One corner of Joy's mouth quirked upward in a wry half-smile. "He's your dad, yeah?" she said, and Kira knew the jig was up. "Why did you never say anything?"

Kira screwed her eyes shut and blew out a long, sharp puff of air before turning around so she faced Joy fully. She knew this day would come when more people would start finding out about the secret. She'd always maintained she'd never been ashamed of her family, but something about Joy's tone made her feel extremely uncomfortable in her own skin. Perhaps it was because her crush had discovered a truth about her that she'd kept hidden for so long, or perhaps it was because by keeping Mr. Sweet a secret, Kira and Eddie— but mostly Eddie— had created something entirely too dramatic. Either way, despite the light sense of curiosity in Joy's voice, there was also something off and wary hidden there too. Maybe Eddie had been right in believing people would see them differently if they knew the headmaster was their father.

"It's silly really," she said, even though it wasn't that funny. "Eddie thought everyone would think he was a goody-two-shoes or something if they knew who his dad was. So he kept it a secret and asked me to as well." She shrugged weakly under Joy's thoughtful gaze. "I didn't want to start a fight, y'know? So I just went along with it. No one ever asked I guess."

"I guess I know what you mean... I would never have guessed," said Joy, eyes sweeping Kira up and down as if seeing her for the first time. The action left Kira flustered and unsure whether she was being silently condemned for her parentage. "You're just so nice."

"I mean, besides the hearing, I haven't seen Mr. Sweet be anything but nice to students," Kira pointed out. She wasn't sure why her being a nice person was the surprising factor, nor could she quite figure out why Joy's expression fell in response to her statement.

"I guess this year," Joy murmured more to herself than to Kira. "So why now?" she continued, once again addressing Kira.

She cocked her head. "Why now what?"

"I mean, why are you guys here at school now and not earlier? I guess I don't get it."

Kira cleared her throat and turned back to the sink, bracing her hands against the sides of the basin. "We weren't invited before, I guess," she said, trying to keep her voice casual, not looking at Joy in the mirror. She'd been grateful when Patricia hadn't pressed her or Eddie for the details, but she supposed someone was bound to ask eventually. "Or maybe the first time my mom agreed to it? I don't know. My, uh, my dad left us when we were little. Like four, maybe? Eddie and I have actually been here before," Kira explained, tacking on that last little fun fact with a single breathy laugh. "A long time ago, though. We'd sometimes come to visit him here in England for a week or two, but that stopped when we were maybe six or seven? Seven, I think. Then, it was practically radio silence. I don't know if it was my mom who cut him off or if he just really didn't want anything to do with us for a while, but..." She trailed off, realizing too late how much rambling and trauma-dumping she'd foisted onto Joy, of all people. "I'm so sorry, I'm probably boring you. As I said, it's silly."

Joy, who'd developed a pained look on her face, shook her head quickly. "No, what? No, you're not boring me," she said. "It's just... seven, you said?"

She sucked on her teeth for a moment. "Yeah, why?"

"Nothing, just... well, that's when I started at the school," Joy explained. "Me, Jerome, Alfie, and Trisha. We all got in together— same scholarship and everything— but that's when I started here. When I was seven."