It's A Twin Thing | j. clarke [1]

five

-:- House of Discovery / House of Hyper -:-

The next morning at breakfast, Nina, Fabian and I were sat next to each other, the signs of fatigue evident on our faces. After getting the key from the stairs, Nina and I stayed up to try and see if there was anything in the locket or a few books that might help us determine what this key unlocks. Nina wanted to go back up into the attic, but after some convincing, I talked her out of it. Despite this, we were still tired at breakfast, so much so that I almost fell asleep in my chair, but Fabian elbowed me before my face fell into my plate full of eggs.

"Thanks," I muttered to Fabian with a yawn.

"More eggs anyone?" Trudy came in from the kitchen with a pan in hand.

I shook my head politely when she looked at me and returned my focus to stay awake.

"Did you hear about Victor?" Patricia asked the table. "He fell down the stairs last night and broke his leg."

Nina and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. We had been careful not to make any noise last night when we were by the stairs, but I wasn't sure if we'd put the floorboard completely back in place. A small feeling of guilt began bubbling in my chest, and I could tell that Nina was feeling even more guilty than I was.

"Don't exaggerate, Patricia," Trudy said.

"Eggs-aggerate," Alfie laughed loudly. "Nice one Trudes."

"Terrible yolk Alfie," Jerome added, causing an eruption of laughs at the table.

"It's a sprained ankle that's all," Trudy clarified.

"A very painful sprained ankle," Victor's voice carried with him from the hallway as he entered through the doorway.

"Victor! How do you do that?" Trudy asked with a start. "And with a limp too!"

A few of us chuckled at her comment.

"Someone sabotaged the floorboard on purpose," Victor claimed, and I gave Nina a look that told her to keep her mouth shut.

"Oh no," Trudy disagreed. "That floorboards been like that for ages, I remember telling you about it last year."

"Yeah, that's right," Fabian said from beside me. "I've tripped over it myself a few times."

"Someone is up to something," Victor ignored Trudy and Fabian. "And I intend to find out what it is, and who."

Nina looked from me to Fabian with a gulp. The last thing we needed was to get in trouble with him, especially since we were just in the clear from Patricia's wrath. On our walk to school, Nina and I argued back and forth on whether or not we should go back into the attic.

"We shouldn't go back into the attic when Victor's already suspicious," I explained to Nina.

"I know, but we might not get another chance," Nina countered. "Besides, if we play our cards right, he'll never know it's us."