Chapter 1
June 1st
At the end of their second year at Nevermore, Wednesday had assured Enid she would return to Jericho, to Nevermore, to Enid, for their senior year.
“Something to remember me by,” Wednesday had murmured while handing her a black raven stuffed animal. Enid had squealed and hurled herself into Wednesday’s arms.
In an unlikely but much appreciated gesture, Wednesday had returned the embrace fiercely, reminding Enid that it was all worth it. All the chaos and turmoil was worth it, and Enid would endure it a thousand times over if it meant they would end up here again, in each others arms, with a promise of the opportunity to create more memories.
Stepping back, the pair looked at each other, a multitude of expressions crossing Enid’s face, while Wednesday looked solemn, hardly contrasting her customary indifference.
Enid could see the change nonetheless.
She had gone back to San Francisco clutching the soft raven to her chest, right above her heart, like she needed it for the organ to continue beating.
Planes were terrifying for Enid, who much preferred to remain on solid ground. But the raven smelled like Wednesday, soothing and calming her, alleviating any and all fear she might have felt.
____________________
June 2nd
The plane landed at the SFO International Airport in the early hours of the next day.
Enid decided to send a quick text to Wednesday, who was undoubtedly awake. The girl was almost nocturnal, a fact Enid found to be very endearing once she got used to being woken up at night by accidental explosions and any other unforeseen chaos.
Wednesday had finally caved and began using a phone for communication during their junior year, so now Enid texted her at every opportunity.
ES: Landed just now!🛬
ES: Thx 4 the raven Weds it helped sooo much!!
ES: Im so excited 2 see my dad! ik he’s not ur favorite but he’s been nicer 2 me and i cant wait 2 spend time with him!!
The plane finished taxiing and the neon seatbelt signs disappeared as a monotonous voice announced the fact over the PA system.
Everyone around her began to stand up, pushing and shoving in the aisles, and Enid rolled her eyes.
ES: The ppl are all getting up and tripping over each other and its so stupid bc the doors arent even open yet
ES: Im gonna put my phone away now just so I can pay attention
ES: ily Weds
____________________
Enid sighed and rested her head against the metal column in the middle of the baggage claim area. It was noisy and chaotic, but thankfully, Enid had slept on the plane, so the disorder hardly affected her.
“God, this is taking so long,” she muttered under her breath. “I just want to get home already.”
If there was a god out there, he’d just answered her prayers, as a hot pink suitcase rolled out onto the conveyor belt.
Enid shoved her way through the unruly crowd and hoisted her suitcase up off the moving belt with ease, werewolf strength coming in handy.
She made a quick stop at the Starbucks next to the rotating glass doors and waited outside for her father to arrive, periodically sipping her caramel macchiato.
Enid inhaled deeply, the corners of her lips curling upwards at the familiar smell. It was a serene, peaceful moment, even though there were cars honking all around her and hordes of people rushing around with grating, rolling suitcases.
Sure, Nevermore was a wonderful place to call home. All her friends (whom, at this point, she would call family) attended the outcast school. Nevermore had the quad, the lake, her partially multicolored and partially greyscale room.
So yes, Nevermore was her home away from home. But, she decided, nothing could truly compare to how she felt in San Francisco. There was just something about California that she couldn’t find anywhere else.
However, there was one thing San Francisco was missing. It was something essential, the one determining factor in where she chose to call home. This crucial missing piece, was Wednesday.
Perhaps it was unhealthy to place so much of her love in one person, to be so attached to one individual , but if there was anyone who deserved it, it would be Wednesday. They had been virtually inseparable for the entirety of their junior year, and it had been the best year of Enid’s life.
Never going anywhere without the other, they were a package deal. It was her and Wednesday against the world.
Lost in her thoughts, she missed her father pulling up in the family’s blue Nissan Ultima, jolted back to attention by a loud honk. Her father had hardly stepped out of the driver’s seat before Enid dashed towards him and leaped into his waiting arms.
“Hey dad!” she greeted him, her voice muffled from pressing her face into his chest. “I missed you.
“Me too. Hello, honey. ”
Her father was never one for sappy, heartfelt reunions, so Enid figured this was the best she was going to get. Small victories were victories all the same (size doesn’t matter? sorry, had to make the joke). Their relationship had greatly improved once he grew a backbone and sided with Enid against her mother’s wish for her to go to a werewolf training camp, a place just as cruel as their conversion counterparts.
Pulling back from the embrace, Enid maneuvered her way over to the passenger seat and slid into the car, grinning at the familiar feeling of the worn leather seats beneath her.
