The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

Gossip Girls and Jumpy Jacks

Previously: "Oh the Drama" 

You sigh. "I'm not going to say yes, Brianna, but you've got something on your mind."

Her eyes narrow. "Well, if you're going to be like that—"

"I'm not being like anything. But tell me about him."

She seems to weigh whether you're worthy of being told about Brendan Tummler. "Well, I guess we can just talk about him," she says. "First of all, how did you find out he was gay?"

"I didn't. I just figured he was."

"He doesn't act gay."

"You mean he doesn't act like me."

"Well, he doesn't act like Charles. And if you're going to be all passive-aggressive with me—"

"Okay."

"You get this way, Jack, you get all offended—"

"I said, 'Okay',"

"—and you make everyone else feel like shit and we don't even get to be mad at you for it because you're so goddamned—"

"Okay, I'm sorry!"

"Whatever, you'll just do it again. But anyway, if he doesn't seem gay— Does he seem gay to you?"

"I dunno," you sigh. "I just always got a vibe off him. And actually, someone did tell me he was gay. Crispin."

"Crispin Fontana? I thought you didn't talk to him."

"Oh, I talk to him. He just doesn't talk to me when Charles is around."

"So how did he manage to tell you that Brendan is gay?"

"Well, Charles wasn't around when he told me."

"Oh, you're so fucking cute. Anyway, when did he tell you?"

"I don't remember. Last year sometime."

"Well, I had to find out from Leah."

"How did she find out? Oh, don't tell me she tried getting it on with—!"

Brianna leans across the Formica tabletop to give your shoulder a hard pinch-and-twist. "She found out from Scott Frazier."

"Scott Frazier from the basketball team?"

"Yeah. So anyway, Leah was dancing with Scott last weekend and they got to talking, and Scott told her that Brendan's gay. He also told her that everyone on the squad knows Brendan is gay. Except Gordon and Steve."

"Oh, bullshit. No one on the squad would be okay with Brendan being gay."

"Well, Scott says they are. But they all keep quiet about it because of Gordon and Steve. So, you know, you should keep it quiet. Scott even swore Leah to secrecy."

"Oh, Jesus!"

"What?"

"So Scott swears Leah to secrecy, but here we are talking about what Scott told Leah?"

Brianna turns pink. "Well, Leah only told me 'cos she wanted to know if we should tell you!"

"And there's everyone else you and she told. Like Hermione, right? What?" you add when Brianna looks even more embarrassed.

"Okay, yeah, we told Hermione. I know Genesis knows, and Melanie. And probably—"

"Oh, fuck us."

"Well, I'm sure it won't go any further! 'Cos—" She shrugs awkwardly. "There's hardly anyone else to tell."

"Only the rest of the school. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? How to put the toothpaste back in the tube?"

"No! I— Well—" She looks discomfited. But even then she can't keep it bottled back for more than a few seconds. "Well, one of the things Scott told Leah," she says in a rush, "is that Brendan doesn't want Charles to know."

Your eyebrows lift. "Excuse me? Scott told Leah about Brendan, because Brendan doesn't want Charles to know? How is telling Leah supposed to keep it a secret from Charles?"

"It isn't!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

"That doesn't have anything to do with— Scott added that bit after he told Leah. Like, 'Yeah, I told you this, but keep it away from Charles, 'cos Brendan doesn't want Charles knowing'."

"Oh, Charles knows. Count on it. He's probably the one who told Crispin."

"And it's because Brendan doesn't want to get lumped in with Charles because he can't stand Charles."

"He can join our club."

"And that's just it!" Brianna exclaims so loudly it actually makes you jump a little. "That's what we were talking about this weekend!"

"Who was talking what?"

"Us! What we were talking about! That Brendan doesn't like Charles, and you don't like Charles, and you're both, well, gay—"

"Oh, fuck!"

"Shh! Now you need to keep your voice down!"

"You're not serious," you growl at her. "Just because we're both— And neither of us likes—"

"Well, it's worth thinking about!" Brianna blusters. "Neither of you like Charles and neither of you is like Charles. And, you know, you're good at being friends with everyone, Jack, so even you didn't, you know—"

You knead your temples with your fingertips. "Okay, is this what you wanted to talk to me about? I mean, is this the whole thing?"

