Wednesday

Wednesday's POV

It was Friday. I was having Maths when I got a text from Tyler.

It was a picture of the mask of Anubi with him in the focus, his tongued stucked between his teeth. Then he sent me a picture of the mask in the case. I could read the target on ot that said "Taking photos is forbidden". I talked with Tyler for twenty minutes and that was enough to make me realize he wasn't the type of guy who liked to follow the rules.

When the lessons ended, I went looking for the guys. Their favorite place was a bench in the park, under the shadow of a dead tree. It had somekind of dark peaceful aesthetic. I liked it, too.

The first thing i noticed was Enid's lack. She has been around with her new werewolf "friend" since Monday. I was pretty sure she was avoiding me, since she came back in our bedroom only to sleep.

I didn't understand why she was doing so, I didn't say anything so hurtful to make her avoiding me. Especially, considering the last time I told her something really bad, she pretended nothing has happened.

I didn't even know why I was thinkink about her that much. I mean, if Enid preferred to spend her time with "Juliet" - what a stupid romantic name - it wasn't my business.

I showed Tamara, Xavier and Ajax my phone and the photos I got.

- He has your number? - Tamara asked, looking at me from behind her sunglasses dark lens. I shrugged my shoulders. - He had to sent me the photos somehow - I said.

- Well. We have the proof the mask that was at Nevermore is now at the museum - Xavier said.

I looked at him and before I had the chance to say anything, Ajax signed - Why are you so sure it's the same mask?

- 'Cause of this - Xavier pointed at a circle at the centre of the mask in the picture. - I saw the other masks of Anubi, making research, and what makes Nevermore's one so special is that... "thing" - he explained. - I don't know if it had a function or it was just a fashion choice but that sign makes our mask unique.

- What are we talking about? - A voice from my back asked. I turned around to look at Enid, wearing her usual black and blue uniform, looking at the phone in Tamara's hands.

- Picture of the mask - Tamara answered. And before any of us could tell her more, Juliet came close, said hello to us and whispered something in Enid's ear.

I clenched my fists in my pocket. I didn't like that girl. She was a distraction for Enid. She wasn't focused on our case as much as she was before.

Juliet looked at Enid and she nodded in answer to whatever they were talking about. Then, the alpha waved her hand as a goodbye and came back to her pack, that was wainting for her in a corner of the park.

When Juliet was out of sight, Enid focused on the explanation Tamara was givinig her.

- By the way you heard abut the Halloween ball? - Enid asked.

Oh, God, no. I hated ball and everything that included dances.

- Yes, we'll go together, right? - Xavier said. Ajax nodded while Tamara tried to gain some time drinking her blood drink. - I'm not a fan of balls - she said, sharing my feelings.

- You don't have to dance, if you don't want to - Enid said. - It's just to celebrate Halloween. And we'll go to the carnival first.

Right, the carnival. I didn't want to go there but, since Enid avoided me for almost the entire week, I didn't want to mess things up, even more than they already were. So, I had to go.

- Alright, then. - She said. -We'll meet tomorrow morning and go together at the carnival. 10 am is acceptable for you? - She asked.

- Enid, tomorrow morning, you have lacrosse training - Ajax remembered her. I wish they didn't. That means Enid would spent the next day with Juliet. Again.

I still didn't know why the fact Enid spent time with her new friend bothered me so much, but it did. I tried to ignore that, like I always do to anything related to feelings. They were just obstacles for a logic mind like mine.

- You're right - Enid said - but you can go since the morning if you want to. I'll come after lunch.

- That's not an option - Tamara said. - Not for me, at least. The weather on the school is always enough cloudy to let me, and the other vampires, walk through the school in the morning. Outside the school property, the weather isn't like that. It's usually sunny. I'll come to the carnival tomorrow, after sunset. - She explained. That made me realize the weather at school was actually cloudy. I tought it was normal but it was pobably the result of a magic spell.

- I don't think it's a good idea to go for me, too - Ajax signed. - I'll need a costume to look like the others. Something like a scarf and sunglasses - they explained.

- In that case, I'll help you looking for them - Xavier said, immediately. - You two can go after lunch. You'll be our advance guard - He added, talking to me and Enid.

I looked at her. She didn't seem to enjoy the idea but, after a few seconds of silence, she nodded her head and managed to put a smile on her face. - Ok, deal.

We moved to the dining room for lunch and I spent the rest of the day listening to the list of merry-go-round and events they wanted to do.

