The Eye Reader: Moonchild

Section two: Purpose and Joy.

The sounds of my mouse clicking fade into the background as I focus on editing my videos. It's a passion of mine to create something cool and have it pay off in the end. Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" plays in my ears, as I hum and sing along. I've completely forgotten about the trouble I could have been in just hours earlier - skipping volunteering, a statue blowing up, and a school full of 'outcasts'. Awesome.

It's not until I start editing that I notice it - who blew up the fountain/statue. Most likely Wednesday Addams. But the only proof I have is what I'm looking at - a hand, stitched up and pale, lighting a match and pouring gasoline into the fountain. "Son of a gun!" I mutter as I zoom in on the footage. I eventually end up scrutinizing the small amount of footage I got of Wednesday Addams. From what I know, she's cold and calculating, but more determined than a child begging their mom for McDonald's (bad analogy aside). She has a mission, and I want to uncover it.

The next day, Enid's gossip blog is posted. Despite it being gossip, the school seems not to care. After all, a statue was blown up, so I'm the least of their concerns. A few students throughout the courtyard are kind to me, including Eugene, the kid from yesterday. "Hey, Logan! I saw your article in the blog. That's so cool!" he greets me with a smile. I return the smile, grateful for his kindness. But then he gets close to my face, and I feel a little uncomfortable. "Uhm...what are you doing?" I say, clearly confused and awkward. "Is it true that you can read eyes?!" he asks eagerly, getting even closer. I push him back a little. "Where did you..? oh, Enid's blog." I didn't think that was where Enid was going to take my condition. Eugene and I say our goodbyes, and I look for Enid.

A few minutes later, I find Enid in the courtyard, sitting at a table and looking upset. When I approach her, she puts on a fake smile. "Logan! How are you doing?" I nod and greet her. "Hey! Hope you're doing good. Is everything okay?" I ask, noticing her distress. "Eugene was telling me that in your section on me, you mentioned that I can apparently read eyes?" Her face drops slightly. "Oh, well I thought I could twist things up and make it sound unique. Are you mad?" She says, her face scrunched up as if she's expecting me to be angry. "What?! No, that's fine! I just wanna know how you know I'm learning to read eyes." I clarify. She takes a sigh of relief. "Well, yesterday I saw you looking at that old man in the store and it gave me the idea! But wait, you actually can read eyes?!" Her eyes light up with amazement. "Well, I can! But not like how you said in the article." I say as I pull out my phone and skim through the section about me. "For example, I can't see the future or anything!" Her face, still with amazement, gains some disappointment. "Aw man... Well, it's still cool!" She looks both ways and leans in. "Uhm... I hate to ask but..." she whispers. "You know that guy I was with yesterday while we were working?" She points to the boy with the beanie from yesterday. "I don't know exactly how your eye-reading thingy works, but can you see why he might have ghosted me yesterday?" I nod in understanding. "Ah, so that's why you were looking upset." She jumps in light surprise. "You- how did you know?" I laugh. "Well, anyone looking down, alone, and lost in thought is sure to be upset about something," I explain. "Well, you should tell that to my roommate!" She says like a proud mother, talking about their two-year-old at the playground to other moms. "She's like that all the time, but nope! Wednesday is Wednesday." My brain clicks and I also jump a little in surprise. "Wednesday?" I ask curiously. "Yup! Apparently, it's like a rhyme or story, or something. Not like the day!" Laughing, I respond. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Enid! I'll see what I can do!" Enid gives me a hug of thanks, and we part ways to our respective classes.

I take out my schedule and check my first class: Biology. I'm feeling pretty confident since I already took this class back home. However, to my surprise, the class is not just about human biology but also about the biology of other species in this new place. I take my assigned seat in the middle of the classroom, and as other students pile in, my desk wobbles slightly with every readjustment. The age of the desk and chairs is palpable.