The Woe We Deserve

Chapter 23

Though pretending to sleep kept Enid off her back, she was too restless to actually fall asleep. As she lay there, she had time to stew. Xavier Thorpe was the reason she wanted to yank her hair out. Her black little heart was in a wrestling match with itself. She couldn't decided if she wanted to kill him or find him and drag him back to Nevermore, where she knew she could keep him safe.

As she brainstormed ideas on how to torture him, she was struck with the realization that there might be no Xavier to torture if he got expelled from school for running away. She knew his doctor had promised to stop by in the evening to replace his bandages and check up on him. She looked at the clock. It was 5 p.m. Most students would be heading down to the cafeteria to get their dinner soon. The faculty usually remained in their private quarters.

"Thing!" Enid startled, looking up from her homework to realize Wednesday was up. The hand stretched its fingers after taking a quick snooze himself.

"Wednesday. You're up!"

Wednesday ignored her roommate. "Thing, I have a mission for you."

The hand dashed over to her side, eager for some action. Wednesday dug around one of her drawers, through a small container labeled 'drugs and poison' until she found what she was looking for.

"Um... please tell me you're not making Thing an accessory to murder."

Wednesday rolled her eyes. "It's just sleeping pills. I need you to put these in Dr. Ingram's tea."

"Xavier's doctor?" Enid asked, clearly baffled by the plan.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Wednesday crossed her arms. "That is on a need-to-know basis."

"You're such a jerk," Enid mumbled under her breath, but she knew better than to argue—her roommate had been in a particularly sour mood today.

Thing accepted the pills gave her a quick bow before running off to execute her plan.

Wednesday paced the room, waiting anxiously for Thing's return. She was restless. She was too distracted to write, too depressed to play her cello, and definitely not in a mood for whatever roommate bonding activities Enid would have proposed.

As she watched her roommate-turned-best friend, she started to feel bad about being so harsh. As much as she hated to admit it, Enid was a great sounding board. In most cases, she gave great advice and was unconditionally supportive. Perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to let her in on her situation.

"Enid."

The blonde turned her head up from her book; she gave Wednesday a suspicious look. "Yes?"

"Would you like to know why I'm upset?"

Enid jumped from her bed and nodded enthusiastically. Wednesday narrowed her eyes at her friends. "Sorry," she whimpered. "I'll control myself."

The two girls sat across from each other on the floor. Wednesday cracked her knuckles as she thought about where to even start. She recounted the incident with Xavier, describing the dream and the immediate fallout in the hospital wing. She admitted to sneaking into his room, and revealed that he wasn't even at Nevermore. Enid looked like she was watching a very tense movie, peppering gasps and whimpers throughout the story and literally holding a hand over her mouth. If Wednesday wasn't feeling so devastated, she might have found it amusing.

"So... that's it, I guess."

"No wonder you're so sad," Enid replied.

"Sad?" Wednesday asked. "I'm furious."