House of Anubis: House of Mistakes

Part XXIII

"Hey, Jo," Eddie bit out, cold eyes locked on KT's face. She kept her own eyes firmly on the script. "Wanna go out sometime? Like on a date?"

KT tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Willow giving her a distracted thumbs up backstage while Mara and Joy wore matching grimaces. Alfie and Fabian sat far upstage in folding chairs, watching them out of the corners of their eye. "But, Jordan, I can't. What about Mandy?"

Jerome cradled his face in his hands, frustrated to the point of tears. "No, no, no, no, guys," he groaned. "Where's your chemistry? It's like watching a pair of wet mops!"

Eddie and KT both made an attempt to defend themselves, but were cut off by Willow storming out onto the stage. "Someone has stolen my sequins," she pouted, stomping her foot childishly.

As Jerome loosened his tie in defeat, it looked as though he was being pushed to the edge. "Willow, no, I'm not in the mood. Willow, no—"

She turned toward KT and gestured wildly. "I can't finish my costumes without sequins!" she exclaimed, steamrolling Jerome entirely.

Mara and Joy's twin grimaces were back. "Sequins?" Mara asked dubiously.

"Willow, we didn't write sequins into the script," Joy said, furiously thumbing through the pages.

"CAN SOMEONE GET WILLOW OUT OF HERE, PLEASE?" Jerome shouted, voice going shrill. "Please?" he continued as he buried his in his hands. Willow whacked him on the chest and once again demanded her sequins. "I don't need this right now, I have other priorities. GET HER OUT OF HERE!"

Immediately Fabian and Alfie sprung into action, seizing their chance to further question her about the nursery rhyme just as they each seized one of Willow's arms.

"NO!" wailed Willow, as she was dragged away. "NOOOOOO!"

In spite of their current status as mortal enemies, Eddie and KT shared a bewildered look as the costume designer's cries of "Let me go, I need my sequins!" faded down the hall.

—

Despite her valiant attempt to escape her boyfriend's and her friend's clutches, Willow was unsuccessful even as she writhed in the agony of knowing her beloved bedazzlements had been taken from her. She made one more lunge back toward the rehearsal room, but Fabian and Alfie intercepted her, both of them panting.

"Willow! Willow, wait." Once they were certain she wasn't going to dart away, they heaved identical sighs of relief. "Willow, the nursery rhyme, the one you were singing last night, who taught it to you?"

Immediately, she switched gears, the sequins forgotten as a warm memory from long ago of sitting in a kind old man's lap in a well-worn armchair took front and center. The energy had been so good, she recalled. "My grandpa," Willow answered with a grin.

Fabian and Alfie— her wonderful Alfie— exchanged a brief, excited glance. "What was his name?" Fabian prompted.

Huh. She wrinkled her nose, racking her brain. She'd been so young, after all. "Grandpa," she said slowly, testing the answer on her tongue. Close enough. Plus, there was something she was supposed to be doing right then that was far more pressing. Oh, right! "Have either of you seen my sequins?"

The boys' faces dropped, and Willow stomped off with an exasperated groan. As much as she adored her Alfie and enjoyed Fabian's company, they were so not being very helpful.

Then again, she hadn't been all that helpful either.

Fabian sighed, his patience running thin. "Okay, so she says her grandfather taught it to her," he said to Alfie. "Who was her grandfather?"