ornery

After someone gets expelled for you, it's only fair to help them pack up their room. Fine, Wednesday got expelled for her own actions, but she didn't have to take the blame for Reena. That's why Reena was currently helping Wednesday and Enid pack up Wednesday's stuff.

Enid picked up a statue of a little monkey getting electrified. "I can't believe I'm actually going to miss your creepy, lifeless eyes waking me up."

"That's... sweet?" Reena trailed off.

"So I assume you'll be moving in with Yoko and you'll be moving back in here. Leaving me in the past," Wednesday assumed.

"Not ever," Enid denied. "What about you? Will you forget about me?"

"Yeah, are you gonna forget all about me, Wednesday?" Reena joked. 

"Enid... the mark you have left on me is indelible. Anytime I grow nauseous at the sight of a rainbow or hear a pop song that makes my ears bleed, I'll think of you," Wednesday told her.

"Thanks," Enid replied weakly. "I guess."

"Reena, I don't believe I'll be able to forget the girl who idiotically got involved in my schemes," Wednesday continued.

"Actually, you brought me into this," Reena corrected.

"Same thing." Wednesday continued packing. "That inevitably they would lead me to disappointment. Turns out I've been the disappointment."

Enid smiled. "Are you kidding me? I've learned so much from you. Part of it is admittedly criminal behavior, but... most people spend their entire lives pretending to give zero effs, and you literally never had an eff to give. Any chance you've got some sort of sneaky plan to elude Weems?"

"Xavier's right," Wednesday pointed out, handing Enid the drawing. "This prophecy cannot come true if I'm not here. But it kills me to leave when Tyler is still walking around free."

Reena scoffed. "Tyler isn't gonna do shit. He might be all big and bad in Hyde form, but as a human, he's just as vulnerable to stabbing as everyone else."

"If he tries anything, we have a school full of gorgons, vampires, and werewolves, ready and waiting," Enid agreed. "We've got this, Wednesday. I promise. On a good note, I got a text from Eugene's moms. He woke up last night. Maybe Weems'll let you drop by on your way to the station."

Thing snapped, signaling that they had everything, so Wednesday closed her last trunk. "I think we're all set."

"Thing, I'm going to miss our makeup tutorials. And you better keep sending me moisturizing tips. Stay in touch, okay?" Enid gave Thing a fist bump.

Reena leaned down to Thing. "Listen, I might've hated you for a while, but you're actually pretty cool. When did I stop hating you? Uh, last week? Alright, calm down, I'm joking. Probably after you got my water gun back from Weems. I'll miss you, little guy."

Thing fist-bumped Reena and then ran into Wednesday's backpack, which she put on. 

"So, we're gonna..." Enid tried to hug Wednesday, but she stepped back as usual. "You're right. Not hugging is kind of our thing."

Reena put a hand on Wednesday's shoulder and leaned down to her ear. "I'll meet you at the hospital. Give me a head start?"

"Hurry," Wednesday ordered. "Weems is quick. Hide when you get there, you can't let her see you."

"Thanks." Reena turned to Enid with a smile. "I'm gonna take a walk to clear my head. Leave the door unlocked?"

"Of course," Enid accepted, leaving Reena to sprint out of the room, on her way to the hospital.

* * *

Reena had surprisingly arrived before Wednesday and Principal Weems, even if she was panting and on the ver of death. She talked to Eugene as she waited for Wednesday to get, not telling the boy about what had happened, but she did tell him about their visits.

"Wednesday!" Eugene exclaimed as she came through the door.

"I thought Weems denied your request," Reena told her.

"She wouldn't," Wednesday denied and got back to Eugene. "Eugene. Glad to see you're finally awake."

"I heard you visited all the time," Eugene teased.

Reena grinned. "I told him."

"Don't ever mention it again," Wednesday demanded. "Listen, I've been meaning to tell you... I shouldn't have gone to the dance. I should have been with you."

