A strange peculiarity || Enoch O'Connor

chapter four

"We can't hide him here forever." Ethan muttered to Jeanette, his eyes not straying from his cousin, who was sat reading a book in the corner, oblivious to the conversation happening across the room from him.

"I know." Jeanette said with a loud sigh, she too was watching Cameron, watching as his guarded eyes scanned each word as he followed the plot of the book he was reading. He finally noticed them looking at him and frowned, placing a bookmark at the correct page, he looked up at them.

"What?" He asked, no hint of what he was feeling in his eyes, Jeanette and Ethan looked at each other.

"I may have a plan." She said, causing Ethan to look at her in shock, they both chose to ignore Cameron's question, trying to think up a solution.

"You do?" Ethan asked uncertainly, Jeanette laughed and shook her head at his doubtful expression.

"Why Ethan, there is no need to look so surprised." She teased him, he rolled his eyes at her. Cameron watched the two, his emotions a mix of confusion and amusement.

"I am still here you know." Cameron pointed out, causing them to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"Cameron you are not helping this situation." Jeanette told him, causing him to sigh and roll his eyes at her.

"Well why don't you let me decide?" He suggested, they both looked at him as though he was mad, but after exchanging a look, they nodded.

"Fine, what do you suggest?" Ethan asked his cousin.

"We tell the truth." Cameron said determinedly, they both looked at him and sighed, Jeanette was about to speak, when a loud gong sounded, causing them to jump, Miss Eagle had called a house meeting.

"What do we do?" Jeanette said quickly, beginning to worry and stress, beginning to hyperventilate, so Cameron grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her carefully. When her breathing had regulated, he cupped her face to get her to focus on him.

"Jenny calm down, it will be alright." He said, before hugging her, Ethan didn't particularly look impressed by this, but he bit his tongue and put an arm around her shoulders as soon as Cameron had let go of her.

"Shall we go then?" Ethan asked, running a hand through his hair and reaching for the door. Jeanette grinned at him and messed up his hair with a small giggle, he just shook his head at her and fixed his hair again.

"Wait, what are we going to do?" Cameron looked panicked now, as though he was regretting his decision to just go and tell the truth.

"We walk in as though nothing is wrong, she'll kill us enough as it is for being late to the meeting." Jeanette suggested, the boys nodded, and after allowing Jeanette to link arms will the two of them, they set off downstairs, closing the door behind them as they went.

Upon reaching the conservatory, where the meeting was to be held, they were greeted with shocked and confused stares and an angered look from Miss Eagle. Jeanette led the boys over to Enoch and Nathan, the latter of whom hugged his cousin and grinned timidly at his brother, before thanking Jeanette for Cameron's return.

As Miss Eagle began talking, beating around the bush from the real issue and spewing, in Jeanette's opinion, a load of rubbish, Enoch questioned her Jeanette on Cameron's sudden appearance. She explained to him, in some grim detail, but without a hint of exaggeration, what had happened. She seemed to trust him, despite not really knowing him too well. However, she had often been called out for being an excellent judge of character, and so trusted herself that he was the right person to tell. His eyes widened as she told him everything, and when she finished, he sat for a few moments before daring to speak.

"Can you show it to me? The tunnel, I mean?" he asked, she nodded. She hadn't had much of a chance to explore, as they had found Cameron, and both Cameron and Ethan had forbidden her from going back down there, not that she ever heeded any warning anyone gave her, although she would occasionally listen to Miss Eagle.

"We can go later, but do not tell the others." She warned him, he nodded his agreement at once.

"Deal." He offered her his hand, and she shook it firmly.

"Deal." She nodded back at him.

"Something to share with the rest of us Jeanette?" Miss Eagle asked, frowning at her angrily. Jeanette merely shrugged.

"Nothing that concerns you." She spoke back stiffly, Miss Eagle looked shocked that the girl had spoken to her this way, but she seemed to bite back a reprimand that she wanted to spew at the girl, as there were the other children in the room.

"As I was saying, we are going to move on from the loop, when Miss Peregrine and her charges leave, we will accompany them, you have three days, and I shall call yet another house meeting in the morning of tomorrow, so we can allocate jobs, if you have any questions, now would be the time to speak them." Miss Eagle said. No one moved. She smiled. "Excellent, now, you may leave, but I need to speak to Jeanette, Ethan and Cameron."

The others left, Enoch telling Jeanette, in passing, that he would wait for her, of which she agreed to. Miss Eagle was not impressed with the three, of which she expressed as soon as the room was void of all people but them.

"May I ask what you are doing here Cameron? And how you deemed fit to even dare to come up here? How did you get out?"" The ymbryne asked the boy in a low tone, malice in her voice, Cameron, who was hidden slightly behind Jeanette, sighed, and only spoke after Jeanette had taken his hand in comfort.

"They found me, and saved me, please don't make me go back there." He whimpered, all of the confidence he had had, suddenly vanished.

"You were in there for a reason Cameron, I was protecting you." She told him, reaching for the boy's arm, but was met with a pink-tinged force field, that stopped her from touching him. "Jeanette, you are supposed to inform me of any changes in your peculiarity." The woman added.

"I did not know I could do that." She answered.

"And do you know how to reverse the effect?" Miss Eagle asked, Jeanette shrugged.

"I do not know, and I am not going to try, Cameron will not be going back down into that prison, he deserves better than that, and anyone with even half a mind would see that he is not in favour for going back into that tunnel." Jeanette was standing up to the woman who had saved her, a risky move perhaps, but she would always protect her friends.

"Jenny's right, you can't do this." Ethan added, earning himself a glare from the ymbryne, but she did relent.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do! He will be going back, before he gets any of you killed. As for you two, you will be punished." Miss Eagle was angry, and that meant she wouldn't reason.

"No, please!" Cameron begged, he looked terrified.

"He's not going back down there!" Jeanette and Ethan yelled in sync, Miss Eagle sighed and glared at them, but finally she agreed.

"Fine, but you are responsible for his safety, I do not want a hand in this, he is dangerous, and you are putting yourself at risk for doing this, but if it is what you want, then I will not stand in your way. As we are leaving soon, Cameron you will share a room with Ethan, and if any of you put a toe out of line, any of you, or if Cameron hurts any of you, then I will have no choice but to lock him up, do you understand?" the ymbryne asked, the three nodded and she allowed them to go, the boys heading to Ethan's room, and Jeanette finding Enoch stood by the door, waiting for her.

"May I show you something?" He asked her, she smiled at him and nodded.

"Of course you may." She said, following him upstairs, wondering what it was that he was to show her.