House of Anubis: Triad of Memphis

House of Auditions/House of Tunnels

The next Saturday came around pretty quickly, and all the people auditioning from Anubis house planned to head over to the school together. That was when Rachel had figured out William was auditioning.

She stood in the foyer and watched as William approached her with his own script in hand. "You're auditioning?" she asked, surprised.

William nodded.

"For what role?"

"Romeo..."

Before Rachel could reply, Tyler showed up and let Rachel know that he'd be accompanying her for moral support. Niamh was also joining in hopes of working backstage for the play. She wouldn't have to audition, but Mr. Duval asked them to show up anyway.

Jared came out of his room as well.

"You're auditioning too?" Rachel asked him.

"Pfft," Jared emitted. "Plays are for chumps." He then went into the kitchen.

Eventually, Rachel, William, Tyler, and Niamh headed out to the school. While they were gone, Sarah and Jonah took the opportunity to take Lucille and Jared down to the cellar. Lucille had already given up on holding a grudge towards Sarah but still decided not to speak to her as much as usual.

Sarah had gotten the code for the shelf, and so they'd all be exploring what further lay beyond. She input the code: 1890, and the wall slid to the side to reveal a study with its own desk and library. The wall slid closed behind them, and Jonah pulled the string for the lamp, which to each of their surprises, actually worked. They turned off their phones' flashlights for the time being.

"What now?" Jared asked impatiently.

"Apparently there are tunnels down here," Sarah admitted.

"I'm not seeing any tunnels," Jared crossed his arms.

"Haven't you guys ever seen the movies?" Sarah grinned as she approached the bookcase. She began tugging at books until she found the right one, and the others repeated her actions as they entered the other side of the bookcase one-by-one. They faced the rest of the tunnel and turned their flashlights on again.

"I'd expect there to be some kind of security down here," Jonah remarked.

"Maybe there was," Lucille suggested. "Maybe it just isn't here anymore."

None of them argued against it, and they continued to explore. The four of them eventually came across the hopscotch task, but it was no longer in operation. They studied the symbols on the ground as they passed along.

Then they came across the chasm where the bridge was still set. They glanced around, wondering who had the courage to cross first. Sarah decided she would do it, and as soon as she stepped onto the beam and took two steps forward, pendulums swung down in no particular rhythm (that they could tell). One swung right in from of Sarah's face and one right behind her.

"Apparently this one works," Lucille whispered, all of them still being able to hear.

~~~~~
Rachel, Tyler, William, and Niamh sat together in Mr. Duval's classroom. Rachel and William had been given their numbers, Rachel being number seventeen, and William being number thirty-one. Tyler kept reassuring Rachel that she'd do well, and William sighed at the sight of it.

"Just ask her on a date already," Niamh whispered. William looked over at her. Her legs were outstretched and she took up three chairs, her back up against the wall.

"What?" William acted as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Ask him out then?" Niamh corrected herself in case it was in fact Tyler whom William was interested in.

"No, you were right the first time," William immediately dismissed, a bit louder than he intended to. Rachel and Tyler glanced over, concerned, but eventually turned back away. William then reduced his tone down to a whisper. "I'm just not good with..."

"With asking girls out?" Niamh completed. "Lots of people aren't good with lots of things; you're not the only one."

"That doesn't help..."

"Neither does sitting on your bum, but here you are," Niamh taunted. "The ones who wait get left behind. Do you really want to be left behind."

"You're so much like Jared," William muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Niamh dropped her feet from the chair and leaned in threateningly. "Don't ever compare me to that no good embarrassment of society. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah," William nodded. "Sorry."

"Number seventeen," Mr. Duval suddenly called from his seat.

Tyler and William wished Rachel luck as she headed off to the stage, and as William watched her go, he considered the advice Niamh just gave him.

~~~~~
"What do I do?" Sarah panicked. She was afraid to look back and so she just faced forward with her eyes shut as she communicated with them.

"Don't die," Jared advised. "That would be a start."

"Just," Jonah began, ignoring his brother's comment, "take a step forward when it's clear."

"And what if I step too far?" Sarah pointed out. "What if I don't step far enough?"

"Well we have to explore," Jonah reminded. "Keep moving forward, and we'll be right behind you. You've got this."

Sarah muttered words of encouragement to herself and then opened her eyes. She decided she'd do best without overthinking, and so she took one step forward just as the next pendulum came singing down in front of her. Halfway through her crossing, Jonah stepped onto the beam.

Jared and Lucille eyed eachother.

"Ladies first," Jared stepped aside.

"I'd prefer not to," Lucille declined.

Jared glanced over at Jonah who had just finished crossing. Him and Sarah were waiting on the other side and supporting the both of them, urging them to come on.

"Have I mentioned I'm afraid of heights?" Lucille admitted.

Jared took her hand to pull her along, but she didn't budge. Without letting go, Jared turned back to face her. He tried to think of something to say that would convince her to cross the beam.

"Just imagine...I'm holding your hand the whole time," Jared insisted. "I'm your Osirion, right? I'll protect you."

Lucille finally let him pull her along, and he let go of her hand once she stepped onto the beam. As soon as she crossed the first pendulum, Jared stepped on the beam and followed. Eventually they were both across, and Jared gave Lucille a high-five.

"See?" he grinned. "It wasn't that bad."

"Just wait till we come back," Sarah chimed in, continuing ahead. Lucille decided not to entertain that thought and followed.

~~~~~
This is yet another chapter for you all! I hope you enjoyed, and here are the discussion questions.

Do you think Rachel and William will get the roles?

Will William build up the courage to ask Rachel on a date?

And just a bonus question, since you know what Lucille is afraid of, what're some of your fears? Not that I'll use them to freak you out or anything, but just if you'd like to say.

And yeah, that's all the questions for now. Also, I recently saw the movie Gods of Egypt, and I recommend it to anyone really, especially if you still enjoy Egyptian mythology outside of HOA. It was pretty cool. And Anubis was my favorite character, hands down. But enough of that (unintentional) advertising. Until next time, Aristocrats!