Wednesday's Week

Its a small Woe

Six desks were set up on the auditorium stage. The students filed into the dark stands and faced the stage. I waited beside Eugene. Each school had four students participating in this. I had obviously teamed up with my fellow bee keeper.

"I didn't know you dabbled in other creatures besides bees," I spoke as I peered behind the curtain. I could see Enid's reflective gold puffy jacket from here.

He clutched a journal in his hands, looking nervously about, " I've always been more intrigued by animals then humans. And while monsters are no bees, they have so many intriguing parts of them."

The siren staff member rolled onto the stage. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Professer Argyle. I will be hosting this game and reading the monsters out loud." The crowd cheered enthusiastically. Argyle smiled, "Without further ado, our contestants!"

Marcus and another student pushed past to be the first ones in the stage. He looked back at me, "I can't wait to beat you," he said. Whatever fake concern he held earlier was completely gone.

One of the sun's children students was the Gorgon who had complimented me. Eugene and I walked out into the stage. Heavy cheers from the nightshade section dominated the crowd. Eugene winked at them.

We stood behind our respective desk.

"The rules of the game are simple!" Argyle spoke. "I will state a fact about a monster and the first student to know what I am describing will hit the big black button on their desk. If the first clue yields no answers, I will give a second. If your guess is incorrect, that pair will not be allowed to guess again for that specific creature!"

He moved to a podium on the side. A flash of the camera came from the audience. I ignored it, trying to focus on what was to come.

"We've got this," Eugene spoke as an attempt in encouragement.

I didn't need encouragement, "We will run them all into the ground." I answered.

Argyle brought the microphone to his lips, "Has a taste for bear blood!"

I slammed the button down first, "Yeti."

"Correct! First discovered in Egypt!" Licheno continued.

A Salt's Cry student hit the button first, "A Sphinx?"

Licheno shook his head, "Wrong!" He read off a second note, "Hybrid of two animals!"

Eugene went to hit the button, but Marcus got it first, "A Griffin!"

It went on like this. Marcus and I were neck and neck. Even though we were accumulating points for our school together, we were trying to beat each other personally. The Gorgon kept up with us well but her counterparts did not do so well. And the other teams stayed close to us in points.

"Harpy!"

"Basilisk!"

"Cyclops!"

The answers were shot out again and again.

"And for the final beast!" Argyle started a drum roll in the audience. "It shape shifts!" No one dared to throw out a guess. The last question held a lot more points. "Temperamental!"

A vampire hit the button," a werewolf?" Argyle shook his head No as the werewolves in the crowd booed her answer.

Argyle continued, "Develops only after it's been activated!"

"A genie?" The Gorgon girl asked. A wrong answer.

Argyle gave the last hint. "Has a master."

The other students looked at each other in confusion. The truth sunk into me like funky river water. I pressed the button lightly. Everyone turned to me. Argyle waited for me to shout the answer.

"A Hyde."

He clapped his hands, "Correct! You've won!" The Nevermore students did not applaud. Eugene looked to the floor. Argyle looked back and forth, confused with the other schools toward the tension in the room.

Weems floated up from the stage, "All right, well then. What a great competition." She was putting in a face, her damage control persona. "Congratulations to Eugene and Wednesday, our Nevermore geniuses. And congratulations to the other students. We were on the edge of our seats the entire time!"

I stepped away from the desk and left the stage through the curtains. "You sure know your Hyde's well!" Marcus chased after me.

I turned on my heels, "Do you want me to kick you twice today?"

"Twice?" He scowled. "You haven't kicked me once. And as if I'd let you get close enough to try." I didn't have time for his cryptic talk.

He tried to step closer. I grabbed his arm and twisted it, pulling him off balance. He stumbled forward and I kicked him in the back. "Stay away from me, bat. You will never unlock any sort of vampire power because you will never beat me."

I stalked off. And when I was sure I'd have a moment of peace, Xavier caught up to me. "Wednesday!" He called. I didn't respond and instead of taking the hint he quickened his pace and got in front of me. "Are you upset about Tyler?"

That was the first time I had heard him refer to him as Tyler and not a monster. "I am not upset about anything." I tried moving past him.

"I've been having dreams about him still," he disclosed.

I glared at him, "Why did you lie to me on the train, then?"

He pushed air out of his nose and shifted his weigh, "Because- because I thought they were just normal nightmares. But, it keeps playing out the same scene."

"I've been having dreams too," I replied.

He creased his eyebrow, "But you don't have psychic dreams-"

"The dreams aren't tied to my abilities. They are tied to Tyler." I spoke. I hadn't wanted to believe it, but it was becoming true and I could not pretend otherwise.

Xavier was still for a moment, picking through what I had told him. "If Laurel escaped that night and survived Eugene's bee attack, she could be apart of this."

"How could she get close to us?"

"She doesn't need proximity. Maybe just spells. She read through your Ancestor's book of shadows. Maybe it's all her doing," he reasoned.

I shook my head, "Laurel might not be done with us, but she doesn't have any power over our dreams."

My phone buzzed and I knew exactly who it was. I didn't reach for it. It buzzed again. Xavier looked down at my pocket, "Are you going to get that?"

"It's just my stalker, another piece of this puzzle that doesn't seem to be connected," I responded. The paintings in the hallway seemed to stare down at me in judgement. Here I was again, following all of the wrong leads. I was just a mouse in a trap.

Xavier looked shocked, "You have a stalker?"

"You mean besides you?" I quirked up my lip and he frowned. I finally pulled out the phone, not too excited about whatever awaited me.

The text read, "Go to the tower bathroom. Alone." I shut it off before Xavier could peer over my shoulder.

" I'm done here. Tell me if you have another Tyler dream," I told him before turning on my heels. He watched as I walked off.