The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

Pickalittle Talkalittle

Previously: "Views Askew and Interviews" 

You text Laura to meet you outside the gym after school lets out. You try to keep your request to her short and simple—find out what Rebecca Sykes has been saying about the private talk you and she had on Sunday night—but Laura of course wants to know what it's all about.

"It's about Christian Padilla," you explain with an exasperated sigh. "He's being a pest, going around telling people how Rebecca and me, we, uh, went off together on Sunday night and had a talk."

Laura gasps. "Jack! Did you and Rebecca—?"

"No!"

"Well, what did you do?"

"We talked! But—"

"What about?"

You give her a look. "I don't tell people what you and me talk about when we have a private talk, like we did last night, do I?"

"We didn't have a private talk, we just studied together!"

"Well, that's what I tell people if they ask. But, you know, there were other things we did or kind of didn't talk about, and I don't— What's that look for?" A slow grin is unfurling across her face.

"Nothing," she says. "You just look so cute when you get flustered. But okay, I'll talk to Rebecca about— Wait, what do you want me to ask her?"

"Ask her what she and I talked about on Sunday when we went off together down by the river," you repeat with grinding impatience.

"Don't you know what you talked about with her?"

"Yes! But I don't know where Christian is getting his bullshit, and I want to know if he's making it up or if he's getting it from Rebecca."

"Oh!" Her eyes light up. Then they dim. "I still don't understand. But don't worry, I'll take care of it for you!" She scampers away.

"Just don't tell her that I was asking about what she said!" you holler after her. She replies by shooting a grin over her shoulder. It leaves you feeling like you've made a bad mistake.

* * * * *

You decide to tap a couple of more sources, so you arrange to meet up with Leah, Brianna, Hermione, and whoever they care to bring with them, for a homework session at the Crystal Cave coffee house after dinner. The "whoever they care to bring" turns out to be some guys from the school's chorale that you don't particularly care for: Robert Johnson and Landon Foley. Well, it's not that you don't care for them. But Leah has brought Landon along as a kind of date, and she seems to have brought Robert in as a potential date for Brianna (but without Brianna's knowledge, it looks like) so things get a little too awkwardly flirty for your taste. It also means that you don't get a chance to talk to Leah alone about what she might have heard indirectly about "Jack" and Rebecca on Sunday night.

But it turns out to be an interesting night anyway, because of gossip that Landon brings, and because of who else you see at the coffee shop.

Landon's news is that Brendan Tummler of the basketball squad is now officially out of the closet, and that it was Gordon Black, the squad captain, who outed him. There are shocked looks all around, many of them (to your intense discomfort) from the girls looking to you for a reaction. You, with a composed neutrality, ask what the story is.

"I heard it happened at the end of practice this afternoon. Gordon pulled everyone into a circle and told them at the top of his lungs that he's not going to tolerate any 'homophobic bullshit' on the team, and that if anyone has a problem with any of their teammates being gay then they can just quit the squad right away. And he even said, 'And if you do quit because you're a homophobic asshole, I'm gonna find a gay all-star to take your place'." Landon looks around the table with a smirk and raised eyebrows to gauge the reaction to his story.

"Whoa!" Hermione says. "But how does that, um, 'out' Brendan?"

"Yeah, everyone already knows he's gay!" Leah exclaims.

"Everyone doesn't know that," you correct her.

"Everyone on the squad does!"

"Then Gordon didn't 'out' him."

Leah blusters, but is rescued by Landon. "Well, what I heard is that Brendan went storming off the court after Gordon said all that, 'cos, you know, he knew that Gordon was talking about him. And so everyone who was up in the bleachers watching also knew that Gordon must'a been talking about him."

"So who all was there?" you ask. "Up in the bleachers?"

"I heard it from Mitchell. He was watching practice with Audrey. I don't know who all else was watching and heard all that, but Mitchell and Audrey were all, like, 'Whoa!' and then they were like, Gordon must'a been talking about Brendan 'cos he's the one who went storming off."

"I wonder why Gordon did that," Brianna says.

