Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 47: The Unknown Number

Dinner was immensely awkward given the fact that the freshly broken up couple somehow got themselves seated across from each other. Neither of them touched their food, subsequently being the last two at the dinner table with a plate still in front of them. Kira, of course, sat loyally at her best friend's side, glaring at Jerome till he hopefully shriveled up like a prune. Sure, they were friends, but it was one of those friendships where there was a clear expiration date: the day he and Mara broke up, which was today.

Across the room, Fabian, Patricia, and Alfie were on a hushed video call with Nina about something or other, while Joy and KT were looking at something together on the computer at the other end of the table. That last group was certainly a bit distracting, but Kira had a job to do.

"Come on, Jerome," Trudy urged him, bustling in from the kitchen, "I'd like to clear up."

"You'd be surprised by how much some people can eat, Trudy," Mara snarked, narrowing her eyes pointedly at Jerome.

Trudy blinked, looking between them slowly. "Have you two had a falling out?" she asked cautiously.

When neither said anything, both Kira and Joy said accidentally at the same time, "They've split up."

"No, we haven't," Jerome protested. "We're just taking a break."

"Oh, what did you do, Jerome?" asked Trudy, a hint of exasperation obvious in her tone.

"W-Why does everyone automatically assume it was me who did something wrong?" he bemoaned. Immediately hit by incredulous expressions, he shrunk down in his chair. "I need to start hanging out with people who don't know me." Probably realizing he wasn't going to do himself any favors by sticking around while Mara was still sore, he got up and left with one last regretful glance in her direction.

When he was gone, Mara dropped her head heavily onto her best friend's shoulder and sighed heartbrokenly. Over the top of her head, Kira caught Joy's and KT's eyes, offering them a grim look to which they responded with sympathetic frowns. On the one hand, she hoped this would blow over and they could make up; on the other hand, as cute and Jerome and Mara could be, Kira wasn't really sure the pairing was doing them any favors. Not that she'd say it out loud unless prompted, of course. In any case, she just wanted her friend to be happy.

Startled by sudden clapping, Kira turned in her seat as Victor entered the room with an announcement. "Your attention, please," he said. "Miss Millington has left the school."

Immediately there was an uproar, not unlike when Nina's departure had been announced, and Joy practically launched herself out of her chair beside KT and over to the weird kids clique seating arrangement.

Nina's tinny voice sounded out among the varying questions: "What do you mean 'she's left'?"

"She is currently traveling to America with her father where she will attend some 'fashion school'," Victor replied evenly, but there was a certain smugness in his face that had alarm bells sounding in Kira's head. "Perhaps you'll see her there, Miss Martin."

"You're lying!" accused Patricia beside her shell-shocked housemates, but Victor just turned that mild, self-satisfied smile on her wordlessly.

"No," Alfie breathed. Clearly he wasn't taking his girlfriend up and leaving the country without notice very well. "No, she wouldn't. She wouldn't! She's not even said goodbye!"

Victor's smile just grew wider, and he left without another word. Something about his expression made Kira's blood curdle, and she could see similar expressions on her other housemates's faces. Alfie hissed something frantically to his group, before whirling on KT. "Did you know anything about this?" he snapped angrily, and KT shrunk back, startled.