Legend of Witchtrot Road

chapter 16

Our parents were slow to understand our determination to go the police, but they final y relented. We cal ed them as soon as we made our decision to speak out, and to say they were a little freaked out would be a major understatement. Emma’s parents are the quiet type, don’t ask me where she gets her outspoken personality from, and my mom and dad already have the freak daughter who no one understands. When we proposed going, as a group, to the local police, I swear they had a col ective heart attack.

I think it was Simon’s insistence that these people were responsible for our accident, and Emma’s head injury, that final y convinced them that we needed to go to the police.

Simon had used his connections to get Emma’s car repaired, which had put him in her parents’ good graces.

Cal backing up our claims had also helped to convince my parents, especial y my mom.

We met our parents in the police station parking lot and, after a few uncomfortable moments, al went inside to report what we knew about the drug lab and accidents on Witchtrot Road.

The authorities reacted with surprising speed. The school nurse had used a false identity that didn’t match the fingerprints she’d given at the beginning of the semester.

When police looked through her office, which was on school property, they found the cloak we’d mentioned and receipts for the purchase of toads from a Portland pet store. That was al they needed to obtain a warrant for her apartment and an abandoned shack on Witchtrot Road.

The shack, not so abandoned after al , contained the meth lab and was littered with cold medicine packaging that matched the missing school supplies. The lab was shut down and the bad guys were arrested. Easy Peasy.

I was so glad that we had gone to the cops and told the truth. You know that saying, “the truth wil set you free?” Wel , it’s total y true. I felt like the weight of al the secrets about Witchtrot Road had sprouted wings and flown away.

It was bad enough being weighed down with the everyday secrets of my smel -o-riffic psychic talents and, oh yeah, the fact that I’m dating a werewolf. A girl can only be burdened with so many secrets before she runs screaming to the loony bin. Seriously, it’s a scientific fact.

The police were also looking into the circumstances of Dylan Jacob’s death. We told the authorities that our own accident had been the result of toads hitting our car with force. If flying toads could cause a car to go off the road, then they definitely could have caused Dylan’s motorcycle accident. With the toad evidence linking our former school nurse to both accidents, it was possible that she would be brought up on additional charges for Dylan’s death. She was going to prison for a very long time. Dylan would receive closure and I would be cleared of casting any black magic curses.

Hopeful y proof of my innocence would convince the footbal team that I wasn’t a witch—and didn’t need to be forced into raising the dead. I’d like to make it through graduation without being kidnapped and tossed into a supply closet, again. Was that too much to ask?



*****

We returned to school on Friday, the day after the raid on the meth lab. Emma was feeling better with only the occasional headache, which she blamed on Simon, and my limp was gone. The bruises and scratches from the car accident, and my flight through the forest, remained, but these we wore with pride. Wel , Emma and I wore our bruises and scratches with pride—Cal’s speedy werewolf healing left his skin blemish-free.

I was prepared for a few weird looks and maybe a couple of “cough, narc, cough” remarks in the hal s, but I wasn’t expecting the smiles and high fives. Nope, I definitely wasn’t expecting that. It was like that dream where you find yourself walking naked down the school hal way with everyone laughing at you…except they were laughing and smiling with me not at me. I real y had entered the Twilight Zone.

“Pinch me,” I said, turning to Cal.

I could feel my eyes drying out and knew I must have a wide-eyed, startled look on my face. I mean, people were going out of their way to be nice…to me.

“Why?” Cal asked.

“So I’l wake up before this turns into a total nightmare,” I said. “Or maybe it already is a nightmare. I’m not sure, but the suspense is kil ing me. I just keep waiting for these smiling things to sprout pointy teeth and suck my blood or get al smel y and try to eat my brains.”

“You watch way too many scary movies,” Cal said, smiling his toothy grin.

Cal bent down and kissed the spot where my jaw meets my ear. It sent awesome tingly shivers down my neck and I turned to meet his lips.