*************************************************************

When I woke up, Saturnay morning, Enid wasn't in her bed. It was 9 am and Thing was tapping on the desk nervously, waiting for me to get dress and leave the room so it can enjoy some "me time".

I didn't know what it meant by that. And I didn't wanna know.

I went to the dining room for breakfast and spent the morning hanging out with my friends. That word still felt weird on my tongue.

At lunch, Enid joined us. Of course, after saying goodbye to Juliet and the other werewolves with a smile painted on her face. The same smile she was wearing when she sat at our table.

- So... When are we going to the carnival? - I asked her.

- Oh - She said like she forgot about it. That was a thing Enid would never do for the others sitting at the table and it hurted a little bit.

It hurted? It didn't hurt. It bothered me.

I shook my head, trying to empty my head from that thoughts. - As soon as we're done eating. Juliet told me there's a bus that we can take and it will bring us in the town. Then, we have to walk for a while. - She said. Of course, she had to mention Juliet. At the sound of that name I rolled my eyes. Every conversation with Enid in the past days has brought always to Juliet. It started to be a little bit annoying.

- Alright, then - Xavier said. - I checked sunset time. It's 5.47, the next bus it's at 6.18. We'll be at the carnival around 7. I'll call you, so we can meet.

- Ok - Enid said, standing up. She looked at me, asking me silently if I was about to follow her. I stood up and we got outside, to the bus stop, without a word.

I was asking myself if we were supposed to wear school's uniform even outside but everyone who was waiting the bus like us was wearing it.

Ten minutes later, the bus was in front of us. Enid and I sat next to eachother. The seats were so small, our knees kept touching at every curve. Enid hasn't said anything, yet. She was looking at the floor, hands clunched.

She was probably carsick. I read that could happen to werewolves. And, considering the full moon was tomorrow night, it must have been worse than usual.

- You're okay? - I asked her.

She looked at me and tried to smile. - I'm fine. Don't worry - she said before going back looking at the floor.

We got in the town. A normal town. Nothing special about it. As soon as we left the bus, Enid seemed to get better.

- Fresh air - she said taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and turning her face towards the sun.

It remembered me that moment at the cabin's ruins. That time, the wind was blowing her hair like it was doing right now and that word appeared again in my head.

Flawless.

I shook my head. Stop. I ordered my brain.

- Are you ready? - I asked her. She opened her eyes and look at me with her usual smile on her face. - Come on - she said, following the line of blue and black jacket that was moving through the town towards the carnival.

The open space - originally a park - was now full of circus tents and stands. The air smelled of cotton candy, hot dogs and plastic. I was a little bit worried about Enid's reaction but she seemed pretty good. Really good, actually. Her eyes opened wider, trying to look at everything at the same time.

- Look! - She said pointing at a tent presented as "The costume tent".

What an original name I had the time to think before Enid grabbed my arm and make me enter it with her.

- Come on! Let's get dress - She said, taking a... black cat costume? With ears?!?

Oh, hell, no.

I wanted to run away from that tent but Enid looked so happy about it I couldn't just leave her there. I grabbed one of the costumes, looking at her with my most deadly gaze but she was already looking at the make-up items.

I had to put on that costume - it took me a while since not my mind nor my body wanted to wear that thing. When I convinced myself, Enid was already outside, wearing her cat costume. She had even drawn snout and whiskers.

- Oh my God! - she cried out. - You look Purr-fect!

Of course she would do a stupid joke abot kitties.

- Only thing: where are your whiskers? - She had the audacity to ask me.

I put on this damn costume for her and her first question was about my non-existent-whiskers?

- Ask again and you'll be down to eight lives - I replied, deadly serious. She didn't seem to mind my tone. She smiled at me like I've just said she looked cute.

She did look cute, the voice in my mind commented. I turned around looking for someone to save me. Or to something interesting to do, distracting myself from my thoughts.

We spent the next hours wandering from a tent to another, trying almost every game. We - Enid - played at that stupid game where you have to throw a ball to a pyramid of bottles and make them fall. Then she made me play another stupid game where you had to aim at targets and hit as much as you can- that was funny 'cause it included the use of a gun, even if it was made of plastic. I won a purple cat peluche I had no intention to bring around, so I gave it to Enid. She looked so happy when I gave it to her.

She didn't look so happy when we got in the bewitched house. She kept screaming and hid behind my back.

She was a damn werewolf and was still scared of fake skeletons that kept falling from the ceiling.

