The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

The Pretenders

Previously: "Feminine Wiles and Feminine Denials" 

"What are you talking about?" you blurt out. "We met last night! In our neighborhood! On our bikes!"

Laura returns you an indulgent smile. "Why, so we could watch for the Great Pumpkin? I didn't sneak out to meet you. I told you that the last time we texted that—"

"You said you snuck out! You know! What your mom doesn't know wouldn't hurt her!"

"Will," says Jack.

Laura laughs. "I didn't sneak out, Will! I don't wanna get in trouble with my mom. Besides, my bedroom's on the second floor, I'd break my neck!"

"Hey guys," Leah chirps as she comes running up. "What are we hanging out here for— Oh!" Her eyes go saucer-like when she sees you. "Hey Will," she says, and her eyes dart about.

You flush but ignore her to dig out your cell phone. Jack and girls mumble inarticulately at each other as you scroll through your texts, then shift over to the internet.

"Here!" you say to Laura as you thrust the phone at her. "Remember, I told you about Eric Murphy, and here's your—!" You glance at Leah. "You remember I texted you, asking you about Eric! It was because I was talking to Laura about—!"

"Calm down, Will," Jack says.

"When did you text me about Eric?" Leah asks.

"Last night! I—!"

"Will, you need to calm down." Jack lays a hand on your shoulder, but you shake it off.

"I was telling Laura what you told me about Eric," you remind Leah, "and I couldn't remember his name so I texted you—"

"You didn't text me, Will."

"You didn't text me, either," Laura says. "DM me, whatever." She shows you your phone. "This isn't my ID."

"What?" You blink.

"My x2z ID," Laura says. "This isn't it." She points to the screen. "This is from— Well, it says 'Laura Mac', which, uh, was my x2z handle, like, last year. But I'm 'Laura Lorraine Sheldon' now. And the account name and email are—"

"This isn't you?" you exclaim.

"It isn't Laura's," Jack concurs.

"Where's the text you got from me?" Leah asks.

You bite down hard on your tongue as you take your phone back and scrub through your DMs. "There." You show it to Leah.

Her eyebrows go up. "LeahSomethingSomething?" she says. "I'm Leah Cool Beans! I showed you! Lemme see your settings!" She grabs your phone.

You'd grab it back, but at just that moment Maria Vasquez, one of the cheerleaders, comes gliding up. She ignores your group as she slips into the theater, but you can't help watching her.

You're dragged back to the present crisis by a cry and a jab from Leah. "Will! You deleted me from your contacts!"

"No, you're right there!" You point.

"That's not me!"

Laura titters. "Oh my God, Will," she says. "Are you being catfished?"

"Here, let me see," Jack says, and he reaches for your phone. "All of you go inside, okay? Charles is gonna start yelling for you," he tells Laura.

She gives you a puckish smile, the ducks into the theater. Leah lingers until Jack turns a hard frown on her, and then she follows Laura. That leaves you alone, panting hard, with him.

He scrolls through your contact list, frowning over the names and addresses, and takes out his own phone to make some comparisons. "Have you let anyone into your x2z settings? Your contact list?" he asks you as he glances between the two screens.

"No. Except Leah. She set it up for me."

"Well, this isn't her ID in her, and that isn't Laura's either. And this isn't Elle's. Who put them in?" He gives you a sharp look.

"Leah did. Or I guess I did. Did I? I guess I added them after I got DMs from them."

Jack grunts and resumes scrolling through your DMs.

"You haven't been talking to Elle," he says, "and you weren't talking to Leah or to Laura, either. Everyone else in here looks like they're okay, though."

"So someone's catfishing me?" you ask. Your eyes are very wide.

Jack returns you a very steady look.

"I don't know what's going on," he says. "Except you weren't talking with any of those girls, not through your DMs. I don't know about your texts. I also know," he adds in a colder tone of voice, "that both Elle and Laura say they did not go riding their bikes with you at night in your neighborhood."

