"Nevermore was founded in 1971 to educate people like us. Outcasts, freaks, and monsters. Fill in your favorite marginalized group here." Enid informed as she and Wednesday walked down the stairs, passing by a bunch of students, much to the goth girl's distaste.
The number of people walking by made Wednesday stay alert - more aware of her surroundings. She disliked being close to a cluster of people. It left her vulnerable to harm.
"You can save the sanitized sales pitch." Wednesday interrupted with an impassive look. "I don't plan on staying here for long."
"Why not?" the werewolf student inquired.
"This was my parent's idea." the goth girl stated, scowling when her attention landed on a photo. "Oh look, there's my mother smirking at me. They've been looking for any excuse to send me here. It's all a part of their nefarious, yet completely obvious plan."
Enid smiled. "What plan?"
"To turn me into a version of themselves," Wednesday announced unequivocally.
Enid's smile faltered, starting to feel vaguely awkward about the situation. "Well in that case, perhaps you can clear something up." the werewolf turned around and began to walk as Wednesday followed behind. "Rumor's been swirling around that you killed a kid at your old school, and your parents pulled the strings to get you off."
"Actually, it was two kids, but who's counting?" Wednesday corrected, making Enid halt in her tracks in fear.
The werewolf student was starting to have some doubts about her fellow roommate. There was no repudiate that Wednesday is a morbid girl. She almost reminded her of Y/n, yet at least he was different.
And less crazy.
Enid shook her head, approaching the goth girl who stood next to the two doors that opened to the quad.
"Welcome to the quad." the werewolf said. Wednesday gazed at the place and students with her usual stoic look.
"It's a pentagon," Wednesday remarked blankly, but throwing shade in the process.
Enid let out a chortle "I have a friend who said the same thing."
"Perhaps the only perspicacious individual on this piteous building. However, I'm starting to be dubious if they are even ingenious for coming here."
"The whole snarky Goth girl thing might have worked at normie school, but here things are different." the blue-eyed student stated. "Let me give you a wiki on Nevermore's social scene."
Wednesday followed behind, mentally rolling her eyes at the time being wasted on fatuous information. "I'm not interested in participating in tribal adolescent clichés."
"Well, then use it to fill your obvious bottomless pit of disdain." Enid countered. "There are many flavors of outcasts here, but the four main cliques are Fangs, Furs, Stoners, and Scales."
Wednesday simply listened - perhaps this information will be useful. As long as the blonde didn't start spouting random things.
"Those are the fangs, AKA vampires." the werewolf girl pointed at a group of students who sat on the bench table, shades covering their eyes. "Some of them have literally been here for decades."
"That bunch of knuckles heads are Furs, AKA werewolves. Like me!" Enid continued with a hint of pride in her tone. This earned the furs to howl as if the full moon was out on display. "Full moons get pretty loud around here. That's when furs wolf out - I suggest you pick noise-canceling headphones."
"I'm assuming Scales are sirens?" Wednesday commented, tepid on the details she just learned. The duo stopped in their tracks as they stared at three individuals by the fountain.
"You catch on quick." Enid praised before pointing at the dark-skinned female with greenish-blue eyes who was twirling her fingers on the fountain, scales appearing on her hand. "And that girl, Bianca Barclay, is the closest thing Nevermore has to royalty."
"Although her crown's been slipping lately." the werewolf student continued. "She used to date our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe," she added as both of them glanced at a male with long brown hair, tied in a ponytail, and olive-brown eyes. Said male was busy drawing on the wall - turning around when he felt eyes on him. "But they broke up at the beginning of the semester. Reason unknown."
"Fascinating," Wednesday remarked monotonously.
"I know, right?" Enid chirped. "My vlog is, like, the number one source for Nevermore gossip."
"If only you applied your exuberance to your education." the goth girl dissed, earning a hurt look from the werewolf student.
Enid simply shook her head, ignoring the insult. "Anyways, that's all the information so far. All the students you see in this yard belong to their respective cliques."
"..."
"Well, except for Y/n."
Wednesday quirked an eyebrow. "Who's Y/n?"
"Another Nevermore student who none of us know what clique he belongs to. And he's a friend of mine..." Enid then began to ponder. "I think he's a friend of mine. Not sure. I would give you information about him, but, you'll barely encounter him. Y/n doesn't like being around people. Only a few people have seen him."
