"WOW! Oh, wow!"
Wendy Corduroy could only cross her arms and shake her head as her green eyes followed her young charge as he scampered around in amazement at the marvelous sights before him.
"Such a little dork…"
"Look at this!" Dipper Pines exclaimed excitedly as he turned back towards his crush, "You guys have a full-sized swimming pool?!" He ran across the hallway and stood on his tip-toes to peer into the next room. "And a metal shop, too?!"
She gave him a small grin as she scoffed, "Dude, don't get too worked up. It's only high school."
Today was the final day for registration for classes at Gravity Falls High. As usual, Wendy waited until the very last possible moment to select her courses for her sophomore year. Seeing as he didn't have anything better to do, she invited her friend, Dipper Pines, along for the journey. However, Wendy couldn't have imagined that the young boy would be so captivated by her alma mater.
"Are you kidding me?" Dipper went further, "All this stuff is great! Man, I wish we had this kind of stuff at my school…"
"Your school…?" Wendy stumbled with her words for a second, "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot how lame middle school could be." At times, the teenager would disregard that her buddy was three years younger than her. "Heck," she gave Dipper a quick love-tap flick on the side of his head, "I'm surprised you're not already in high school with that noggin of yours."
"Heh…" Dipper chuckled nervously as he started to turn a slight of red, "I'm not that smart; besides, I couldn't leave Mabel behind…"
"Hmm, I guess not."
"Well, are you picking any of these classes this year?"
"Who, me?" Wendy seemed surprised by the question.
"Yeah, you! Who else?"
She shook her head, "No way, Dipper. I mean, they're cool and all, but I'm not really into the whole "school thing." Wendy finished her sentence as she made quotations with her fingers. "I do what I have to do here, and then, I head home. I try to stay here as little as I possibly can."
"So, kinda like work, right?" Dipper replied with a sly beam.
"Kinda; at least until you guys came around. Besides, what did you expect me to do – join the cheerleading squad or something?" The friends shared a few laughs as the brief image of the lanky girl in a skimpy cheerleader outfit flashed across Dipper's mind.
The duo walked side by side down the hallway as they made their way towards the center of the school. The site of the registration had been set in the cafeteria. They rounded the corner, passing the huge display of the school's mascot, a cartoonish beaver in a GFHS P.E. uniform, when they were surrounded by dozens of other high schoolers. The mass gathering of older teens spread out in every possible direction, as they mindlessly chattered amongst themselves.
Despite a slight hesitation, Dipper stayed step in step with Wendy as she continued onward. To the pre-teen, it seemed as if every type of clique acknowledged her presence in some way:
"Wen-dy!"
"Hey, girl!"
"Wenders! How's it hangin'?"
"There she is!" A voice called out from a group of jocks. "Hey Corduroy! You gonna try out for basketball this year? You're a natural, after all…"
"In your dreams!" Wendy teasingly shrugged off, "Like I'd be caught dead in that get-up! Besides, you do enough dribbling for the both of us!"
"OHH!"
"Sick burn!"
"We need some ice on that burn!"
As Wendy and Dipper walked away from the scene, he asked in a sense of disbelief, "You really know all those people?" He knew that his main squeeze definitely had charisma (judging by the motley crew that followed her around town), but couldn't imagine that it reached so much beyond that.
"Not exactly "know," she explained. "Like, we'll see each other in between classes and stuff, but hey, I'm sure you know what that's like from back home, right?" Wendy looked down to see that Dipper simply stared into the distance with a disheartened expression.
"Oh…Well, hey! Give it time, and it'll come. I'm sure of it," Wendy said, remembering her own personal hardships.
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then if it doesn't," she lovingly punched his shoulder, "You know that you'll always have me here, right?"
Dipper looked up towards her, and much to Wendy's relief, his smile quickly returned. They entered the cafeteria's opened doors, only for the cashier to exclaim out loud, "Oh, man! Look at this line!"
A barrage of teenagers stretched around the numerous tables set up for registration. Judging by the overall size, the partners in crime were going to spend their entire afternoon in line.
"Well, what did you expect?" Dipper asked, "It is the last day, after all…" A hardened look from Wendy reminded him to keep his commentary to himself. Without a second thought, she reached over the first table, picked up a registration sheet, and hastily began to fill it out with a nearby pen.
