ornery

Reena wasn't going to the police. She had always had the worst luck with them. From the police officer that arrested her at a high school party to her old neighbor who just wanted to be a police officer, she had bad luck. That's why when Wednesday presented the idea of telling the police about finding Rowan's body, Reena said no. Wednesday was going on a solo mission.

When Wednesday got back, she was silent.

"Well, what happened?" Reena pushed

Wednesday shook her head. "Rowan walked through the door as I was talking to Sheriff Galpin."

Reena's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"He's alive."

"How the fuck is he alive?"

"For once, I have no idea."

"So now everyone thinks you're lying?" Reena concluded.

"Yes," Wednesday confirmed. "I have to speak to Dr. Kinbott about it during our session today."

Reena checked the time. "Well, let's go. My session is right before yours. We can go together. After, we need to figure out how the hell Rowan was able to survive that monster.

* * *

Reena's session didn't take long, but she was itching to get out. The thoughts of Rowan still being alive were running through her brain the entire time.

"Is everything alright?" Dr. Kinbott asked after Reena had checked the time for the sixth time in five minutes.

"Yup, everything's great," Reena lied. "Just have a project due tomorrow that I still need to finish."

Dr. Kinbott smiled. "Good thing our session is over, then."

"Great!" Reena got up quickly. "See you next week!" She ran out of the building, only stopping by Wednesday. "You're up."

Wednesday rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

After she went inside, Reena sat on the ground, waiting for Wednesday's session to be over. After an hour, the girl finally came out.

Reena hauled herself up. "Finally. I was starting to wonder if you killed her."

As they were about to walk back to Nevermore, Tyler approached them. "Guess you decided to stick around Jericho. Wait, you see Dr. Kinbott too?"

"You should know I'm legally required to be here." Wednesday walked past him.

"Uh, me too," Tyler agreed. "Court ordered."

Reena scoffed. "You're not special, coffee kid. All three of us are required to be here. And I'm not trying to get sent back to juvy. I did my year, I'm not going back."

"Look at us. A couple of teenage tearaways," Wednesday noted.

Tyler chuckled. "Hey, when you ran off last night at the Harvest Festival, I wasn't sure what happened, and then I heard... Kinda crazy."

Wednesday stared at him blankly. "Everyone, including your father, believes I made it all up."

Reena nudged her. "Except for me. I'm a very trusting person."

"You know, I..." Tyler's phone pinged. "Time to get in touch with my inner rebel. You know, for the record, I believe you."

Tyler walked away and Reena rolled her eyes. "God, why does act like he's special? He's a white guy who's a barista. Do you know how many there are of those?"

* * *

As the two were walking up to the school, they spotted Enid and her team painting the boat. "If Bianca Barclay wins again this year, I will literally scratch my own eyes out!"

"I would pay money to see that," Wednesday spoke from behind Enid.

"It would be a little funny," Reena agreed.

Enid spun around and smiled. "Howdy, roomies! I'm so glad you decided to stay."

"I thought you wanted your double room back," Wednesday mentioned.

"Full disclosure, I don't like living with just one person and Thing gives a killer neck massage. It's a win-win," Enid explained. "So... why the change of heart?"

"I refuse to play the role of a pawn in someone else's corrupt game."

"You mean Rowan?"

"I witnessed his murder, Enid."

"It's just, we all saw him this morning. Very much, like, not dead."

"I know. Which leads me to believe I've been losing my mind. It's not nearly as fun as I had anticipated. You're Nevermore's gossip queen. What's Rowan's story?"

"He's creepy and a loser," Reena informed her.

"Other than being a weird loner... Uh..." Enid trailed off. "No offense."

"None taken," Wednesday assured her.

"Xavier Thorpe's his roommate," Enid continued. "If you had a cell phone, you could just text him and ask him. Or Reena could. She and Xavier are friends. They do archery together."

Reena shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't wanna go asking him about his roommate that apparently came back from the dead."

"Yoko. Come on! Flare those whiskers," Enid instructed. "The Poe Cup droops for no one."

"What is the Poe Cup anyway?" Wednesday asked.

"My entire reason for living right now. Part canoe race, part foot chase, no rules. Each dorm has to pick an Edgar Allan Poe short story for inspiration. You could grab a brush. Ms. Thornhill's just ordered pizza. Want to take a stab at being social?"

"I do like stabbing. The social part, not so much. Besides, it'll cut into my writing time."

Enid smiled. "No worries. Just as long as you're lakeside cheering us to victory on race day. Or you can just glare uncomfortably. Whatever works for you."

* * *

While Wednesday was trying to write a story, Reena was trying to write song lyrics. It wasn't going too bad, especially with the help of her new traumatic experience. Reena heard Wednesday stop typing, so she looked up and saw the other girl holding the photo from the woods up to a light. There was a small watermark on it that couldn't be seen normally.

Reena came up behind Wednesday. "We need to talk to Rowan, don't we."

Wednesday nodded. "If we can find him."

"I'll go talk to Xavier tomorrow," Reena offered. "We have archery anyway so I can probably work it into casual conversation."

"Good," Wednesday approved.

* * *

As Reena and Xavier were shooting, she tried to ask about Rowan. "So, how's Rowan doing after coming back from the dead?"

"He didn't come back from the dead," Xavier denied. "Your roommate just said he did."

"Right, right. But really, how's he doing?"

"I don't know. His things were packed up this morning."

"Cool." Reena looked behind them and saw Wednesday standing there. "Wednesday! How wonderful of you to join us!"

Xavier chuckled. "Huh. You actually showed up. Ever shot a bow and arrow before?"

"Only on live targets," Wednesday answered.

Reena smiled. "Hey, that's how I started, too!"

"Okay. Square stance. Load the arrow like this, yellow side out. Three fingers. Pull back and... let it fly," Xavier demonstrated. "Any questions?"

"When's the last time you saw your roommate Rowan?" Wednesday interrogated him.

"You mean the one that was killed by a monster?" Xavier teased. "The Harvest Festival. I haven't talked to him since. But his side of the room was all packed this morning. Rowan's always been a little off, but, uh, the last couple weeks he's been more erratic. You know, telekinesis can mess with your head, you know. He's... It started to freak me out."

Reena shrugged. "He did seem a little kooky."

Xavier shot another arrow. "So what's the deal with you and Tyler? I'm sorry, were you the only one who got to ask non-archery questions?"

"There is no deal. He was doing me a favor driving me out of town," Wednesday corrected.

"Yeah, word of advice. Steer clear," Xavier advised.

"Why? Because he's a normie?"

"Tyler and his friends are jerks. They can't stand that this school's propping up their Podunk town."

"I mean, Tyler tried to stop those pilgrims," Reena brought up. "He did fail, but it was a nice try."

Wednesday grabbed a bow and arrow. "And says the boy whose life was served on a silver platter."

"Hey, girls in glass houses..." Xavier started.

"Should throw bigger stones," Wednesday finished. "At least I'm not an elitist snob." She threw an apple into the air, hit the apple, and then hit the bullseye.

"Ouch," Xavier muttered.

"I have other activities to attend to," Wednesday announced.

Reena nodded. "And I should go. I have to... meet with Mr. Bones."

Xavier gave her a suspicious look. "Have... fun?"

Wednesday and Reena were already twenty feet away at the end of his sentence. "Thanks!"