Wednesday

Wednesday's POV

The day after I had one only goal: go to examine the hut's ruins.

I had 2 hours of Science with Doctor Kinbott, where we had to vivisect a frog - activity I enjoyed and made me gain an A+ - I was free to do whatever I wanted until lunch. So I decided to go to inspect the cabin.

I crossed the park, where the students were sat at the tables or on the grass, talking or studying, and walked on a stone path that lead to the cabin.

- Where are you going? - A voice behind me asked. I didn't even need to turn around, at this point I could recognise Enid's voice even in the most completed darkness.

- Investigate - I said. - Why are you following me? - I asked, in reply.

- It seems interesting. I'm gonna come with you - She answered me.

I didn't even bother to tell her I didn't want her to come. Knowing Enid, she wouldn't listen to me.

We moved close the rests of the cabin. The land was covered of ashes and whatever remains of the cabin was turned black by the fire and the smoke.

- So... What are we looking for? - Enid asked me, moving the dirt with her foot.

- I'll know when I'll find out - I replied, looking at the rest of a wall.

- So you don't think the principal's son set the cabin on fire?

- I answered to this question last night. Tyler didn't have any reason to do this. So, whoever did this, in my opinion, had a reason. Probably deleting any traces of the crimes they were commiting here. - I said, checking Enid with the corner of the eye.

She was standing there, static, looking at me while her hair were blown by the wind. She looked flawless.

Flawless? What the fuck was I thinking'? No. No, she didn't look flawless. She looked like Enid. Blonde, smiley and annoingly talkative.

- So, what kind of "crime" do you think was committed here? - She asked me. I turned around, trying to collect myself. A hole at base of a blacken column catched my sight.

I leaned towards the dirt and moved it away from the hole. I heared Enid's steps approched from my back while I noticed that the hole has a rectangular form and some silver paint was still visible against the side of the hole, it probably contained something last night.

- What do you think? - Enid whispered, probably afraid of make the already precarious column fall over us.

- I think there was something hidden here - I whispered in answer. - I also think someone came to get it back, last night, and set the hut on fire so no one would noticed that something was missing.

I stood up, a little bit too fast, considering I clashed against the column and it almost felt over my head.

Enid grabbed my left arm and I bumped into her, one second before the pillar crushed behind my shoulders.

Enid was out of her breath, like she just ended a run, while I heard my heartbeat pumping in my ears.

- I didn't thought you were so clumsy, Willa - She said, taking a step back and interrupting the contact between our bodies. - We almost felt under the ruins because of you.

- Did you just called me Willa? - I asked, looking at her, shock and annoyance painting over my face.

Enid stared back at me, as shocked as me. - We almost died and your first thought is that I called you Willa?!? I should have called you Hermione, cause you should need to sort out your priorities - She said, with a sound between a laugh and a pant.

- Listen, Ronald Weasley, I don't need to sort my priorities. You, on the other hand, didn't need to step so close to me. I would't clush and made this mess if you left me a little bit of space.

Enid looked at me astonished. - You know Harry Potter?!? - She asked amused.

Oh, shit. What have I done?

- Yes. But I'm not gonna talk with you about the books or the movies. Actually, I'd appreciate you, if you'll delete this information from your brain.

- Absolutely not. Who's your favorite character? Voldemort? Or Draco? - She started asking me, following on the way back our bedroom.

- I'm not that basic.

Why was I still talking about this with her?

- Not the Umbridge, I hope - she said, now on my left.

- No - I stopped for a second and then I answered to the question, knowing Enid, she wouldn't stop trying to guess my favorite character. - I like Sirius.

Enid looked at me silently, for a few second. - Sirius from the original series or from the prequel? - She asked with the most serious expression I've ever seen on her face.

- Both. But I liked the fanfiction about the Marauders more than the original series.

- Right?!? I mean I liked the original series, don't get me wrong, but the story about how the Marauders became the Marauders is just... fascinating.

I agreed but she didn't need to know that. She was already annoingly happy right now.

- Are you not gonna ask me who's my favorite character? - She asked me.

