Snap Twice | Wenclair (English)

XI

Wednesday was clearly avoiding Enid. And Enid could tell.

Since that night when she had discovered them in the bedroom on her way back, Wednesday had once again covered herself with that layer of coldness that characterized her. Of course, no one but Enid noticed. And though Thing tried to dissuade her, there wasn't much to be done about it.

"Go talk to her..."

―Thing, it seems pretty clear to me that there's nothing to talk about.

"But Wednesday..."

―Stop it. If you're not going to back me up on this, I'd rather you didn't distract me either. I have more important things on my mind.

Defeated, Thing plopped down on the desk, drumming impatiently.

Enid, her heart aching, also tried to talk to Wednesday, but every time she woke up, the black-haired was already gone and every time she tried to stay awake to meet her, she was overcome by sleep and didn't notice when the girl returned to the bedroom. So every morning she had no choice but to approach Wednesday's bed and smell her scent on the pillow. Then, a solitary tear would overcome her and Thing would come out to comfort her. And although Ajax tried to do his best to cheer the blonde up, it was useless, for he noticed her restless and indifferent to his words, his hugs or his signs of affection. He hadn't thought that these attitudes were accentuated in those moments when both of them shared class with Wednesday.

When the two roommates ran into each other in a classroom, the black-haired girl acted with the same initial indifference and Enid's words died in her mouth before she was able to express them. When she dared to bring up the subject with that girl, one look from her black eyes was enough to dissuade her and paralyze her in the attempt. The small, warm spark that had ignited in them on the day of Crackstone's death had vanished in that dark pit of disappointment and disdain.

Wednesday, on the other hand, had focused squarely on the hives with Eugene, who, Wednesday being her only friend, had learned perfectly well how to identify her moods that might seem invisible to the untrained eye. Therefore, she would let her work in silence, that silent companionship being her way of giving her friend the support that, at the time, Wednesday didn't know she needed, but which she appreciated with cold stares and pleasantries. Eugene would smile at her as she arrived and as she left, not expecting a smile in return, but knowing that Wednesday noticed.

But what Wednesday was doing after the beekeeping club, was something neither Eugene nor Enid, nor even Thing, fully knew. As much as it tried to follow her in the afternoons, Wednesday had a kind of hunter's instinct that was much sharper than she expected and left it behind faster than she expected.

Frustrated, Thing and Enid theorized regarding the girl's escapades and wandered the academy grounds trying to find a trail that would give them any clue, but nothing seemed to work. Then Enid would return defeated to the empty bedroom, throw herself on her bed and hug the pillow where Wednesday had spent the night with her, inhaling her ever faintest scent and crying before falling asleep.

Thing, on the other side, even with the anguish of seeing both girls hurting each other so much in the silence, had sworn undying loyalty to Wednesday, so it would not intervene any more than was necessary. When Wednesday arrived, in the dark and cold shelter of the early morning, she would find Thing sleeping on Enid's pillow, very close to her head, as if it had helped the girl fall asleep by stroking the blonde hair.

Many of those early mornings, the black-haired girl would enter the room in silence, put a couple of things in her backpack and leave again, not before walking hesitantly towards Enid's bed, but stopping where, before, she had placed the tape on the floor. She then looked at the trace that tape had left on the wood and felt an enormous weight on her heart. She would leave each time she felt tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Three nights before the forced vacation, upon entering the room after a fruitless search through the academy woods, Enid and Thing found the tape again on the floor.

-----

Wednesday had discovered herself completely trapped by Xavier's grandmother's library. Without expecting it, she had found a gigantic source of answers to her questions about her own powers. Those journals, filled with riddles that reminded her of Goody Addams, caught her attention for hours and Xavier was forced to share meals with her in that room.

The introduction between Wednesday and Xavier's father turned out to be far briefer than the boy expected. A couple of scattered pleasantries on the man's part disappointed the boy, but luckily they passed completely unnoticed in the strange mood of the Addams girl. So, Xavier preferred to captivate her with his knowledge of the property and a walk to the family grounds took them to the Thorpe Cemetery, where Wednesday was particularly at ease.

―So, what's the verdict? ―Asked the boy, leaning his body against a traditional-style headstone. Wednesday, with a book clutched to her chest, looked around gravely before speaking.

―A cozy place, if a bit unoriginal in terms of decoration.

Xavier laughed, intrigued, imagining what kind of tombstones and mausoleums the girl would frequent, but, knowing her, it would surely be something worth seeing. They walked back towards the mansion, Xavier set about arranging dinner, and Wednesday retreated back to the library. Although, in all that time when the boy took it for granted that Addams would get caught up in her reading, the truth was that, most of the time, Wednesday would simply rest her eyes on some line and calmly skim it until her memory betrayed her and she would relive in her consciousness over and over again those moments with Enid, continuing her torturous intimate penance. She sighed and slumped back in her chair, staring at the dimly lit ceiling.

―Enid... ―She murmured, as if to summon the wolf girl to her side. Without realizing it, she was caressing the amulet her mother had given her with her fingers and letting herself be carried away in the torment of her feelings.

-----