She turned on the radio and chuckled to herself as a catchy pop song started to play, knowing that while she thought it was bright and peppy, Wednesday would describe it as something along the lines of “An infernal racket, a cacophony, perhaps even a caterwaul, an unforgivable insult to all the work early artists put into developing meaningful genres.”
Wednesday was always prone to exaggeration.
Enid would never verbalize the thought, though. She hadn’t yet to decide what flowers she wanted at her funeral, so her inevitable death from such a comment would have to wait.
Nodding her head along to the melody, Enid pulled out her phone and opened up messages again. Her finger automatically gravitated to the one contact she had pinned up at the top of her screen.
ES: Dad picked me up! It was nice 2 c him after so long
ES: Respond when u get the chance bc I have so much 2 tell u
ES: ily Weds
—
June 3rd
ES: Wednesday! U will never believe what just happened!
ES: I wanna tell u aloud tho, so pls call me when u r able 2 do so
—
June 6
ES: Wednesday, u there?
ES: I miss u
—
June 13
ES: Howdy
ES: I sent u a letter if u would rather talk like that instead of texting
—
June 28
ES: Has the letter arrived yet?
ES: It was supposed 2 be there by now
—
July 7
ES: Did the letter get lost? Have u received it?
—
July 14
ES: If u sent me a letter back, it didn’t come yet btw
—
July 18
ES: Did I do smthn wrong?
—
July 23
ES: Sry 4 whatever I did wrong
ES: Can u tell me how 2 fix it?
—
Aug 4
ES: I’m coming back 2 school tmrw
ES: Can’t wait 2 see u there
—
“Gate 23, now boarding to South Burlington, Vermont. Gate 23, now boarding.”
Soon enough, Enid was seated next to a window and waiting for the plane to take off. She clutched the soft raven to her chest, breathing in the dwindling, faded smell of pinewood and vanilla.
____________________
Enid skipped through the hallways, lightly coasting her fingers over the wooden accents along the wall.
Her father was somewhere behind her, carrying her suitcases and a pink duffel bag. She had bought the bag a few weeks ago back in San Francisco to replace her old, tattered red duffel, which had mysteriously vanished one night during the school year.
Enid had her suspicions though, when she mentioned the bag’s disappearance to Wednesday, who’s mouth quirked up as she replied, “How unfortunate. I am wholeheartedly sorry for your loss,” in a tone that left little doubt concerning her true opinion.
Wednesday probably had her reasons, and it wasn’t like Enid minded buying something new for herself.
She’d almost made it back to their room, opting to walk quietly the rest of the way so that she could surprise Wednesday, who was almost certainly already at Nevermore.
Throughout the weeks before school let out, Wednesday had been constantly lamenting about the fact that, for the entire summer, she would be subjected to “her parents revolting, repugnant, repulsive affection,” as she had phrased it one night when they’d gotten wasted with some borrowed (stolen) Fireball and Ginger Ale, causing the pair to stay up and pour their hearts out in drunken rants.
They’d woken up regretting the excessive alcohol they had consumed, evident by the many bottles littering the floor, but neither regretted the profound conversations they had shared.
Reaching the door, Enid pressed her ear up against it, listening for the unmistakeable click-clack of Wednesday’s rattling typewriter. She grinned to herself, excited to catch Wednesday off guard.
Hearing nothing, she swung the door open in one smooth motion.
“Howdy roomie!” she squealed, a gleeful smile framing her face.
Enid skipped into the room. “I can’t believe it’s been so long since…” her voice trailed off. She scanned the room frantically, searching for any sign of the seer.
“Wednesday?” she said in a small voice. This was not how she expected her return to Nevermore to go. She hadn’t even considered that Wednesday wouldn’t be here, ready to greet her when she arrived.
“Wednesday, where are you? I- I’m sorry for trying to scare you.”
Her gaze caught on the ornate window. Once partly vibrant and partly monochrome, the previously colorless half was now covered in the same kaleidoscopic pattern from before Wednesday had moved in.
She sprinted to the window and pressed her hand to the newly colored glass, touching each one until it was evident that she wasn’t dreaming. The glass was cool to the touch, but it felt scorching hot to Enid.
A lump formed in her throat. She held back a sob, hoping her thoughts were mistaken, praying she would be proven wrong. Wishing with all she had that this was some sort of mix-up, something they could laugh about once it was solved, something, anything that wasn’t… that wasn’t this.
But the side of the room that was once occupied by a typewriter was now bare. There was not a single trace left of the girl who was supposed to share this room with her, the girl she loved, the girl who had unknowingly taken Enid’s heart right along with her when she walked out the doors of Nevermore and didn’t return.