- Basing on your personality, I'm pretty sure you're a Ron stan.

- Wrong - She said, still smiling. - I love Luna Lovegood, from the original series, and Remus from All the young dudes. I think is cause I related with his journey towards lycanthropy. I mean, somehow, Nevermore has been my Hogwarts, you know.

It... made sense, I guess. I kept forgetting about Enid's warewolf side. The fact there's a part of her that can be dangerous was... charming and, at the same time, hard to associate with Enid's appearance.

- I'm not gonna call you Moony just 'cause you called me Willa. I don't believe in nicknames - I told her.

She laughed. - You don't believe in nicknames? That's probably one of the funniest thing I've heard you say, Willa.

- Are you gonna call me Willa from now on? - I asked. I didn't know if that nickname bothered me or not.

- Yes, Willa. I will definitely gonna do so.

I sighed, knowing damn well I was condamned. - Fine. But don't you dare call me like that in front of the others or I'm gonna put a poisonous snake in your bed, understood?

- Okay - she said, failing at holding back her smile.

At that point we were back in the park full of students. - Bye, Wednesday, see you at lunch - She screamed, moving back to her lacrosse team. She called me Wednesday to prove she would respect our agreement.

I get back to my bedroom and updated Thing about the new discovery. I started writing down my theories about the fire, like I already did for Enid's possible species.

"There was a hole at the foot of the column. Not one made by rats, it wasn't circular, but rectangular and enough deep to hide something. Something like a box. Whatever it was, it had to contain something enough valuable to set an entire cabin on fire. The question is What was that something? I don't know. But there's a slightly possibilities it was something stolen from the school and hidden there but one of the ex-students..."

Something clicked in my head when I wrote that down. Maybe it was the talk about Harry Potter I had with Enid, but this story remebered me of the hidden Ravenclaw's diadem, stolen by the school but still hid in the school. I had to examinate Nevermore's history.

Another question apppeared in my mind. If the hut was set on fire, that meant someone could notice the missing box like I did. That someone must often use the hut. I needed to know who are they.

- Thing? What do you think? There are other questions without an answer we need to inspect?

Thing stand there for a few seconds. Then signed "We need a list of suspects".

- Yes, but to do that, we need to know what was hidden in the cabin - I replied.

Then the bell rang outside, marking lunch-time. Which was also a great time to hear the sound about any legendary theft happened at school.

- I'll let you know what I find out - I told Thing, before closing the door behind me.

*****

At lunch, I sat with what has officially became my new group of... "friends"? What a weird word. When I get there Enid was already telling them about our - my - discovery and our - my - theory about the box.

- So, do you have any idea about what's in the box? - Xavier asked me.

- I have a theory - I said. - And I might need your help to check if it makes sense.

- What's your theory? - Tamara asked me, after taking a sip from her blood sack.

- I think someone stole something from the school and hid it in the cabin to get it back later. Have you ever heard about some theft in the school? - I asked.

- There are some stories - Xavier said. - My father is an ex-student of Nevermore and he told me about this "mystic objects" that have been lost through the time. There are three: the first one disappeared around 1400 and it's obviously a legend 'cause there's no way Nevermore had Excalibur.

- Why do you think it's a legend? - I asked.

- 'Cause according to the legend, no one but Arthur could take Excalibur out of its rock. So, basically, the sword was still in the rock when it was at Nevermore. No one could extract the sword from the rock, so no one could steal Excalibur. So... bullshit. - Xavier explained.

- Your mithology class is turning useful - I commented. - Go on, what are the other objects?

- Now, that's interesting 'cause I'm pretty sure they were actually at Nevermore. The first one is the mask of Anubi. According to the legend, wore by the chosen one - a descendant of Anubi's bloodline - it would fabricate golden tears that can be used for the immortality elisir.

- That sounds interesting - Ajax signed. - What's wrong with this theory?

- Well, there are photos that prove the mask was here, in the academia, and now there's not. But nobody knows if it was sold by at-that-time-principal or sent to another academia or museum.