It was 7 pm and we had tried almost every game when Enid's phone rang. It was Xavier. Enid told him to meet us at the bottom of the big wheel - an attraction she hasn't tried, yet. I didn't have any intention to show myself dressed like a cat, so I got back at the costume tent and wore a black pant and a gray sweater. When I got back to Enid, the others were already there. Ajax was wearing dark sunglasses like Tamara and a scarf covered the bottom part of their face.

- You're gonna come with us and try the big wheel? - Enid asked me, like she would do when we just met. I shook my head in denial. The sky has turned black and the stands were turning their flashing light on. I wanted to see some idiots losing all their money against a tricked game.

- I'm gonna look for something edible. It seems to be a challenge here - I answered. - Call me when you get back - I told them.

I left them in the line for the tickets while I moved to a stand of popcorn I've seen earlier.

- Looking for something, Black cat? - I heard someone asked me.

I turned around and I wasn't surprise to find Tyler sat at a bench, eating pink cotton candy.

- Black cat? - I asked, moving close to him, so I would be able to listen him despite the crowd.

- I saw you and your golden retriever girlfriend wearing the costumes before - he said, with a smirk. I ignored the fact he just called Enid my girlfriend.

- You better know if you mention this again in front of me, I'll use you as a target for my knife pincher skills - I told him. He didn't seem scared of my threat. He haven't seen me throw knives... Yet.

- Do you want some chocolate? - He asked me, taking a chocolate bar out of his pocket and lending it to me. - Pretty sure you like dark chocolate. You know... 'cause of your dark vibe - He felt the need to say.

I stared at him but I took the chocolate from his hands. I did like dark chocolate. He stood up.

- Come on. I challenge you - He said, pointing at a tent with a target that says "The Incrdible Lucius, magician and illusionist." - I bet one bucket of popcorn you can't tell me how he does his tricks - he said.

I didn't have anything better to do, since the guys were still in line for the big wheel - I could recognise Enid's hair from where I was.
- Fine - I said and I entered in the red and blue tent.

Tyler followed me and we took place in the last row seats. Someone turned off the light and a brunette girl appeared on the stage. She was wearing a dress full of glitter that shined under the light.

- Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest show you will attend - she said, opening her arms like she wanted to hug the entire crowd. - But Master Lucius is a careless person and he usually lost piece of his costume on the stage - she said while a stuff member brought a set of nine lockers (3x3) on the stage.

- I think we'll need to fix him before his entrance - she said, opening one of the locker. Inside we could see a... feet?

- Now, that's interesting - Tyler said on my left.

The magician's assistant closed the door of that locker and opened another one that contained an arm, that waved at us. The crowed laughed.

The assistant closed the locker and opened another one and repeated it till the last locker, down on the left, where was Lucius head.

- Hi - he said. His head was facing one of the locker walls so only one side of his face was visible. - Sorry, today I have a terrible headache - He said. - It's like I have someone's stepping on my head - The assistant opened the locker upon the head's one and show the magician's feet were there. The crowd burst into laugh.

- Oh my God. How did it happened? - The magician said. - Karina, I think I'll need your help to put everything back at its own place.

The assistant - Karina - smiled at the crowd, closed the lockers and started moving them, exchanging one with the other.

- Ehm, Karina - The magian's voice said, this time from the locker in the middle. Karina opened it and showed the crowd the head was now in the middle of the 9-locker-set. - Are you sure you know what are you doing? - He said.

The assistant laughed and closed the locker's door, than kept moving the lockers, this time in a different order.

- Now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to present you the entire Incredible Lucius - she said. She opened the left-locker-in-the-middle-line locker but this time the door was just one and it covered the entire set. Lucius, the magician, got out of something similar to a wardrobe.

The crowd clapped in admiration while I was trying to understand the logic behind the trick I've just saw.

Lucius - age something between 30 and 40 - was wearing a suit provided with a coat and a top hat. His hair were dark and short while his eyes were iced-blue, surrounded by wrinkles. But what shocked me wasn't the color of his eyes but the scar on the side of his face he wasn't showing. The scar went from the corner of the eye till his jaw.

It was to much for being a coincidence. I looked at Tyler and I saw him frozen on the seat, his eyes focused on the magician's face. I hit him with my elbow, catching his attention. A question painted on my face. "Is this the man you saw?"

He looked at the magician - who was now making a carafe appear out of a tissue - to check him again. He looked at me again and nodded. We stayed there, static, while the crowd around us laughed and clapped, asking ourselves what that was supposed to mean. Why a magician from a carnival would set our school cabin on fire? How he was related with the school?

