The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

An Escape Route Into a Dead End

Previously: "Respect from Unexpected Places" 

It's almost an out-of-body experience --

And since you're not in your body, but in Bhodi Weaver's, in a sense it is.

-- as you rise to your feet.

Really, you should just go help Paulina, but you have to walk past Andrew to get to her, and you can't help putting your hand on his shoulder and shoving him aside as you pass.

And he shoves you back, hard, hurling you into another table.

You fly at him, more flailing than swinging, throwing him back across his lab table. He pounds a couple of blows as you drag him to the floor.

Girls scream and guys yell. Hands bat and tug at you. You tear at his shirt and grapple for his hair. He grabs a good handful of yours while pounding you in the sides.

But then burly arms insert themselves into the scrum, and a loud voice barks Andrew's name and Bhodi's. You let go of Andrew, and he lets go of you, and you fall back to breathe and glare hard at each other.

* * * * *

Mr. Carr pulls you and Andrew out into the hall. The teacher is hard-faced but fair as he demands that you explain yourselves. Andrew, of course, says that you started it by shoving him; you insist you were only trying to brush past him to help Paulina and that he shoved you halfway across the room.

The upshot is that Mr. Carr punishes neither of you, preferring to imagine it was just a matter of misunderstanding and testosterone, and sends you back inside with a strict order to leave each other alone. Naturally, the air is poisonous between you and Andrew, and you catch him and Aaron muttering together; and you and Austin Carpenter also mutter.

So you're not much looking forward to your seventh period Art class, which you share with Andrew's friend Elijah. You make a point of taking the long way around to your locker before heading to Mr. Trencher's room.

It's a weird mix of students in there. It's Art II, which means it's for people who are pretty serious about the visual arts -- drawing and painting and such like that -- and you'd expect it to be a pretty bohemian crowd. But even for an art class, it's a pretty ragged bunch. From the sophomore class, for instance, there's Trask McKinney, whose bloodshot eyes, filthy blonde hair, and skinny torso and arms mark him out even to the naive as a particularly wasted specimen of drug user. From the senior class, Justin Roth has the same glassy-eyed look, though his frame is much more robust.

The two weird people in there are George Mendoza and Andrea Varnsworth. Mendoza's presence gives you a particular fright, and you're glad you're in disguise, for he is one of Chen's friends, and you stiffen as he watches you come in and take your seat. As for Andrea -- Well, you are of two minds, but both of them agree that it is an achingly intense pleasure to have the gorgeous captain of the swim team lounging in a desk, showing lots of thigh and calf and tummy.

There's something else that bothers you about the room, though, and it's not until Roy Booth drops heavily into a desk behind an empty seat that it hits you -- Dane Matthias is in this class too.

Shit shit shit shit shit! There's nothing you can do about it, of course, and there's no real danger. But how awful is it going to be to have the real Evie Cummings show up, probably still confused and horrified from her bizarre alteration into the stoner senior? What if she comes over to talk to you -- Bhodi Weaver, one of her friends -- and tries to convince you of who she really is? Could you fake your way through while pretending not to believe her?

Dane is usually tardy, Bhodi's memories tell you, so it's no relief when his seat is still empty when the bell rings, and even after twenty minutes of class you still jump slightly at every little thump or footfall in the hall. Not until there's only ten minutes left in the period do you begin to go numb, but even then you experience only two minutes of comparative relaxation before you start to dread walking out into the hall in case he's out there waiting for you.

But when the bell comes and the weirdness arrives, it's from a totally unexpected quarter: Elijah Washington.

You and he catch each other's eyes as you're getting up. "You sure are jumpy, man," he says softly, and grins a little at you as he slips his jacket on.

"I'm not jumpy. What makes you think I'm jumpy?"

He shrugs lightly. "Maybe you're not. But you kept jumping."

"I'm not jumpy."

He shrugs again. "Ain't nothin' to worry about, you know."

"What should I worry about?" you demand.

"Nothin'. Like I said." He shrugs his backpack onto his shoulders, and the whites of his teeth and eyes contrast boldly with his dark skin. "Andrew's just an asshole, that's all."

You're too dumbfounded to make a reply as he struts slowly from the room after delivering that mot.

* * * * *

But now it's eighth period. The period you've been dreading. The period that Bhodi shares with Evie Cummings, and thus the period when you will see the real Bhodi in his new guise.

It's true that you heard at lunch that Evie is absent, but maybe that was just a rumor, so you approach Mr. Kowalski's Geometry class with great caution. But her desk is empty, so you allow yourself to relax a little as you go inside.

Grant and Joe and Andy are in there, and both of them are looking up at you with wide eyes. "What?" you ask, and tense.

They look at each other. "Dude, we heard you totally whaled on Andrew Webb in your biology class," Grant says.

"Oh, that." You shrug and roll your eyes, as though it was a complete and completely inevitable victory you scored over him. "He had it coming."

They look at each other again. You like the look of respect in their eyes, so you can't resist embellishing. "Yeah. He was giving crap to Paulina, so -- " You mime popping a guy. "And it was for all his other crap, too."

Grant covers his gasping mouth. "Oh my God." Joe settles back and blinks, as though this revelation of your mettle requires a reassessment of some important variables. Andy puts his hand up for a high five, and you give it to him.

* * * * *

So that's the first day of your new life. Pretty successful in most ways; but you've only dodged trouble with Evie and the real Bhodi. When Andy asks what you're doing after school, you tell him that you're going home. That will be the safe thing to do, of course -- unless someone you don't want to see shows up to try to see you.

So after Joe drops you off, you throw your things into the bedroom, throw yourself onto the bed and text Caleb: didnt see u tday, wassup?

whatever. what u doing now?

clubhouse, work, masks?

ok, giv me 1 hr

That's going to cut it tight as far as your chores are concerned. Tonight's your night to fix supper, so you find your mom to ask about the night's menu. It turns out that although the menu won't be hard to prepare -- roasted spiced chicken, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes, there won't be a way to make the timing work. You text Caleb back, telling him you'll meet him at the school at seven, and get to the prep work, doing homework at the kitchen bar while waiting for the various items to finish.

Of course, it's a surprise to you that Bhodi has to fix dinner on some nights, and it's a surprise to his friends as well. But when you think about it -- as Bhodi has -- it makes sense. His mother insists that he learn how to do things, and cooking isn't really that hard. The recipes tell you what to do, and she has a line of cookbooks with menus that are very easy to follow, though she has spanked them up with her own changes and corrections. Bhodi's been partly responsible for meal prep since he was thirteen, and he's more than used to it by now.

Over dinner, which turns out perfectly, you talk about the day while leaving out the drama in Biology, and casually drop that you're going to be doing something on Friday with friends. That elicits no comment, but then you didn't need it to. Because you fixed dinner, your parents clean up.

To cover up for your absence, you change into running clothes and pretend that you're going for a jog -- as the sun isn't far from setting, you will have to make it a quick session with Caleb, mostly to swap notes. He said in his texts that he had finished up a couple of new masks, so you'll have to talk to him about who to use them on. There is also the next spell in the book, which you have to decipher.

You're just jogging up when Caleb appears. He rolls his eyes when he sees you. "Nothing," he snorts when you ask what his deal is. "Just can't believe it's you. Except I can, since I have to spend the day babysitting the fake you."

"What's he getting up to?"

"Nothing good. Why can't you go back to being yourself?"

You're about to retort that you can't because -- And then it hits you. Why can't you? If you shoved Gordon into this mask of Bhodi, he could carry on as the sophomore, and you could resume your own existence.

In fact, you could do that right now, probably.

* To continue: "A Turn of the Tables" 

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