Chapter 3: Egypt

 

Chapter 3: Egypt

 

 

So here we are - sitting on a plane, on our way half way across the world to Egypt, of all places. Not to mention the fact that I'm with a sixteen-year-old girl who's practically a stranger - and here I am sneaking her out of the country...Oh boy. What the hell was I thinking!

 

I look over at Piper and she seems to be more worried than I am, so I put my fear aside and muster up a smile. "What's wrong, aren't you excited to find your mom?" I ask, trying to sound cheerful.

 

"Oh...Yeah, I am, I'm just a bit...Er...Nervous." She says, I can tell by her voice that something is up.

 

 

"Listen to me, Piper, everything is going to be fine - I promise." I say, trying to make her feel better. When in reality I had no idea how everything was going to be - and even if I did, I bet 'fine' sure wouldn't have been it.

 

"Okay," She says in a not totally convincing happy voice.

 

"So what makes you think she's in Egypt?" I ask.

 

"Um, well, my whole life I've looked through old documents and photos around my house...Searching. I'm pretty confident that she'll be there." She said, but I didn't sense a hint of confidence in her tone.

 

"I really hope we can find her," I say, "What's her name?" I ask.

 

She pauses for a moment, "Taiya Hatshepsut" She says finally, giving me a weak smile.

 

"Erika?" Sofia asks, trying to take her mind off of the fact that they're in a plane. Sofia hates planes.

 

"Yeah, Sof?" Erika asks, totally oblivious to their current altitude.

 

"Where exactly did you get that shirt?" Sofia asks, raising an eyebrow.

 

"The airport gift shop, of course! Don't you love it?" Erika says enthusiastically, admiring the little mummy on her shirt.

 

"Uh...Sure," Sofia says, giggling at her friend.

 

"Okay, I can't do this anymore - I want off!" Sofia demands furiously.

 

"Calm down, girl, we're almost there!" Erika reassures her, now giggling at Sofia.

 

"Yeah, Sof, look out your window!" I say, admiring the beautiful view below...

 

 

The scene is unbelievable; the sand, the pyramids - it's astonishing! I watch mesmerized as we descend down to the desert oasis - it's like nothing I've ever seen before.

 

We walk up to our camp after the long plane ride, but we all agree that the journey was worth it.

 

"This place, it's...Magical!" Sofia enthuses, I can tell she is overcome with emotion.

 

"I can't believe your mom gets to live here!" I say to Piper, then realizing that it probably wasn't the best thing to say - luckily I don't think anyone was paying attention.

 

"So...Where's the hotel?" Erika asks.

 

I let out a burst of laughter, "We're sleeping here, in the tents," I say.

 

"Uh-uh - Hell no! Do you see this hair? I need some air-conditioning, stat!" She demands, feeling her now frizzing hair in horror.

 

"Erika, this was all they had...Your hair will be fine," I say, trying to comfort her with a smile.

 

"Ugh," She sulks, pouting like a child.

 

"Why don't you and I look together, Piper?" Sofia suggests. It's probably best that way; Sofia has the best sense of direction out of all of us.

 

"Sure, okay," Piper says, her voice lacking emotion.

 

"We should split up, we'll cover more ground that way," I suggest to Erika.

 

At first she seems put off by the idea, but she eventually comes around. "Er...Fine," She mutters.

 

"Great! You go door to door and ask locals if they've heard of a Taiya Hatshepsut and I'll go search the market, okay?" I ask.

 

"Okay, whatever," She says, more interested in her hair. Her face suddenly lights up, "Maybe I'll meet a cute Egyptian guy!" She enthuses.

 

I roll my eyes and nod, laughing a little, "Okay, Erika..." I say, doubtfully.

 

I arrive at a beautiful market in the heart of Egypt, and I am suddenly greeted by a stunning woman.

 

"Hello, darling, care to buy something?" She asks. I pause for a moment, and she catches on to my confusion. "Oh, this must be your first time in Egypt - welcome!" She says, offering me a warm smile and shaking my hand.

 

"Thank you," I say politely, "but I'm actually here looking for someone-"

 

"Oh, darling, why didn't you say so! I have the perfect guy for you - come now!" She says, pulling me away before I have a chance to object.

