Kira was already awake well before Amber's alarm clock went off, texting fervently as she got dressed for the first day of classes. It was nice, honestly, putting the uniform back on after a long, unstructured summer. It wasn't that she loved school, but it was certainly better than sitting around doing nothing.

Her phone pinged as another text came through, and she looked down at it expectantly:

Operation Millington 🎂🎉

Mara 🤓💕: Jerome and I are waiting on the post

Joy 💖: taking his sweet time isn't he?

Kira: Amber hasn't gotten up yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Patricia 🌹: if she's not up yet wtf r we spamming the chat for 😭 let a bitch sleep five more mins

She could hear Joy through the wall threatening to drag Patricia out from beneath the covers by her ankles if she didn't pull herself together, and Kira snorted softly as she finished futzing with her tie.

The girls had decided months ago to throw Amber a surprise party considering how much she loved that sort of thing. They'd instructed everyone in the house to pretend they forgot about her birthday or that it wasn't a big deal, but to be ready with gifts and apologies once the party started that night. Meanwhile, the girls would be getting things ready for said party all while keeping Amber off the scent.

The sharp trill of Amber's heart-shaped alarm clock pierced the air, and she immediately leapt out of bed with a wide grin on her face. "It's my birthday!" she squealed excitedly, but her smile faltered at the sight of Nina's barren corner of the room.

Deciding that for the moment, comforting a friend was more important than a surprise party, Kira allowed herself to break the rule they'd set in place and wish Amber a warm happy birthday. Her roommate's smile returned, smaller this time but still genuine.

"Thanks," she said. "I just wish Nina were here." She checked her phone and frowned. "Not even a birthday message... I'm really worried about her, Kira."

"Hey, it's like two in the morning over there," she soothed. "She's probably just asleep. I bet you'll hear from her later today."

Amber looked doubtful, but she nodded, shaking off her worries. "Yeah, maybe... Sooooo," she said, drawing out the word, "what did you get me?"

"What do you mean?" Kira asked innocently, pulling her phone from where she tucked it in the waistband of her skirt and sending off the Amber alert— the good kind, not the bad one.

Amber wrinkled her nose, confused by her response. "Like for my birthday?"

It was a struggle not to laugh. "Oh, that," she said. "I didn't get you anything."

Amber did a poor job of hiding her disappointment. "O-Oh... Well, of course, you didn't have to get me anything, I just thought—" She cut herself off, pursing her lips; she sniffed. "That's okay. I'm going to go check the post."

She breezed out of the room just as another text came through in the group chat:

Operation Millington 🎂🎉

Mara 🤓💕: it's Jerome, got the packages. Hiding it in my room

Kira: Just in time cuz she's going to check the mail rn

Joy 💖: excellent!!! operation millington is go!

Willow 🧿🔮: SQUEE!

Willow 🧿🔮: PARTYTIME!

Willow 🧿🔮: IM SO EXCITED!!!!

Joy 💖: wait a minute willow how long have you been in this chat?

Joy 💖: willow???

—

"I cannot believe you added that spaz to the group chat," Patricia groaned about an hour later while she, Joy, and Kira walked to their first period Monday class. "She triple texts all the time, and it's driving me crazy." As if on cue, Patricia's text tone went off three times in a row.

"'That spaz' has a name. Be nice," Kira chastised. "She asked to be a part of planning, so I added her like three weeks ago. She means well, you know, and she's actually really great. A little intense, but great."

Joy rolled her eyes. "You're too nice," she said, making Kira's face warm. To Patricia, she teased, "You know, this wouldn't be a problem if you just put your phone on silent like everyone else."

"Yeah, yeah," she deadpanned and stopped just outside the classroom door as Amber trudged in in front of them. She looked very irritated, all according to plan. Coming down the hall behind her was the girl from last night, KT. She bumped into Claire from Hathor House, apologizing profusely, before going back to her speed walk toward them with her face buried in her schedule. "What do you two make of the new girl?"

"She seems really sweet," Kira said, smiling and waving when she passed them by on the way in. KT grinned back and made a funny face, wiggling her fingers; Kira giggled into her hand.