"When the dance floor calls, you gotta answer. It's not your fault. It's the monster's," Eugene assured her.

"It's actually called a Hyde. It's still out there. You can't go back to Nevermore. Not even to check on your bees. And you have to listen to me this time. I thought hummers were supposed to stick together."

"That night in the woods, someone set fire to that cave."

"Yes, Dr. Kinbott."

"Maybe Dr. Kinbott," Reena corrected. "I'm still not sure about her being Laurel Gates."

"It's so crazy that it was her. I don't really remember any of it," Eugene confessed. "I just saw someone wearing black and those boots."

"What about her boots?" Wednesday questioned.

"There was an explosion of light and just for a moment, I saw that they weren't black. They were red," Eugene revealed.

"Holy shit!" Reena realized. "I knew it! This all makes so much sense. Her always being there, having direct access to you and your things, and the fact that she already knew Tyler."

Wednesday was pissed. "Let's take down Laurel Gates."

* * *

When Wednesday and Reena stormed into the conservatory, Ms. Thornhill, or Laurel Gates, turned around. "Wednesday. I thought you'd be halfway to New Jersey by now. And Reena, I thought you two weren't speaking anymore."

"You can drop the act, Laurel," Wednesday pointed out. "I should have known it was you. Faking your death, securing a job at Nevermore, unlocking a Hyde. Typically, I have great admiration for well-executed revenge plots. But yours was a bit extreme, even for my high standards."

"I can't believe you would actually manipulate a boy whose mother your brother tried to kill, just to get revenge," Reena added. "That's really something new."

Ms. Thornhill continued on with what she was doing. "Oh, dear. Weems was right. You do need psychiatric help. Can't throw out wild accusations without consequences."

"They may be wild... but they're true. Tyler told us everything." Wednesday turned around, revealing Tyler, who was actually Principal Weems. "Initially I incorrectly accused Kinbott of using hypnosis to unlock him. But you used a plant-derived chemical, didn't you?"

"I know your father kept tabs on all the outcasts in town," Wednesday went on. "So I assume he told you about the Galpin family secret when you were just a girl. That's why you targeted Tyler. You manipulated him by showing him what his mother truly was. What Tyler didn't realize is that truth wouldn't free him. It would enslave him to you. That was scary at first, so you used the cave and the shackles. But eventually, he willingly became your servant. And when Kinbott came close to discovering the truth, you had Tyler kill her and pin it on Xavier."

"I'm still unsure of why you wanted to spilt us apart," Reena voiced. "Maybe it was because you couldn't stand Wednesday having an ounce of happiness in her life. Or, maybe it was because we were getting just a little too close to your secret. Our entering your childhood home was just too much for you to bear. Those pictures in the bottom of your jewelry box were really creepy, by the way."

"Ugh. That's enough." Laurel took her fake glasses off. "Tyler, honey, make Mama happy and shut them up. Permanently."

"He's not on your side," Wednesday informed him. 

"Tyler will do anything for me," Laurel denied, approaching the fake Tyler. "Remember what I told you? I showed you who you really are. What they did to your mother... The outcasts made you a monster."

"If you only hate outcasts, why is he killing normies as well?"

"They're just pawns in a bigger game. Just like you, Wednesday. Once again, you've underestimated the situation. You were never getting on that train. I sent Tyler to intercept you."

"I never made it to the station. Heard enough?" After Wednesday said this, Tyler began to shift back to Principal Weems. "Your slave is probably still at the station."

"Don't make this more difficult than it already is, Marilyn," Principal Weems begged.

"My name is Laurel!" Laurel stabbed a syringe of Nightshade into Principal Weems's neck.

Principal Weems fell to the floor, the two girls kneeling next to her. "Principal Weems! Principal Weems!" After Principal Weems stopped moving, Wednesday realized when it was. "Nightshade poisoning."

"A fitting end, don't you think?" Laurel commented, then took a shovel to the two girls' heads, knocking them out.