The Woe We Deserve

Chapter 37

The rest of the semester went by in a flash. Wednesday had officially survived the whole school year—barely.

It was time for her goodbyes. Luckily, there weren't too many.

Enid had spent half the week crying at the thought of not seeing her all summer.

Eugene, was not hard to find. He was saying his goodbyes to the bees. The school cared for them over summer break—not that he trusted them to do it properly, so Wednesday surprised him by installing hidden cameras in the shed.

"This way you'll know they're safe," she'd told him. "And look for evidence of neglect so you can hold it over their heads if you ever need to."

"Thanks, Wednesday," he said, hugging her before she could do anything to stop her.

"Eugene—"

"Sorry," he said, though he didn't look it. "Are you going to pick a different club next semester, now that you're popular?"

"I am no such thing," she said venomously.

"Well, I mean, you did save the school, which was pretty cool, and you're dating Bianca's ex-boyfriend, I mean—that's a pretty big deal."

"Stop reading Enid's blog. It will rot your brain."

"Her writing is as beautiful as she is."

"You're a lost cause." she sighed.

People waved at her as she walked towards the forest. Parents would be arriving to pick them up in just a few hours, so most students were busy packing or saying their goodbyes.

She'd agreed to help Xavier with his shed. They'd had plenty of time to get it packed up. The last week, after finals were done, classes were but a formality, and all club activities were finished, however every time they started to make any progress, they'd get sidetracked...

Now that she knew it would be almost two months before he returned from Europe, she felt the need to seize every second they had together, as if banking all that time together would make their separation any easier.

To her surprise, by the time she arrived, the studio was unrecognizable. The walls were bare. Most paintings were stacked neatly on top of each other, as well as his sketchbooks and and most of his art supplies.

"It seems you might not need my help after all."

Xavier jumped at the sound of her voice, he'd been sorting paintbrushes and pencils into piles and wrapping them together with rubber bands.

"How are you always so quiet?"

Wednesday shrugged, and Xavier gave her a sheepish smile. "Okay, maybe this wasn't a two-person job, but since you're already here..."

"If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was ask."

"I know." Xavier stepped away from the table to plant a quick kiss on her cheek. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I got most of it done without you."

"This place looks so much smaller somehow. What will you do with all of it?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of canvases.

"Add them to the other piles I have in storage back in New York."

"Some day people will pay lots of money for those. Xavier Thorpe's earlier work," she said. He rolled his eyes. "I mean it."

Xavier gave her a grateful smile, then stepped away to rummage through pile of canvases until he found the one he was looking for.

"I made you something to remember me by."

"You're not going off to war. I'll see you in a couple months."