"Zack?" Woody asked stopping suddenly. "Are you ok? You're acting kind of..."
"I am?" Zack shrugged, his arm dropping casually to his side. Had he really been so obvious? He panicked internally, but tried to remain calm. All he had to do was act natural, how hard could it be?
"Earth to Zack," Woody called out waving a hand in front of his face.
"I was just thinking," Zack said shrugging it off.
"Thinking? Should I call a doctor?" He asked smiling.
Zack laughed. "No, it's just, I was never a big fan of school, but I'm going to miss it. Life on the ship I mean, you know? No wonder Maya broke up with me, she had her whole life figured out. I don't know what I'm supposed to do after high school. I never thought about it. I figured it would just..." he trailed off. Looking at Woody, he knew that his friend had excepted his explanation for whatever unusual behavior he had displayed. Probably because every word he had said was the absolute truth.
He knew Cody was devastated about his rejection from Yale, and Zack felt bad for him, he really did. But Cody always had a flood of opportunities offered to him. He'd be fine.
"Hey, I'm with you," Woody replied. "I have no idea what..." He stopped speaking abruptly, and followed Zacks eyes toward the sound of approaching heals on concrete.
"Woodrow," an older woman called out after him. The mere sound sent chills down his spine. He turned, and there the stood, the old witch. She was older than he'd expected, probably in her mid-fifties. Thin, and very professional looking with short brown hair wearing dress pants, and a light colored blouse.
Her large, thick-rimmed glasses seemed to suit her age more than her attire. Zack thought he had also noticed a subtle limp in her walk, but he let the thought go as it wasn't a concern of his right now. He was more interested in learning who she was.
"Woodrow, I just want to talk to you." She told him looking down briefly at the stack of paper in her hands, and pushing it under the handle of the clipboard she was also holding along with a manila envelope. She appeared to be having trouble holding on to everything at first, but after a moment of fidgeting, she quickly regained her composure.
"It's Woody," he replied harshly. "And I have nothing to say to you. C'mon Zack." He took a step forward, then stopped again feeling the old ladies hand on his shoulder.
"Just listen then," she told him. Seeing the deep shade of red cross Woody's normally pale skin, Zack decided it was time to intervene.
"Lady," he started by removing her hand from his shoulder. "He said no, so why don't you leave us alone."
"I'm not the enemy here Woodr," she started to say, but corrected herself mid sentence. "I mean Woody."
"Let me guess, you're related to him," he said scornfully.
"I..." the older woman stuttered, looking down at her shoes.
"Yeah, thought so. Thanks for showing up for my graduation, whoever you are. Take care," Woody walked away more quickly this time, pulling Zack along with him. He was determined to make it into the seaside restaurant this time, he could almost see the name of it now. High heals shuffled along behind them. "I'm his sister, but Woody, please wait! Please!" He continued as if he hadn't heard her, and honestly, she couldn't blame him. But she had to follow the instructions she was given. "I... I have letters from your sisters."
That got a reaction. He stopped dead in his tracks and faced her. After a moment, he extended his hand. "Which sisters? Willa? Give them to me."
She fumbled nervously through the papers in her hand. "Willa, yes," she stuttered. "And um... Wen," she continued passing him small envelopes. "This one is from Winter..."
He paused at Wen's, easily recognizing her writing on the envelope. Wen was his oldest sister, he hadn't seen her in years.
"It was Wen that hired me," she tried gently, seeing him stare at the envelope with her name on it.
"What?" Woody asked in confusion. He backed away from her slowly, bumping into Zack in the process. Dang it! He'd forgotten about Zack. How was he going to explain this?
No, Zack didn't matter, first he had to deal with the old witch. She was obviously lying. "Wen hired you? No, mom hired you. That's how it works. That's how it always works. She sent you here to pick me up, and bring me back to Ohio.
"You're half right," she replied nodding her head. "But I don't listen to your mom, I listen to your sister."
Zack could almost see the puzzle coming together in Woody's mind, meanwhile his understanding was fragmenting further.
"Oh my God," Woody breathed each word slowly. "She actually did it." The woman nodded her head. "She hired you? She actually hired you to... Why would? Oh my God!" Woody could feel the world shrinking around him. A sharp pain in his chest caused him to fall to his knees. His mind echoed the thought, "please be a heart attack", but he said nothing at all for a couple of moments.