"Seconded," Joy added. "She seems fun."

Eddie was now coming down the hall, looking a bit like someone woke him up out of a deep sleep and then slapped him clean across the face. In short, he looked lost and awful.

Patricia frowned. "Well, it certainly seems like Eddie's taken to her," she snarked to them as he approached. He just made an awkward, pained expression before walking through the door, and seeing him reminded Kira of something she'd meant to ask the previous night.

She darted in after him, sliding into the vacant chair beside KT in front of Eddie so she could speak to him before the class started. She'd sit with Mara next period.

With a quick, friendly greeting to her future housemate, she twisted in her seat so she was facing her brother. "Hey, I meant to ask you last night, but did you put a letter addressed to Fabian in my suitcase on purpose?"

Eddie, who'd only been half-listening, suddenly whipped his head around like a sling shot. "What did you just say?" he asked like a crazed man.

She rolled her eyes. "I asked why there was a letter addressed to Fabian in my stuff. Unless you didn't put it there?"

"No, no, I put it there! I mean, I guess I must have, but it wasn't meant to get put in your bag, it was supposed to go to Fabian."

"I figured," she replied dryly. "Since it had his name on it and everything."

"Do you have it? Give it to me!" he demanded.

"Jesus, relax, will you?" she exclaimed, putting a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down. He was acting like she'd told him she had the cure for cancer just lying around somewhere.

"Good morning, everyone!" Presumably their new teacher, a slight blonde woman with a winning smile, made her entrance then. She dropped her bag on the desk and turned to face the class. "My name is Ms. Denby, and I'll be teaching you history and business ed this year."

Kira turned back around to her brother so she could answer his question and stop him from impatiently pulling her ponytail. "I didn't bring it to school, I left it on my nightsta— Wait, where are you going?"

Eddie had jumped up before she could even finish, making a beeline for the door just as Jerome and Alfie came crashing through, and the three of them collided comically, making a spectacle of themselves.

Kira sighed dramatically while the class laughed, and KT shyly leaned over and whispered, "Is he always like that?"

She looked over at her seatmate with a tired, bemused half-smile. "No, not really," she chuckled. KT chuckled too, drumming her nervous fingers on the table top before looking away.

"Hello," Ms. Denby said to the boys, equally bemused. "And you are?"

"Um, Jerome Clarke?" said Jerome, almost like it was a question.

"Alfie Lewis," he greeted sheepishly. "Hi."

"E-Eddie Miller, Miss," Eddie stuttered out, clearly wishing he could leave.

"Sit down then, please," she said, gesturing to the few empty seats left around the classroom.

Eddie shot a weird look in Fabian's direction, then back at Ms. Denby. "But, Miss, I have to—"

"Whatever it is," she interrupted, "can wait till after my class, alright? Unless you're bleeding? On fire, perhaps?"

There were a few snickers from across the room; he gritted his teeth and shook his head. "No, Miss," he said, trudging back to his chair, ignoring the questioning look from his sister.

Once the boys were settled, their teacher once again took charge. "So, is anybody else new like me?" she asked, and KT's arm shot up. "Welcome! Do you want to tell the class a little bit about yourself?" She gestured for her to stand up.

Kira and Mara clapped politely, and most of the class joined in half-heartedly. KT smiled bashfully, and stood up.

"Um, okay, hi!" she said, looking around at her classmates. "I'm KT, which is short for Kara Tatiana— blame my parents for that one." She giggled at her own joke. "Um, I'm from the States—"

"Oh, we never would have guessed," drawled Patricia, and Kira had to wonder why she was acting like KT was a threat. She'd broken up with Eddie, not the other way around. Besides, Kira had seen KT's pin— she definitely wasn't after Eddie. Still, she wasn't going to out the poor girl on top of everything else, even if she was in good company.

KT bit her lip, unnerved by the hostility, but carried on. "Pennsylvania," she continued. "And, um, I'm here on a scholarship, and I'm really excited about this place. Oh! And I move into Anubis House later today."