These questions kept spinning in my head till the end of the performance. While the people moved towards the exit, I had taken my decision. I looked at Tyler who seemed to have had my same idea. We followed the magician in the behind the scenes - luckily Karina didn't see us - and we saw him exit from a hidden opening.

We were about to follow him outside when we heard his voice. He was talking with someone.

I looked at Tyler and we both stopped and attached to the tent, trying to listen the conversation outside.

- So, Lucius - an unknown voice said to the magician - I heard you made some good buckets since we got here.

- My talent has finally being recognised - Lucius joked, exaling a breath. He was probably smoking.

-Yes, sure - the other guy said. - I've heard of your "TOP SECRET" mission and how much you've been paid for it.

The magician didn't catch the provocation. -Are you here to tell me something, Jake? - he asked.

- Yes, actually - Jake said. - The boss said you have a work at the school up the hill. This time, it's legal. They want you to make one of your tricks to show their new monument. Make some smoke and puff! Statue! Just 'cause I said smoke, it doesn't mean you have to set something on fire - he said, laughing at his own joke.

The magician didn't reply and I turned to meet Tyler's gaze. He shook his head towards the exit, signing me it was time for us to go. We had just started moving when we heard her.

- Hey, you two, you can't stay here - Karina screamed, noticing us. We started running and get through the door, hearing her and the two guys outside trying to follow us. We moved towards the big wheel and conceal in the crowd.

I turned aroud, looking for Tyler, and I saw him moving through the crowd towards me. I took a breath.

Then, I felt someone grabbing my arm and I turned around, thinking Karina or Lucius found me. It was just Enid. Her smiley face turned serious when she saw the expression on my face. Then Tyler was by my side and said: - We need to get back at the school. Now.

His tone was enough decisive to make everyone look at him, then they looked at me. Concern and questions on their faces. - I'll explain it to you while going to the bus stop - I said, pushing them out of the carnival.

Tyler and I told them what we saw and heard during our walk. They were all really invested, trying to put together the pieces in their mind.

- So, someone payed the magician to get the amethyst from the cabin - Tamara recapped.

- Our theory about the ex-student is still valid - Xavier said, while we got on the bus.

I nodded. - Tomorrow the magician will be at school. We will try to distract him and steal his phone to see who gave him the order - I said.

- You want us to distract a pyromaniac? - Ajax signed.

- And steal something from him? - Xavier added.

They were all looking at me like I've just said something crazy. My plan made completely sense in my mind. It did count some risks but they were worth it.

And how hard distract a magician could be? I mean they want people to give them attentions, otherwise why would they exhibit on a stage? I was just giving him what he wanted.

We got back at school. Enid and I went in our bedroom, she was still wearing the black cat whiskers over her school uniform and bringing the purple peluche I gave her. Luckily, they came at the costume tent and took my uniform too, before we met.

Enid put the peluche on her bed, took her orange and pink pjs and moved to the bathroom without a word. She hasn't said anything since we met. It did make sense 'cause this time we had to explain everyone what happened.

I heard the music from behind the door. I've lived enough with Enid to be now able to distinguish the differnt k-pop songs and groups she listened when she's under the shower. This song was made by the Stray Kids. I knew that 'cause it says something like "BUM BUM PAH!"

And that were the lyrics of the song.

I changed to my black and white striped pijamas, updating Thing about everything that happened and taking the chance to unbraid my hair and brushing it.

Enid opened the bathroom door. Her face now whiskers-free. She froze there and... Was she blushing?!?

- What? - I asked her, not knowing what was happening.

- N-nothing - she stuttered. - It's just the first time I see you with your hair down - She said.

That was the moment I realized I wasn't wearing my braids.

- You... look beautiful - she said, leaning to her bed. This was my time to blush.

- Did I just see you smile? - she said, looking at me even more shocked.

I did smile. I couldn't help myself. She said I was beautiful with my hair down.

- I have no idea what are you talking about - I said, getting into my sheets and turning my back on her.

I heard her chuckle before she said "Goodnight, Willa. Goodnight, Thing" like always.

Thing knocked and I murmured a "Night".

I was looking for sleep but the adrenalin stll flow in my blood. I tried to re-think about the day just passed but the only things that kept appearing in my mind were pictures of Enid. How she smiled at me when I wore the cat costume, how she looked at me when I gave her the peluche she was now sleeping with, how she looked at me while calling me beautiful...

Fuck. I realized. Fuck. Do I have feelings for Enid? I asked myself.

I turned around to look at her. She was laying on her bed, her hair a mess of blond, pink and blue on the pillow. She seemed so relaxed. I smiled again.

Fuck. I had a crush on Enid.