 

 

"This is my dear friend, Fahad, he is very sweet, strong," she pauses and whispers, "and a passionate lover," She adds with a wink and giggle.

 

"Okay, um, gross...But I'm not looking for a man," I start and she raises an eyebrow, "I'm looking for a woman...A missing woman."

 

"Oh! Why didn't you say so, I know everyone here! What is her name?" She asks, smiling patiently.

 

I pause for a moment, trying to remember, "Uh...Something Hatshepsut-" The lady bursts out into laughter. I wait for a moment, "What?" I finally ask, feeling confused and slightly offended.

 

She pauses her laughter, "The only Hatshepsut around here is Queen Hatshepsut! I can show you her tomb if you like?" She asks, and resumes laughing.

 

"It's okay..." I say, feeling shocked and confused.

 

I leave the lady in the shop and head outside, picking up my phone to call Erika.

 

"Hello?" She asks, I hear a man in the background.

 

"Hey, it's me. Where are you? I have to tell you something...Like now!" I say, worriedly.

 

"85 Pharaoh Lane, meet me here, okay?" She says, hanging up before I can answer - something was very odd about that call... 

 

I nervously approach the house at the address she gave me, knocking twice. I pause...Nothing. I notice a crack in the door, and decide to enter...

 

"Erika!" I scream, throwing a hand over my mouth. I stare at her, stunned, as she continues to make out with the Egyptian man.

 

Finally she stops, and I approach her, "Um..."

 

"His name  is Youssef," she starts, whispering the next part, "I think we're in love!"

 

I raise an eyebrow, still trying to fathom what I just saw, "Uh, that's great, but I really have to tell you something-"

 

"Lillian!" I hear from a voice come from behind me and I turn around to see Sofia, "I've been chasing after you for like ten minutes!" She tells me frantically.

 

"What's the matter?" I ask, feeling completely confused by this point.

 

She takes a deep breath, "It's Piper...She's missing!"

 

 

Chapter 2: Piper Sparks

 

Chapter 2: Piper Sparks

 

 

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Ma'am, but the burglar managed to get away with your TV." The officer said, a look of sympathy washed over his face.

 

My heart sank, I spent most of my savings on that TV, and now it was all a waste. "That's okay officer, you tried." I managed to squeak out, trying not to sound too upset.

 

The officer smiled a little, "Oh, do you mind if I give this to you?" He asked, handing me a piece of paper.

 

 

It was a missing person poster, apparently one of the students at the school went missing. I didn't recognize her at first glance, but she began to look more and more familiar. I figured that maybe I'd seen her at the mall or grocery store or something.

 

"Could you keep an eye out for her? She went missing yesterday...Such a shame," He uttered the last part under his breath, leading me to believe he knew her in some way.

 

I decided not to ask questions, I simply smiled a little and nodded, "Will do," I replied.

 

For breakfast the girls and I went to the most beautiful café down the road at the top of the hill, we sat at a cute little table outside with our food.

 

"I'm really sorry about your TV," Sofia said, "I know how hard you worked for it."

 

"Thanks, Sofia, but it's just a TV," I said, pretending not to care. "We have more important things to talk about, like what we're going to do today!" I exclaimed, a grin appeared on my face. "I'm thinking we take a little trip across town to this cute little bar I know - it doesn't look like much, but boy do they have some good drinks!"

 

"You know me, bring the drinks and I'm-" Erika began to choke on her food mid-sentence, she was making hysterical noises and faces.

 

"Are you okay?" Sofia asked, giggling a little, "How many times do we have to tell you not to talk with your mouth full?" She teased, and I laughed with her.

 

"I'm fine," Erika muttered in a dry tone, sipping on her water. "I've learned my lesson," She added, a small grin appeared on her face.

 

"Girls, I need your advice, Carl keeps calling me," Sofia said with a sigh.

 

Carl is Sofia's ex-fiancé, she broke it off with him after she caught him cheating on her. Sofia is the sweetest girl so this affected her emotionally for the longest time, she has only recently gotten over it. Erika and I always knew he was wrong for her, but we never wanted her to find out like that.

 

"Girl, give me your phone! I'm going to tell that sorry mother-" Erika started furiously, but I gave her a look and she knew to tone it down, "I'll just tell him to back off..."