“Ouch!” I yelped.

“You said to pinch you,” Emma said, a hint of a grin on her lips.

“That was before the yummy kissing,” I said.

“You’re right,” Emma said. “I should have pinched you faster and spared us al the public display of affection.” Looking around, I was reminded at how very public it was. I was used to being ignored by my classmates, not unlike the ghost of Dylan Jacobs drifting unseen up and down the hal s. Not anymore. At least a dozen people had been watching. My face burned with embarrassment.

Jeez, can’t a girl sneak a kiss in peace? I couldn’t wait for my fifteen minutes of fame to be over.

“Don’t you guys find it creepy,” I said, gesturing at the crowd.

“Find what creepy?” Cal asked.

“You know, al of the smiling,” I said. “It’s scary. Make them stop.”

Cal chuckled and put his arm around my waist.

“Don’t worry, I’l keep the scary smiling people away,” Cal said.

“While you two are hiding, I’m going to take advantage of our newfound popularity,” Emma said. Uh oh. I knew that gleam in her eye. I’d seen it before—right before she threw herself at the front lines of an animal rights protest.

“I’m off to educate the masses.”

“You mean convert the masses,” I said.

“Exactly,” Emma said over her shoulder. “Oh, and I wouldn’t recommend eating the meat at lunchtime, Cal.”

“What did she mean by that exactly?” Cal asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Knowing Emma, you do not want to know,” I groaned.

“Just, like, don’t eat the meat. I’m sure she has a plan to make it super gag-worthy.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Cal said.

I left a slightly pale and shaky Cal and headed to class.



*****

The Twilight Zone day continued in every classroom.

Al of the students were nice to me. Like really, really nice. The teachers even cal ed me Yuki when taking attendance, which made me know for sure that I had landed in Bizarro Land. I had been trying for years to get them to cal me Yuki, but they almost always cal ed out Vanessa like they were offended by my little name rebel ion. The smiling faces were creepy, and could go the way of the dodo, but I hoped that the new name respect lasted.

If classes were odd, then lunch time was even more bizarre. I entered the cafeteria to find Emma doing a demonstration about vegan cooking, and the reasons for eating vegan, at the front of the room. Emma was tofu-hamming it up and most of the students were watching her with rapt attention. Somewhere between first period and lunch, she’d found pictures of caged chickens and slaughterhouses which she’d taped up beside idyl ic photos of healthy vegans eating guilt-free meals. She even had pictures of bee hives, which she’d labeled “bee prison,” to il ustrate her favorite rant topic—bee oppression. Son of a dung beetle.

Pushing through the crowd, I found Cal, Gordy, and Katie sitting at our table. They were al eating carrot sticks for lunch. I snickered at the veggie meals and would have raised an eyebrow at Cal, if I could.

“I warned Gordy and Katie about the potential gross-out factor,” Cal said. “We’re al eating vegan today.”

“It seemed like the safe thing to do,” Gordy said, raising a carrot stick.

“And they’re super yummy too!” Katie said, smiling.

“No, don’t encourage her,” I groaned. “She’l do this every day.”

We al looked around the table and laughed. I pul ed out my own bag of veggies, carrots and celery, and sat beside Cal.

“So why are they listening to her, anyway?” I asked.

“They never paid any attention to Emma’s rants before.”

“You’re al celebrities now,” Gordy said. “You were on TV last night. They ran the story about how you helped the police bust a nearby meth lab and provided information that may help them understand what happened to Dylan.”

“You are al hometown heroes!” Katie gushed.

“Seriously?” I said. “We’re, like, the Wakefield Weirdo Squad. They never pay us any attention. Why change now?”

“Because you al saved the day,” Gordy said.

“You make us sound like super heroes,” I said, rol ing my eyes.

“That’s because you are heroes,” Katie said.

“And the whole school thinks so,” Gordy said.