I was thinking about the box and its dimension. It could contain the mask if it was enough small.

- Do you have any photos of the mask? I need to know its dimension - I told Xavier.

- I found them in one of the yearbook. I could make some research and brought it to you, tonight or tomorrow.

I nodded. - What's the third missing object?

- The amethist of Bacchus. It's a shining purple crystal which, according to the myth, was made when Diana, goddess of hunt, turned a young lady, Ametista, into stone to save her from Bacchus anger - Xavier narrated. - The stone was as big as a finger nail. It could fit in your box, don't you think?

- It could - I said. - But amethysts aren't as expensive as diamonds. Why would they stole it?

- See, the price of this amethyst, particularly, was related to the myth. It could be considerated a historical items. It could make hundreds thousands of dollars, if sold to the right collectionist.

- Same thing for the mask, I guess? - I asked him. Xavier nodded in reply.

- So we have two possible items that could have been hidden in the hut - I recapped. - Now, the second question that need an answer is who uses so often the cabin to notice the lack of the box?

- That's an easy question to anwer - Enid said. - Bianca Barcley, also known as Queen Bee. The fencing team leader.

- Ok, so who's that "Queen Bee"? Let's talk to her - I said. The others exchanged a glance and then looked at me. - What? - I asked.

- You can't talk to her - Xavier said.

- No one can talk to her, unless she starts talking to you first - Enid continued.

- There's one way actually - Tamara said, looking at me from behind her sunglasses.

- There's no way we let Wednesday do that - Enid said.

- You can't let me do anything. I do whatever I want - I stated, deadly. She had the decency to look guilty, her cheeks turning pink.- What challenge are we talking about? - I asked Tamara.

- The only way to talk to Bee is gaining her respect. And, to do that, you have to beat her in her field: fencing. - Tamara explained to me.

- Except for the fact that's almost impossible. There's a reason Bianca is the leader of the team, no one has ever beat her. - Enid said.

- There's always a first time. Do you think you can organize a meeting? - I asked them.

- Not to be disrespectful, Wednesday, but there's noway you can beat her. - Enid told me.

- Not to be disrespectful, Enid - I mocked her - but you've never seen me fencing. Make a meeting for 3 p.m. and you'll have the chance to see why I'm so confident in my fencing skills. - I said before leaving the lunch-table and going back to my bedroom.

*****

At 3 p.m. I was ready to fight for the information I needed. Luckily Enid had lessons and didn't come to our room. I wore my black fencing uniform and got out to my room after having an argument with Thing - I couldn't bring it to the challenge cause it was in the academia against the rule and I couldn't let someone find out about its existence, but it didn't seem to understand that.

I aimed to the room where the fencing team used to train. It looked more like an art museum than a gym: there were statues against the walls who seem to look at the students at centre of the room. Enid, Tamara, Xavier and Ajax were waiting for me at the door.

- Are you sure about this? - Enid asked me. I looked at her - she seemed really worried about me - I nodded, hoping that would be enough to make that expression disapper from her face. It didn't work. - Who's Bianca? - I asked, trying to change the topic.

Tamara pointed at one of the white human figures who was fighting at the centre of the room.

- Point - someone screamed, and in that moment the winner took off the helmet. Bianca Barclay was a black girl with characteristics white eyes. But besides that, she didn't seem to be as scary as the guys pictured her. She was openly smiling at her opponent - not a "what-a-loser" smile but a real one. I approched her, leaving the guys behind me.

- You're Bianca - I said.

She looked at me from head to toe, no traces left of the smile she wore two seconds earlier. - And you are?

- Wednesday Addams. - I presented myself. - I heard I need to beat you if I want you to answer to my question about the set-on-fire-hut.

- So you're the girl with the investigation hobby - She told me.

Whoever started to call me like that, you better know I'll find you and kill you in the most painful way I can think about.

I didn't replied and she seemed to get that like a yes. -Alright, if you can win 2 out of 3 rounds, I'll answer your question. Jerome give Wednesday your sabre, please.

