finding wanda: a tale of discovery and trust

"the shocking news"

Giving a stern look for calling me a nerd, lucas kept teasing me. "You are yn, a tiny cute little smart ass" he continued. I Ignored him, knowing he wouldn't stop If I tried to say anything in my defence at all.

I was sitting at the table. Lucas, who was sitting in the corner of the couch, red a news paper as if he was dad. Meanwhile I let my fingers trail over the soft cover of the book.

It had a green colour with gold letter that mirrored my reflections. "What are you reading there anyway nerd?". Lucas said, snapping me out of my reading.

"Nothing. Just some boring stuff." I snapped at him. It was far from the truth though. Wanda had a quiet interesting taste and I was already liking the book she gave me so far. "You know I don't even care, we should head to school."

"Hellooooo?!"

Lucas waved his hand infront of me to get my attention. I sighed and closed the book. I was just reading how the twins made a plan to escape their haunted village. It got really Interesting for a second and wasn't in for school at all. Giving lucas a quick nod and putting on my shoes."Fine fine I'm coming,"

On our way to school, we always walked past the woods. Normally I would just walk past it  like it was nothing more then a place I often walk. This time however, I glanzed at it with a smile.
The meeting with wanda was really nice. We talked and laughed at some old classic jokes. We didn't say much, but that was okay. It felt right.

"You must be really obsessed with that book, since your eyes are almost literally glued to it," my brother said in his annoying voice as we walked trough the hall ways. lucas chuckled as I told him to shut up. "Well see you at the end of the book...I mean day" he continued to tease me.

I rolled my eyes. while I kept my walking, my eyes were on the book. It wasn't that special but it was exciting. Maybe because a part of me wanted to find out more about Wanda. Reading the book she gave me, atleast told me more about her interests.

I was walking past the small, black, old, and surprisingly still working TV in the school hallway. But today was different. Instead of hearing the usual news reports about animal suffering or stupid teens, my ears perked up when I heard the news talking about a town that was taken over by Wanda Maximoff.

As I listened to the news report, my heart skipped a beat. The man on the news was talking about how Wanda had taken over an entire town and manipulated the people living there. I was shocked and confused. Feeling a mix of fear and disbelief all at once, my heart stopped beating for a moment. While I walked towards the toilets, I felt my body being taken over by a wave of neasea.

As I locked myself in the bathroom stall, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing mind. The news report about Wanda seizing an entire town and manipulating its people had shaken me to my core. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. Then I heard a knock on the door. It was my friend Amelia, who had seen my distress and come to check on me. "Are you okay? You looked like you were going to vomit," she said concerned.

It took me a few seconds to get myself together. Trying to answer properly, I took a deep breath.
"I'm fine," I replied weakly as I stepped out of the stall, forcing a smile.

As we hurried down the hallway to class, Amelia's firm grip on my arm kept me grounded. I tried to joke with her about how she suddenly seemed to care about being on time for class, but she didn't reply.

Feeling uneasy, I tried to loosen her grip, but she didn't let go until we reached the classroom.

During class I couldn't focus on anything. I couldn’t forget what I just heard. My mind went crazy as thoughts ran carefree In my mind.

Was it true that Wanda had taken over an entire town? Had she really manipulated all those people? Could I even believe what I had just heard on the news? Was there any truth to it at all? If there is, have I really been at the witch her place. The witch who easily took over an entire town and I easily joked with?

........

That last one gave me goosebumps.

As I glanced at my open bag, the green and gold book sitting inside seemed to stare back at me. It was as if it were trying to communicate something, or maybe I was just imagining things in my stressed state. Either way, I knew I couldn’t ignore it. I needed answers, and I needed them urgently. I had a growing need to understand what was happening and find the truth behind the news report about Wanda.

I pretended to head to the toilets. Rapidly glancing around to make sure no one was watching me while sneaking out. As I made my way towards the woods, my heart pounded in my chest as I thought about what Wanda was truly capable of. Despite feeling an overwhelming urge to turn back, I knew that somehow, I wasn't scared of her.

Even though I couldn't figure out the precise reason, something about her made me sense she was a good person. So I gathered my courage as I  continued forward, determined to find some answers.

Following the path through the woods, I passed under some low sticks until I came upon the abandoned hotel