"Let's see…let's see," the lumberjack princess talked herself through the sign-up process. "Name – Gwendolyn Corduroy…" She saw out of the corner of her eye that Dipper was starting to chuckle. Without taking her eyes off of her paper, Wendy pointed the pen in his direction and warned him, "Don't start!"
As Dipper's laughter dried up, his friend returned to the task at hand. "Grade – 10th. Subjects…umm…English 2, Algebra 2…huh…"
Wendy turned her head, "Dipper, if you had to pick a foreign language, would you do Spanish or French?"
"Hmm…" his face twisted as he thought about her question. "Why not Spanish? That way, you and Soos could have like a secret language between you guys. It would drive Grunkle Stan nuts!"
"Dude," Wendy said, "Just because Soos is Latino doesn't mean he automatically knows the language."
"Good point," Dipper agreed as he watched as Wendy went on with completing the form in her hands.
"Okay…P.E….I want before lunch, so I don't make myself sick…"
The mere mention of lunch made Dipper's stomach rumble. He looked around his surroundings, amazed by the set-up of the fully stocked cafeteria. The hungry child could spot separate lines for sandwiches and soup, hot lunches, and even a fountain soda machine on tap, and yet, the irony of having the entire complex closed at the moment wasn't lost on him.
"You guys have quite a spread here, huh?"
"What?" Wendy looked up to see what Dipper was referring to. "Oh, you betcha, buddy. That's why lunch is my favorite subject!"
They snickered in unison as she went back to her paperwork. Waiting patiently, Dipper began to glance around the room in boredom until he noticed something eerie on the other side of the room. A tall, slender man stood by one of the tables on the opposite end. Dressed in a navy blue dress shirt tucked into black slacks, the older male fumbled with his onyx tie as his dark eyes narrowed directly at the boy staring straight at him. After a moment, the thinning-brown-haired stranger broke eye-contact and walked away to the right; his loafers not as much as made a squeak as he passed.
A shiver rushed down Dipper's spine. "Uh, Wendy? Who was that creepy…?"
Without warning, she pulled the tiny detective forward. "C'mon, Dipper!" Wendy said, ignoring his worry, "We're going to lose our place in line!"
At the next table, Dipper saw a series of computers and printers stationed on the front end. A closed off curtained area with an oversized camera was parked behind it. Wendy handed her paperwork to a middle woman with glasses sitting on the other side.
"Here we are…" the worker speedily read through Wendy's sheet, "Since everything seems to be in order here, Gwen – "
"Wendy - if you wouldn't mind…" the ginger objected.
"Of course not. Wendy, then. Please step around so we can take your picture for your school ID."
Wendy removed the brown trapper hat from her head and tossed it into Dipper's chest, "Guard it with your life, short stuff." With a teasing wink, the plucky teen followed the assistant behind the curtain and sat down. As he waited patiently, Dipper kept a constant lookout for the odd figure that made his flesh crawl moments before.
*FLASH!*
A bright light flashed throughout the cafeteria. A temporarily dazed Wendy stumbled out from behind the curtain as she rejoined Dipper on the other end of the table as she snatched her cap back. The volunteer typed a few commands into her keyboard connected to the console. After a few moments, the printer nosily sprung to life, producing a tiny piece of plastic two minutes later.
"Here you go, Gwen – err – Wendy," the woman handed the ID to the redhead. "Head to that very last table for your books, and we'll see you at the start of class."
"Thanks…"
As Dipper and Wendy headed towards the last table, he tried his best to make out the imagery in her hand.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Wendy asked.
"Aren't you going to let me see your ID?"
"WHAT?!" Wendy held the card closer to her chest, "No way, dude! It's like an unspoken rule! You can't see these things! The pictures are always soooo embarrassing!"
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Dipper argued. "You couldn't look any different than you did five minutes ago, so what difference does it make?"
Wendy stayed rooted in her case, "Don't try to trip me up with your logic mumbo-jumbo, bookworm. It ain't happening…"
Dipper tried to lean to the right to get a better look, "Oh, come on…"
Wendy moved the card to the left side of her body as she giggled, "I said no, mister!"
He hopped back around, "Just a peek?"
She pulled away at the last second, "No way!"
The two went back and forth as they arrived at the final table. Wendy's eyes lit up as an idea came to mind. She took the ID in one hand and held it up over her head, well out of Dipper's range. He tried to jump up for it, having the prize raised higher after every leap.
"That's not fair!" Dipper waved his arms wildly as struggled to reach the ID. "You're cheating!"
