Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter one. house of hello

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            I can't believe I'm even thinking this right now, but being back in England after spending my entire holiday in Australia is strangely refreshing. First day of term, and I'm back at school, walking to Anubis House with my suitcase rolling behind me and my phone in my hand, texting my sister to let her know I've made it to school safely—and keeping an eye out for a text from Evan.

            After he kissed me at the prom, he asked me to be his girlfriend. And though at the time it might have been an iffy decision, and a nervous one because it was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me, I said yes. And it's been really fun since then, getting to know him better. I mean, a good portion of our relationship thus far has been long-distance over break, but now that we're back at school, I'm entirely looking forward to our relationship existing outside phone calls and text messages.

            I stop walking and step out of the way of incoming students between the parked cars, concentrating on writing out the message to my sister. Just as I press send, about to start walking again, I'm suddenly knocked over the brick parking fence (which isn't even that high) and thrown to the grass behind it.

            "What the—" I start, pushing my hair out of my face as I look at the person who knocked me over. Jerome Clarke, because who else would it be? "Jerome, you just almost put us both in a hospital! What are you doing?!"

            "I didn't see you," Jerome retorts, though he hasn't looked at me and is looking back at the crowds of students passing us by, with no knowledge of the two of us behind the brick. My eyebrows furrow as I watch him duck back down, like he's hiding from someone.

            "Okay, what are you looking at?" I question, trying to see what or who he's hiding from. Then he puts his hand on the top of my head, pushing my head down to stop me from looking. I smack his hand away, scrunching my nose up. "Jerome! Why are you acting weirder than usual?"

            "I'm not," Jerome casually claims, finally looking at me. It's only a glance at first before he looks back to the crowds, and then he does a double-take at me. "You look different."

            "Watch it, Clarke—"

            "You look nice," he tells me. He clears his throat as I glance at him strangely, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. I'm not doing this again. I have a boyfriend and it's not him. "Did you change your hair?"

            I reach up to grab a lock of my hair. Last term it was just blonde, but this year I decided to upgrade a little. Call it a lifestyle change after what happened at prom. "Uh, yeah, I got highlights last week."

            "It looks like gold now."

            "Oh, don't tell me you're going to try and steal it, Mother Gothel."