This choice: Insist that he take Gordon • Go Back...Chapter #11Keeping Cameron's Commitments by: Seuzz   "I can talk to Caleb about it," you say slowly. "But I think he was really counting on you taking over for Gordon."
"Are these masks set up so that you can only be certain people?" James asks.
"No. Or, I dunno. I guess it's complicated." You try to recall what Caleb said about that special sealant he put inside your mask to hide the real Cameron. You're not clear on what exactly put the "Will Prescott" mask under your control. If you put that stuff inside the mask of Cameron, would that put the fake Cameron under your control too? James (who thanks to the Cameron mask knows pretty much all that you do) also seems to be thinking about it. "Yeah, I dunno," you finally admit. "That's another reason I don't wanna improvise something without Caleb's say-so. We might fuck something up."
James nods. "Maybe we should just do what you guys have planned." He chews on the inside of his cheek. "Gordon would be fine."
He puts his hand to his face, and pauses. You smile quietly to yourself, waiting for him to ask how to take the mask off. Then, to your surprise, he mutters the words and pulls at his brow. As he falls backwards he changes back into his own form, and the mask clatters onto the ground.
You blink and pick up the mask with a wry smile. You'd forgotten that "Cameron" knows how to take off his own face.
* * * * *
Truth to tell, you're probably more motivated to reclaim Cameron because of the chance to get together with Anne. After James leaves, you call her up. "You promised me we could get together tonight," you remind her.
"You're the one who changed our plans," she says, and she doesn't sound happy.
"I got my business taken care of. Early, too. We got the rest of the night."
"Rest of the evening," she corrects you. "We could have had longer--"
"So what you're saying is that I should have been over at your house five minutes ago."
"What I'm saying is that you should have been over at my house right after school."
"Well, I'll be over in a few." You hope it's not rude to abruptly hang up. You don't want to put her even deeper into the mood for a fight.
* * * * *
If she's in a temper, she mostly keeps it hidden, though she does turn her head when you bend to kiss her, so that you only get a taste of her cheek. She also insists on moving into the back yard, where her parents are plainly visible through the big plate-glass window in the living room--and where you're plainly visible to them. You do your best to relax, though, as you sit on the deck at the outdoor table. "How was your day?" you ask.
"It was fine." She eyes you carefully. "You didn't get too bruised."
"I could take my shirt and pants off, let you get a closer look," you tease. She demurs. "I held my own. I made my point. That's all I wanted."
She sighs. "You don't have to make it for me."
"I know that." You lean forward. "Forgive me?"
"For what?"
"For being a fucking Neanderthal? For trying to straighten out Douglas and Black and--"
"There's gotta be another way of taking care of them," she sighs. "I know you're not going to get hurt or anything, but--"
"But what?"
She seems to weigh her words carefully, and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. "In some ways you haven't changed that much from middle school. You were always trying to ... to make your point there."
"Yeah, I was a prick. You didn't like me much, did you?" She hesitates, and shakes her head a little. "But that was different. That was me being a prick."
"That was you being a bully."
"I'm not arguing. But I said this is different. This is me trying to get other guys not to be pricks and bullies."
"It's still a lot of testosterone, and it's still a lot of guys throwing punches in order to show who the top dog is."
"That's what I'm fighting. You know what this was about today, right? Didn't I tell you?" She shakes her head. "Douglas and them got in a fight with Sean and Scott. I had to break it up. I had to punish Douglas and them. I tried doing it your way, the way a team captain should. You know, with laps. What happened at lunch was them showing that it didn't matter."
"So you just got back down in the trenches with them."
"I have to defend my authority, or I lose it." You're feeling your own temper beginning to rise. "Porter and the other teachers, they don't-- Aw, fuck it."
"Don't swear at me," she says, and her own face changes color. "And Ms. Graham stepped in and stopped it without you having to do anything."
"She stepped in and stopped me from stopping it! That's how come I had to--" You sigh and twist in your seat. "That's how come I had to meet Black after school."
"And did that meeting stop it?" You have to hang your head. "It didn't, did it?"
"I said I made my point with them," you mumble.
"Well, I've made my point with you," she says, and reaches for your hand. "Maybe not any more successfully, but I can give you something Gordon wouldn't give you."
"What's that?"
She kisses you.
* * * * *
Maybe you should take her wishes more seriously. But you don't hesitate the next morning when you arrive at Westside, and find Jason Lynch in the breezeway beside the gym with his foot planted on James Lamont's back. It would be a bad show after yesterday's meeting with James if you didn't intervene.
Lynch is turned away from you, so he's taken totally by surprise when you push him against the wall, pin him, and punch him hard in the stomach. He's a tough bastard, though, and manages to keep from bending double completely. You grab him by the hair. "Don't fuck around with my friends," you growl at him.
He giggles. "Don't fuck around with mine."
You shove him away. His eyes glint maliciously, but he's too small to take you on, so after a chuckle he just struts away. You help James to his feet. He gives you a wry smile. "Thanks, I guess," he says. "Catch you later?" You nod, and he smiles with anticipation.
All things considered, the morning workout goes smoothly, and though Douglas and the Hall brothers are insolent, they stay well on the safe side of your line. You maneuver things so that you get Sean alone by one of the weight machines. "I talked to James Lamont last night," you say. "He's on board. Carson might be too, if James has talked to him."
"Cool," he says. "I'll hook up with them today some time. Or, actually, set it up so they hook up with Caleb. It won't look as weird that way."
"You got a problem being seen in public with guys like that?" you tease.
"Let's just stick to correct role-playing," he murmurs back.
* * * * *
But after what you did for James, you don't feel the need to keep Cameron away from their group, so between classes you circle the halls so you can crash the intended meeting, and before lunch you wind up chasing them down by the portables. They've already been talking--Caleb is with James and Carson--and it looks like they've already gotten into an argument.
"I wanna have a look at that thing if I'm gonna get involved," Carson is saying. He does a double-take as you sidle up.
"You already had a look. Prescott showed it to you," Caleb says.
"Yeah, hey," Carson says to you. Then it's back to Caleb: "But I didn't know what it was. Now I do. I wanna have a closer look."
"You don't need a closer look at the book," Caleb says. "Not as long as I'm in charge. Speaking of which," he says, turning to you. "I want you to talk to Keith. I'll have a mask for you this afternoon you can show him." You nod.
"Well, how about this," Carson says. "Can we get together, like, this afternoon, so I can look through it in your presence? Would that be okay?"
"I have work after school," Caleb replies. He and Carson frown belligerently at each other, but Caleb seems to feel the force of the three people staring at him. "Yeah, okay," he mutters. "For thirty minutes. I'll show you what you need to know."
"Best to keep 'em happy," you tell him after Carson and James have gone.
"Best of them to keep me happy," Caleb retorts. "If he's gonna bust my balls--"
"Welcome to Team Management 101," you laugh, and clap him on the arm.
* * * * *
You'd planned on getting together again with Anne, but when classes are over she tells you--to your mutual regret--that her flute teacher has to go out of town and rescheduled her lesson from Friday to today. That leaves you with the afternoon free. Freedom! Horrible, horrible freedom, you mutter satirically to yourself as you trudge out to the parking lot. You're watchful for an interception from Lynch and his friends, but the way is clear, and you make your car without incident.
But what to do with your freedom? You could head over to Salopek, and try finding Caleb over there, pick up Keith's mask. Or you could just goof off.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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