Chapter 9

Lenore’s entire body had been jarringly on edge ever since she woke up, an ache swimming between her ribs, around her joints, and simmering at the front of her forehead. It continued even now, as her and Lorelai crossed a street in Jericho, an autumnal chill tumbling through the air in a breath of wind.

Her curls were wrapped in a bandana, framing her face, but considering the suns glare worsening her headache, she wished she had brought a baseball hat instead. She fished her hand in her pocket, pulling out, and pushing on a pair of dark, thin sunglasses, which wrapped around her eyes.

Lorelai sighed as she stretched. “This friend of yours better be good at making coffee; I deserve it after waking up this early.”

Lenore blinked. “You woke up at seven.”

“And?” Lorelai arched a brow.

Lenore didn’t humour her with an answer, instead pushing open the door to the coffee shop, bell ringing; she allowed the siren entrance, then followed closely afterwards.

It held a certain warmness, which seeped through Lenore’s thin jersey, which hung loosely on her form. She twisted her finger around the bottom of her shirt, revealing a flash of her stomach, before dropping it, and repeating.

“Lenore,” came Mateo’s excited voice, and smiled up at him tightly; she could see his sympathy. He was suffering, too, it seems; his eyes hung with darkness, and his movements were stiffer than usual.

“Boy, you’re tall, what do you eat?” Lorelai asked, a look of respect strung along her face. Mateo shook his head fondly, letting out a deep and hearty laugh, a flash of his sharp teeth revealing themselves.

“Lorelai, right?” He asked.

She nodded, dropping a jovial courtesy. “It’s great to finally meet another of Lee’s friends; I thought she was lying about you.”

“Oi.” Lenore called out.

“Lenore?” A quiet, calm voice called out; a subtle hopefulness simmering within; she smiled and followed the source of the voice. In the corner, papers laid out before them, a white blonde sat, features almost jarringly sharp, and light grey eyes watching Lenore as she approached.

“Avery.” She said. “Have you been doing well?” She slipped into the booth opposite them.

“Average,” they replied in their low hum of a voice. “I’ve been working on something new. I’m almost done.”

“What is it?” She balanced her head on her palm and cast a glance down at the papers. She, smart as she hoped she was, could only recognise they were blueprints, and couldn’t quite understand what it was. Her intelligence favoured the more creative, after all.

“An energy source, capable of lasting years, with net-zero emissions.” They explained, a certain spark flickering in their eyes. Lenore tilted her head fondly and smiled.

“What happened to your hands?” They asked without looking up, “and your knee. I saw the hesitation when you first walked in.”

“Ah, you don’t miss a thing, do you?” Lenore mused. Avery didn’t respond, and clearly wouldn’t be satisfied until she explained it, in deep detail. She let out a resigned sigh and leaned back in her seat.

Lenore explained everything that happened, between Prank Day, the silver burn, cuts, Agnes, visiting Tyler, and threatening Doctor Fairburn; if they were judging her, it didn’t show, and they simply listened, but their focus was captured elsewhere. They only glanced up when she finally finished.

“There is something more.” Avery said simply; they didn’t dig deeper, or pry for details, simply waited for Lenore to willingly respond.

“You’re a pain in my ass.”

Avery hummed, perhaps in amusement.

“There’s a new teacher. I know there’s something off. I don’t know what. She’s digging into my life; she wants to know more than she should.” Lenore explained, a heaviness laying on her words.

“You’re picking up on something your mind can’t perceive,” they looked up at her, staring through her. “Or doesn’t want to.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to know you have certain memories that your mind has buried so deep that they’re simply whispers in your nightmares.” Avery said, and Lenore’s jaw tightened; she opened her mouth to speak—

—Lorelai fell down gracelessly beside Lenore, bumping into her, and Avery blinked, repeatedly, taken off guard. “Avery, right? Nice to meet you.” She said. They looked down.

“Nice to meet you too.” They mumbled. It sounded odd on their tongue. They sunk down into their chair, and fell silent, like their throat had sealed shut. Lorelai sent Lenore a look, who simply shook her head.

Mateo walked over, holding a cardboard drink container in his massive hand; he slid over Lenore’s hot chocolate, Lorelai’s caramel latte, Avery’s sickeningly sweet, and strong coffee, before sitting down, his own drink sat before him. He slung his arm around Avery’s shoulder, who looked jarringly thin, almost skeletal, especially in comparison to Mateo. Avery’s noteless expression shifted into something fond, leaning their head against Mateo’s shoulder contently.

“Oh,”—Lorelai sipped her drink, letting out a sound of content—”you two are… how long?”

“Three years.” Mateo responded, smiling down fondly at his partner.

“That’s impressive right there.” She remarked.

They quickly fell into an easy conversation, chemistry sparking between them, especially between Lorelai and Mateo, who seemed to talk like siblings, or two people who had been friends for many years before now. Even Avery, as reserved as they became, slowly began to relax into the conversation, especially with Mateo at their side. They became more animated as Lorelai asked about their work, which she seemed to understand to jarring extent, especially under Avery’s slow, detailed explanation.

