The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)

Fail Safes

Previously: "The Junior Partners" 

"Shouldn't we put it to a vote?" you coolly ask Jake. "I mean, if we're partners and all on this."

He reacts like he's been slapped, you struggle to keep a smug smile off your face. He wants to use his friends to outvote me, you think. We'll see how he likes being outvoted by them!

But you try to sugar the pill. "Look, I know what you mean," you tell him. "I learned a pretty harsh lesson when that mask got away from me, and believe me, I wanna be careful with this stuff! But if your friends wanna try making new masks, you know, you don't want to piss them off by saying no, do you? Besides, it'll keep them busy. I told you, it takes like a week to polish up a mask. And maybe we can use a thing like this"—you tap the metal case he wants to use to keep the book inside—"to keep anyone from doing anything, uh, 'janky' with them. Okay?"

Jake's expression is still sour when you finish, but he doesn't argue. Neither of you say anything as he puts the book into the box, locks it, then hands it to you.

He doesn't speak again until you're outside, heading for your truck. "You know," he says, "you and me could still maybe talk about this stuff, just between us, when it comes time to do something."

"Sure," you agree. "That's probably smart." You'll be talking to your friends about it too, won't you? you think. And maybe I should talk about it with them, too. 'Just between us'. "We can talk about it tomorrow. You have something going on after school?"

"Club stuff. But we can all get together after that."

"Sure. Oh, and bring me that list of stuff we need for the next spell. While you're doing 'club stuff', I'll go pick it all up."

He stiffens. "Are we doing something with it?"

"I dunno. How about you talk to your friends tonight. I'll vote yes, though."

That sour expression pops back onto his face, and he doesn't bother to wave as you drive off.

* * * * *

The vote must have gone the way you expected, because Kian texts you the list of ingredients later that evening. He also says that the plan is for the four of you to get together the next afternoon—a Friday—at Jake's place again. Time it for five, he says.

So you're preoccupied when you get to school the next day—so preoccupied that you jump with surprise when Caleb in first period asks what you want to do this weekend. "What?" you blurt at him.

"This weekend," he repeats. "Tomorrow and the next day. Saturday and Sunday." His sarcasm deepens as you just stare at him. "Days when we get to do whatever the fuck we want 'cos there isn't any school." When you just blink at him, he says, "Was your plan just to lock yourself in a dark bedroom and jerk off until Monday morning?"

That wouldn't be a bad plan if you thought you could get away with it. But you tell Caleb to talk to you tomorrow.

"Why? You think you might get a better offer?"

"Maybe. You know you're not the only cocksucker I might hang out with."

Somebody laughs rudely in the row behind you, and you wheel. Jonas Martin, one of the asshole basketball players, sneers at you. You redden and slump in you seat. Your only consolation is that Caleb also makes a face and slumps.

* * * * *

Caleb brings the subject of the weekend back up at lunch, which you eat with him and Keith in back of the school, but you remain noncommittal. (You saw Jake in second period, the Film class that you share with him, but neither of you spoke to the other, so plans haven't developed.) This time, when Caleb asks if you're expecting a "better offer," you tell him that you met up with some guys yesterday who were doing some "charity work" for a school club, and that you might have something to do with them. Caleb and Keith both laugh at the idea that there might be any fun in that. But it gives you the idea that you might bring them along and add them to the "partnership." Now that you know the magic works—and now that you've been forced to share it with others—you feel a lot less shy about sharing it with them, particularly if you could use them to help outvote the other guys.

Trouble is, you'd never be able to convince them without showing them the book and what it can do, and that's locked up in a box whose key is with Jake Davis. And you'd want Caleb and Keith to know about the magic before you introduced them to those other guys, so that you could pretend that they had known about it all along.

You move the problem into the back of your mind, to mull the rest of the day over.

* * * * *

When school lets out, you drive into town to do some shopping. You have three hundred dollars when you start, and when you end you have a hundred and fifty and all the things you'll need for the next spell. You also stop at your house to pick up the metal box and the book it holds, and to tell your mother you won't be home for supper. When she asks if you'll be eating with Caleb or Keith, you surprise her by telling her you'll be with the guys who are doing the charity drive—"I'm helping out with something." That impresses her, which you count as a bonus.

It's almost five-thirty when you make it over to Jake's place, and Kian is waiting for you out front, to help you carry the stuff around back. "Jake told me what we're doing about the book," he tells you as he takes the metal box from you. "It seems like a good idea." You nod vacantly.

The plan is still to make a mask—to make four more of them, in fact, so each of your new partners gets a chance at making one. The spell makes a stink, you warn them, so Jake and Kyler set up a makeshift table in back of the storeroom, where you can't be seen from the house, using a couple of sawhorses and an old door. Jake keeps watch around the corner while you show the other two how to mix the ingredients and pour them over the mirror; they all gasp and choke on the plume of smoke and stink that envelops you. After you've made a mask, each of the other three takes a turn. Kyler, you notice, is the most eager, while Jake hangs back.

"Now comes the awful part," you tell them. "You take a cloth and you polish it until it's blue."

"Can we use, like, a buffer or something?" Kyler asks. You frown at him. "You know," he says. "Like a car buffer?" You feel the eyes of the other two on you, and you blush. "Do we have to do it the old-fashioned way?" Kyler continues, "'cos it's old-fashioned magic?"

"I— I don't know," you admit. "I didn't think of it."

Kyler grins at his friends. Inwardly, you crumple at what feels like a defeat. Jake gives you a very steady, sidelong look before turning to trudge around the storeroom. "Okay, what's the next thing?" Kyler asks even before Jake is out of earshot.

"Well, the next spell makes the stuff that seals up a mask so you can wear it. And then—"

"I mean, how do you use one of these things to copy someone?" Kyler interrupts. "Like you copied Rachel."

"Oh. Well, you just put it on your face. Or on someone's face. Then it, um—"

Kyler pokes Kian in the chest, and grins. "We should do it. We should totally do it," he tells his friend. "We should polish these bad boys up and we should—"

"Yeah, well, we can talk about that," Kian hastily interrupts him. He glances uneasily at you. "How long does it take one of these things to copy someone?"

"About ten minutes?" you hazard. "Um, it knocks them out while it—"

"And we don't know how long it takes to polish one," Kian interrupts, turning back to Kyler. "I mean, if it takes a day or two—" He trails off as Kyler shrugs and rolls his tongue around inside his mouth.

Jake returns with a buffer—a handheld motor with a fluffy rag at one end—and beckons you all to follow him. Inside the storeroom, he plugs it in and applies it to the front of the mask. After only a few minutes, the color has deepened noticeably. He turns the buffer and the mask over to Kyler, who is a lot more eager to get the job done.

Jake watches for a minute, then asks you to come help him disassemble the work table. "I thought we were going to work on the next spell," you tell him as he leads you back around the storeroom.

He gives you a look. "I guess we'll do that tomorrow," he mutters. "But Kyler and Kian—"

He breaks off, and steps back to peer around the corner of the storeroom. When he resumes, it's in a very low voice. "They want to use things to switch around. You know. Turn themselves into each other."

"Yeah?" That's not much of a surprise.

Jake holds your eye, then makes a face. "And after that," he says, "they're gonna want to go into town. Go dancing. Find a party. Go to the Warehouse. As each other."

"Well, that's their business."

Jake flinches. "Yeah, sure. But they'll want us to go along too." When you make no reply, he leans in at you. "No offense, but I don't especially want to switch around with you."

You're not keen on switching with Jake either. So as you turn back to the worktable, it seems that there's three courses of action open to you:

Next: "Fears Unmasked" 

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