The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)

Public Parts and Private Parties

Previously: "Weird Science" 

Kelsey has been both busy and ingenious at tracking this new girl down. She found Yeni's profile on x2z, and since there's not much there aside from the quick profile you and Cindy invented, and the selfie you took your first afternoon, Kelsey started a couple of threads asking people what they knew about her. From there the hunt just gathered momentum, because Kelsey had to tell people where she'd seen the girl, and who with, which started a lot a chatter about you, particularly after Kelsey dropped a not very veiled hint that the girl gave you a blow job in a public lavatory.

At least I don't have my own account here, you console yourself. Until, that is, you find the threads LOLing over the fact that you must have deleted your profile out of embarrassment. What the hell is Monday at school going to be like? you wonder.

* * * * *

Yeni is helping Carson and James when you emerge from the house a little later, and they have just about finished up filling the balloons. There are dozens of them, packed into fifty-gallon trash bags. You haul them out to your truck, and James helps you tie them down to the truck bed while Carson fetches a tarpaulin to cover them with. He and James are very gruff and tight-lipped, both with you and with Yeni. It makes your scalp itch, for you can't tell if they distrust you for bringing yet another person in on their prank—more ways for the facts to leak—or if they are jealous that she was flirting with you.

Probably the latter, you decide when Carson gives you the loft key, and says it's up to you and Yeni to get the balloons inside. "Me and James can't afford to be seen anywhere near that place," he explains to you. "But Yeni is Cindy's friend, and you're Yeni's friend"—his expression briefly tightens—"so you guys can take care of it."

"What happens if Patterson or any of those other guys are up in the loft?" you ask Yeni once you're in your truck and on your way.

"We tell them we're setting up for Cindy's party," Yeni replies. "You could stand to show a little more initiative, Will," she adds. You make a face.

* * * * *

Your heart was racing even before you got to the high school, and it nearly seizes up when you see that there's several cars parked next to the gym. You're slightly reassured when you hear shouts from behind the gym annex—Probably just some guys coming up to the school to play tennis, you tell yourself—but you don't see anyone and no one sees you as Yeni unlocks the side door to the gym. "I'll go get the loft open," she tells you. "You start bringing the balloons in."

You have two of the bags when you return, and are at the foot of the narrow stairwell leading up to the loft when you hear voices up above. The words are indistinct, but one of the voices is definitely male.

And when you creep to the top of the stairs and peek in the doorway, you find that it belongs—Curse the luck!—to Steve Patterson.

He's standing in the middle of a space crowded in with support pillars and crates. He's got his hands on his hips and he's looking down at Yeni—who looks thin and frail in his shadow—with a narrow smile. That smile doesn't quiver a millimeter after he's shifted his eyes to pin you in the chest. Your own eyes fall rather than meet his. "Hey, um," you stammer at Yeni, who turns. "Where do you want these?"

"Just start unpacking them, Will." She turns back to Patterson. "You'll help bring them up, won't you, Steve?"

"Not my party," he says after a fractional hesitation. Then he adds, "Where are they?"

"Downstairs. Back of Will's truck. Under a plastic sheet."

Patterson's smile widens even as his eyes narrow, and with a shrug he turns to the door. He bumps into you hard as he passes, almost pitching you into an old pommel horse. The floorboards creak heavily under his tread.

You wait until the sound of his footfalls have faded before opening your mouth. "The fuck is he doing up here?" you hiss at Yeni.

"They hang out up here, Will," she retorts as she unties the neck of the bag and turns it upside down. Most of the balloons—red, yellow, white, blue, green, and purple—spill out over the floor, but a handful rise to the ceiling. "Now go downstairs and help him bring in the rest."

"Why can't I stay up here and help you fix up this place up for your 'party'?"

She doesn't answer before opening up and unloading the second bag of balloons. "Because dumping these out is the only decorating I have to do." She hands you the two empty trash bags. You grit your teeth and go downstairs.