An hour had passed between them, fast, and enjoyable—Lenore even managed to forget about the transformed with lingered in her bones, ready to burst free under the full moon tonight.

Lorelai picked herself up first and allowed Lenore to shimmy out from between the seats. Mateo wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and squeezed playfully—Avery quietly, gracefully picked themselves up; they didn’t embrace her, instead reached forward gently, and squeezed her hand, careful to avoid her palm.

“See you guys soon,” Lenore called out softly as she approached the door; Lorelai waved, smiling, “nice to meet you two.”

—————

Lenore’s teeth gritted, a blunt sound of displeasure rumbled in her throat upon hearing the shrill sound of a horn; even Lorelai looked displeased, her usual faultless expression had changed, lip curled up in distaste. They weaved between students, following the flow of people down the stairs, and there the source of the sound stood.

On jagged rocks, stood before the werewolf statue, that loomed over the student’s, was Principal Dort. He played the trumpet, an aggravating, ear-bleeding sound—and her peers pooled around him. They waited on him to finish.

“Atten-hut!” Dort exclaimed.

Lorelai leaned up to whisper in Lenore’s ear, “you know, if you maimed him right now, I don’t think I would stop you.”

Lenore sighed out heavily and fiddled with the strap of the duffle bag on her shoulder. She held Lorelai’s bag, too, effortlessly holding the overpacked suitcase in her free hand.

“It’s time to heed the call to adventure.” He said.

Students cheered and clapped—and Lenore simply tried to blink away her worsening headache, and Lorelai rolled her eyes, before calling out, noticing someone in the crowd, “there’s Bianca. I’ll see you later.” She offered Lenore a smile as she descended the steps, leaving the werewolf alone.

“Good morning, my fellow Outcasts. So wonderful to see your bright and shining faces. The buses are already here. Be careful loading those coffins.” He said. “Number one, look out for each other. Number two, have fun.”

Once again, the crowd cheered, and then began to disperse, and Lenore quickly joined them, sliding between gaps between people, who moved out of her way, and tried to push towards the edge of the crowd. The raw noise was overwhelming her, and she could feel her mind beginning to cramp.

Her ears twitched upon hearing her brothers voice—she had hardly seen him recently, which if she was being honest, was a blessing; she didn’t have the energy to deal with him if he was in trouble. He laughed amongst the wolves, seemingly the centre of attention; he noticed her, and waved, and she offered him a smile. His expression flickered with concern.

She looked away; she didn’t want his attention because it would come with the wolves, too.

She scarpered before he could approach.

Lenore needed to get away from the crowds, just for a moment.

Her skin prickled, and she shivered, once, twice, entire full body twitches. Her claws snapped out. She breathed in deeply—everything around her seemed to grow louder, slower, and she watched in horror as everyone moved at half the speed.

Even the crunch of grass came sharper, the bag digging into her shoulder felt more vivid, and the sun shone brighter, even through her sunglasses. Then, it came—a long, haunting howl—it seemed to laugh at her. She heard footsteps, soft, measured—like the tap of paws against the floor.

She felt warm breath feather against her neck.

“Not now.” She said; it came across as a threat.

She could feel a familiar wolfish presence behind her—she spun around.

Nothing.

She breathed out a shaking curse.

It took a few moments, but she did see someone familiar—Miss Capri. She stood, binder pressed to her jacket, a tense expression laid on her features. “Ms Capri,” she called out, though it sounded more like a question.

“Lenore.” She responded.

She choked out a breath of relief—it grew quieter again, and everyone resumed, moving quicker again, and the sun lessened.

“Are you okay?” Miss Capri approached her, a concerned sort of curiosity flashing across her face when Lenore pulled off her sunglasses, rubbing away the sweat which beaded in the grooves of her nose. It was obvious where her curiosity came from, her eyes were blackened, and her claws remained exposed.

“It’s,”—she swallowed, words thick on her tongue—”loud out here.” Ms Capri’s hand came to rest on her arm, tingling against the scar.

“Can I help?”

“My headphones, they’re in my bag. Could you get them out?”

She didn’t hesitate, unzipping Lenore’s bag, and fishing out her headphones; she slipped them around her head, careful not to disturb her bandana. “You’re sweating. Are you okay? It isn’t warm out here.”

“My head’s slamming.” Lenore said.

“Have you got any painkillers?”

“They won’t touch it. They never do.”

Miss Capri pursed her lips, and her fingers traced along the scar on her arm, “how about you stay with me? Just keep your headphones on, and we’ll get on the bus soon.”

“Okay, thank you.” Lenore said. She slipped her sunglasses on once again, under her headphones. Ms Capri took her wrist, slender fingers wrapping around it, pleasantly cool; she led Lenore forward.

“Miss Sinclair; a word?” Miss Capri called out, hurriedly approaching the two students—Enid, and Ajax, with Lenore on her heel; she looked between the two awkward teenagers, and then glanced away, at the floor waiting for the moment to end.

