The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

What's the Deal?

Previously: "The Buzzin' Cousin" 

"Okay, it's a deal," you say. "You want to take them now?"

"We haven't got a new mask ready," Caleb points out.

You go over to your little hiding place and pull out your own just-completed mask. "I was going to surprise you," you tell Caleb. "But we could use the money."

* * * * *

It's still late afternoon, and you don't want to attract attention by moving anything in the daylight, so you sit and make chitchat while waiting for it to get dark. You try asking Dylan what he plans to do with his purchases, but he only repeats his "new roommate" line with a knowing smirk and refuses to elaborate. The golem, which is still wearing Eva's face, lays in a corner, nursing the remnants of last weekend's hangover.

After the conversation fails, you and Caleb go off in a corner to talk over your own plans. You keep your voices low so Dylan can't overhear you. "Four hundred pounds of dirt for your cousin's second golem," you observe. "That's not going to be fun."

"We could borrow his first golem and get it to help us," he suggests. "We've got that mask of Jeremy we could use."

"Or we could use your cousin's new boyfriend, after he gets himself one," you retort. Caleb jabs you. "Alright, alright. Anyway, we can't use Jeremy. There's no metal memory thingamajob in that mask, and I don't think the golems will work without, you know, some kind of personality in them. Something to make them go."

"We could copy Jeremy's personality and solder it in." Caleb snickers. "Or we could solder that Lisa into it. Wouldn't that be awesome? Lisa stuck in Jeremy's body?"

"That's the sickest thing I've ever heard, and I'm not laughing when I say that." Your tone is cold, but Caleb still giggles. "But getting a couple of big guys would be useful. Here, how about this? We make up two masks this week and get close to someone big. One of the football players or wrestlers."

"We only have one golem to borrow," Caleb points out.

"We'd wear them ourselves. Why overstrain ourselves when can use borrowed muscles?"

Caleb still looks skeptical. "I'd rather save the two masks for cheerleaders."

"Plenty of time for that later." You continue to discuss options without settling on any decision, except one to make two new masks.

When it's dark enough, you hustle the still-naked Eva-disguised golem into your truck and drive back to Dylan's off-campus apartment while Caleb and Dylan follow in his car. (You are careful to obey all traffic regulations, as you don't want to be caught with a naked fake-Eva in the cab of your truck.) At your destination, you cadge another twenty bucks out of Dylan in return for permanent ownership of the now wholly disgusting Eva mask. He only has another seventy bucks in cash on him, but he promises to pay you the balance for his purchase on the next afternoon.

* * * * *

You spend Saturday waiting to hear back from Dylan about your money, and when you can't stand it anymore you have Caleb call him; but Dylan puts you off with the excuse that he needs another twenty-four hours to pull the money together.

"You don't think he'd stiff us, do you?" you ask Caleb.

"What? No!"

"I mean, we gave him what he wanted. A golem and a blank mask. What's to keep him from disappearing with them?"

"He wants a second golem."

"Why? What's he gonna do with a second one?"

"What would you do with two sex slaves?" Caleb asks, leaning toward you with a leer.

You push him back, but concede the point.

So with nothing else to do, you accept Keith's invitation to see a new horror movie with a couple of school friends. Your mind isn't on it, though, and you and Caleb bail on the others after the movie lets out. You wind up hanging out in the arcade at the minigolf course by the mall, pumping tokens into old machines and talking about who to copy and embody in a golem once you've set yourselves up the way Dylan has.

Caleb is surprisingly pessimistic, though. "We're never gonna get close to anyone good enough," he sighs as you concentrate on killing space invaders.

"Not with that attitude, we're not," you retort.

"No, think about it, man. Who do we want? Cheerleaders, right? Or any girl that'd look good in shorts and a halter top."

"Some girls I'd go for even if they didn't."

"Like?"

"Wait'll I get killed," you mumble as you bang at the plastic button and glower at the flashing, croaking screen. "I'm concentrating on this."

"Point is, anyone worth getting isn't going to be anyone we can get close enough to get."

"Speak for yourself."

Caleb snorts. "So where are they?" he challenges. "These girls you're hanging out with that are good enough to get?"

"I didn't say I was hanging around with them now. But we could get to them. I could get to them."

"If you could get to them, Will, you'd be hanging out with them now. Right now, instead of—"

"Maybe I'm just not applying myself."

"Right now?"

"No, not now," you snap as you sweatily dodge a rain of fire from the invaders.

Caleb says, "What about her?"

"Who?" You glance around, then do a bona-fide triple take at the only girl in the shed—the one who sold you the stack of tokens.

"Her? Why her?" You turn back to the game just in time to see your last life shot to fuck and back.

"Because she's available?"

"Does she go to our school?"

"I dunno. Go apply yourself and find out," Caleb suggests with overt sarcasm.

"Fine! I will!" You put your shoulders back, square your guts, and saunter back over to the booth.

She's a skinny girl, not too tall, about your age, her blonde hair chopped short. She's reading a Kindle while leaning up against the counter. "Hey," you say.

She glances up. "You need some more tokens?"

"No, just your phone number."

"What?" The girl now gives you a very hard, direct look.

All your swagger instantly melts. "Hey, just asking," you protest, and raise some placating palms. "No, seriously, my friend and I have a bet. Do you go to Westside or Eastman?"

"You both lose." She settles back on her elbows, lowering her eyes to the Kindle. "Saint Xavier's," she mumbles.

"Whoa!" You and Caleb exchange a startled glance. "You're a mutant?"

She looks up, and if anything her obvious loathing of you deepens.

St. Xavier's is a tony boarding school west of town, with a student body drawn from the richest parts of the country, and even from overseas. Because of the school's name—and the resentment of the snooty students that are sometimes seen parading around town in their fancy blazers and slacks—the place is often jeered at as the "Xavier School for Moneyed Mutants."

"And you're holding down a job?" Caleb exclaims.

"I'm a local," the girl says, hunkering down further. "I have to."

"Whoa. I thought— I didn't know Xavier took locals."

"Well, they do," the girl snaps. "And we get it from both sides," she mutters. "Oh, you're a mutant?" she sneers in mockery of you. "Oh," she adds in a different tone dripping with disgust, "you're a local!"

"I'm sorry," you say. "I didn't—"

"Just fuck off, okay?"

You start to protest, but Caleb plucks at you and pulls you outside. "Just leave it, man. You've already bombed, no need to make the rubble bounce."

But pride reasserts itself, and you go back in. The girl is still hunched up behind the counter, and her mouth splits into a hard grimace even as she pointedly doesn't look up at you.

"Hey, I'm really sorry for what I said," you tell her. "And yeah," you recklessly continue, "I was totally hitting on you 'cos I thought I liked you."

"And now you decided you don't."

"No! I—! Do you have a name? My name's Will."

She hesitates. Then, between gritted teeth she grinds out the reply, "Roxanne."

"So, it's nice to meet you Roxanne. I never met anyone who goes to Mu— Xavier's. So, fuck me, sorry, I didn't know how to talk to you."

"You could talk to me like I'm normal people."

"So will you talk to me?"

"No."

Outside: "What happened?" Caleb asks.

"Got her name," you brag.

He's impressed. "Really? You get her number, too?"

"Hey, I didn't want to push it. Besides, I didn't like her that much. Her tits were too small."

* * * * *

You have to spend Sunday morning at church, and then lunch with your family, so it's after two o'clock before you can meet up with Caleb. Even before you ask, he tells you that he hasn't heard from Dylan. "I was thinking we could drive out to see him," he says.

Next: "A Golem Goes Wild" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 3)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)"