SUNNYVALE

(16) EVERY SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE NON-BINARY BATHROOMS

Never before the rather quiet city of Sunnyvale - and, in that case, we're talking about the Eastside, that was used to not having any trouble at all - had been so reckless and rooted in fear and mistrust. 

When Tierna reaches the town's archives, where she and Abby had been meeting for two weeks straight now (until the blonde disappeared for a few days without saying anything) she is unsure what to expect with the Eastsider. Rather than being worried like half of the town, Tierna was very mad that the blonde did not even bother texting her. And Abby's alarming text from yesterday did not really change her mind about her being a drama queen. Either way, she went to the meeting for some reason she still wasn't sure about as for now. 

Tierna walks round the public library and goes in the back where the two girls usually meet before doing their researches - mostly because a Westsider and an Eastsider - let alone the mayor's daughter - seen together in the Eastside for a reason other than school was really misjudged by people. Abby is already there, seated on a small wall, turning her back on Tierna, therefore not seeing her arriving.

She jumps on her feet when Tierna presents herself to her, a dreadful look on her eyes, until she realises it is Tierna and sighs in relief.

"Woah, talk about a jumper: what the hell is up with you?" the brunette nonchalantly asks, visibly angry at the other girl. 

Abby stares at her, quite surprised. 

"What do you mean?"

"I knew you were a bitch, but disappearing for days and then just coming back as if nothing happened, that's really-" Tierna aggressively starts, rolling her eyes in the process.

But she is stopped by Abby's hand raising in front of her.

"Um, excuse me, but maybe you'll be delighted to hear that I was attacked by... something, and just woke up in the middle of the Black Forest days later next to a freaking body" the blonde blurts out without warning.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tierna asks, truly confused this time. As Abby's eyes expressed nothing but honestly and dread, she adds: "Rewind: you were attacked by what? And whose body are you talking about?"

When Abby finished her detailed enunciation of what happened to her - the shadows that attacked her and visibly knocked her unconscious, the snake shadow and its dreadful hiss, how it disappeared once she closed her eyes, and finally Allie Long's body drained of blood nailed to a tree tuck... The whole time, Tierna even came to regret her angry thoughts toward the blonde, because she truly looked like she had been to hell and back. 

At the end, Abby just adds:

"Weirdest thing yet: there was a number written on the tree the body was nailed to, in roman numbers, it was 1692..."

"Um..." Tierna lets out, thoughtful. 

She then proceeds to explain to the blonde what happened to Christen Press, and how her sister and Megan Rapinoe found her floating in the air. 

Abby's eyes went wide, as she comments:

"What the hell is going on in this god forsaken town?"

"No idea: but we gotta figure it out, and we really should start by finding out more about this number and the town's history with supernatural - I therefore really think we should ask for help."

Abby frowns.

"To who?"

"My sister, maybe Pinoe, Pressy..."

"Fantastic" Abby comments, rolling her eyes, "even more people who hate me, yay."

Tierna burst into laughter, before saying without thinking, subtly winking at the blonde:

"Well, don't give them more reason to, and you'll be fine"

Abby frowns, as Tierna enters the library, before following her as well: they had work to do, and a bigger secret than they thought to uncover...

***

Megan takes a deep breath.

The last few hours have been crazy, and as she was walking through the school's halls and corridor without any faith, she just lost herself in her thoughts again: her mind was racing, as she was wondering what possible rational explanation would rule out the supernatural in which Tobin and Tierna seemed to believe. 

She goes straight to the bathroom, feeling nauseous, and comes across some male and female Westsiders - as the school's toilets are non-binary in order to be inclusive for all after one of the student, now named Quinn, transitioned after coming out as non binary few years ago - before they leave and she just finds herself in front of the mirror.

Although she hadn't when she came in, she now feels a presence behind her.

"Great, I was just looking for you" Shelina Zadorsky's voice raises, giving the pink-haired shivers, although she does not show it. 

When she turns around, she remarks that the brunette is without her whole squad, which is very rare from what she had seen those past weeks. 

Megan and Shelina's history is quite complicated: they met at one of Sunnyvale's main events, the Great Fair, which is one of the only times the two parts of the city join each other to celebrate the town's anniversary with carousels, food and alcohol. That same night, they found each other getting stuck in an elevator, just the two of them, for five hours, that were enough for them to have very deep conversations once they were done being bitches with each other. Shelina was supposed to participate in the main event with the cheerleading team, but she missed it, and the two girls talked about the pressure of being leaders for their schools.

The evening finished off with them almost kissing, a moment ruined by the elevator working again, and lots of Eastsiders to Shelina's rescue ; they haven't talked ever since, but the connection was still there.

Megan sighs.

"Really? And why that?" the girl asks, fed up already.

Shelina smirks. 

"Haven't you heard?" she asks, sarcastic. As Megan shrugs and shakes her head, Shelina then states: "The English teach' has decided to choose the pairings for the senior's project herself, and we got paired up."

"That's a joke, right?" 

Visibly, that was not the reaction Shelina had hoped for: her face immediately looses its smile, as her eyes become cold again.

As Megan sighs again, the Canadian harshly says:

"I've asked to change partners already, but she said no; sound like we're stuck together, Rapinoe. And you better know: I never fail a class, neither do I fail projects, so you better up your game, understood?"

"Sure, Shelina, whatever you want."

Her visible sass annoys Shelina, who walks out of the room.

Talk about a living hell, the short-haired thinks to herself, somehow feeling a very contradictory feeling inside her chest...