ornery

The walk to the ruins was quiet, and that was how Reena and Wednesday preferred it. The ruins were nothing special and were a tad bit unsatisfactory.

"I was expecting more too," Wednesday agreed with Thing.

An old, creepy man came out of hiding. "Who you talking to, little girl?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, old man," Reena shot back.

"Use 'little' and 'girl' to address me again and I can't guarantee your safety," Wednesday threatened him.

"This is my place. Get out!" the man demanded. 

"Thing, a hand here?" Thing, as usual, did his job in getting out the old man. "There's nothing here. No, I can't just touch something. My visions seem to happen spontaneously. I would rather dye my hair pink than ask my mother for advice. Oh, you want me to prove it to you?"

Wednesday went around touching different things. "No. Nothing. Ah, I bet this will give us some real insight. My visions are about as predictable as shark attacks." 

As Wednesday went to push open the door, her body stiffened up, dropping to the ground. "She really jinxed that." While Wednesday was out, Reena sat next to her, even when it started raining. 

The girl on the ground shot up. "Thing, Reena, I saw her! The girl from my visions. Her name is Goody Addams, and I believe she's my ancestor from four hundred years ago."

Reena heard something in the distance. "What's that sound?"

They both got up, looking through the broken wood. "Must've been the bearded man from earlier." When she looked back, the monster appeared, making Wednesday jump. "Come on! Come on!"

As Wednesday and Reena ran after the monster, the latter could only think of how back an idea this was. Hell, when would running after a monster ever be a good idea?

Although, it became more successful when Wednesday spotted footprints on the ground. "The monster's human."

"I didn't expect that," Reena muttered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Xavier startled them.

"I was following the monster," Wednesday answered.

"You saw it? It's here? Do you have a death wish or something?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I overheard you say you were checking out the old meeting house. It's lucky I showed up when I did."

"We did learn one thing. The monster is human. Its tracks turned from monster prints to human ones."

Reena nodded. "My brain is still processing that."

"Show me," Xavier demanded.

When Wednesday showed him the area where the prints were, they had already been washed away by the rain. "The rain washed them all away." Xavier scoffed. "I know what I saw."

"What we saw," Reena backed her up as the two joined Xavier under his umbrella.

"I'm trying to keep an open mind," Xavier told the.

"How big of you," Wednesday remarked sarcastically.

"I do think you might be right about Rowan."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I texted him again today. I said maybe we could meet over spring break and go snowboarding like we did last year. This time he texted right back, said he wouldn't be able to make it."

"Only you never went snowboarding last year."

"Part of me wanted to blame his recent weirdness. I didn't want to think something bad had happened."

"The cover-up is always worse than the crime," Wednesday mentioned.

Reena sighed. "Now we have the mystery of who the hell that kid was if he wasn't Rowan."

Xavier stopped. "Why'd you come out to the old meeting house in the first place?"

"I was trying to learn more about Crackstone. Figure out how he's connected to this," Wednesday explained.

"Yeah, you were trying to use your psychic abilities, right?" Xavier guessed.

"What makes you think I have any?"

"Lucky guess. When did they start?"

They started walking again. "About a year ago. When they happen, it feels like I'm touching live wire. I usually enjoy that sensation."

"Yeah, but you can't control it and that freaks you out. My dad's a psychic."

"Vincent Thorpe," Wednesday knew it. "My brother's his number one fan. Watched his Vegas Special so many times I'm surprised it's not imprinted on his eyeballs."

Reena shook her head. "How do you live with someone like that?"

"You get used to it," Xavier replied. "I've lived with a self-described master. The first thing he'll tell you is that visions can't be trusted. They only show one part of the picture."

"I saw Joseph Crackstone in front of me as clearly as I'm seeing you now. He gathered all the outcasts in the meeting house and burned them alive," Wednesday stressed.

"Hold on, burned them alive?" Reena interjected. "In that place we were just in?"

"Yes," Wednesday confirmed. "It was horrific."

"It was four hundred years ago. It's got nothing to do with now," Xavier tried to brush it off.

"But what if it does?" Wednesday continued. "You saw Rowan's drawing. Crackstone was standing in the quad."