“I even had a teacher personal y thank me for helping to find out who was stealing from the school infirmary,” Cal said. “I guess it was becoming a real y serious problem for the school.”

“Wow,” I said.

Okay, I know, not the most eloquent thing I’ve ever said, but in my defense this situation was beyond weird. I was used to existing on the fringe, not being thrust into the spotlight of instant popularity. Thinking about it too much made me feel dizzy. I kind of like my place in the shadows

—it’s comfy there.

Emma had finished her “how to be a vegan” speech and headed directly for our table. She looked crazy happy.

Emma was making the best of our fifteen minutes of fame.

Our very own activist rock star.

As the crowd dispersed and moved in our direction, I found myself face to face with hundreds of smiling faces.

Uncomfortable, I pul ed my long sleeves down over my hands and fidgeted with the black, ribbed fabric. It reminded me of playing sock puppets with Cal when we were kids.

I was jolted out of my momentary anxiety by enthusiastic shouts.

“Fight bee oppression!” one of the girls in the crowd shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

Emma was truly made of awesome.

“You’re glowing,” I said as Emma joined us at our table.

She sat beside Katie who gave Emma a huge grin.

“That was incredible!” Katie said.

“Impressive,” Gordy said, nodding.

“Thanks,” Emma said, smiling from ear to ear.

“You are going to make an amazing veterinarian one day,” Cal said, flashing Emma his toothy grin.

“Cal’s right,” I said. “You rock.”

I reached across the table to bump knuckles with Emma and something fel out of my pocket.

“What’s that?” Gordy asked.

“Here you go,” Katie chirped, handing me a crumpled up piece of paper.

It looked like a note, but al of my friends were here.

Who else would leave a note in my pocket?

I sat back down and stared at the note expecting it to burst into flames or start talking, which was sil y. This wasn’t Mission Impossible…or Hogwarts.

The smel of motor oil suddenly fil ed my nose and mouth and I tried not to gag. Apparently this had something to do with Dylan. Great, that didn’t bode wel .

I wiped my hands on my skirt and reached a shaking hand out to gingerly lift the note and pul it open. The white construction paper reminded me of funeral wrappings. Oh yeah, I’m not freaked out or anything.

I read the childish scrawl and gasped.

Meet us on the athletic field after school, signed, the football team.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“Whatever it is, we’re here for you,” Cal said, touching my face.

“Thanks,” I said. “It’s…it’s from the footbal team.”

“What do those jerks want?” Emma asked.

I saw Gordy’s hands clench into fists and Cal slid his arm around me.

“It says to meet them after school,” I said.

My hands were shaking so bad, I dropped the note.

“Wel they can have fun waiting,” Emma said. “You’re not going to meet up with them.”

“No,” I said, taking a deep yoga breath. “This is something I have to do.”

“Why?” Gordy asked. He was looking at me like I’d sprouted a second head or something.

“I can’t live in fear anymore,” I said. “No one at this school should have to live like that. It’s time someone stood up to these creeps.”

“I’l go with you,” Cal said.

“Me too,” Emma said.

Gordy hesitated, but nodded.

“Okay,” Gordy said. “I’m going too.”

“Do I have to go?” Katie asked nervously.

I felt bad for the kid. She was trying to be a part of our group, but she obviously had her own issues. Katie didn’t need my problems too.

“Can you hang out by the principal’s office while we talk to the footbal team?” I asked. “That way if we don’t check in with you in twenty minutes, you can ask for help.”

“I can do that!” Katie chirped.

Gordy mouthed “thank you” and I knew I had done the right thing. Katie was way too fragile right now. Helping out from a safe distance was definitely the way to go.

“Okay, then it’s settled,” I said. “We’l meet up right after school. It’s time the footbal team learned that they can’t bul y people just because they’re different.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Emma said.

We bumped knuckles and headed to our separate classrooms. I hope I know what I’m doing.