Chapter #10Rent the mask to Dylan by: Seuzz   "Jailbait," Eva says with a tsk as she surveys herself critically in the mirror. She turns and stands on her tiptoes and studies her profile. "But fuckable jailbait, I guess. Yeah, I know some frat boys who'd like a snatch at this."
"You can make her up to look older," you point out.
"Does she come with a wardrobe?"
You shake your head. "In fact, we'll probably have to hit the thrift store to get something for you to wear."
"Oh, I wasn't going to wear her home," says Eva. "Unlike you perverts I don't get off on having boobies to play with." She frowns. "I'd much rather have a dick if I'm going to get in bed with some of those guys, but—" Her expression clears up, and then turns mischievous. "This'll work."
She then turns to give you and Caleb a hard stare. "Where did you say you found this thing?"
"In a dumpster?" It would sound more convincing if Caleb hadn't stuck a question mark at the end of his answer.
"Uh huh," Eva says dryly. "Are you sure it wasn't ... Jeremy Richards who gave it to you?"
"Jeremy has nothing to do with this."
"Really?" Her eyebrows shoot up. "You mean it wasn't Jeremy down here fucking Eva a few days ago?" She grins. "Shame about what happened in that chair. They were so close to a mutually satisfying climax."
You and Caleb exchange horrified glances. "How do you know about that?"
She rolls her eyes. "Hello? Like, I'm wearing a goddamn mask you guys—or someone—made with the help some magic book or other? And after the chair broke you started going through it and looking at more spells? And you were all talking about how maybe you wanted to bring your friend Keith in, or maybe me, because I'm—"
"Okay, okay!" Caleb cries, holding up his hands. "Jesus."
"Yeah, so don't give me any bullshit about not knowing where this thing came from, or about finding it in a dumpster." Her smile is sharp. "I want in on whatever you guys are up to."
"We're not up to anything," you protest. "We're just trying to figure out what the spells in the book do."
"You don't have a lot of imagination, do you?"
"Look, just rent the mask from us. Two hundred bucks and you can have it for tomorrow night and Saturday night," you say.
"And we'll tell you if we learn something new and exciting," Caleb adds. You suppress the urge to kick him.
"Two hundred is a lot for only two nights."
"Think of what you're renting."
"And I'd have to buy that wardrobe. Makeup. Shoes."
"None of which mean anything if you haven't got the mask."
"Mmm." She holds up four fingers. "Four weekends. Fifty bucks per weekend."
"We need the two hundred now."
"I'll give it to you in advance if—" She holds your eye. "If you tell me what the next spell does."
"We don't know." You explain how the book doesn't describe a spell's effects until you've made and used the object.
"Very convenient," she sneers. "So what do you need all this money for?" You explain about the fuel, but decide not to mention the dirt. When Caleb starts to say something, you interrupt with "Oh yeah, and a little dirt or something. That costs nothing, of course."
She still looks skeptical, but shrugs. With your help, she rips the mask away, turning its wearer back into a skinny blonde guy who's only a few years older than Eva and almost as bitchy. "I'll be back in twenty minutes with your cash," he says as puts his clothes back on.
Once he's gone, you and Caleb tear into each other. Your friend is defensive. "How did I know he'd figure out everything once he had that mask on," he demands. "It didn't occur to you, either. I just assumed the mask recorded everything Eva knew and then stopped."
"Well, it's a hell of a way to find out it hasn't got a 'stop recording' button," you fume. "You heard him. He wants to be our partner."
"Yeah, but he's got money, and it's not like we've got a plan for him to be partners with us in on."
"Why do I get the feeling he's going to be making plans?"
Caleb shrugs. "It might be nice to have some idea of what to do with this stuff."
"And what if he tells someone else?"
"He wouldn't," Caleb says.
"Unless that becomes part of his plan," you say uncertainly.
"What do you mean?" Caleb glares at you.
"Oh, nothing," you say. "Maybe he just rubs me the wrong way."
* * * * *
Whatever else, Caleb's cousin Dylan is true to his word and returns with ten twenty-dollar bills. You hand over the mask, but caution him about keeping away from any of Eva's known haunts. He sighs impatiently and tells you to unbunch your boxers.
Money in hand, you and Caleb hit the supply stores the next day after school; it's a Friday, and you'll have all weekend to work on the new project. You're a little less than thrilled about part two of your plan, which involves sneaking into a graveyard in the middle of the night. It's hard, unpleasant, and slightly spooky work shoveling out four hundred pounds of earth into lots of bags and stowing them in your truck, but at least you're done before midnight. You drop off Caleb before swinging by the school, where you stack the sacks in a corner next to an outside wall. As you do so, your eye keeps wandering back to the basement door.
You don't like Dylan. You don't trust him. He's going to do something, you're sure, something either very stupid or very unpleasant. When you look in his eyes you can see the gears whirring. He says that you and Caleb have no "imagination." The trouble is that you do; you just keep trying to ignore the possibilities even while digging deeper into the book. But now there's one possibility you just can't ignore.
You've got some spare material in the basement; you could easily make up a new blank mask-and-strip. Such a thing might be useful as ... insurance ... in case something went wrong.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author