Chapter #29Two Girls and a Goober by: Seuzz   Yes, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense to you to use the mask on Karl rather than Kelsey. That's the long-range plan: to get masks of both so that you can stage a photo op of the two of them at the Donna Motor Court, and under present circumstances, it will be easier to get the mask of Karl first, then use it to get a mask of Kelsey, than to do it the other way.
So satisfied with this plan, you turn back to the metal band with renewed vigor and concentration.
* * * * *
You're practically finished when Eva comes inside with the polished mask, and goes into the bathroom to clean up a little after dropping the new mask by your side.
Do Eva and Karl get along? You ask the girl herself a little later while carefully attaching the band to the inside of the mask: "How's your relationship with Karl Hennepin?"
When there's no answer, you look up. "Who are you asking about?" your friend asks.
"Karl Hennepin. You know, the dongleberry in the fedora."
"I mean are you asking me or, uh—?"
You stare at her evenly. She looks so uncomfortable. You think you know what she needs.
Lazily you smile and lazily you uncross your legs and lazily you lay aside your work to get to your feet. "You gotta relax, girl." you tell her. You catch her by the shoulder and with practiced hands knead the bottom of her neck. "This is what you wanted, right? Masks of Eva and Jessica Garner so you could play with them? So roll with it, have fun with it. You're Eva Garner now." You put your mouth and nose into the side of her neck. "This is your skin."
But she stiffens. "Is Hannah a dyke?"
"No." A few memories flash back, and you feel Hannah's guilt and embarrassment. "Or not usually. Get a few drinks into her and she gets a little handsy and doesn't care who she's with." You let go of your friend and slap her on the rump. "So let's go find Karl."
"You mean Kelsey?"
"No, Karl. I figure if we get a mask of him we can get a mask of Kelsey easy."
"We've only got one new mask done."
"So we won't get Kelsey tonight. We'll get Karl and then—"
"I thought Justin said we were supposed to get Kelsey."
"No, I'm the one who wants to get Kelsey and Karl, and I think we'd better off trying for—"
"But don't we want another girl? For the party tonight?"
"Let's just try to do things my way, okay?" You give her another squeeze at the shoulders, and run your hands up and down her arms. "Eva? We are friends, aren't we?"
Her reply, when it comes a few moments later, is slightly acidic: "I think it's my brother you're trying to be friends with."
You slap her lightly on the back of the head and bend to pick up your shoes.
* * * * *
Sunglasses. The guys forgot to pick you up some sunglasses while getting things for the disguises. You almost shoo Eva—who is driving—into a convenience store so you can pick up some cheap plastic shades, but then you remember you haven't got any money. "Talk to me," you tell her instead. "Give me some gossip." You wriggle around in the seat, for you delight in the feeling of the fabric against your supple skin, especially the skin of your thighs. You stroke your knee.
"Like what?"
"Like about Karl and Kelsey, I guess. Did you and Jessica know about them?"
"Am I supposed to be talking like I'm Eva?"
"You are having the hardest time getting into character. Should we do some practice, some drills? Be Eva, tell me about Karl. I don't know him, you know, so us crashing in—Oh hey, we need to—"
"You know Hennepin just fine, dude. You had that art project together your sophomore year, remember?" She does a little double-take at your glare. "Sorry. Was that supposed to be you being Hannah?"
"Yeah, so start over. Why are we going to see him?"
"Are you a total ditz? We have that mask, we're—"
"Look, what is so hard about this?" You jab her in the shoulder with a hard finger. "I'm Hannah Westrick. You're Eva Garner. We're on our way over to see Karl Hennepin. Why? Try to think like the girl."
"I—"
"Who's I?" you snap. "Eva or Caleb? Be Eva when you say 'I' and 'me'."
Eva's gets the kind of pained expression on her face that you often see on Caleb's. You continue when she doesn't reply.
"I don't think I have a crush on him," you say. You cluck your tongue and cross your arms. "Maybe I should pretend like I'm interested in him?"
Eva opens her mouth, and you wait for a reply that is very long and hard in coming. And in the end it doesn't come at all. She closes her mouth.
