Chapter #14The Plot Against Cindy Vredenburg by: Seuzz   Yumi a friend of yours. Not a close friend, but friendly enough. Cindy Vredenburg, on the other hand, isn't. So it's not a hard choice.
"That's a really good decision," Chelsea brightly replies. Her eyes go slightly out of focus even as her smile remain fixed. "In fact, that will work very nicely all the way around. Gordon," she says. "I really think Jason needs to stop spending so much time up here. He's a bad influence on you."
"Yes, Chelsea," Gordon says tonelessly.
"Seth Javits would make a much better friend. Tell Jason he can't come up here any more. Tell Seth he's now one of your VIP buddies."
"Yes, Chelsea."
Dammit, you'd forgotten about Javits. He's not the psycho that Jason Lynch is, but he has a special kind of love for your friend Keith Tilley--the kind of love that manifests as bi-weekly humiliations and bi-monthly beat downs. And now you'll get to be his girlfriend.
"What's wrong, Will?" Chelsea asks, and there's a manic gleam in her eye. She must have caught your expression.
"I guess Javits is going to be, you know, the connection that lets me up here."
"Don't be silly. Cindy's going to be breaking up with him."
Huh?
"He's one of the reasons she think she can be my rival," Chelsea continues. "Because she's got a would-be star basketball player coming inside her every other night. I don't know how she's avoided having an abortion yet. And actually, when I say Cindy's going to be breaking up with him, I mean that Seth will be breaking up with her. Isn't that right, Gordon?"
"Yes, Chelsea."
"Don't keep 'Yes Chelsea-ing' me, Gordon--"
"No, Chelsea." She frowns, and the golemized Gordon shifts nervously on his feet.
"You can ask what I mean, can't you?" she says. "Or did that fucking mask give you psychic powers?"
"Yes, Chelsea. No, Chelsea."
You raise a hand. "You know, maybe one reason Patterson spotted something wrong with Gordon is because you've turned him into this robot."
She opens her mouth to retort, and then stops. "Huh. You know, you may be right. You are smart about these things, Will. Gordon, stop being a robot."
"Oh, goddamn it, make up your mind, you dumb cunt!" Gordon exclaims, and stalks angrily from the room.
You both stare after it, you with trepidation, and Chelsea with dumbstruck amazement. You swallow; the thing is probably going to be extremely unpleasant if you run into it again.
But back to the matter at hand: "What do you mean, Seth will break up with Cindy?"
She starts to answer, but then scrambles over to where a mask rests on a crate. She sweeps it up and drops it onto the recumbent Steve Patterson. A flush of flesh sweeps over him, and he sits up with a glare, then does a double take at the sight of Chelsea. Then he does a double take at the sight of you. "The fuck--?"
Chelsea shoves a finger in his face. "You have to do what I say, don't you, Steve?"
He looks at her warily. "Uh ... Yeah."
"But you're not a robot."
"If you say so," he says, guardedly.
"Good. Now, Steve, tomorrow you're going to get together with Jason, you and Gordon are, I mean, and you're going to tell him he can't come up here any more, because he's a dumb and gay and has to learn his place."
Patterson's expression combines shiftiness and confusion. "Yeah, sure."
"And then you're going to talk to Seth Javits. Tell him that you like how he's developing as a basketball player. Tell him whatever crap you tell people who are doing good. But tell him he has to show he's a team player. Tell him he has to break up with Cindy." You start in surprise and even a little horror. "Tell him if he breaks up with Cindy, then he'll get a key to the--" She says the next few words with distaste. "To the fuck room, and he can take girls up here whenever he wants. But not Cindy. Because he's broken up with her, you know. And if he doesn't break up with her, then he's off the team and he's not your friend, and you'll show him what it means to not be your friend."
"Mmhn," Patterson says. She frowns at him fiercely. "Yeah, I'll do it, but-- Is Gordon down with this?"
"You tell him that's what I said to do, and if he has a problem he can see me. Tell him he's not a robot, but he has to do what I say anyway." She smiles smugly at you. "That'll be like our secret pass phrase."
You carefully don't roll your eyes.
