Wednesday pushed open her room door, only to immediately be confronted by a trembling rainbow blur.
Enid was standing in front of her, eyes red and glassy, claws half-out like a stressed Pomeranian that had lost a beauty pageant.
"Where have you been?" Enid demanded, voice cracking. "I'm literally having a heart attack right now."
Wednesday blinked once. "You're still standing. You'll live."
"I will not!" Enid pressed a hand dramatically to her chest. "Yoko's in the infirmary!"
Wednesday paused. "…What happened?"
"Garlic bread incident at dinner," Enid sniffled. "She had a major allergic reaction. She's out of the Poe Cup. I don't have a co-pilot. I—I'm doomed."
"It wasn't an accident," she said flatly. "Bianca's behind it."
Enid's ears perked. "How do you know?"
"Doesn't matter." Wednesday stepped past her, already mentally dismantling Bianca's sabotage strategies. "You and I are going to take her down tomorrow."
Enid blinked rapidly.
"Wait, wait—You're joining the Black Cats? You're willing to do that? For… me?"
Wednesday turned her head slowly, her expression colder than the morgue she'd like to retire in someday.
"I want to humiliate Bianca so thoroughly that the bitter taste of defeat burns in her throat for the rest of the semester."
Enid smiled, hopeful. "Yeah, but… mostly you're doing it because we're friends, right?"
Wednesday didn't even dignify that with eye contact.
Instead, she turned toward her desk and changed the subject entirely.
"Tell me how she keeps winning."
"It's a real brain cramp. The past two years, no other boat has made it across and back without sinking."
"Sounds like sabotage."
"Oh, totally," Enid said, pacing. "There are no rules in the Poe Cup, and she's a siren. Water is literally her home turf. "
Wednesday's expression flattened further. "So she weaponizes her biology to win. Predictable."
Enid stopped pacing. "What do we do? I mean, how do we even beat that?"
"Simple," Wednesday said.
"We beat her at her own game."
***
The next day marked the Poe Cup at Nevermore Academy.
Students gathered at the river's edge, where the old wooden jetty creaked under their weight.
Boats lined the shore, each team ready to race upriver toward Raven Island.
There, at Crackstone's crypt, they would retrieve their team flag and return it to the starting jetty. First to cross the finish line would claim victory.
The Poe Cup wasn't just a race. It had been a Nevermore tradition for decades, designed to test cunning, endurance, and resourcefulness.
Principal Weems stood at the edge of the jetty, addressing the students.
"The Poe Cup tests more than speed," she said. "Strategy, coordination, and ingenuity matter just as much. Each hall competes for supremacy, and the first to return with their flag from Crackstone's crypt wins."
At the Black Cats' tent, the Ophelia Hall team was putting the finishing touches on their costumes.
Enid twirled excitedly in her black cat outfit, tail swishing. "OMG, you look purr-fect! Only thing—where are your whiskers?"
Wednesday didn't look up, her expression deadpan. "Ask again, and you'll be down to eight lives."
Enid blinked, a grin spreading despite herself.
"Noted. Eight lives. Got it."
And then—like some game monster suddenly spawning —Ethan appeared out of nowhere, materializing with zero warning and far too much enthusiasm.
"You two really look good in those costumes," Ethan said, stepping closer with a camera in hand, already angling for the best shot.
"So, now give a cute pose for the camera," he added. "It's not every day Wednesday shows up in a new outfit. We should treasure this moment."
Wednesday's eyes narrowed slightly, unamused. "I do not pose for trivialities," she said flatly.
Enid, on the other hand, practically bounced with excitement. "Come on, Wednesday! Just one! For me?"
Wednesday's lips twitched, almost imperceptibly, but she remained rooted, arms crossed.
Enid, undeterred, grabbed Wednesday's arm lightly. "Fine—fine—one quick pose. That's all I ask!"
"Okay," Wednesday replied, her voice flat but compliant.
Enid pressed herself against Wednesday, curling her fingers like tiny claws and giving a playful hiss.
"Okay, smile," Ethan said, raising his camera.
Wednesday's lips twitched—not quite a smile, but a hint of acknowledgment. Enid beamed beside her, practically glowing in excitement.
Click—the camera caught the contrast perfectly: Enid's exuberance, Wednesday's cold composure, their black cat costumes fitting them like a storybook scene come to life.
"Perfect," Ethan said, lowering the camera with a satisfied grin. Then he tilted it toward himself.
"Selfie time," he added. Enid leaned in again, cheeks pressed to Wednesday's shoulder. Another shot, this time with Ethan included beside Wednesday, his sharp vampire features caught in the frame.
"Done," Ethan announced, finally lowering the camera. "That's going straight to the archives of rare memories."