“Let’s catch up at the campgrounds.” Enid said, before side stepping him, and joining the two older women. He muttered something.

“Looked like you needed some help. We’re going to need to go over some ground rules with everyone, since someone decided to schedule a camping trip during a full moon.” Miss Capri muttered in annoyance—Lenore’s skin prickled again at the reminder of the full moon. “Mr. Tudor-Pole!” Ms Capri’s attention shifted, running off, and Lenore begrudgingly followed behind, on the teacher’s heels as she hectically moved about.

—————

Lenore slumped down beside Miss Capri, tucking her knees against her chest, and leaning her arm on them; she slipped off her sunglasses, and stowed them away in her jean pocket. Her head fell against the plastic seat. Ms Capri motioned to her headphones, prompting Lenore to slide one earphone off.

“Are you feeling better?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Lenore murmured, fishing something out from the bag at her feet; it was a sketchbook, and pencil. She leaned them against her inclined legs.

“Do you enjoy camping?”

“Well, I enjoy being outside, the fresh air, nature and all, but I’m rather partial to my bed, too. Not mention Lorelai’s going to moan her ass off and insist I do everything.” Lenore said.

Ms Capri chuckled lightly, smiling softly at Lenore in way that stole her breath away. “Where is Miss Ali? I thought she would with you.”

“Nah, she saw her girlfriend and went running.” Lenore half-joked.

“Girlfriend?”

“Mm, I kid; well, partially. She seems to think I’m blind. I see them, though. The not-so-subtle jealousy from Bianca, and the constant staring from both sides.”

“Are they sharing a tent?”

“No, Lorelai’s a passenger princess in every sense of the word; she knows where her cards lie.”

“And where do they lay?”

“She knows she can palm everything off on me essentially.” Lenore answered, roughly sketching something out in light pencil strokes, somewhat mindlessly, but soothing all the same.

“So, you two have been friends a while?” Miss Capri surmised.

“Since Kindergarten. As she describes it, we’re like Yin and Yang; she would always try to involve me in her schemes.” Lenore recalled fondly, lips curving into a soft smile.

“Who’s who?”

“We’ve always called me Yin, even though, it doesn’t completely apply.”

“So, why are you yin?”

“She’s the light to my darkness, and I’m the darkness to her light.” Lenore responded, her pencil strokes forming into a forest scene; it was rudimentary—though understandable. A hulking figure—a wolf, shrouded in darkness stared into a pond where a fish swam. She spun the pencil in her hand.

“That sounds nice.” Ms Capri said, a sense of longing to her voice.

“You’ve never had that?” Lenore asked, no judgement in her tone, hardly curiosity, just a soft question—jarringly gentle in fact.

“No, not really.” She muttered.

“You will, or so I’ve heard from the stories I’ve read—a soulmate, written in the stars for you.”

“Do you believe in soulmates?” It came across teasing but held genuine curiosity.

Lenore breathed out a long sigh as she thought of her words. “It’s whimsical, but yes. I would like to believe there’s someone out there, who could accept me for me, scars, sharp angles and all.”

“You need to let someone get close enough first.” Ms Capri said, and that caught Lenore’s attention enough to pull her away from her sketching; she met her teacher’s eye, and they simply looked at each other for a few moments, expressions softened, and Lenore’s headache even began to subside. It was broken when she yawned, water trickling down from her eyes—she made a small sound along with it, enough to make Miss Capri hide her smile.

“Tired?”

“Yeah. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Why don’t you try to sleep on the ride? It’s busy today after all. You need your energy.” She suggested.

Lenore nodded and slipped her book and pencil away; she pulled her knees even closer and laid her head on them. It didn’t look comfortable, but it seemed to work, as in minutes, aided by the soft purr and movement of bus, she was out.

—————

Lenore awoke surprisingly pleasantly, with unruly hairs getting tucked out of her face, and her name getting softly repeated; she slowly opened her eyes, then blinked distastefully as light filtered in. Her head lay against something warm, and fortunately her wits returned quick enough to stop her from nuzzling into it.

She looked up, and found Ms Capri, face inches from hers, looking down with an expression equal in softness and mirth. Only then, did Lenore realise her comfortable headrest was her teacher’s leather-clad shoulder. She quickly pulled back, her face an uncanny shade of red, which was fortunately partially hidden by her darker complexion.

“Sorry about… that.” She murmured, stretching her legs out, which had been pushed up against her body too long.

“It’s fine. You clearly needed sleep.” Ms Capri waved off her concerns. Lenore still felt mightily embarrassed, and more than a little flustered as her teacher’s perfume hung around her in a cloud.

“We’re here. I presume.” Lenore said.

“We just parked up.” She gestured over to the students who were clambering off the bus; Lorelai passed by her, and offered her a smile, Bianca following closely behind, who surprisingly, copied her friend.

“We should go, then.”

“We should.” Miss Capri said. She rose from her seat, and gestured to Lenore to depart first. “Lead the way, Ms Yuson.”