"Okay," you say slowly. "Maybe we're—" You snap your fingers. "You told me about him and Kelsey. I'd be interested in that. Are Karl and Kelsey serious about each other?"
"I don't know," she says warily.
"How did you find out about it?"
Again she's a long time in answering. "Jessica heard about it. From Yumi, I think."
"Does Kelsey know you guys know?"
"I don't think so. I'm getting nervous just thinking about Kelsey finding out that we know. It's best not to get into her business, even when she invites you in." She blinks as though she's surprised herself, then furrows her brow. "I really don't know what Eva thinks about it all," she says in a faltering manner. "I think she doesn't want to know about it, or to think about it."
"Okay, so here's why we're going out there. You told me about Karl and Kelsey, and since I have him for a class I got curious and talked you into taking me to his place so I could get a closer look at him. Now, what story should we tell Karl about why we're there?"
"You don't have school work to talk about?"
"No, it's just Zoology. Maybe we don't need a reason." You turn to her with a grin. "I've crashed in on boys before. Have you?"
You can tell that Caleb wants to say something cutting in reply, or at the very least wants to deny that he's ever crashed in on a "boy." But maybe you've banged on about the pretense enough now—or maybe he's starting to warm to the impersonation—so he pulls back.
"Not really," says Eva. "Not like—" A little pink shows in her cheeks. "There was one time—I can't believe I'm telling you this, talking like this. But there was this one time last year when Bonnie Trask and I went over to where Alec Brown was working, and we basically picked him up and took him out dancing." The color in her cheeks deepens and covers her entire face.
You know who Alec Brown is, but you feign Hannah's ignorance. "I don't think I know Alec."
"Brownie," she corrects you. "Everyone calls him Brownie. He's totally your type. We should go find him instead of Karl."
"No, I want to see Karl. What are we going to do with him? Where do you want to invite him to go?"
"Out to the river?"
"With both of us?" You grin. "Would he like that?"
"It would make him blush. That's be fun." She lays a palm on your thigh.
You push it off roughly. "This is about Karl, Eva," you say with some slight frostiness. "Save it for later."
In the end, you decide that if you're going to crash in on Karl, you'll just play things by ear. The way real girls would.
* * * * *
Hennepin lives in the central-west part of town, where the houses are small and compact and old without being gentrified. As it's a Friday night, you'd expect him to be out with friends, but he opens the front door himself when you ring the bell. "Hey, Karl," you say with a low-throated growl and a twinkle in your eye.
His eyes widen a little, but they go over your shoulder to your friend. "Hey— Eva," he says.
"And I'm Hannah," you say with slight asperity. "We've got Zoology. Maybe you don't recognize me because you're not wearing your hat like usual?"
Hennepin is almost six-foot-three, and looks a little taller when wearing the fedora he likes to sport. At the moment his hair is free, though, springing out in a bohemian bouffant of dirty-blonde curls; with the gray sweatshirt and paint-flecked jeans, he looks like painter who has stepped away from his canvas and out of his garret.
"No, I know who you are," he stammers. "I just—"
"You're just surprised that you're inviting us in? You are, aren't you? Or is this a bad time?"
"No, it's fine." He steps aside to let you pass inside the pokey little entryway. "I'm here by myself—"
"That's nice."
"And I was just heating up some canned pasta for supper."
"Well, why don't we go out? The three of us?" You pinch the front of his shirt. "Are you fixing for your family?"
"No, I said I'm here by myself. My mom's working a night shift at—"
"Or we could stay here, sit around, talk. I bet you have girls over here all the time."
A slightly feverish light comes into his eye. You hold his gaze. A familiar feeling creeps over you. You are signaling your interest in a boy, and he's picking up on it. Judging by the kind of look Karl is getting, you could easily get lucky together tonight.
"I'm supposed to meet friends at the Warehouse later tonight," he says. "Would you guys be interested in going?"
You only want a mask of him; you've got plans for tonight; you can sense Caleb's hostility to the idea behind you. But Hannah would want to say yes. The Warehouse—the most exciting and disreputable party scene in Saratoga Falls—isn't a place she gets to go to very often.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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