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

ten

 -:- House of Kidnap / House of Cat Nap -:-

The night we discovered Nina's locket opened the door to the cellar Nina was eager to go exploring. I kept my concerns to myself because despite the fact that exploring the creepy cellar was the last thing I wanted to do, I knew it was right for Sibuna. So, I didn't protest when Nina, Amber and I snuck past Victor's office and lightly hurried down the stairs. We tiptoed to Fabian's room and knocked on the door softly. There was a shriek and then a large bang that sounded through the hallway, making us jump in surprise. After looking down the hallway only to be met with no one, I realized the sound had come from Jerome and Alfie's room. I could only imagine what type of antics they were pulling, but something told me I'd rather be in there than on my way to the creepy cellar.

Fabian exited his room a moment later, looking at us curiously.

"Was that you guys?" He asked, referring to the noise.

"Alfie and Jerome," Nina explained. They shared an annoyed glance before we headed to the kitchen.

While Nina opened the oven door I considered grabbing a snack from one of the cupboards. I hadn't eaten much at dinner, and these late night adventures brought out the stress-eater in me. I opened the cupboard where Trudy kept the sweets and was in the middle of reaching for a box of cookies when Nina's voice stopped me.

"Lizzie, what are you doing?" She hissed at me.

"What does it look like? I'm getting a snack," I bit back.

"This is no time for cookies," Nina said, eyeing the box in my hand.

I rolled my eyes and opened the box anyways.

"Lizzie," she warned.

"Nina's right," Amber jumped in. "Midnight snacking will spark your blood sugar and can lead to diabetes, this is certainly not the right time for a cookie."

I smiled at Amber, "Don't worry, I'm only having one."

"Whatever, let's go," Nina sighed.

I ate the cookie quickly and was the last of us to crawl through the oven door. I shut it quietly behind me and then followed the rest of Sibuna down to the cellar. We each had our flashlights out, and Amber led the way as we rounded a corner.

Amber shrieked loudly before exclaiming, "A ghost!"

Her flashlight was pointed at something on the other side of the room, but I didn't even look at what it was before declaring it wasn't a ghost.

"More like a sheet," Nina corrected, earning a chuckle from Fabian.

"Can we turn the lights on, please?" Amber asked. "Bad things don't happen when the lights are on."

As much as I knew that Amber's antics were nothing more than superstition, I had to agree with her. My flashlight was only revealing bits and pieces of the cellar, mostly tables and glass bottles. I wanted to see the whole room, in case we found anything.