"Ah, isn't that too bad?" Wendy turned back around, "Maybe now, you - *GASP!*
Dipper flew to her side, wanting to find out what had just happened. Sure enough, Wendy found herself face-to-face with the strange man that had spied on them from afar.
"Did I scare you, Corduroy?" he asked in a stern, yet nasally voice.
Wendy let out a sigh, "Not anymore than usual, Cabkin…"
"That's Mr. Cabkin to you, young lady!" The adult corrected. "Perhaps you can show a bit of manners and dignity for once in your wasteful life?"
Despite the man shouting directly at her, Wendy was able to retain her cool, "Whatever you say, Cabkin…"
He was not impressed by her sarcastic response. "Well, here we are, waiting for the very last minute to register for classes. How very much, like you, Corduroy…"
"I aim to please…"
Dipper could notice that the color was rising to the stranger's unusually pale complexion.
"Let me tell you – " Cabkin stopped in the middle of his sentence as his brown eyes caught hold of the pint-sized youth in front of him, "And just who might you be?"
Dipper offered a respectful open hand towards the man, "I'm Dipper Pines, sir. Wendy and I – "
"A child?!" The man's eyes bulged at the sight, "You're in cahoots with mere children now?!" He looked back at Wendy, "What's the matter, Corduroy? The usual riff-raff became too boring for you? Have you sunk to a new low to involve innocent children in your hi-jinks?"
"He's not just – " Closing her eyes, Wendy held a hand up to her forehead, figuring it would be easier to explain everything. "Dipper, this is Mr. Cabkin – my homeroom teacher."
"That's right," the educator agreed, "And ever since I've made the acquaintance of Miss Corduroy last year, my life has been nothing but complete misery and agitation. If it's not putting up with her devil-may-care attitude, it's standing all of the immature pranks she plays throughout these hallowed halls."
Wendy gave a sheepish look as Dipper came to her defense, "Oh, Wendy can't be that bad…"
"Oh?" The man lowered his brow further.
"Well, yeah." Dipper elaborated further, "I mean, she's the best! Whenever we hang out, she makes everything fun and exciting. And if I'm ever in trouble, she's the first to try to get me out of it! She's unlike anybody I've ever met before…"
Unbeknown to her admirer, Wendy looked over him with a sense of pride as a small smile appeared across her freckled visage – something her teacher noticed.
"Is that a fact?" Mr. Cabkin turned his head towards Wendy and let out a sardonic laugh, "What kind of hogwash are you feeding this kid, Corduroy?"
Sensing that something was amiss, Wendy reached out towards Dipper, "It's getting late, Dip. We really ought to get going…"
"Just a moment…" Mr. Cabkin stepped in front of Wendy, completely blocking her off from Dipper's perspective.
"Hey – "
"Let me tell you something, son." The elder lowered himself to Dipper's level, almost hypnotizing him with his ominous gaze, "You see that girl over there, and you think to yourself that she's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, you're wrong, my boy; dead wrong!"
"Wait, don't –" Wendy's protests went unheard by both males, as Dipper's attention was focused on the man lecturing him.
"I have been doing this for a long time, and believe me when I say that people like Wendy Corduroy are anything but special. They're a dime a dozen!"
Wendy tried to go around the figure in order to try to pull Dipper away, finding herself blocked at every angle.
"But – " Dipper tried to argue for his sweetheart's reputation.
"But nothing! I have seen the same story over and over again: a charismatic young girl who thinks that she has the world by the short hairs, and contributes nothing to society. A person without any ambition for a better life, and worse of all, isn't above dragging others down with them."
"Now, hang on – "
Mr. Cabkin cut Wendy off again, "Do you honestly think that when it comes down to it, that she would put you over her own selfish endeavors? It's honestly a miracle that she hasn't been tossed in juvenile hall yet alone, have you go along for the ride.
"You can't say that to – " Wendy's voice grew louder; her cheeks reddened as she grew more unnerved.
"I can promise you one thing: if you insist on following that girl, nipping along at her heels, there is one set path for you – "
"Leave him alo –"
"You'll end up the exact same way as your young friend over there…"
"Stop it!"
"A pathetic loser! A wretched waste of life destined to spend the rest of her days drunkenly wandering in and out of populated areas, begging for loose change!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Wendy met the agitator eye-to-eye, realizing a second too late that the damage had already been done. All attention in the room, rather it be student or faculty, was now solely focused on the leggy teenager shrieking to the top of her lungs. The cafeteria grew deathly silent, save for a few laughs and whispers heard at random.
