Chapter Text
"I am NOT going to camp in the woods after what happened last semester. No way in hell." Enid growled as she and Wednesday left the assembly that had just taken place at the end of the school day.
The new principal had decided to add a camping week to the schedule, which meant a whole seven days of darkness, isolation, and insects crawling up in places you didn't want to see. The very idea of the uncomfortableness that would be inflicted upon all of the unwilling students made Wednesday giddy inside; however, Enid's reluctance gave her further insight as to why most students wouldn't want to sit in the middle of the woods for so long. As a result of the rather unfortunate happenings last semester, most students had barely managed to recover despite the adequate breaks provided to them. Said happenings involved a multitude of gruesome killings that happened… where? Right in the woods by Nevermore, of course. It was safe to say that not many students were excited because of this. The faculty, on the other hand, were absolutely ecstatic. Getting students out of their hair meant that they could grade work and breathe in peace!
Instead of answering to Enid's complaints, Wednesday instead offered a comforting silence that the two girls had learned meant that they were in agreement with one another. Enid let out a long breath, allowing her shoulders to sag.
"If we can't avoid it, we can try to make the most of it. Don't you think so?" Enid asked, her wide eyes meeting Wednesday's as the two girls rounded a corner nearing their dorm room. "Well, I think so. There's a lot of fun stuff to do in the woods. If they're taking us where I think they're taking us, there's lodges, lakes, and lots of fun stuff we can do for the whole week! Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe this is just what we need to forget about what happened last semester." All this optimism was making Wednesday's insides churn.
The couple made their way into their shared room, vibrant to the left and morbid to the right. Enid managed to put together a travel bag in the same amount of time it took for Wednesday to sit on her bed, staring at the schedule for the camping trip on the phone that Xavier had gifted to her. While she did still believe that phones were an atrocity committed upon mankind, they were quite a handy atrocity. Schedules, instant-messaging, and prank calls were all available as a result of mobile phones, which Wednesday was somewhat thankful for. She still refused to download any social media, but she had managed to find all of Enid's accounts via the search mechanic on her phone. It was ridiculous how easy it was to find every nasty secret about someone just by typing in their name on a very public search engine.
"Done! I've got three bags packed now. Two duffels and one just for little necessities. Wednesday, have you…" Enid paused, staring at the girl from her side of the room. "You know, I thought you said you weren't gonna be a slave to technology? Look at you now!" she exclaimed, flashing her teeth in a cheeky grin.
"I am not and never will be a slave to technology." Wednesday proclaimed, tossing the phone onto her neatly fluffed-up pillow. Judging by the deafening silence that she was met with, Enid had most definitely rolled her eyes at that.
Wednesday left the edge of her mattress and fell to the floor to grab a bag from beneath the frame. It was a simple travel bag, not too big, nor too small, but it would get the job done. There were already quite a few articles of clothing shoved inside the bag, all monochromatic, as per Wednesday's colorless aesthetic. What the girl did not expect to find inside the bag was a certain disembodied hand, which quickly jumped from the bag to the floor.
"You wanted to come, Thing?" Wednesday queried, watching the various finger spellings that the hand speedily signed out. It seemed that Thing wanted to watch over Wednesday, concerned despite the forest already being deemed safe by the school board.
"If it wants to tag along, I don't see why not?" Enid piped in, kneeling down beside Wednesday. Thing continued its rapid finger spelling before it climbed up one of the legs of Wednesday's bed.
"We could always use an extra hand." Wednesday commented, reaching out to Thing. The hand quickly began climbing across the girl's arm, finding its designated spot on her shoulder in no time. Enid smiled at this before she stood up and walked back to her side of the room.
"Get packing, Wednesday. We've only got a day before we have to go." Enid reminded the girl, shoving her bags together at the foot of her bed. Wednesday complied, grabbing essentials from all over her side of the room. One item that she had quickly added to her travel equipment was her typewriter—neatly placed inside of its special case alongside the mass of papers that made up what she wrote over the last semester. She meant to proofread her novel, but hadn't gotten around to it because of the wild commotion that the new principal and semester had caused. During the times she wasn't being forced to participate in activities during the camping trip, Wednesday could mark down any grammatical errors and inconsistencies in each individual chapter. Seemed like a foolproof plan.
"Do you have any bug spray?" Enid questioned, arriving at Wednesday's side of the room once again.
"No. I prefer to let them take from me what they will. It helps the ecosystem." Wednesday replied, crossing her arms.
Enid laughed uncomfortably. "The principal mentioned something about a bug problem, and that we needed protective gear or spray at the least. Now, I'm not entirely sure where to—"
"Eugene should have everything you're talking about." Wednesday interrupted, to which Enid snapped her lips shut.
After a moment, Enid replied. "Oh, Eugene! Good thinking, Wednesday! Guess I gotta go bug him, then." The girl took this as her cue to quickly skip out of the shared dorm room, leaving Wednesday in silence with Thing on her shoulder.
"Finally out of my hair." Wednesday commented, half expecting the hand to respond with a tap, shake, or anything. It remained quiet. "Alright then, guess I'll just…" Just what? She knew that she should be relieved to have Enid gone for the time being, but now Wednesday felt as if something was missing.
"Oh, I didn't practice today." Wednesday said bluntly. Thing quickly understood what she meant, hopping off of her person to the floor. Wednesday knew that Thing heavily disliked staying anywhere on or near her while she played the cello—and for good reason. She would move rapidly, feeling the music all throughout. The one time Thing dared to disturb her, it was thrown from the balcony onto unaware passerbys below. The imagery was funny, and it even managed to stop Wednesday from playing in order to retrieve the hand. Thing was less than pleased.
For the remainder of the night, Wednesday fell into the music, her body moving with the waves as everything around her seemed to come to a halt. The girl hadn't even noticed her roommate re-entering the dorm, nor had she realized that Enid was silently watching her play for what felt like minutes, although it had truly been hours.
The day ended like any other, both girls in their respective beds. Enid was curled up in a sort of cat-nap pose between her stuffed animals and blankets that were much too thick for the time of year. Wednesday; however, was as straight as a wooden plank, arms crossed in a coffin pose with a thin black blanket covering her lower half. Finally, Thing laid on Wednesday's nightstand. Despite being a hand, it needed its rest too.