Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 78: The Living Dead

KT retired to bed sullenly, clearly embarrassed by what she'd done and offset by what had nearly happened to her. She'd shaken her head quietly when Kira offered to spend the night, and simply went up to her room. She'd skipped dinner, too, but Kira knew she couldn't push her. Grief really was a funny thing.

She ended up spending the rest of her evening in a similar way to how she used to before she'd ever heard of Sibuna, but with the added twist of being completely embroiled in a plot to humiliate the boy who'd broken her best friend's heart. You know, a casual Monday night.

Based on the sneak peek they'd gotten from eavesdropping on Jerome, there certainly wouldn't be a standing ovation the following day, and the hysterical shrieks of laughter she and the Sisterhood let out once they were out of earshot of the living room were just enough to slow her racing heart and calm her trembling hands. That past weekend had been a cruel reminder that ignorance really was bliss.

Part of Kira wanted to quit. She'd only joined to discover the truth about her father and Eddie; she'd gotten that and more. It was dangerous, this world, and the fact she'd lasted this long without having a total nervous breakdown was a miracle. She just wasn't cut out for danger. The only things keeping her there in the thick of the madness were the desperation in KT's eyes that promised trouble, the blinders on Eddie's focus that warned of danger, and her own frantic attempts to keep them both from tripping over their follies.

So, here she was, still in the middle of the world's slowest train wreck on Tuesday morning— hers and Eddie's actual birthday— with KT, who'd found herself in a much better state of mind when she'd woken up. They were holding hands as they walked through the school corridors, talking about everything but the elephant in the room, when Kira heard stifled weeping fast approaching from behind them.

The source of the waterworks quickly overtook them, and she was stunned to see Ms. Denby was the culprit. KT must have been just as surprised, because she stopped dead in her tracks, and her fingers tightened around Kira's almost imperceptibly.

Their teacher blustered right by the couple without acknowledging either of them, struggling to open her classroom door with an armful of lilies. She was dressed all in black, and Kira's heart plummeted into her stomach. There were two people who came to mind that Caroline Denby might mourn for, and both scenarios were horrible in their own right.

Before she could react, KT surged forward and helped open the door for her, leaving Kira to trot awkwardly after her like a cautious dog.

Denby sniffled a bit and managed a grateful nod for the assistance. "Oh, thank you... I'm sorry, girls, is it that time already?"

"No, you have five more minutes until the bell goes," KT assured her, gently sussing Denby out. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh! Oh, yes," she said, putting on a brave face. Then, it crumbled, and she began to cry with renewed fervor. "I-I'm just a little upset... I'm so sorry, here I go again."

Despite hating the heinous bitch, the scene truly did strike pity into Kira's heart; she didn't know what exactly possessed her to do so, but she laid a hesitant hand on her teacher's arm in an awkward attempt at comfort. At the very least it earned her tiny smiles from both Denby and KT.

"I, um, I lost a dear friend yesterday," Ms. Denby explained once she'd regained some composure. "It was very sudden."

Being the bleeding heart she was, KT immediately extended her condolences: "I'm so sorry, Miss."

"It was so unexpected," she continued, casting her eyes upward as though whoever had died might be on the ceiling. "I miss him terribly."

Both girls hummed their sympathies, one more skeptical than the other.