"Oh…man…"
Her brown hat dipped over her eyes, partially hiding away the extreme amount of embarrassment that surrounded her. The teacher's lips curled into a sinister grin as he enjoyed the outcome presented. From out of nowhere, Wendy noticed something gently grasp her wrist. She looked downward to see a sympathetic Dipper Pines staring up at her with large brown eyes.
"Wendy…let's just go…"
She raised her sights to Mr. Cabkin and back towards Dipper. Without saying another word, the fifteen-year-old collected her schoolbooks from the table and walked along with her friend past her homeroom teacher and towards the exit of the cafeteria.
Mr. Cabkin gazed over his shoulder and snidely said, "See you in class, Corduroy," making the young woman freeze in her tracks for a split second, before being led away by Dipper. The path in front of her seemed like a disoriented blur as Wendy felt that every pair of passing teenaged eyes were following her.
Just as they passed the last hallway leading towards the school's exit, an odd chill flowed through Dipper's soul. Confused by the sensation, he turned around to see a snow-white-skinned, yet almost transparent young girl peeking out from behind a corner with a distressed look on her face. He blinked for a second, only to see that the mysterious figure had vanished from sight.
"Dipper?" Wendy noticed that her companion's attention was elsewhere.
He shook his head clear, "It's nothing. I…I thought I saw something, but I guess not…"
The bike ride back to the Mystery Shack was a quiet one. Not one word had been spoken between the two adolescents. Nestled snuggly between the handlebars of her bike, Dipper would occasionally steal peeks at Wendy, who simply stared out into the distance without as much as blinking once. A sense of frustration and outrage could be found clouding her being, as she seemed lost in her thoughts, relying on her instincts to guide them back home.
Wendy gently came to a stop, allowing Dipper to hop off of his spot. As soon as he landed on the ground, she started to backpedal and turn back towards the woods.
"I'll see you later. Okay, Dip?"
Just before she was about to ride away, Wendy could feel a small hand being placed against her shoulder blade.
"Wait…"
She turned around to see Dipper nervously looking at the ground as he mindlessly poked his fingers together, "Look, I know…it might not mean much coming from me, but…" He raised his head, "Don't listen to what that jerk was saying; he doesn't know what he's talking about." The nervous itchiness came back as he involuntarily scratched his side, "And I meant what I said: to me, you are the best, and no one will ever change my mind on that!"
Wendy went to speak, only to find herself choked up. She turned away from her pal, hoping that he wouldn't see the moisture building in her green eyes.
"I know, Dipper. I appreciate that; I really, really do…"
She started to head for home, as Dipper called out again, "Hang a sec! You're still coming over tonight, right? They're going to have a bad-monster-movie marathon on later!"
Without stopping, Wendy shouted over her shoulder, "I wouldn't miss it for the world! Just keep that seat warm for me, alright?"
As soon as Dipper was out of view, she looked back ahead. The forced, cheered-up expression she presented to reassure her worried co-worker had regressed, replaced with one of pure resentment and indignation.
"…just as soon as I make a pit stop first…"
Later that night, Wendy crept into the back side of the Mystery Shack. Setting her bike against the back wall, the ginger tip-toed to the entrance of the Gift Shop and jiggled the handle. Luckily, the door hasn't been locked, despite the souvenir stand being closed for the night. She also made sure that the security cameras had been "accidentally" turned off earlier that day to avoid having any incriminating evidence recorded on film.
Making her way through the darkness, Wendy ducked behind her counter and sorted through the supply cabinet below. She had learned from her previous mistakes. The downfall of living in such a small, tightly-knitted town was that news traveled fast, meaning that the local stores knew better than to sell large amounts of certain "supplies" to the spirited teen, considering her roguish past.
For this, Wendy had to settle for "borrowing" gear from the Mystery Shack's inventory. She knew that as time passed, she would have to replace the taken goods to avoid having suspicion arise. Using a large burlap sack, the girl loaded the bag with countless rolls of toilet paper, bars of soap, a dented, expired can of shaving cream, and even a tiny container filled with thumb tacks.
As soon as she was ready to go, Wendy gradually stood back up, only to be startled by a shrill voice from behind her:
"Whatcha doing?"
"EEP!"