"You're creating a story in your head and using visions to back it up. They're telling you what you want to see."

"Are you mansplaining my power?"

Reena punched him in the arm. "Don't do that."

Xavier rubbed his arm. "All I'm saying is my dad, the expert, would warn you that psychic ability isn't rooted in logic. It's triggered by emotions. And let's be honest, emotion isn't your strong suit."

"I believe Rowan was right. Something bad is going to happen, and I need to stop it. Starting with that monster. Whoever it is." Wednesday and Reena left Xavier.

* * *

The two were now back in the town square, getting ready to destroy the ceremony.

"Everything ready?" Reena whispered to Wednesday.

Wednesday nodded at Thing. "Now it is."

"This is gonna be amazing."

Mayor Walker got up to the mic. "Thank you. It is my honor to celebrate our town's history and Jericho's noble forefather, Joseph Crackstone. Now, he believed that with a happy heart and an open ear, there was nothing our town couldn't achieve. So together as one, our community and our friends at Nevermore Academy, we've built a monument to celebrate his memory. Now, may the spirit of Joseph Crackstone be memorialized for eternity."

The band started playing a peppy arrangement of "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac, Wednesday and Reena miserably plucking away. Behind the scenes, Thing had just lit the explosives that led to the statue of Joseph Crackstone. The explosion was large and it sent everyone running. Everyone except Wednesday and Reena, who had begun playing Vivaldi's "Winter".

Principal Weems was going to kill them before the end of the term.

* * *

Wednesday and Reena sat in Principal Weems's office as the woman paced. "That was a disaster. The mayor is furious! I've lost count of the angry phone calls, emails, and people in the town, alumni, and parents. They want answers and so do I."

"I would lead the inquisition, but I left my thumbscrews and rack at home," was all Wednesday replied.

"Miss Addams, Miss Mohan... you're already on thin ice. Wafer-thin ice."

"I swear on my late scorpion's soul, my hands are clean."

"I do as well," Reena agreed. "Not on her late scorpion, but only my little brother."

Principal Weems gave them a hard look. "I may not have hard evidence, but I see you. You're trouble magnets."

Wednesday stood up. "If trouble means standing up to lies, decades of discrimination, centuries of treating outcasts like second-class citizens or worse..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jericho. Why does this town even have an Outreach Day? Don't you know its real history with outcasts? The actual story of Joseph Crackstone?"

"I do. To an extent."

"Then why be complicit in its cover-up? Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

Reena scoffed. "I would've thought our own principal would be better than this."

Principal Weems smiled. "That's where you and I differ. Where you see doom, I see opportunity. Maybe this is a chance to rewrite the wrongs, to start a new chapter in the normie-outcast relations."

"Nothing has changed since Crackstone. They still hate us. Only now they sugarcoat it with platitudes and smiles," Wednesday pointed out. "If you're unwilling to fight for truth..."

"You don't think I want the truth? Of course, I do. But the world isn't always black and white. There are shades of gray."

"Oh, shades of gray my ass," Reena criticized.

Wednesday didn't back down. "Maybe there are shades of gray for you. But it's either they write our story or we do. You can't have it both ways."

Principal Weems shook her head. "You're exhausting."

"I know."

"I've been told that plenty by my mother."

Principal Weems sighed. "Goodnight, Miss Addams, Miss Mohan. But you should know... I don't tire easily."

* * *

Enid held up a shirt. "Too much?"

Wednesday stopped typing and looked up. "I feel like you just napalmed me, Enid."

"That shirt should never go near a first date," Reena advised.

Enid put it down. "So glad I have my date with Ajax tonight. Get my mind off that trainwreck of an afternoon. I literally think I have PTSD. I didn't even get to do my dance routine."

"What a tragedy," Wednesday commented dryly.

"What kind of twisted psycho would want to sabotage such a life-affirming event?"

It was silent for a second. "You're going to be late."

"You better get going."

Enid picked up her jacket. "Wish me luck."

"If he breaks your heart, I'll nail-gun his," Wednesday promised.

Reena flipped through her magazine. "If he hurts you, his dick will be gone by morning."

Enid smiled as she left. "Thanks, roomies!"