Patterson passes you coming in as you're on your way out. Again, he bumps you hard, and flashes you an amused glance. He's still upstairs, making small talk to Yeni when you return with two more bags of balloons. He's asking her about Cindy, but you don't linger to listen, and make two more trips, bringing in the last bags by yourself. Then you hang back near the doorway, an unwilling eavesdropper to their conversation.

"I could charge you, if you want," he is telling her. "That would make it all, like, okay with your parents." He chews on his grin. "The money they pay me, I could spend on you." He touches her nose with his fingertip. "Tell 'em they have to pay me top dollar, 'cos I'm an AP Honor student out here."

"If I wanted tutoring," she replies, "I'd hire an actual tutor."

"Which could be me." He runs a fingertip over her shoulder, and she shakes it off. "We could do it up here." He steps to the side and crouches to open a door-size refrigerator. "Snacks and sodas to go with physics and chem."

Yeni glances back over her shoulder at you. "Could I bring my boyfriend along?"

"Boyfriend?" Patterson's voice drops half an octave, and the temperature in his glance falls by about fifty degrees. Then he grins. "Sure. Me."

Yeni turns his back on him, and saunters over to join you at the door. "I'll text Cindy," she tells Patterson, "tell her it's all set up for her and Seth. Thanks for your help." Your hair and skin prickle hard all over as she slips her arm into yours and tugs you through the doorway, and your spine warms under the eye-beams you're sure that Patterson is shooting at your back.

"Did you just tell him I'm your boyfriend?" you ask Yeni through gritted teeth as you descend the creaking stairs. "The fuck did you do that for?"

"To step on his dick," she says. "Besides, he knows it already. Or he will when he looks online."

"He's gonna find me and kill me on Monday, you know that, right?"

"It's your own fault for flirting with him the other night, Will. By the way, since I have to take this thing off," she continues as she tightens her grip on your arm, "do you want to take it home? Then you can get back online and go back to sexting him."

* * * * *

You don't dignify her question with an answer, but she takes the mask off anyway during the ride back to Carson's, where she picks up her own car and drives off to make her date with Seth. Before you can drive off too, Carson steps onto his porch and summons you over with a wave. "Was that Cindy?" he asks. "What was she doing in that Yeni girl's clothes?"

You silently cuss Carson for his sharp eyes. "Her and Cindy must've gone shopping together, picked up the same outfits," you improvise.

"What are they, foster sisters or something? Where'd you meet her, anyway?"

"Yeni? Coffee shop. We got to talking, and—"

"What is she, desperate?"

"Fuck you, man! If you're so fucking hot, how come—?"

"Don't burst your hymen, Prescott, save it for your wedding night," Carson honks. "I'm giving you a chance to give me the straight story."

"What straight story?"

"You tell me. Something more plausible than, 'I got to talking to a hot chick in a coffee shop, and the next thing I know she's blowing me in a public toilet.' That kind of thing happens in porn videos, but—"

"She didn't blow me!"

"Well, obviously. So what's the story?"

"We're just hanging out."

"And she's friends with Cindy? That's how you met her?"

You think rapidly. "Uh, no, we just met and it turned out that her and Cindy—"

"Oh, fuck off, man." Carson waves a dismissive hand. "I'm giving you a chance to come clean, but you just start telling more lies. I don't know what you got to be so ashamed of, except maybe—" His lips twist into a smirk. "You're playing beard for her and Cindy."

Your face hots up. "Fuck you," you growl, and stalk back to your truck.

* * * * *

There's DMs from Patterson when you get home and check your phone, and they are horrifying. Cindy didn't tell you, but at some point while wearing the mask she was basically promising Patterson that Yeni would give him a blow job if he would let Seth have the use of the gym loft tonight. Now Patterson wants to know why they hell Yeni is giving him the cold-shoulder.

You thought it was a fine idea Cindy had—using Yeni as a hiding place for when you got together—but it's spinning out of control. Maybe you should end this fictitious relationship between you and Yeni (and Yeni and Cindy) by deleting her from existence.

That's all for now.

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 1)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)"