Out of pure reflex, Wendy tossed the bag up into the air, catching it before it hit the ground. Some of her inventory crashed into the old wooden floor. She spun around to see Dipper's twin sister, Mabel, standing in the doorway leading into the Pines' front room. The brief ray of light shed some truth on Wendy's true intentions, forcing her to hide the carrier behind her back.
"Uh…hey, there, Mabel," Wendy tensely greeted, "W-What are you up to?"
The brunette pointed back into the room from whence she came, "Just watching TV with Waddles…"
"And Dipper?"
"Nah. He's upstairs, with his nose in a book like the big ol' dork he is." Mabel narrowed her eyes, "But the real question is what are you doing?"
"Me?!" Wendy tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. "I just…forgot a few things here. No biggie…"
"Really?" Mabel twisted and turned to get a better look, "Well, I saw you "forgot" a bunch of T.P. and even some shaving cream…" She placed her tiny hands on her sweater covered hips, "So, tell me – who's getting pranked?"
"Pranked?!" Wendy's eyes widened, "Who – Who said anything about pranking?"
"Uh-huh. And I guess this has nothing to do with what happened at the school today, right?"
"Wait! Dipper told you?!"
"Well, yeah," Mabel held up her palms, trying to calm her friend, "He was really worried about you…"
Wendy turned back around and collected the fallen items from the floor, "Well, he shouldn't be. I'm taking care of things."
"So I see," Mabel said. "But let me ask you something: are you going to get even with this guy because he said all those awful things about you, or because he did it in front of Dipper?"
Without saying another word, Wendy knelt down in front of the pre-teen with a serious look in her eyes, "Mabel, you can't tell him where I'm going. The last thing I need on my conscience is knowing that Dipper is going out of his gorge over me."
"But then why even do this? Dipper thinks you're the most awesome thing since peanut butter met jelly, so why does it even matter?"
"Because it does, okay?!" Wendy let out a sigh and placed her hands on Mabel's shoulders. "Mabes, please, you gotta swear to me that you won't say anything to Dipper…"
"But, I don't – "
"Mabel, promise me!"
The cornered metal-mouthed pixie broke eye-contact, "I – I promise…"
"Thanks, Mabel. I knew I can count on you." Wendy rose to her feet and headed towards the door, "I'll be back before you know it." Before closing it behind her, she stuck her head back through, "And remember…" She made a zipping motion over her lips before throwing away an invisible key.
Mabel sadly nodded her head in agreement as Wendy shut the door behind her. The minuscule girl stood in deep thought in the empty room, wondering to herself if she had made the right choice in keeping the secret.
Wendy arrived at the school just as dusk had set in. Due to the heavy outcast blanketing the mountain town, not a single star could be seen in the night sky. A heavy, yet cold breeze flowed through the atmosphere, blowing the branches of the neighboring trees back deep gust after gust.
The redhead removed her helmet and chained her bicycle to a nearby tree trunk. Carrying her container of equipment, she bent down in front of the main entrance and reached into her trapper hat, pulling out a bobby pin. Wendy closed an eye, slightly sticking out her tongue as she tried to pick the lock open.
*CLICK!*
The double doors parted away, opening ever so slightly. Wendy prowled through the opening and carefully shut it tightly. Using the limited light given by the moon through the numerous windows, the invading cashier made her way to the stairwell leading to the second floor.
As if by magic, a coil of iron-cast chains placed in the opposite corner of the hall started to vibrate of their own accord. The linkage slithered across the linoleum flooring and up the wall, wrapping around the handles of the double doors. A padlock trailed on the final link, coming to life and snapping itself shut between the two parts.
*CLICK!*
Wendy peeked back down the hallway, curious to what had made that echoing sound. Unable to see any form of commotion, she flew up the stairs towards Mr. Cabkin's classroom, left totally unaware that her only escape to the outside world was now completely sealed off…
Once inside of her homeroom, Wendy let the burlap sack slide down from over her shoulder. A wicked smirk stretched across her dimpled face as her mind raced at the endless possibilities of revenge. With playful glee, she reached into her supply bag and pulled out a roll of toilet paper for each hand. Wendy hurled the tissue through the air until the entire room was blanketed. Several streams of white hung down from the lights hanging overhead as she made sure to cover every article of furniture in the room, from cabinets to tables and chairs, to Cabkin's own desk.