 

"No, no, don't do that - he isn't a terrible guy. He knows what he did was a mistake, and now he wants me back... I don't know what to do," She said, we could tell she had been stressing over this.

 

 

"Just give it some time, Sof, maybe he'll lay off," I suggested, losing my train of thought at the sight of the cute guy behind us.

 

"Who is that?" Erika asked, her cheeks turning red.

 

"No idea...I wish I knew though," I said, admiring him subtly.

 

"Watch and learn," Erika said, getting up before I had a chance to stop her.

 

 

The guy threw on a jacket like he was about to leave, but Erika stopped him.

 

"Excuse me, Sir, I'm not from around here. Do you think some time you could give me a private tour?" She asked, smiling flirtatiously.

 

The guy frowned a little, looking her up and down. "Uhh...No, sorry, babe."

 

Erika frowned, "Who are you calling 'babe', jerk? You better watch it before I-"

 

"Erika!" I called, and she rolled her eyes and came back over to where we sat, leaving the guy alone and confused.

 

 

We arrived at The Sandy Place, an adorable little bar in the rundown area across town. It was surprisingly busy that night, but we decided to go in anyways - the girls just had to try out the amazing drinks!

 

We piled into the place and as we were about to order, Sofia noticed something. "Hey, Lil, isn't that the girl from the poster you showed us?"

 

I raised an eyebrow, surprised that she remembered - then it came back to me that Sofia had a photographic memory.

 

"I don't know, maybe..." I said, but Sofia was convinced, so she called her over.

 

"Excuse me," She started, "What's your name, Sweetie?"

 

"I'm not you're sweetie, Lady," The girl said, her voice was filled with hostility, "but my name's Piper. Piper Sparks."

 

"It's you!" Sofia shouted, the girl raised an eyebrow at her. "You're the missing girl from the poster!" Sofia took out her phone to call the number that she had remembered from the poster.

 

"What the hell are you doing!" Piper shouted, everyone turned and looked at her. Piper turned to them and smiled, to get them to stop looking. "Who are you calling?" She asked, the panic in her voice was evident.

 

 

"I'm calling the number on the poster, so you can go home..." She said, realizing that the girl probably didn't want to go wherever 'home' was.

 

"Please don't! My dad doesn't care about me - he didn't even make those posters, my art teacher did!" She exclaimed, tears began to form in her eyes.

 

"You can't just say here all night though," Said Sofia, she began to feel bad for the poor little girl. "Do you want to stay with us for the night? I can sleep on the couch and you can have my bed," Sofia suggested.

 

This caught my attention and I swirled around and looked at the girl, then back at Sofia. No way was I letting some stranger sleep in my house!

 

 

"Are you sure there's nowhere else for you to go?" I asked, "Oh, I'm Lil-"

 

"Lillian Grace! I used to watch The Nerd Diaries when I was younger, it was my favourite! My last name is Sparks just like Summer's! Too bad it got canceled, eh?" She said, sighing a little.

 

"Yes, too bad indeed..." I agreed, blushing from her compliments. "Well, I guess one night wouldn't hurt..."

 

"Thank you so much!" She said, smiling gratefully.

 

It was only then that I realized the cup of alcohol in the sixteen-year-old's hand, "You're too young for that!" I scolded, taking it from her.

 

She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself, most likely because she knew I would turn her in if she didn't comply with my rules. 

 

"Almost done in there?" I asked, still a little uncomfortable with the thought of having a strange person in my house.

 

I managed to hear an "Mhm..." coming from the bathroom, so I tried to relax a little.

 

She came out of the bathroom in the nightgown I leant her, "Thanks, again...For everything," She said, fighting the smile that inevitably appeared on her face.

 

"No problem, Piper," I said, smiling at the girl.

 

I noticed her look down to a ring on her finger, and a look of sadness came over her. "What's that?" I asked.

 

"It's a ring that belonged to my mother...I haven't seen her in ages, but-" She stopped, "Never mind, it's dumb."

 

 

"Oh come on, tell me," I urged, "I won't judge you."

 

"I think I know where she is, I just...I just can't get there," She said, looking down at the ground in sorrow.