"Yes," she says in a small voice.

"No other brain farts you want to squeeze out?"

Brianna sticks her tongue out at you.

"Okay, now you've told me, and I know what Hermione was getting at, and I won't jump like a javelin-thrower who's sat on his own javelin if anyone else talks to me about it. But that's all I promised to do. And now I have to go."

"Jack!" Brianna protests as you get to your feet. But you only return her a tight (though cheery) smile and march out to your car.

* * * * *

Highway 37 and Morris is the same spot you met Patterson over the weekend: a lonely intersection out in the countryside where you can see for half-a-mile or more in every direction and only the horses will return your stare. Will Prescott's truck is parked by the side of the road when you get there, and he's perched on the hood with his phone out when you pull up. "Hey," you greet him. "So he wants to talk to you too. What about?"

Prescott waggles his phone. "Well, for a start, he wants a way of talking to us without having to— Fuck!"

"What's wrong?"

He only glowers and sighs, then says, "He's set up a couple of fake accounts for us online so we can DM each other."

"How come we can't DM each other from our real accounts?"

"Fuck you."

"Look, would you rather have switched into this body?" You throw your arms out. "You're attitude stinks, Patterson."

"I didn't want to be switched with anyone!"

"None of us did. And I'm pretty goddamned sure Jack doesn't like being stuck where he is now. None of us like this, but you're the one making the most noise about it." Prescott glares. "Suck it up. That's what you'd tell the guys on the squad if they were bitching as hard about something as you are."

Prescott bristles, but the color also washes from his face.

"Well, he doesn't want us using our real IDs," he says, "because he doesn't want anyone noticing that we're talking to each other. Or, at least, to him. Because"—he makes a face—"that guy doesn't usually talk to guys like us."

"Okay, so he's trying real hard not to ruin your reputation. And this pisses you off because?"

"Because he's acting like me!" He crosses his arms.

You don't push him further, but you do wonder. Is it that Patterson doesn't like being treated the way he treats other people? Or is he just freaked out by seeing Jack Li do such a good imitation of the guy he's being forced to imitate? Maybe it's both.

Prescott gives you the fake accounts the you and he and Steve are supposed to use, and you're checking the texts you've missed while you were talking to Brianna, when the third of your trio arrives. "Hey." He nods at you as he unfolds his lanky self from the sedan. "I set us up some x2z accounts—"

"I already told him, gave him his and ours," Will says. His tone is brusque but polite. "How was practice?"

"It was fine. I can fill you in later if you want. But the other thing I wanted to talk about is, I had a brainwave about what happened to us."

You and Will exchange a glance.

"This isn't like a soul-swap or a body-swap, or a thing like that. This isn't your body, Steve," Patterson says as he grasps the front of his t-shirt. "It looks like yours. But it's really mine. Just transformed."

Again, you and Will exchange a glance. "You mean, like, morphed?"

"Yeah, like that disguise potion in Harry Potter. If I'm remembering it right. Chelsea morphed our bodies into copies of each other's bodies."

"How do you figure this?" Will demands.

"A couple of ways." Patterson ticks of a finger. "First, when we woke up, we woke up where we got knocked out. If our souls got swapped, or whatever, we would have woken up where our new body got knocked out. Next—" He ticks off another finger. "We were naked. As though we had to be stripped so our clothes wouldn't rip apart when the change happened. And third—" He takes a breath. "Chelsea. The fake one. She was in two places at once when these things happened. So it wasn't her. But it did look like her. So the person must've used the morph-potion on herself to disguise herself, then probably morphed herself back. Or himself back. Because it doesn't have to be a girl who's doing it."

* * * * *

You have to admit that Jack's hypothesis makes sense, though it leaves you in a worse place than before, since you can now be pretty sure that Chelsea has nothing to do with what's going on, and that eliminates your only suspect. But you don't have time to talk much, because Will has to get home for dinner.

That gives you some time alone with Jack, which, if you want, you could spend telling him about your talk with Brianna.

Next: "A Text-Based Game" 

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