Bianca proceed to reach one side of the rug while I picked Jerome's sabre, wore my helmet and got to the other side of the rug.

The first round ended in almost 20 seconds. It was my victory.

I could heard the entire crowd breath in. Apparently I was the first one at school to win a round against the terrifying Queen Bee.

I came back on my side of the rug and heard the whispers following me.

"She's the daughter of Gomez Addams, Nevermore fencing ace", "If her father's blood flows through her veins, I'm not surprised she's able to beat Queen Bee" were the ones I catched. Instead of hyping me, that whispering distracted me and the next roound was an easy victory for Bianca. We were one vs one. Last round would be decisive.

I took a deep breath and stood, remembering my father's advices.

"Most people do not see the moment of the hit, Wednesday. What happens in a split second it's hard to follow. But for the fencer, time flows differently. The speed of the sabre may be compared to a gun's bullet. To strike a blow, you need to be fast, very fast. Advance-lunge is an important element in fencing. The speed of this move can be faster than the start of a race car. The faster you do it, the more chances you will land the hit first. The mental and physical preparation, the involment in the duel, define the match outcome. Do you understand me, Wednesday?" He asked me. I was 6 the first time I held a sabre against him and started learning fencing. "One last thing, remember: be unpredictable. The most professional fencer will have trouble fighting against a newbie 'cause they don't know the rules. Use that at your advantage. Rules don't matter as long as you're unpredictable to your opponment."

I needed to be fast and unpredictable. I could do that.

I saw Bianca moving towards me, my body answered for me. My left leg move forward and landed first, I did a faint and, as I expected, Bianca moved her sabre on the left, leaving me a space in her guard where I can hit. I won.

The second after the crowd was shouting, screaming my name and whistling.

My friends came on my side, congratulating me and my performance. Enid was looking at me with the most wide smile I've ever seen on her face and I couldn't hold a smirk at all their reactions.

Bianca came to me. - Congratulations, Wednesday. You should join our team. - She said with a smile.

- I did it just so you will answer my question - I replied.

- Sure. You and your friends can follow me. Everyone else, back at training.

The crowd scattered and everyone got back at their excercises. We followed Bianca outside the room.

- Alright, what are your questions? - She asked, sitting on a bench.

- You used the hut that was set on fire, right? I asked her.

- Correct - She replied.

- Have you ever noticed a box, probably a metal one, at the base of one of the columns? - Enid asked.

Bianca waited a few seconds before answer. - Not that I remember. The pillars base was usually covered by the box with Halloween and Christmas decorations. We used that cabin till last year 'cause we didn't have a place where to put the fencing equipment. This year the principal gave us another room, beside the one where we train, where we can put our items. We didn't enter that cabin at all this year - She told.

It made sense but left us with the same question "There was a box in the hut? And was that the reason someone set it on fire?"

- Thank you for your time - Xavier said.

- Let me know if I can do anything else. And whenever you want, I'm ready for a re-match - She said to me before going back in the training room.

- At this point, we need the photos of the mask and of the amethyst. Xavier could you find the yearbook you talked about at lunch? - I asked.

- Sure - He replied.

- Ok. I'll go back to my room now. See you at dinner.

Our group scattered and when I heard someone followed me, I didn't have any doubt about who it was.

- Why are you following me now, Enid? - I asked without turning around.

- You're going to your room. I'm going to my room. It ain't my fault if they are the same room - She said, now by my side, shrugging her shoulders.

- I won, Thing - I announced entering the room. Thing smack the desk, since it couldn't clap. - I need a shower now - I said leaving the helmet on the bed and approaching the bathroom.

- You were right, Willa- I heard Enid say.

- About what? Bianca didn't have any answer - I replied.

- I doubted you 'cause I've never seen you fencing. You're really good.

I looked at her, she was staring at me with something in her eyes that looked weirdly like pride.

I got in the bathroom before she noticed my cheeks turning pink.

What the hell was happening to my body?

It must be the training. I'm not used to physical activities. Yes, it must be it. I just needed a shower. I told myself before entering the shower.