House of Anubis: Triad of Memphis

House of Arguments/House of Pocket Watches

One morning, the students walked into the dining area where Jared and Jonah were arguing at the table. Jared had a bandage over his nose which made Niamh smirk at the sight of it.

"Yeah, because I would want to wear your nerd-shirts," Jared mocked.

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm," Jonah glared across the table at his twin, paying no mind as the others filed in and took their seats.

"Yeah, and I don't appreciate your existence, but mum decided to push out another baby after me, now didn't she?" Jared retaliated.

"Woah, is this really how twins are?" Tyler interrupted. "Like, all the time?"

"Well when one half is pure idiot-" Jonah began, his eyes still on Jared.

Jared cut him off. "-you're just mad because I'm the oldest."

"By three minutes; you're not entitled to anything more than me."

"Oh yeah, well mum loved me first so-"

"-you two need to chill out," Sarah chuckled. "What's this argument even about anyway?"

"Jonah thinks I stole his stupid shirts," Jared sighed.

"Well you are known to steal," Niamh rolled her eyes.

"Yes, and I got a bruised nose for it," Jared remarked, gesturing to his face, "so could we please move on? Let go and forget about it."

"I hate you so much," Niamh insulted. She grabbed an apple from the table, stood up, and headed out the door.

The others ate their breakfasts and eventually headed out as well. Sarah walked alongside Jonah on their way to the school building, and the two of them were a few feet behind the others.

"You know, I honestly can't tell you and Jared apart until you speak," Sarah suddenly admitted. "You're so mature, and Jared is so..."

"Not?" Jonah finished with a laugh. "I know; I've been living with it all my life. He just doesn't know when to grow up, and I've come up with the theory that maybe maturity is taking its time with him."

"A long time," Sarah giggled, but it ended abruptly. She suddenly stopped walking and Jonah did too.

"What is it?"

"I thought I saw something in the bushes."

"It's probably nothing-"

"-let's check it out."

Jonah raised his eyebrows, doubting the idea of that. "We're going to be late if we do that."

"It won't take long," Sarah shook her head. She grabbed Jonah's wrist and pulled him along.

They went over to the bushes and trees and looked through them. Sarah inched over to something glinting between the branches; a golden antique tangled in the greenery. She pulled it out, realizing it was a pocket watch, worn and faded. The chain was brittle and snapped as she pulled it out. A folded note was clasped inside, and Sarah proceeded to open it, but Jonah discouraged it.

"At school. We should really get going now," he suggested.

Sarah sighed but agreed, and they both hurried to the school building.

~~~~~
William was stuck in the same seat in chemistry class, right behind Rachel and Tyler at their table. He overheard their conversation and felt compelled to just interrupt them. But then the teacher had come into the classroom, and so he stayed in his seat.

The students were informed that they'd be having a pop quiz over the information they had just learned in the past few days, and that ignited some moans and groans within the classroom.

The papers were passed out, and Tyler was the first to turn in his paper with Jared being the last. After the quizzes were wrapped up, the teacher went into her next lesson.

When class was over, Jonah was on his way to head out with Sarah, but he was stopped by his brother. Jonah rolled his eyes and told Sarah to go on ahead and that he'd catch up.

"What is it?" Jonah asked urgently.

"Say, I wanted to apologize for something I did..." Jared told him.

"You actually want to apologize to someone?" Jonah crossed his arms. "Is it Niamh?"

"Just tell me how!" Jared whispered in a harsh tone.

"Two words," Jonah laid a hand on Jared's shoulder. "'I'm sorry'." With that, Jonah abandoned Jared, and Jared turned back around to see Niamh still packing her things at her table.

He took a deep breath and prepared braced himself. But sooner than he had the guts to walk up to her, he found himself turning right around and leaving the classroom.

~~~~~
Jonah caught up with Sarah in the lounging area. He sat on the couch beside her, and she perked up as she brought the pocket watch out of her backpack. She unfolded the letter and whispered it to herself as she and Jonah read it.

Seek to the heavens,
In skies of fire and gold,
Reflect the manifestation,
Through the mirror of twelvefold.

Jonah took a deep breath, registering those few words and deliberating what it meant.

"Jonah, can I trust you?" Sarah suddenly asked.

"O-of course."

Sarah drew the Eye of Horus necklace from her bag and held it for Jonah to see. Jonah's mouth was slightly agape as he stared down at it, and Sarah explained the very oddity he had just gotten himself into.

~~~~~
Jared decided he'd have to take his mind off his own affairs, and so he caught up with Tyler and Rachel in the hallway. They two of them were walking side-by-side, and Jared slipped right in the middle, wrapping his arms around them both.

"Hello you two love birds," Jared smirked.

"Um...uh..." Both Tyler and Rachel stumbled over their words, muttering incoherent gibberish.

"Oh, you're keeping it secret?"

"No!" Tyler rejected defensively. He pushed Jared's arm off and stopped in his tracks. Jared stepped out in front of the both and turned to face them. Tyler continued, "We're not together."

"Just go on a date already," Jared insisted.

"No!" Another voice called out, coming into the mix. It was William over-listening, and he had now made his way over to them for more privacy. "You heard Tyler; they're not together."

"Oh," Jared nodded. "Oh," he repeated, his eyebrows raised and yet a new interest provoked. "Oh!" And at this point, he was laughing maniacally. He laid a hand on Rachel's shoulder and said, "I'm so so sorry for you." He abandoned them after that, chuckling to himself.

Rachel, Tyler, and William stood there, glancing at eachother, confused.

"So class then?" Rachel reminded.

~~~~~
And this has been yet another chapter for you lovely readers. I hope you enjoyed reading and for now, here are the discussion questions.

Do you think Jared should apologize to Niamh?

What do you think the riddle means?

Do you think Jonah will believe what Sarah tells him?

Why do you think Jared was laughing at the end?

And that's all for now! Until next time, Aristocrats!