 

"I'll take you. Wherever it is, no matter what, I promise you I'll take you." I said, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, judging by what came next. "Where is she?"

 

Piper took a deep breath before giving her answer, "Egypt."

 

Chapter 1: Lucky Palms

 

Chapter 1: Lucky Palms

 

Welcome to the beautiful Lucky Palms - or as I call it, home. It's where the sun always shines and the tourists pop up like crazy - everyone is just so eager to test their luck and bet their money.

 

I haven't always lived in the Palms, I actually used to live in Sunset Valley and Bridgeport. I've worked as an actress for most of my life, especially in my child and teen years. I was on a show called The Nerd Diaries, it gained quite a bit of popularity, but sadly it was canceled. On the show I played the main character, Summer Sparks, but my real name is Lillian Grace. I moved to Lucky Palms when I gave up on my acting career, deciding it was a pretty nice place to settle down.

 

This story isn't just about me though; it's also about my two best friends, Sofia and Erika. We met while I was living in Bridgeport and have been super close ever since, they are the two sweetest, most amazing girls I've ever met. This story is about the summer that they came to stay with me in Lucky Palms - and well, if you want to know more, you'll just have to read on...

 

I finished applying the last of my makeup, taking one good look at myself before deciding that I looked fine. My television past has made me extra conscious of how I look at all times, it can get pretty bothersome, but I guess it's for the best - you never know when you'll run into someone important.

 

Just moments after I'd finished, ding, the doorbell rang. I rushed to the front door, so excited to see my best friends!

 

Erika, the girl on the left, is probably the most outrageous girl you'll ever meet - and that's why we love her! She's crazy and fun in all the best ways, so whenever she's with us we know it's going to be a good time.

 

Sofia, the girl on the right, is pretty much the opposite. She is very shy and quiet - except when she's with us, of course. Whenever we would do things we knew we shouldn't, Sofia was always the one to be the voice of reason. I like that about her though, she keeps us grounded.

 

I anxiously slid the door open, greeting my friends with a huge smile and hugs all around. "I've missed you girls so much!" I exclaimed.

 

"Us too!" Sofia concurred, "Erika and I have been so sad without you in Bridgeport!"

 

"It's true, girl! Sofia keeps trying to get me to get a real job, it's terrible!" Erika teased, causing all to break out into laughter.

 

"Let's not waste any time - who wants to see the casino?" I asked, watching as both their faces immediately lit up.

 

Erika waved down a cab for us and we piled in, "To the casino!" She said excitedly.

 

"Please," Sofia threw in, scowling at Erika then smiling at the driver.

 

We arrived at the casino and looked around the entrance - we were the only ones there. The casino was nothing special to me, as I'd been many times before, but the girls flipped out over it.

 

"This place is awesome!" Erika exclaimed.

 

"Let's play blackjack, guys!" Sofia suggested, as during the cab ride here she told us about how she had been studying blackjack.

 

We shuffled in around the table and the robotic dealer dealt us our cards, we all put our poker faces on and the game began. It was so much fun just playing and laughing with my friends, it was so nice since I hadn't seen them in forever.

 

None of us were particularly good at blackjack, not even Sofia.

 

After about two hours of losing, we decided to call it quits. We lost more than half our money, but still had a great time. The girls and I decided we were exhausted, so we left the casino and headed back home for dinner.

 

I decided to "treat" the girls to my "famous" Mac and Cheese, but my cooking didn't turn out so well, and I ended up burning the meal. Nobody really cared though, we were all starving. I served the mess of a meal into three little bowls, and brought it over to the table to eat.

 

"That was really fun, I'm so glad we're finally here!" Erika said, stuffing her face with the burnt food. Sofia and I giggled to ourselves as we watched her.

 

"It was, and me too! This summer is going to be great!" Sofia exclaimed.

 

That was one thing we all agreed on: no matter what we did, the summer was going to be perfect.

 

I had to sleep in the living room because Erika and Sofia were occupying the bunk beds in my living room for the time being, so I was going to have to look forward to a summer of back pain. I didn't care though, it was a small price to pay for the company of my best friends.

 

Sofia and Erika both made themselves comfy in my room, and we all said goodnight and went to bed...

 

...and that night we got an unexpected, unwanted visitor.