"Deep slow breaths Woody," she told him placing her hand on his shoulder once more. She knelt down to his level, trying to keep a respectful distance from him. A young man she had just met. "You're doing fine."
"Don't you dare touch me!" He whispered harshly. She pulled her hand away, and it was replaced by Zacks in an instant. He tried not to think about the frightening fact that he'd probably have to explain some of this later. Instead he felt surprisingly relieved not to be facing this witch alone.
Zack stood, and put a hand out to him. "Thank's," Woody mouthed.
Zack nodded. "Feeling alright now? Should I um, get my parents, get dragon lady out of here," he said audibly. Woody smiled sadly, but shook his head.
"Woody," she said after a moment. "I'm not here to take you back to Ohio. If you would like me to take you somewhere, I can. I could take you to see your sister..."
"I am not going with you," He told her, then asked. "Where are my sisters?"
"Most of them attend a year around boarding school in Pennsylvania. Willa included address in her letter. Wen is living in Ohio, but she has her own house. She and Wyara created their own home business." She paused, "But Woody, I can't leave you here without knowing where you're staying."
"I don't know, ok?" Woody replied.
"Sure you do buddy," Zack piped in. "You're gonna be living in Boston with us, remember?"
Woody gave him a bewildered look, then realized, Zack was giving him exactly what he needed. Telling that lady he didn't know where he was planning to live? What was he thinking! That was the surest way to become a her passenger.
"Zack," he whined, but shot him a smile before continuing. "I told you not to say anything."
"Please?" She asked.
Woody looked the older woman straight in the face, and told her. "I'm going to be living with two of the guys I graduated with. We will be living in Boston, so if you will just leave me Wen's phone number, I will call her with an address."
"The phone numbers are on top here," she told him pulling another sheet of paper from the clipboard. "There's just... There is one other thing Woody," she told him quietly.
"Your sister, Wen," the older woman started reluctantly. "She um..." the woman paused again, looking down at the remaining items in her hand. "I... I don't know that if this is the right thing to do, but she insisted." Zack watched as all of the color drained from Woody's face. What the heck was going on?
This all felt so wrong! The older woman was beginning to regret ever showing up at all, but she had to follow Wen's instincts.
The boy was just standing there staring at her. His face had gone pale, perhaps a little green. Just when she was sure he was going to throw up, the greenish hue disappeared. He was still staring, so she waited, assuming that one of the millions of questions that had to be racing through his mind would soon be asked, but he remained silent.
His friend, the dirty blond who had scowled at her earlier didn't have the same calm appearance he had earlier either. Instead he was tense, as if expecting danger at any second. He clearly knew very little of the situation. She suspected he wasn't very bright, probably impulsive, but easily underestimated. He seemed to have an acute awareness of his surroundings.
The silence continued, but she resisted the urge to comfort him. She had to remember, he saw her as an enemy, and that was a reality that she would have to accept. Instead she obeyed Wen, and gave him everything. Every paper, everything tucked into the clipboard, and the entire manila folder. "I am sorry Woody. I'm glad you've made good friends here. Please call your sister. Do you need any cash?" She held out several folded bills, and he backed away disgusted.
Zack tried to help take some of the things overflowing from his hands. "No," he said sharply.
"I was just trying to help," Zack told him.
"Don't touch anything," he whispered.
Zack nodded. "I'll just take some of these bags then? From your cabin on the ship. So you can carry..." he trailed off feeling like an idiot. He sounded pathetic, almost motherly, but to his surprise, there was no mocking. Only the silent, barely visible nod of Woody's head.
The woman looked back and forth between Woody's steadfast stare on the cash she held out to him, and the cash itself. Finally it dawned on her. "Woody, the cash is from your sister. It's from Wen, no one else." Slowly his hand reached up to take it from her.
"Do you need anything, or have any questions? I... I'm trying, but I know that doesn't mean much. I don't expect it too." He was completely silent. Zack had dozens of questions, perhaps millions, but he kept his mouth shut. "Would it be best if I just leave?" She asked finally. He nodded his head. "Alright then," she said taking in a deep breath.
Zack stood next to his trance-like friend, and watched the old woman walk toward her car, and drive away.
-
AN: I'd be curious to know how obvious or mysterious the plot line seems at this point.
Zack is going to need time to figure all of this out. If the plot is already obvious... Well, I just don't want Zack to seem stupid.