After a while, Wendy decided to switch weapons, as the merriment faded away from her mind. Slowly, but surely, the memory of the day's events clouded her thoughts, replacing her beam with a stern and firm frown. She pulled out the can of shaving cream as Mr. Cabkin's words echoed in her sub consciousness:
"A pathetic loser! A wretched waste of life destined to spend the rest of her days drunkenly wandering in and out of populated areas, begging for loose change!"
Wendy threw each of the desk's drawers open and filled them to the brim with the fluffy substance before slamming them shut. She cupped an empty palm full of the soft foam and started to wipe smears against every spot on the adjacent blackboard, eventually turning it a messy white.
The image of all her classmates and friends laughing and whispering about her flashed in her eyes.
Wendy opened the casing filled with tacks and headed towards Mr. Cabkin's personal chair. She pulled the seat cushions back as much as she could without tearing its stitches and inserted as many pins as the spacing would hold. Dozens of sharpened tips poked out of the back and bottom coverings, waiting to stab whoever would be foolish enough to rest their keister in that chair.
The thought of seeing Mr. Cabkin smile at getting the best of her furthered her ire, as Wendy chose a bar of greenish-blue soap. She created a lather by using a nearby spray bottle. The girl set it back down on the desk as she hurried to each of the room's windows, soaping every single one to the point where one could no longer see out of them, save with the green-covered streaks going in a circular motion.
As Wendy went from window to window, an invisible force shook Mr. Cabkin's desk. The vibration made a small jar of rubber cement teeter over the edge before landing on the ground. She paused for a moment, looking around for the source of the thud. Chalking it up to her imagination, Wendy moved on to her next target: a miniature, stand-alone mirror mounted on the other side of the room, recalling all of the times that the teacher had examined his worn, middle-aged looks in it.
She looked into the mirror, finding her own livid complexion before seeing what truly lied deep inside of her. Wendy could make out the disappointment and humiliation on Dipper's face as he was badgered by her homeroom teacher, making her heart drop for a second time.
The bottle rolled on its own in Wendy's direction, eventually colliding against one of her heels. The cap popped open, emptying its adhesive contents beneath the soles of her boots without her noticing in the slightest.
Wendy blinked several times, hoping to rid herself of the horrid sight; of how one of her worst enemies used Dipper – an innocent person who had nothing to do with their conflict – as a mere tool for petty vengeance.
Her sadness was again replaced by wrath. She shook her head clear and resumed soaping the mirror. An ice cold chill suddenly filled the classroom. Wendy shivered, despite having her long-sleeved green flannel on.
"Brr…" Wendy's teeth began to chatter as she rubbed her shoulders for warmth, "What gives? Is the A.C. on the fritz or something?"
All of a sudden, the quiet classroom had sprung to life! The T.P. covered desks in front of her noisily bobbed up and down in place. The windows and exit doors opened and shut repeatedly, making sure to slam against their fixtures as loud as possible. The lights flickered on and off crazily without any pattern or sequence.
Wendy's mouth dropped as absolute terror overcame her. She had seen this happen before…
"It's…just like what happened at the convenience store!" Wendy let the bar of soap slip from her fingers as she plotted a quick escape. "I gotta get out of here!" She went to run towards the door, discovering that her feet were now fused to the floor.
"Huh?!" Wendy leaned over and tugged on an oversized wader with both hands, trying to pry herself free. She was barely able to lift the shoe from the ground, as sticky stands forced it back down with a sickening squish.
"No!" Wendy thrashed both legs tirelessly as she attempted to break loose of the grip holding her feet captive. "Let go! Let me go!" She stopped as a cringing, squeaking sound filled the air. Wendy looked up to see that the mirror that she had just soaped-up had a thin layer of frost covering it. An unseen entity began to draw out a handwritten message in the lean ice.
"C – C – CAU…" Wendy read aloud as more letters appeared one after another.
On the other side of the room, a long, yet sturdy yard-stick set on the edge of the blackboard started to rattle wildly.
The note came to an end, as it was signed off on with several exclamation points. Goosebumps traveled down Wendy's freckled skin as she read the finished memo:
"CAUGHT YOU!"
She turned around, just as the yard-stick flew off of its ledge towards her. The blunt object struck Wendy square in the forehead, literally knocking the young adult out of her glued-down boots. Landing on her back with a loud thud, her vision started to fade out as the throbbing pain soon became a numbing sensation that spread from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
As Wendy's world turned to pitch black, she could make out a shimmering blue shape standing over her. A menacing chuckle followed her into the depths of unconsciousness…