You return his stare with a hot one of your own. But he just turns and goes into the theater.

You stalk off for the parking lot, and for home.

* * * * *

You wrestle with your homework and you wrestle with your life problems. Mostly you wrestle with your cell phone, picking it up then putting it down, picking it up again and scrolling through it, and putting it back down to do some more math problems before picking your phone back up again. You have no idea what to do.

You consider DMing the people who sent you those fake DMs, to ask them what the fuck they thought they were doing. But you can't imagine the conversations being enlightening. It would probably be "Clover Mystery" all over again.

In fact, it now occurs to you, it probably is Clover Mystery.

You want to talk to someone about it, but there's no one to talk to. You already talked to Jack, and he doesn't seem very happy with you. You could talk to Caleb or to Keith, but they don't have any more experience with this stuff than you do. Besides, you'd have to explain to them about how you met up with Elle and Laura, and how they are now denying that those meetings ever happened. They'd give you so much shit about that.

It's those denials—Laura and Elle pretending that they didn't meet up with you—that you can't figure out. Are they embarrassed now to be seen with you? Laura didn't seem embarrassed today, but you can guess that Elle was. Jack said she was pissed at you. But if you did meet with Laura—

You roll your eyes. Great, now I'm calling bullshit on myself, you think. "If" I met up with Laura last night? I fucking totally did!

But that means the DM from "Laura Mac" really was from Laura, because the girl you saw last night—a.k.a., Laura MacGregor!—was the only one you told about that Eric Murphy doof, and "Laura Mac" also DMed you about him. So Laura has to be lying about "Laura Mac" not being her!

Except that Jack also said it wasn't her.

But how could Jack be so sure? Can't you have more than one x2z account? Couldn't Laura have given herself more than one, and not told anyone?

But that takes you back to the question: Why would Laura pretend not to be "Laura Mac," and pretend not to have met up with you last night?

* * * * *

You've given yourself a headache before long, and the only way to get rid of it, you decide, is to DM back the people at these supposedly fake accounts.

You start by DMing "LeahSomethingSomething": Has Jack said anything to u abt russian lake this wkend?

Her reply comes about ten minutes later: Just same as he told u, probly.

Okay if I come to?

Instant reply: Dont know why not? Luv see u there.

You chew on your cheek, because that does not sound like Leah. (Or does it? Could she be that relaxed about your showing up after today.)

Then you DM "Laura Mac." Thx for DM abt Eric wont say anything abt him if shit hits fan.

Her reply too comes back fast: Glad two help. Had fun talking last nite do again soon.

You grimace hard at that, but only reply, R u going to russian lake ths wkend w jack n them?

There's a longer delay this time, before Laura Mac replies, Gotto check w family. Want two tho.

Your thumb hovers a long time over the Send button before asking: Meet for bike ride tnite? N hour?

There's a long silence on the other end, during which you text LeahSomethingSomething again: Meet for coffee n talk n hour? You have no idea what you're doing, but you flatter yourself that you're setting a trap.

The first reply comes from Laura Mac: Sry, family nite game nite no getting away got to turn phone off lol. You cock a skeptical eyebrow at that and mutter, "Convenient" to yourself.

But the reply from LeahSomethingSomething staggers you: Going to Warehouse tnite u shld come to.

* * * * *

The Warehouse! The hottest, most dangerous party spot in the city, because it's teens only. Seriously. Hundreds of high school kids, packed into an abandoned warehouse, BYO beer, spirits, weed, cigarettes, drugs, and sexual partners. You've never heard of anyone actually getting shot or stabbed there, or dying of an overdose, but you have heard that's only because there's storm drains under the place where the dead bodies are dropped and the disappearances blamed on "running away from home."

And Leah wants you to party out there with her?

Almost you forget that it's not Leah (unless it is) but "LeahSomethingSomething" who has invited you.

Next: "Invitations in the Dark" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 2)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)"