اتاق اینکا

CHAPTER ONE - The Inca Room

Xander, Buffy and Willow were on the bus. They were going with the rest of their class to a South American exhibition at Sunnydale Museum.

‘It’s just not fair’ Buffy was saying. ‘My mum’s invited one of the Cultural Exchange students to stay with us. Some strange South American in my house for two weeks - it’s going to be terrible!’

Students from all over the world came to live with the Sunnydale High students for two weeks every year. Perhaps because the teachers couldn’t count, they called this time Cultural Exchange Week. Some days, the students went on cultural visits. The first visit was today, to Sunnydale Museum.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Willow. ‘Maybe your student’ll be really nice.’

‘Yeah, it’ll be cool’ Xander agreed. ‘Cultural Exchange Week is a beautiful mix of different cultures.’

The two girls looked at him. Xander was strange sometimes!

‘And Cultural Exchange Week means less school work - even more beautiful’ he thought happily.

They arrived at the museum and went into the first exhibition room. Cordelia Chase was standing with her friends in a corner. They were laughing and looking at photos. That’s mine. His name’s Sven. Mmm - he really is the best-looking.’

‘Who’s that’ Buffy asked.

‘That’s my exchange student,’ Cordelia said. ‘100% Swedish and 100% good-looking!’ She showed Buffy the photo. ‘What does yours look like?’

‘Umm, I don’t know,’ answered Buffy. ‘Just an ordinary guy.’

Xander held up his hands. ‘Wait a minute! It’s a guy - not a girl? And he’s going to live with you for two weeks? This is a terrible idea!’

‘What about “a beautiful mix of different cultures”,’ asked Willow with a laugh.

Buffy wasn’t listening. She was looking across the room at Rodney Munson, a student in their class. He was standing very close to one of the exhibits.

‘What’s he doing’ she asked.

They all looked at Rodney. He had big braces on his teeth and he looked a bit scary. He was doing something to the exhibit.

‘I’ll tell him to stop,’ said Willow.

She walked over to him. Rodney liked Willow because she often helped him with his homework. He certainly wasn’t the cleverest student in Sunnydale.

‘Oh, hi, Willow,’ Rodney said. Willow could see a small knife in his hand. He was trying to take gold from one of the South American exhibits!

‘Hi’ said Willow. ‘Er. You mustn’t do that, Rod.’

‘Why not?’ Rodney laughed. ‘Will they tell me to leave school? Oooh, I’m frightened!’

Willow laughed weakly at his ‘joke’. She started to answer. But just then their museum guide said, ‘Welcome, students! We will now go into the Inca Room.’

The students followed the guide into the dark room. In the centre of the room, there was a big sarcophagus. The guide walked towards it. ‘Five hundred years ago, the Inca people of Peru chose a beautiful teenage girl as their princess.’

Xander and Willow looked into the sarcophagus. The beautiful teenage girl was now a scary mummy. She was holding a kind of gold plate.

‘The Incas needed to make a religious sacrifice. They chose their princess as the sacrifice. They put her in a sarcophagus while she was still living. Then they left her for ever.’ The guide pointed at the plate. ‘This plate is special. It protects the princess. With the plate in the sarcophagus, no one can wake her.’

Xander wasn’t very interested. He was thinking about other things.

‘So, Buffy, when’s your exchange boy arriving?’

‘His name is Ampata and I’m meeting him at the bus station tomorrow night.’

‘Mmm - Sunnydale Bus Station - exciting!’ joked Xander.

‘This way, please,’ the guide said, and they all followed.

Rodney waited. First he waited while the other students left the museum. Then he waited for six o’clock, when the museum closed. He was hiding in the Inca Room. It was easy - there were lots of dark corners there.

Later, he came out. It was safe. No one could see him now. A lot of the exhibits were behind glass, but the mummy wasn’t. And her gold plate wasn’t either.

Rodney wanted that plate. It looked expensive. ‘I’ll sell it, and then I’ll be rich,’ he thought.

He reached into the sarcophagus and touched the plate. ‘Cool,’ he thought. He pulled the plate. It didn’t move. He pulled it again, until suddenly it came away in his hand. He fell back and dropped it. The plate broke into lots of pieces.

‘Oh no!’

Rodney didn’t think about his next move. He didn’t have time. Instead, he felt hands around his throat. It was the mummy. And her dead eyes were open.

That’s impossible’ he thought.

The mummy pulled him closer and closer. Rodney tried to shout for help. But the mummy’s hands were too strong.

He couldn’t speak.

And then, the five-hundred-year-old princess gave the high school student his first and last kiss.