The Mendacity of Winnie Hart

Chapter Twelve

Staying home from school was a nice change, and made me want to stay home the next day all the more. It was Friday though, so I'd have the next two days off anyway. I also promised myself I would try and stay on top of things this year, and skipping school seemed like it'd lead me down a bad road. So, yesterday I had emailed all of my teachers to collect the work I had missed. Maybe Wren and Mr. Davey were right, I really was a goody-goody.

Whatever I had taken on Halloween still left me with an icky feeling, but I think I was just building it up in my mind. Physically, I felt just as normal as I usually did.

Wren wanted to come see me after school yesterday, but she had to work. I knew she had a little much to drink that day, so she'd probably want to be caught up on everything that happened, in case some of the details were foggy. Since I was still a little messed up, I decided to sleep in a little more and be late to study hall. This meant Wren didn't have to give me a ride, and I could walk in the fresh air for a while. Supposedly, fresh air was a remedy for all problems, but I wasn't expecting too much.

I bundled up a little more than usual since it was now November, and the weather was only going to get colder day by day. There was still no sign of snow, but I expected it within the next couple of weeks. I liked the snow. I'd take cold weather over hot weather any day. You could always put on more clothes, but you couldn't peel off your skin when it was sweltering.

As expected, the walk to school didn't do much for my brain. Lingering feelings of anxiety were still present in the corners, no matter what I tried to do to push them away. Maybe I would consider therapy for this if not for what happened in my hometown. A therapist would make me rehash all of my life's problems, and I'd rather numb the memories and pretend they didn't exist.

I did my usual routine of seeing Mrs. Borden and getting my pass and then making my way to first period. Surprisingly, I was only about twenty minutes late.

Pushing open the door, my ears were immediately greeted with a loud, "Winnie!" Wren got up from her seat and tackled me with such force we went toppling out the door and onto the dirty hallway floor. I landed (quite painfully) on my back and Wren fell on top of me.

"Uff," I groaned, pushing her off of me. "I think you broke a rib."

"I was just giving you a warm welcome!"

"A full-body slam is a welcome? News to me." I heaved myself onto my hands and then my feet, wiping the dust off my palms.

She rolled her eyes. "Give me that pass." She snatched it out of my hand and brought it over to Mr. Davey's desk. He reached out his hand for it but Wren placed on the table and leaned over it, beginning to fold it and bend it.

"Wren, give me the pass," Mr. Davey said warily, watching the paper get violently assaulted.

"Hold on."

"Just-"

She shushed him and kept folding it and flipping it around until it resembled a little crane. I raised my eyebrows, impressed at her origami abilities I didn't even know she possessed. She placed the little bird in Mr. Davey's hand and waited for a compliment.

"How am I supposed to read this now?"

My best friend sighed and walked off to her desk again with her head hung low. After giving Mr. Davey an apologetic smile, I followed her and slipped in the seat beside her. It was a little more rowdy in here than normal, so most people hadn't noticed our tumble out the door.

"Is origami a new hobby for you now?"

"All I know how to do are the cranes. It's pretty complicated stuff. Plus, I have a million other hobbies I'm trying to learn," Wren said. She was the kind of person to express intense interest in a project for a few weeks before getting bored. The list was endless of things she tried to learn but gave up soon afterwards. Crocheting, Sign Language, Magic the Gathering, guitar, and so on and so forth. I'm pretty sure I still have half a blanket she attempted to knit me somewhere in my closet. "Anyways, tell me how you're feeling."