"What about this fucker?" Patterson asks, jerking his chin at you.
"Don't mind him. He's my guest. It's not like that and don't look at me that way!" she exclaims. Patterson recomposes his features. "And you won't see him up here anymore after tonight." She casts a coy look at you. "Isn't that right, Will?"
"Yes, Chelsea," you say tonelessly.
* * * * *
You turn from the window as Chelsea's bedroom door opens and Cindy Vredenburg walks in. She stops dead just inside, her eyes widening as she sees you. Then she lurches forward as Gordon and Chelsea push her inside. She looks rapidly between you and Chelsea. "Okay, so what's this so-important conference about?" Her eyes crinkle in suspicion as she turns back toward you.
"Oh, do you know Will Prescott?" Chelsea asks brightly. Cindy nods curtly but none too convincingly; you'd bet money she only now has a name to connect to your face, and that she'd just as soon forget it. "Will, do you have that thing ready?"
"What, this?" you ask with feigned innocence as you hold up the blank mask. Gordon closes the bedroom door.
"Exactly. Cindy, you'll never guess what, but Will wants to join the cheerleading squad!"
Cindy jerks a little, and stifles a laugh. "Um, I thought you said we were never going to let any boys join."
"I know! But after what Will has shown me--" Chelsea's grin is so wide it's terrifying. "I had to change my mind!"
"Really."
"Really. And here's the best part." She clutches Cindy's arm. "He's going to be replacing you!"
Cindy's face seems to lengthen by several inches. Her shock is only momentary, and she puts a hand on her hip.
"Actually," Chelsea continues, "When I said he'd be replacing you, what I meant was, he's going to become you. Gordon, now!"
You groan inwardly at the cheesiness of Chelsea's melodramatic villainy.
Gordon clasps strong hands on Cindy's arms. Chelsea whips around to you. "What are you waiting for? Do it!"
You sigh and lumber forward, and as Cindy struggles you put the mask to her face. She goes very rigid, then slumps.
"What the hell were you waiting for?" Chelsea's mouth twists into a rictus.
"Sorry, I was drinking in the moment," you dryly reply. "Do I get to undress her now?"
"Show a little decency," Chelsea says primly. "You'll get to play with her boobies soon enough. How about you just wait in the bathroom."
You do as instructed, and amuse yourself in Chelsea's private bath by picking up and putting down her various feminine products. You twist a lipstick open and hold it thoughtfully near your mouth as you regard your reflection. Tomorrow morning I'll be doing this, and it'll be Cindy's face looking back at me.
A short eternity passes before Chelsea peremptorily summons you back. Your twin is there, holding himself crookedly to shield his nakedness. Your spirits sink a little more. "Okay, is it my turn to have some privacy?" you ask.
"Don't whine like a girl, Will. Wait until you are one. But okay. Meet me downstairs when you're done. Come on, Gordon." Her boyfriend leers and winks at you as he leaves.
"This is all kinds of fucked up, boss," your twin moans.
"I know, but we have to live with it." You pull off your shirt.
"Gordon snapped a picture of me while I was--" He jerks his head at Cindy's clothes.
"Perfect, and why am I not surprised."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"About Black and Patterson? Stay out of their way. About Chelsea? Play along. Just keep things, you know, normal."
"Oh, yeah, this is totally normal."
* * * * *
You walk slowly down the stairs, not because you feel unbalanced--it took very little time to get used to the subtle changes in weight distribution--but because you're conscious of Chelsea and Gordon watching you. Gordon smacks his lips loudly, and Chelsea beams. "You are just the prettiest thing," she exclaims.
"Thank you!" You step forward and hug her and she hugs you back, and the embrace on both sides feels totally insincere. "So you want me to ...?"
"Spend the first day getting used to things, I guess. Seth will hit you with the breakup on Tuesday, probably. Be a total wreck. You know, play it real." She sniggers. "Oh, and here." To your surprise she hands you the magic book. "Have a look at the next spell. I can't make heads or tails of it, but I know you can, because you're the smartest girl I know!"
Can't be much competition for that title. But you're glad to have the book. Now if you can just get some supplies ...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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