"Because Gordon's a dumbass," you say, "and he doesn't know how to handle these things."

"How would you have handled it?" Leah wants to know.

"I wouldn't have said anything. Maybe gone to Brendan and told him, Look, I know you're gay but it doesn't matter, only thing that matters is the team, and if anyone ever gives you shit about it, tell me so I can take care of them."

"I wish you were on the squad and running things there," Leah says.

You give her a look. Inwardly, you wonder you'd have done if you had got switched with Gordon instead of Jack, and found out Brendan was gay. Which naturally leads you say aloud, "I wonder how Gordon found out about Brendan." But that leads nowhere, just a dribble of speculation about who might have said something in front of Gordon about Brendan, and some nasty, salacious imaginings (which you try to cut off) about what Brendan might have got up to with another guy and Gordon saw them.

* * * * *

That's the gossip. The interesting sight—which sets off a mini-torrent of gossip of its own—is the study group that comes filtering in to settle at another table on the other side of the cafe.

It starts with Nathan Cruz and his girlfriend, Madison Fortney. They wave to you and your friends, and you all wave back, but there's no attempt to bring them over, and they don't try. A few minutes later they are joined by Abigail Kane, who is a cellist in the school orchestra, and a couple of girls that you don't know. When Preston Spinks joins them you start to get interested. But the shock comes when Kennedy Palmer, like Nathan a violinist in the orchestra, comes in with Steve Patterson's lanky arm draped around her shoulder.

That of course sets tongues wagging at your table, and there are lots of furtive looks and grins in that direction. Steve is a notorious player, always taking girls up to the "fuck room"—the loft above the gym where the elite athletes have made a kind of club house—while Kennedy, though a junior, is familiar to all the seniors as a girl who blew up her reputation, her credibility, and her social standing by spreading some false and ill-considered gossip around school last year. So there's lots of speculation that Steve is taking advantage of "damaged goods" as Kennedy desperately tries to raise her profile and her cred by going out with such a desirable stud. You keep silent, though of course you can't help shooting glances over too. Only in your case, you wonder what Jack is up to, and what is going through his head as he keeps leaning over to kiss Kennedy on the side of the head, or to surreptitiously cop a feel.

You're given one uncomfortable moment as a result of the other guys' entrance. It comes after your friends have gotten tired of gossiping about Steve, when Hermione bluntly asks you, "Why don't you go over and talk to Preston?"

You cover your embarrassment by glancing between her and him. "Why would I do that?"

You expect that to set off more talk, like the other night's talk about you and Brendan. But maybe Hermione has learned her lesson, and maybe so have the other girls. Because even though Hermione continues to give you a level stare, and even though Leah and Brianna exchange bright, brittle grins, no one says anything, and Hermione ends up only shrugging.

* * * * *

Naturally, Steve saw you, but he didn't acknowledge you, and you're just about to go to bed before Jack even DMs you with a report. Nathan got Preston to talk about u n him the other night. Said he got text from u suggesting get together. U and him talked for long time about music and competitions and things. Sounds like nothing happened and no one thought it sounded gay.

So you have to wonder: Why did Clover—for it had to be Clover Mystery—disguise themself as Jack and go on a chaste date with Preston Spinks?

You could of course text Clover Mystery to ask. But it seems pointless, so you don't.

The next morning, though, as you're getting ready for school, Clover texts to tease you about the situation: Hey heard u and Preston maybe have a thing starting u would look cute tgether.

I know it was u, you text back. Why u do it?

Don't u like Preston? Bet Jack does. He and Preston look good together had fun time talking. I know they did!

They didn't answer your question, so you don't bother to reply. Clover sends a follow-up, though. U think abt new u to be yet? Make Jack him again but u be new u.

No.

U want date Preston uself? :p

No!

Ok meet and talk anyway?

That catches your attention. Clover is willing to meet and talk? That could be a break.

Unless it's a trap, like it was last time, when Jack and Steve met the person they thought was Chelsea, and got swapped.

Next: "Thick as Identity Thieves" 

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