"Wonderful. Thank you for sharing, KT," Ms. Denby said, and KT sat down with a nod. "So continuing on the theme of 'Who Am I?', I though our first project together could be about family trees."

Patricia laid her head down on the desk in protest, and the were several groans throughout the room at already being assigned work on the first day. However, a few people were excited by the prospect of the project, Kira included. This was at least an interesting history project, and she was anxious to learn more about the Sweets. She had a pretty good grasp on the Miller side of the family, but there wasn't much information that her father had imparted. Maybe now was the chance to pick his brain a bit.

Beside her, KT had suddenly stilled, looking over her shoulder with a weirded-out expression on her face. Kira half-turned too, raising an eyebrow at Eddie's wide-eyed gaze trained on KT's open backpack.

"Do you... have a sick grandfather?" he asked insensitively. Out of the corner of her eye, Kira watched KT's face drop. "And if you do, did he leave you a key?"

What... the fuck, Eddie? she thought, appalled by his lack of tact. Not mention, what kind of specific-ass vibes was he reading?

KT took a long time to respond to him, and her eyes were almost frightened. Then, she shook it off and laughed. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, shaking her head and turning back around in her seat.

Once she was turned around, Kira pinched him hard on the arm. He flinched, eyes snapping to hers accusingly.

'What the hell?' she mouthed at him. He set his jaw and looked away.

—

When Ms. Denby finally let the class go, Eddie rocketed back to Anubis House and up the stairs to Kira's room, hardly pausing to heed Victor's warning about running. He wrenched open the door and scanned the place with laser-focus, finally resting on the white envelope Nina had given him weeks prior. He scooped it up and turned it over.

Fabian, it read in Nina's scrawling handwriting across the front.

Thank you, God, he thought. Or gods... I'm new at this, okay?

"Eddison Miller, shouldn't you be at school instead of thundering around the house?" Victor's voice boomed from the doorway, sending Eddie jumping a foot in the air. "What have you got there?"

"Oh, um, just a letter? It's for Fabian, but Kira got it by mistake."

Victor's eyes gleamed with interest. "Did you get this in the mail today?" he asked.

Eddie shook his head. "Um, no. It's a long story, and I've really got to get back to school and give this to Fabian, so..."

Victor stared him down for a moment, then stepped aside. "Very well. Hurry along, boy!" Eddie darted past him. "And no running!"

Once Eddie was back outside, he hardly slowed his run until he was back at the school with his hands on his knees, the letter clutched tightly in his hand. He looked up and saw Joy and KT staring at him by the lockers, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Is that the letter?" Joy suddenly asked, pointing toward the envelope. "The one Nina just messaged Fabian asking if he'd read? The one Kira said she found in her stuff and that you put it there?"

Eddie nodded breathlessly and stood up. "Yup," he wheezed. "Where is he, I gotta give this to him."

Joy jerked her head wordlessly in the direction of the student lounge, and he strode off down the hall, feeling KT's suspicious eyes on him as he passed. With the letter found, that was the next mystery he needed to look into.

When he arrived at the lounge all eyes turned to him, and he held up the letter. "I've been looking everywhere for this," he said, and Fabian practically hurdled the couch to snatch it out of his hands.

"Why did you hide this for so long? I was worried sick!" Fabian cried, tearing into the envelope even as he spoke.

"Nina told me she was going to wait to say anything until you'd read the letter," he admitted quietly, knowing that only those in Sibuna would understand why he'd even been in much contact with her in the first place. "She explains it better, I'm sure. It's nothing too bad, I don't think. I don't really know, I haven't read it. Once you do read it, please let her know."

Fabian looked between him and the letter searchingly, but upon seeing that he wasn't hiding anything else, nodded.

"Well, what does it say?" Patricia asked impatiently.

Fabian hesitated, then shook his head. "Let me just... read it first, yeah?" The group nodded understandingly, and Fabian scurried off to read his letter in peace.

"There was a way less sketchy way to deliver that letter, mate," Jerome snarked from the stage.

"You try playing the messenger next time, Jerry," Eddie snarked back, allowing relief to wash over him now that that particular weight was lifted off his back. "It's tougher than it looks."