I never knew that my own uncle was a mummy.
Yeah, that’s a shocker. But I was still struggling with my own memories and with my new memories of being a pharaoh. Tutankhamen and Rameses, a.k.a Tommy and Andy, were dealing with it also, and we were slowly starting to go under the deep end.
“God, someday I wish I could go to sleep and wake up knowing that I wasn’t once a pharaoh,” I said to Rameses. It was a week after the 'incident' and no one, not even the bullies or the media, could even take their eyes off of us. Some people started calling us terrorists because of the explosion of the glass box that held the now soulless Tutankhamen mummy.
“And everybody looks at me differently,” Rameses went on. “All of these girls are oohing and ahhing at me.”
“If only we had listened to our mom,” Tutankhamen murmured. It was strange that we were sitting together at lunch because we would usually hang out with our own friends that were in our grade. I looked over to the table where I usually sat. My friends were laughing together; I assumed they were gossiping. Gossiping about me, most likely. I sighed. My life would never be the same again.
I tried to change the subject. “Hey you know what, I think that when we feel the most like our other self is connected to the full moon.”
Rameses nodded. “Yeah. When it was the new moon, I felt almost like my normal self again. It was like Rameses hid in the shadows like the moon. Wait, when’s the next full moon?”
Tut’s eyes widened. “Two days from now. And that’s . . .”
Rameses and I finished his sentence. “Sunday.”

Friday ended without a hitch and Saturday was boringly slow. All I could think about was what would happen on Sunday. For most of the day we talked about our little “friends” and what we were going to do on Sunday. Our base of operations was my room and we only came out to eat or go to the bathroom. All three of us were quite nervous because mom was a very devout Catholic and she always dragged us to church with her. If only we could get away from her in church . . .
“That’s it!” I cried out. Tutankhamen and Rameses stared at me intensely, waiting for my answer. “You know, the choir loft hasn’t been used for quite some time. Maybe we could hide there.”
“Hatshepsut, wouldn’t our mom know we were gone?” Rameses asked. Shoot! I forgot about that. She had the eyes of a hawk.
Tutankhamen shrugged. “Maybe. We should say we need some time to be alone and then sneak into the choir loft.”
“That’s perfect.” I smiled, thinking like Hatshepsut. Something clicked inside of me and I stared at the other two great pharaohs sitting across from me.
“I really hate how there isn’t a pharaoh and that there is a “democracy” here in Egypt. I really wish that Egypt today was like Egypt when I was a little girl.” I thought out loud. I saw the flicker in Rameses and Tutankhamen’s eyes. This was going to become a heated discussion.
“Well, yes I would love to see a pharaoh here, but I have to admit that ancient Egypt was not the most technological empire in history. Look at all the things we have today! The television, the cell phone, the toilet, the computer; all of those things were not in ancient Egypt.” Tutankhamen argued.
Rameses put his hands up in surrender. “I’m not getting involved in the discussion. It’s going to end badly. I can sense it.”
“Fine. You do that. Hey, Tut, I bet you my next two allowances that Rameses will join in the argument.”
“Oh you’re on.” For the rest of the day Tutankhamen and I stated our comments and complaints. I was hoping that Rameses wouldn’t join in, and surprising, I was right. All he did was watch us and read. I was surprised he picked up one of my mystery novels and started reading. He hates mystery novels! We were stopped when our mom checked on us.
“Guys, come out for dinner so we need to plan our summer vacation,” she called. We all got up and walked down the stairs and into the dining room. I smiled because we were having hot dogs and corn on the cob. It was an American dish, but, hey, they eat Chinese food in America all the time. We sat down and said grace.
“What do you want to do this summer? It’s your choice.” Mom said once we started digging in.
I pondered that for a while. “How about we rent a camper and go across the US,” I suggested. “It would be a road trip that would stop at major amusement parks like Cedar Point and Hershey Park. Doesn’t that sound fun?” It would probably go through because our family was a family of thrill seekers.
“That’s perfect!” Rameses cried.
My mother butted in. “Where would we get the camper?”
“You know, you could borrow mine,” a voice from the door said. We all looked back automatically.
“UNCLE E!!!!!!!!!!!!” Tutankhamen raced towards the door and embraced him in a giant hug. Gladly, he didn’t notice that his six year-old nephew smelled like a dusty mummy.
“It’s good to see you, Tommy.” Uncle E said. He also gave Andy and me a hug. He even gave Mom a kiss on the cheek.
“Why are you here? I have to admit it was quite unexpected,” I asked.
“I just thought that I’d stop by and say hi,” he replied. He must be staying for a while because I noticed a suitcase hiding by the door. And besides, he lives in America.
“C’mon! Join us for dinner!!” Tommy begged. He grabbed Uncle E by the wrist and literally dragged him to the table. We all sat down and started digging into the food.
“So, how’s it in America?” Mom asked.