The goth girl wouldn't deny her curiosity flourishing - a Nevermore student that narrowly anyone knows. Interesting. And before Wednesday could inquire more about this student, an abrupt voice spoke.
"Yo, Enid! You're not gonna believe the dirt I heard about your new roommate." Ajax informed with a smile present on his face, ignorant of the expression Enid was giving him to shut up. "She eats human flesh. Totally chowed down on that kid she murdered. You better watch your back."
The gorgon student was confused by his friend's lack of response - only for Enid to step back - presenting the roommate Ajax was just gossiping about.
"Quite the contrary. I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to my menagerie of pets." Wednesday flatly stated, making Ajax's smile drop.
"Ajax, this is my new roommate, Wednesday," Enid announced.
"Whoa." The gorgon student said, gazing at her up and down. "You're in black and white - like a living Instagram filter."
Enid sighed, pushing her friend away in slight demure at his comments. "Ignore him. Gorgons spend way too much time getting stoned. He's cute, but clueless."
"You know it's a small school. There wasn't much online about you. You should really get on Insta, Snapchat, and Tik Tok." the werewolf student suggested.
"I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation." the goth girl deduced, not willing to elaborate more as she began to walk away, leaving a confused Enid behind.
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It had begun to rain, with intermittent thunderclaps echoing from above. The downpouring droplets of water fell from the tar-black large clouds, conjuring the anger of nature on the complex ecological system in which trees are the dominant life form.
In the woods, adjacent to the school, rain falls on the hiker's blood-soaked backpack. A middle-aged white sheriff and a round-face black deputy stared down at the hiker's severed head.
"Where's the rest of him?" the sheriff queried as heavy droplets of water smashed against his hat.
"Well, the torso and arm are over there." the deputy pointed at the severed body parts on the floor, hidden by the grass a couple of feet from them. "We found a leg by the lake. There's an arm in that tree over there, and the rest of the parts are so far unaccounted for." she finished, pointing and listing each body part in their directions.
The sheriff grimaced at the information, turning his gaze at the deputy who continue to explain. "It matches the profile of the other two attacks last week."
"Alright, issue a warning. Keep hikers out of the woods," he announced. "Don't approve any more campfire permits for the foreseeable future."
"What do you want me to tell the press?" the deputy questioned. "You know they're going to be swarming like mosquitos in July."
"Tell them the bear is back."
The deputy let out a chortle. "You know you don't believe that, Sheriff."
"No, I don't. Whatever did this wasn't human. Look, I know these murders are connected to Nevermore. I just can't prove it yet." the sheriff quickly perceived, pointing in the direction where Nevermore Academy resided.
"So until I can..." the sheriff claimed, adamant not to quit until Nevermore is guilty. "It's a goddamn bear."
——————————————————
To say Wednesday is exasperated is a vast understatement. She was irked, disgruntled, and frustrated, all of the above. The distaste of her parent's aggrieved exacerbated her anger.
Of course, this was going to occur. She savvy that this would happen the moment she was expelled for the satisfying action she committed. Were there any regrets? Never. Yet, the punishment for her parent's choice of sending her here added more to the glower that plastered her face.
And the more she was locked in her rumination of her parent's decision, the harsher she pulled the rainbow decals from the right half of the round window.
Enid soon steps inside the room, wearing her outfit of shades of pink and orange, a look of disbelief on her expression.
"What the hell did you do to my room?" the werewolf student exclaimed.
Wednesday gazed at her, expressionless as always. "Dividing our room equally," she answered, kicking the decals on Enid's side. "It looks like a rainbow vomited on your side."
Anger soon began to surface on the blue-eyed girl's face. "I-"
"Silence would be appreciated," Wednesday interjected. "This is my writing time."
"Your writing time?" Enid reiterated.
"I devote an hour a day to my novel. Perhaps if you did the same, your vlog might be coherent." the goth girl proclaims, her fingers moving fluidly on the typewriter. "I've read serial killer diaries with better punctuation."
"I write in my voice. It's my truth. It's what my followers love." Enid retorted.
"Your followers are clearly imbeciles." Wednesday insulted, standing up from her chair and approaching the werewolf student. "They respond to your stories with insipid little pictures."
"Uh, you mean, emojis?" Enid rectify. "It's how people express their feelings. I realize that's a foreign concept to you." the girl was now the one to diss.
Wednesday stared at her with an expression Enid couldn't decipher - leaving her slightly wary.
