The Funeral Island

1. Trinkets and Trips

Strange packaging. It had been wrapped in cloths and tissue paper with more bubble wrap than necessary, it was a peculiar thing to have been mailed, that was for sure. She almost didn't want to unravel it all, though to be fair, she didn't exactly have much time.

It was an absent thought but she packed it away in her book bag before grabbing her suitcases and heading out the door, she'd have to read the letter later while they were on the drive or something, she was already late as is.

And with that, Jenna flung herself out her door, calling out her final goodbyes to her family before running to school, which was something she never thought she'd ever do.

Had it been any other typical day, Jenna would have taken her time, procrastinating the inevitable, but today was different. Different in the sense that she wasn't being sent to school to sit in a class all day and do nothing. No, today was going to be unfamiliar.

Today was going to be a farewell to her hometown for two weeks, a break from her parents, the internet, and any drama her small high school could ever come up with. This trip was going to be peaceful, which seemed to be hard to come by these days.

Her sprint was short lived as the school came into view along with Mr. Anderson, Alastair, Katherine, Amber and Aaron. Jenna smiled, raising her arms up excitedly, "Hey! It's the A-Team," she grinned.

Katherine was the second shortest, coming in at 5'3, beating Jenna by 4 inches, with Alastair and Mr. Anderson being the tallest. Damn the French.

Alastair smirked lightly, waving his hand up in an eccentric manner while Katherine immediately went to chatting with the newly arrived Jenna. Aaron and Amber smiled at the new arrival, allowing Mr. Anderson to shove Jenna's suitcases into the back of the van. It wasn't long before the group piled in soon after.

"So," Mr. Anderson started, "Are you guys excited," his french accent filled the van as the students nodded in response. "You're all aware you'll be handing in your phones, right?" He asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow and glancing in his mirror to watch the kids. 

"No sweat," Katherine grinned from beside him, "We're survivors, Mr. Andy, I'm sure we'll manage," She looked behind her to smile towards Amber and Jenna, "We'll just have to do things the old fashioned way," Katherine shrugged.

Mr Anderson glanced over to Katherine, raising an eyebrow questioningly, "And what's that, Katherine," he asked, obviously curious. Katherine looked up from her phone to face the young teacher, grinning cheekily.

"We'll just have to write letters, of course." Mr. Anderson glanced over at Katherine to give her a subtle glare as she continued, "You remember those days, don't you," She played it off as innocent while the rest of the car broke out into a chorus of giggles as the young teacher rolled his eyes mockingly, before settling in to focus on his driving.

Jenna's eyes lit up as she twisted around to grab her book bag, "That reminds me," she mumbled. The car had turned to look at Jenna as she rummaged around the bag before pulling the small parcel she'd received earlier. "This came in the mail earlier today," Jenna muttered, passing the package over to Aaron as she continued to rummage her sack. "Open that while I find the letter, alright," and 3 seconds later, Jenna managed to find the envelope.

Elegant handwriting graced the front, while Jenna's brows furrowed in confusion. Katherine was the only one out of her friend group that wrote in cursive, but this writing seemed much more sophisticated. Jenna paid little to no mind as she tore the top open before reaching in an grasping the envelope, carefully unfolding it before scanning over the words.

Dear Ms. Sorrel,

Keep your friends close as the Jackal hunts.

Sincerely,