“Fine. Hey, I got you guys all something,” our uncle said, pulling something out of a bag.
“First of all, Abby,” he said, pulling out two large brown model horses connected to an ancient Egyptian chariot. I grabbed it and held it in my hands.
“Thanks, Uncle E,” I said.
“And for Andy, a game for the computer where you create your own city.” He gave Rameses a CD that said Sim City IV. Rameses was so shocked that he was speechless.
“And for Tommy, a Star Wars collectable light saber.” Tutankhamen grabbed the saber and started waving it in the air. It started making noises like the ones in the movies.
“This. Is. So. COOL!” Tut screamed.
“I’m glad you like the things I got you,” Uncle E said.
Mom looked at the clock. “Tommy, it’s your bedtime.” She grabbed him and dragged down the hallway to his bedroom. I could hear him screaming and protesting about going to bed. But after awhile, he quieted down and fell asleep.
“So, what do you do in America?” Rameses asked.
“I’m a forensic investigator. So I look at bones and try to find the cause of death. The reason why I’m here is because there’s a mummy called Unknown Man E and they wanted me and some other people to find the cause of death.”
The only word that stuck out was Unknown Man E, because that’s whom Tutankhamen mentioned before he put his soul into my little brother.

Finally, the dreaded Sunday came. I was confused when I woke up because I thought I was in my palace bedroom. I was just about to call for a servant when I came to my senses. I was not in my palace. I was in a house in the modern era.
“Oh great. What am I going to do?” I muttered. I came down in my pajamas like a normal teenager.
“Morning Abby,” Mom said.
I just groaned. For some reason, I was craving what we had in Hatshepsut’s day. I barely ate anything that Mom had made. Rameses was the same way.
“Mom, do we have to go to church?” Rameses groaned.
“Yes.” Her reply was sharp and to the point.
“Tessa, I can watch them, you know.” Uncle E pointed out. It was one of the rare times that I heard my mom’s name.
Mom sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Fine.”
Now that was really good, because we wouldn’t have to hide in the balcony. I looked at Rameses, who was sitting right next to me. He had a look of complete relief.
“Hey, where’s Tommy?” Rameses asked. It was the fist time he used Tut’s real name in weeks.
“Still sleeping.” Mom replied. She looked at the clock and started walking towards the door.
“Bye guys!” she cried from her car. We all waved back. After she left, both Rameses and I sighed out of relief.
“Hey, can I talk to you guys?” Uncle E asked.
“Sure,” Rameses said.
“Okay, here it goes. This is actually the second time I examined the Unknown Man E mummy. The first time, when I was jotting down notes after everyone else left and all of a sudden, the mummy came to life and stood up.
“Now, I was flipping out at the sight. The mummy looked at me and pulled his head down and closed his gaping mouth. After that, the mummy started talking. He said his name was Pentaware and that he was forced to commit suicide and be buried without his name because he was in a plot to kill the Pharaoh. And then he said that mummies always carry theirs souls with them and some mummies have put their souls into living hosts.
“He then told me that he was thinking about manifesting his soul into me. I didn’t know what to do. I suddenly thought of having a mummy inside my mind. I liked the idea and I said yes. We touched hands and I saw what really happened. After that, he layed back down exactly like he had before he woke up.
“So when I heard of the incident of you getting stuck in the museum, I knew that Rameses, Tutankhamen, and Hatshepsut were resting peacefully. From the moment I came in, I knew that it had happened.”
“No way,” Rameses whispered.
“It’s true. And, I don’t suggest going to America because if you leave Egypt, the feelings of your other self intensify, and if you’re there for a long time your other self takes over permanently.”
“Oh boy, that’s bad.” I said.
“Well, if you have another, more experienced mummy with you, you’ll be fine.” Uncle E said.
“So if we go, you’re coming with us?” I asked.
“I would love to come with you, but what if your mother says no?” Uncle E argued.
Rameses hit his hand so hard on the table that it caused the plates to rattle. This was his pharaoh side showing. I was shocked at his display of power.
“First of all, let’s get dressed,” Uncle E suggested. So we went to our separate rooms. As I came back into the kitchen, I saw Tut and Rameses talking.
“I don’t know. Let’s just stay here in Egypt where it’s safe,” Rameses whispered, not noticing me come in.
“Yeah. We could be a danger to Mom, and I don’t want to hurt her, mentally or physically.” Tut looked up and saw me. “Hey, Hatshepsut. C’mon, we’re talking about what to do during the summer.” I sat next to Rameses.
“I think you’re right, Tutankhamen. We should stay here.” We waited for Mom to come home. As soon as she did, we told her why we changed our minds about going on the roller coaster trip.
“And we would also have to worry about passports. They’re getting more expensive each year,” I said. We all decided that me, the oldest, would tell Mom.
“You’re right. Let’s just have a nice, calm summer.” I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we could relax until we found out how to deal with our ‘other’ half.