Page 54 of Waysider
At the same moment they should’ve heard a gunshot, blood and brain matter flying in every direction, the old man vanished.
The room was so silent that Cass could hear a clock on the mantle ticking. After a moment, she realized that she was rigid in the chair. It’s gone. It’s gone, Cass told herself. Her eyes stayed on the window, convinced the revenant would reappear. She tried to relax as Crane circled the desk, ignoring Cal’s muttering beside her. He hadn’t been a fan of the strange show, either.
“You’re a Timekeeper, right? What’s stopping you from going into the past and changing this?” Cass managed, holding onto her armrests with white fingers.
“‘To learn and observe,’” the headmistress recited, sitting down. “That’s what is written over the doorway of House Timekeeper. We travel only to act as witnesses or discover the truth. We don’t try to change it—we couldn’t even if we wanted to, honestly. It would take an unimaginable amount of energy, and no voyant has that sort of power. Not even you, Miss Ryan.”
Cass frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Mrs. Crane opened one of the desk drawers, speaking as she reached for something inside. “After the night of the scavenger hunt, I brought in a handwriting expert. He studied the chalkboard and determined there really were two writers in that attic. I also had a meeting with Sinister Gray, who repeated the account he gave to Professor Green. Mr. Gray is known for his discipline and intelligence in the field, and he’s earned the respect of many on this campus, not to mention throughout the entire community. His word is as good as a binding contract, and it’s been officially confirmed that you did, indeed, answer the attic riddle. You have displayed considerable power, Miss Ryan, even if we don’t know your speciality yet.”
With that, Mrs. Crane came back around the desk and held something out. A narrow, slightly yellow piece of paper. Cass took it, her pulse leaping when she read the words PAY TO THE ORDER OF CASSANDRA RYAN. The prize money.
“But… I thought…”
“I’ve made an exception in this case,” Mrs. Crane said briskly. “Considering the circumstances of your enrollment here.”
“Oh. Well, thank you.” Cass folded the check and put it in her jacket pocket, thinking that at least one good thing had come out of all this.
As Mrs. Crane once again returned to her seat, Cass didn’t know what to say—the headmistress was making her nervous. Cass didn’t want power. She didn’t want fame or success. Not here, not in this world. Cass just wanted to get through her time at Else & Bellows alive and leave with firm control over her abilities. Then she’d go home and make a new plan. Maybe she’d open a records shop, or go back to school. A normal school, where she could study to be a dentist or a police officer. Crazier things had happened, right?
Once she’d resettled in her chair, Mrs. Crane folded her hands atop the desk. A gold bracelet she wore glinted in the lamplight. Cass glanced at it, but her attention snapped up to the headmistress’s face at her next words.
“It’s been brought to my attention that there’s a revenant attached to you,” the headmistress said.
Cass went still. At first, she wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Her breathing felt shallow as she mentally replayed Crane’s words. Panic roared through her veins.
She knew. Headmistress Crane finally knew about Cal.
Cass fought the urge to look at him. They should’ve been more careful, she thought dimly. She should’ve forced Cal to stay hidden at every second of every day. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Her hands clenched into fists and she scrambled to think of a lie, any lie that would protect her twin. God, why couldn’t she come up with anything?
“I know your story, Miss Ryan. I can guess who’s attached to you,” Crane said gently, drawing Cass’s attention back to her. “But seeing as you’ve only just begun your studies, you probably haven’t been made aware yet of the potential consequences this could—”
“Shut up,” Cass said.
The headmistress blinked. “I’m sorry?”
It felt like Cass’s heart had turned to stone. Suddenly she didn’t care about her future at Else & Bellows. She didn’t care about the money or the knowledge these people could offer her. She met Crane’s gaze, and her voice was flat as she replied, “You heard me. My brother is none of your fucking business. None. You are here to provide me with an education. Bring up Cal again, and I’ll walk through those gates and never come back.”
Cal was silent. Crane didn’t speak, either. Cass waited, her chin raised high, eyes flashing dark fire. Silently daring the other woman to say his name.
After a few seconds, Headmistress Crane ended their standoff. She took a pen out of the drawer in front of her and wrote something across the back of it. “This is the number to my personal phone line. I’ve written the number for my home phone on the other side. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need something, Miss Ryan. Anything,” she added.
Cass thought about walking out without taking it, just to make sure she’d made her point, but she wasn’t a complete asshole. She took the card from Crane and nodded, getting to her feet. “Thanks.”
The headmistress watched her with an inscrutable expression. “Get some rest. You’ll need it,” she replied.
Cass couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She sensed Cal behind her as she hurried out of Crane’s office and past the girl at the front desk. He kept pace with her effortlessly down the hallway, then through the double doors. They stepped into the cool evening.
Cass immediately started down the path that would take them back to House Wayside. Cal was uncharacteristically silent, and Cass’s stomach felt like a nest of hornets. Somewhere nearby, wind chimes clinked in the breeze. The gentle sound filled Cass’s ears as she walked in the direction of Wayside.
Her brother waited until there was no one else in sight.
“Cass,” he started, his voice soft.
They’d arrived at a section of the pathway that was surrounded by hedges. Realizing that Cal had stopped, Cass reluctantly turned. For the second time that day, she didn’t like the way he was looking at her. There was wide, shining pain in her brother’s eyes, as if he was on the verge of saying something terrible. Unnerved, Cass turned away from him quickly.
“I need to study. I have a quiz coming up,” she muttered.
