#Chapter5
The weekend is slow but my nights have been filled with the best nights of sleep I've ever had. The rest our things are delivered a few days early, so I help bring it all inside. Some stuff is stored in the garage, but I take what I need to my bedroom to unpack. All of my little nothings are organized around my room. My mom helps me carry in my desk—there's just enough room for it. I set up my desk lamp and my books are slid into the shelves. My computer is placed right in the center of the table, and I drop my bean bag chair in the corner of the room. It's finally starting to feel like my own space.
I fill my suitcases with summer clothes and push them under the bed, but feel something in the way. Pulling it back out, I lift the bed skirt and see an article of clothing. I reach under and grab it. Holding it up, the first thing my eyes notice is the wolf crest on the upper left. It's a shirt—part of the uniform for that private school. I smell it and smell it again.
It drops to the floor as my hands cover my face. Something isn't right. Why is it here?
Before leaving my bedroom, I hide it under my pillow, not willing to get rid of it.
At school on Monday, I sit with Vivian and her friends again. The conversation feels more regulated than usual as she asks about my interests and where I'm from. I don't hear much about her, though, and even less about her friends.
Instead of walking straight home, I walk up the street, past the drugstore, and to the private school. This is my attempt at sleuthing. I'm not sure how that shirt got under my bed, and I'm not sure what I'm going to figure out by being here, but there's no point in turning back now. Walking through the parking lot, I avoid students as they leave for the day. No one seems to notice me as they talk to one another in their polo shirts and navy sweaters. I sneak around the building and find a track surrounding a field along with tennis courts. So far, the only thing I've discovered is that this place is officially called Waindale Academy. It isn't anything groundbreaking.
On my way out, I catch a hint of something in the air—that smell. The one from the shirt. I wonder if they all smell like this.
As I walk by the diner, I notice Vivian going inside with Eli, Elara, and Imogen. They must be meeting with their private school friends again. No wonder the conversation was so structured today. Maybe Vivian got in trouble for inviting me.
The house is empty when I get home. Mom and Grandma must have left to get groceries as they mentioned this morning. I don't like being here alone—the eeriness of the woods lately has my mind wandering. Waindale isn't the same. It's changed since I was a child and I'm not sure why. There must be a difference between visiting this town and living in it. Things lurk in the darkness and the people aren't normal. Why does Vivian reach out to me then keep me behind a wall? Something is going on with her and her friends and those private-school students. I can't help but think it's drugs. Maybe they all meet up and go into the woods and do whatever drugs they do. It would explain why I'm not supposed to know.
I drop my school bag on my bed and lift up my pillow. The white polo shirt and its school crest is still there—the scent diffusing off of it. The inside of Waindale Academy might smell like this; a dark and woodsy scent that reminds me of mens cologne. I need to get inside that school. The only issue is how. Everyone wears the same thing, and I may be able to disguise myself with this shirt, but that's only half of the uniform. Looking at the tag, I learn that it's a mens large. That won't help my disguise, but tells me more about its owner. There's no reason Grandma would have this shirt, so someone must have left it here, someone who wears a men's large.
I swallow. Was some guy in my bedroom?
I catch Vivian at school the next day as she makes her way down the hall. She seems surprised to see me.
/"Wrenley, hi, how are you?/"
/"I'm fine. I was just wondering about the private school. I found—/"
Vivian stops me. /"Sorry, really, but I wouldn't know. Find me at lunch, though. You know our table./"
She turns and walks away, her head falling down as her eyes watch the floor.
I walk to the diner after school and sit in the same booth as last time. When the familiar woman comes by with a menu for me, I ask, /"Um, is there a chance that you're hiring?/"
Her eyebrows rise. /"You looking for a job?/"
I nod and she shrugs. /"I can ask Paul. He's just in the back./"
When I get home, I find my mom as she's going through boxed things in her bedroom. Before she can ask about school, I say, /"I got a job./"
/"A job? Where?/"
/"At the diner across from the drugstore./"
She sits down on her bed. /"I mean, okay. I didn't know you wanted to get a job. It doesn't conflict with school, right?/"
/"No. They were very accommodating to my schedule. You know, weekends, after school some days, nothing excessive./"
/"Okay. And what will you be doing?/"
I smile. /"I'm a waitress—and before you say it, Laura's going to train me./"
/"Laura?/" She questions.
/"Laura is the waitress there. She said she's happy to have more help around since Pat left./"
My mom nods and clasps her hands together. /"It's alright with me, just remember that school's your priority, okay?/"
Feeling more devious than I ever have, I promise to keep school as my number one. Many things will hopefully be uncovered through my new job—it seems the diner is somewhat of a town favorite. Between the private school students and Vivian and her friends, Waindale is about to have its secrets revealed.