The Peregrine Passage

Chapter Six: Hazel

I think that yesterday might have been the wildest day of my life. I broke into a crypt, had a weird encounter with Mr. Fuller, had a surprisingly good time with Adam, and, wildest of all, managed to win the pumpkin carving contest. I didn't find out until I got home late last night and my mom proudly passed me my golden pumpkin-shaped medal and its matching caramel apple, decorated with "Number One!" written in sparkly edible glitter, along with a gift card to both the candy store and the general store. Apparently she'd found out that I'd won through Miss Miriam from the town bakery. She must've had to pick up the medal from town, though, and I make a mental note to thank her for that later.

She didn't ask why I didn't stick around for the awards ceremony, but I think she's just proud that I actually went out. I wonder if she'd be as happy knowing what I was really up to.

Those words we read last night at the crypt are still stuck in my head. What's the Order? Who's in it? Is it still going on today? I have about a thousand more questions but none can be answered until I get some coffee in my system.

My mom isn't around in the kitchen this morning, so I'm assuming she's working early. There's a note left on the counter telling me to have a fun day at school and that she won't be back until late, which confirms my theory.

It's still dark when I leave the apartment building and it feels disorienting to be walking to school without much light.

I've left myself enough time this morning to run into the diner, but find myself a little disappointed when I see that Adam isn't there. I was hoping we could touch base about last night. After seeing the creepy message, we both decided to call it a night and head home. There's only so much mystery someone can take in a day. That said, I'm itching to know his thoughts about it.

Clutching a hot caramel coffee in my hand on my way out of The Boxcar, I zip up my puffy jacket as far as it will go. It's only November first, but the weather feels like winter is arriving already. That's the thing about Maple Ridge: fall is about two weeks long and then the cold settles in. I'm not sure if I'm shivering from the cold, though, or from the thought of having to face Mr. Fuller at school this morning. He officially gives me the creeps. On the bright side, I won't be hungover like the football team and the rest of the popular crowd who went to the big party last night. Dark circles line the eyes of nearly half the school when I walk into the chilly building. I wonder if Adam wishes he'd gone.

A bell goes off and the principal makes an overhead announcement across the speakers. It's muffled, but I manage to catch something about the school's heating system being broken until further notice. Great.

The mood in the air was already grim, but history is extra dreary since Mr. Fuller decided to retire his fun Halloween alter ego and give us an actual pop quiz. Of course, none of us actually did the required reading last night so we're all equally screwed. I turn around to exchange a look with Adam but he's nowhere to be seen. I hope he's okay, we didn't really make any plans for the rest of the week. Did I push him out of his comfort zone last night? I got so caught up in things, I didn't really check if he was okay with the whole breaking and entering thing.

After class, my worst fear is realized. Something way scarier than breaking into a crypt on Halloween occurs: Mr. Fuller asks me to stay for a quick chat.

"Miss Winsor, do you mind talking to me for a moment? I'll write you a pass for your next class, don't worry." Don't worry? How exactly does he expect me not to worry? I wonder if this is about the research project, my plagiarism incident, my dropping GPA, lack of extracurriculars, the weird pumpkin carving conversation, or something even worse.

I nod and he motions for me to take a seat in front of his desk.

"I couldn't help but notice your recent lack of focus in class," Uh oh.