Pilgrims?

The three boys dressed as pilgrims approached Ezra, Enid, and Wednesday's booth with ugly scowls marring their faces.

"What's a freak from Nevermore Academy doing out here?" sneered the tallest boy nastily, his eyes scanning Enid's school uniform with distaste.

"Yeah, this is our booth," asserted the stocky second boy, thumping his fist on the table arrogantly.

Wednesday eyed their costumes critically, taking in the buckled shoes, breeches, and hats. "Why are you dressed like religious fanatics from the 1600s?" she asked coolly.

The stocky boy bristled at the insult, his face turning red. "We're pilgrims, not fanatics!" he sputtered angrily.

"Potato, po-tah-to," Wednesday dismissed with a careless wave of her pale hand, her dark lips quirking in a mocking smile.

"We work at Pilgrim World," piped up the African-American boy eagerness in his voice as he shared this fact.

Wednesday's red lips curled in distaste. "It takes a special kind of ignorance to devote an entire theme park to zealots responsible for the mass genocide of indigenous people," she said scathingly.

The African-American boy grew angry at the insult. "My dad owns Pilgrim World," he said heatedly. "Who are you calling ignorant?"

"If the buckled shoe fits..." Wednesday retorted, her voice icy cool.

Ezra couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter at Wednesday's scathing yet clever response. He quickly tried to mask it with a cough when the pilgrim boys turned their glares on him. Though they seemed to take their roles quite seriously, their pompous attitudes only added to the absurd comedy of the situation. 

"You think this is funny?" the tall one demanded angrily, taking a threatening step towards Ezra.

"Yeah, I find you three quite amusing," Ezra replied, an amused grin spreading across his face. Muggles could be so strange sometimes.

"Alright, as entertaining as you three are, I was having a pleasant conversation before you so rudely interrupted," Ezra said smoothly, gesturing to Enid and Wednesday. "So why don't you toddle off and find someone else to bother."

Ezra discreetly pulled out his wand under the table and cast a quick Confundus charm on the three boys, causing their faces to suddenly go blank with confusion. After a few moments of disorientation, the pilgrim boys shuffled away from the cafe without another word.

"What was that?" Wednesday asked sharply, her penetrating dark eyes fixed intently on Ezra's face. 

"Oh I can just be very persuasive," Ezra replied lightly with an innocent shrug, quickly tucking his wand away. There was no way he could get into the details of memory charms with the two of them.

"Are you some kind of Jedi or something?" Enid asked eagerly, her eyes bright with excitement at Ezra's seeming mystical powers.

"Jedi?" Ezra repeated in confusion, having no idea what the unfamiliar term meant. Clearly it was some kind of Muggle pop culture reference he didn't understand.

"I could have handled them myself," Wednesday stated flatly, her pale arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sure you could have," Ezra agreed amiably. "But why resort to violence when 'words' can resolve things peacefully?"

Wednesday continued staring at Ezra silently with that penetrating gaze of hers. He got the distinct feeling she suspected there was more to him than met the eye.

Eager to change the subject, Enid piped up "By the way, I've been meaning to ask - what kind of outcast are you, Ezra? You never said."

Ezra hesitated, unsure how to answer. He couldn't very well say he was a wizard. "Hmm...I guess the closest thing would be a psychic," he offered vaguely after a moment's thought. That seemed a safe enough answer for someone to accept. 

"Ooh, so what can you do?" Enid leaned forward, green eyes bright with curiosity.

"That's a secret," Ezra replied evasively, giving her a playful smirk.

Enid pouted. "Fine then, keep your secrets."

Ezra turned his attention to the raven-haired girl across from him. "What about you, Wednesday? What's your power?"

"Psychometry," she answered simply in her low monotone.

"Oh, that's fascinating," Ezra said sincerely. An idea occurred to him then. "Hey, would you want to try touching me and seeing if you get any visions?" If she saw anything from touching him, it might give him a clue to getting back home.

Wednesday considered the offer silently for a few moments with those fathomless dark eyes of hers. Then she gave a slight nod. "Alright, I'll try it."

They both extended their hands across the table and touched palms lightly. Ezra thought her hands were quite small when compared to his and surprisingly soft. For a few seconds nothing happened as Wednesday concentrated, her eyes closed. Then her eyes opened wide as if she felt a shock and her pale cheeks suddenly flushed with color. She quickly pulled her hand back, the blush fading as swiftly as it had appeared.

"What did you see?" Ezra asked eagerly, burning with curiosity. Enid was also watching Wednesday closely, practically vibrating with anticipation.

But Wednesday's face had already resumed its usual stoic mask. "Nothing of significance," she muttered dismissively, standing up abruptly. "We should return to the academy now."

Before Ezra or Enid could say anything, Wednesday had already strode swiftly out of the cafe, the little bells over the door jingling in her wake.

Ezra and Enid exchanged a bewildered look across the table. Ezra could only offer a helpless shrug, just as perplexed by Wednesday's odd reaction as Enid was.

"We should probably follow her back," Enid finally said, breaking the puzzled silence.

Ezra nodded in agreement and they both quickly got to their feet, leaving some money on the table for their unfinished drinks before exiting the cafe. Wednesday was already far ahead on the path, walking swiftly back in the direction of Nevermore Academy, her long black braid swinging behind her. Ezra wondered what exactly she could have seen in her vision to cause such an uncharacteristic reaction from the normally composed girl.

As Ezra and Enid followed Wednesday's retreating figure down the shaded forest path at a distance, Ezra's mind spun with the events of the afternoon. Between the absurd pilgrim boys and Wednesday's cryptic vision, there was much to ponder from this first excursion outside of Nevermore's walls. But one thing was now certain - Ezra was very much looking forward to more adventures and unraveling the mysteries surrounding this strange new world he found himself in.