"When I look at you, the following emojis come to mind. Rope, shovel, hole." the goth girl stated as she turned around to return to her seat. "By the way, there are two D's in Addams. If you're going to gossip about me, at least spell my name correctly."
Enid briefly scowled, deciding to ignore the goth girl's insult. She was exactly like Y/n; their response, stoic look, and monotone speaking. Yet, he was different than her.
Letting out a sigh, the werewolf student turned on her peppy pop song and began to dance, hoping this will assuage her anger. This earned Wednesday to quickly spin around, sending a glare in her direction.
"Turn that off." the goth girl ordered, only for her order to fall on deaf ears. This made the dark-eye girl approach her at a rapid pace. "This is your final warning."
Enid bears her candy color claws, halting the goth girl in her tracks. "Don't mess with me. This kitty's got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them," she warned, hostile in her posture and tone.
Wednesday gazes at the blue-eyed teen stoically, however, she was also ready to punish the girl in front of her. Looks like she was going to have another fight on her hands. And she was going to make sure to deliver a lesson to her.
The door precipitate opens, ceasing their altercation. A petite woman with Auburn hair and glasses steps in. "Good evening, girls. Oh, sorry about the mud." she demurely remarks, closing the door behind her.
Wednesday and Enid turn to look at her as the woman continues to speak. "I wanted to make sure that Wednesday was settling in." she then looks down at the ground, fixing her steps on the floor where a black line divided the room. "Ah is this a bad time?"
With no response, the woman simply nodded and made her way to the two girls. "I'm Ms. Thornhill, your dorm mom." the Auburn woman introduced. "Apologies, I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived. I trust Enid has given you the old Nevermore welcome." a smile soon adorned her lips.
"She's been smothering me with hospitality. I hope to return the favor." Wednesday replied, making Enid smile, which soon drops with the following remark. "In her sleep."
Ms. Thornhill smiled, awkward in the response. "Well, here's a little welcome gift from my conservatory." she handed Wednesday a black potted flower. "I try to match the right flower to each of my girls. And when I read your personal statement in your application, I immediately thought of this one."
"The black dahlia," Wednesday says.
"Oh, you know it?" Ms. Thornhill queried, a hint of surprise in her tone.
"Of course. It's named after my favorite unsolved murder." the goth girl answered, causing Ms. Thornhill to tilt her head. "Thank you."
"Okey-dokey. Before I leave, I want to go over a few house rules." the dorm mom stated. "Lights off at 10:00, no loud music, and no boys, ever."
Wednesday disregards the rules. "What's the story about going to the local town?"
"Passes to Jericho are a privilege, not a right." she declared. "It's a brisk 25-minute walk, or there's a shuttle on the weekends. The locals are a tad bit wary about Nevermore, so please don't go making any waves or perpetuating any outcast stereotypes."
"That means keep your claws to yourself," she added, staring at Enid who looked away and soon return her attention to the goth girl. "And no smothering people in their sleep. Are we clear?"
Once more, the girls didn't respond, causing Ms. Thornhill to chuckle awkwardly. "Great talk." she soon heads to the door, grinning and waving before finally departing.
As her footsteps fade, Wednesday frowned, making her way to her desk and placing the black dahlia next to her typewriter.
"How pathetic." the goth girl abruptly claimed.
Enid rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean? And what are you doing? You can't be out at this hour." she stares as Wednesday puts on her shoes, pulling up the hill of her shoes.
"The rules are nothing but cretinous regulations to keep us from rising in this dominion edifice." Wednesday approached the girl. "I reject the concept of following them."
Enid could gaze as the goth girl made her way to the door, befuddled by her decision to leave at this hour - especially her belief in violating the rules.
"Where are you even going?" Enid called out as Wednesday opened the door. "You can't just leave."
"I'm going to go clear my ail before I commit another deed." Wednesday expounded. "I'm only heading to the Pentagon."
Wednesday didn't pause to continue as the door behind her shut. Enid could only continue to stare in her bewildered state.
A defeating sigh escaped her lips, feeling a headache wash up on her. Wednesday was something else. The goth girl is a puzzle; hard to understand and difficult to answer. She is exactly like Y/n. Both of them were an enigma.
The good thing is she was just going to the Quad for fresh air. That alone was enough to wash Enid's worries. Or so she thought - until someone else came to her mind who always went to the Quad all night.
"Uh, oh."