This choice: Slap the golem mask on her • Go Back... You make your decision. Your hand reaches down and picks up Dana's mask. You stretch it out towards her. "Here," you say, your hand outstretched expectantly, "put it on." Dana eyes you with confusion. But it's not a more innocent, befuddled expression but a look that's asking you if you're serious. After all she's said you're still going to go on like nothing it was nothing? You try to reassure her. "I just want to charge it up with your memories." you tell her, "When I get home I want to put it on. I want to experience first hand how you're feeling about this. I want to understand you better."
Dana looks from mask to mask: the one in your hand and the one you wear. The mask of her sister's best friend; the mask of faux-sincerity that adorns Joanna's face. "And what happens when you do?" she finally asks.
"It depends." you state, "If it affects me enough then I'll drop it. I won't bother you about it and I'll tell Sarah that this is a no-go."
"If it affects you enough?!" the tone in Dana's voice is very incredulous.
You shake your head, "I didn't mean it in that kind of a way. It's hard to explain. It's a feeling deep down inside like if your soul and your conscience had a child."
Dana eyes you unsure of how to take things but finally she grabs the mask from your hand. "Fine, I'll do it. Because I know you'll see whatever it is you're looking for and I know you'll make the right choice." she states. Then she takes the mask and puts it to her face.
"Dana?" you ask as she comes to, "Hey Dana. You have to listen to me right?" She nods though looks a bit unhappy about it. "Good, then go tell your sister what I said I was going to go home and think on things and that tomorrow I'll give you guys an answer. Keep her a bit because I need to change." Dana then gets up to leave, "Oh and if I'm gone before you're done... tell her Yumi says goodbye." you add.
* * * * *
After leaving you decide that you've still got time before Mrs. Saito gets on your case so you decide to send a text to Caleb asking if he's at the loft. When the "yeah" reply comes you toss your phone into your purse and head on over. As you open the door you call out, "Hello?! You there?!" And then you see it: four sets of eyes turning right to your direction.
"Will?" Jelena starts before catching herself, "Will you get out of here?! What are you doing?!"
"I... I came to talk for a bit but I didn't know you had other people here." you stammer.
"I texted you telling you not to come because I had other people here." she claims, "Didn't you get it?"
You pull your phone out of your purse and sure enough Jelena's message is there. "I threw it in my purse and never realized I got another one, sorry." you apologize.
"Let her stay, Yell." Andrea Varnsworth proclaims, "It'll be interesting to have her perspective on things. You are involved in this aren't you?" she quickly adds that last part.
You reply with a simple "I am."
"Great, because I've always wanted to know what life is like up on Mt. Olympus." Sienna Goldman replies rolling her eyes.
"If you think I'm anything like Chelsea and her gang you're wrong." you insist. "She treats me like crap, just as much as she does anyone else. Probably moreso because she sees me as a rival."
"And what do you do about it?" Andrea asks, "You're in a better position to do something."
"And what would that be?" you ask.
"I dunno, run her face into a locker?" Sienna asks with a shrug.
Fatima Zahedi turns in shock to her friend, "She can't do that." she claims, "I don't think she'd want to do that."
"It's not that easy." you state hanging your head, "Lin and Eva are bitchy but they're good people. Jessica's a good person. But..."
Jelena perks up at that, "But there's a split in the cheerleaders, isn't there?" she asks.
You nod, "Yeah, I guess if you want to call it that. There's the four of us but Chelsea has Michelle, Maria, Kendra, and Gloria. We're outnumbered." You look around at the expectant faces assembled before you, "Michelle is a simpering yes girl. Maria's an airhead who can't think for herself. Kendra and Gloria are her goons."
"And she's got the Gordon and the basketball team." she points out.
"And that's why we're here." Jelena states simply.
"Actually, how are we here?" Fatima asks, "I thought that it was only the basketball players that came up here."
Jelena just smirks, "People are clumsy and some times drop their keys. Some times they go missing. Some times you find them and then make a copy."
"Fuckin' ace!" Sienna exclaims as she takes a sip of her beer. She offers some to you but you politely decline. "That's one way to get back at these pricks. Stupid meat head mother fuckers."
"Right, but like I said that's why we're here. We recognize things are messed up here and that they need to be fixed." Jelena says getting things on track.
"But I don't know if this is the best way to do it." Fatima protests, "These masks, replacing people... something about it seems wrong."
"They might be a little wrong but at the same time we don't have any choice, do we?" you retort.
"Yumi's right." Jelena says in the most reassuring tone she can muster, "These masks... they're tools. And when you're working on a project you use the tools that you have at your disposal."
"But some times those tools are dangerous. Some times it's not just a wrench but a chainsaw." Andrea states, "I'm in, mind you, but I'm coming at it from Fatima's point of view."
"Yeah but, like, it's not the tool's fault if someone gets their head lopped off because they were a fucking idiot." It's Sienna's turn to chime in, "I'm still neutral by the way. I'll do it if the rest of you are... maybe just to keep you all honest."
Fatima looks down, "I know, I know. But it just sounds like an invasion of privacy. Or like we're doing things which could have bad consequences." she crosses her arms, "And you know that whole thing about absolute power."
* * * * *
It's a debate that continues for about twenty minutes before Fatima is finally convinced that these things won't be abused. That if stuff looks like it's getting out of hand then everyone backs out. She still seems a bit uncomfortable about things though so you take the initiative to change the conversation. "So, this is the first time I've really met any of you besides Jelena." you start, you're not quite sure what to change it to but you remember that discussion of her home life is what prompted a longer general one so you start by asking them about how things are at home for each of them.
"Diane's a cunt." Sienna states, "Fuck, not even a cunt. A turbo cunt."
"Diane?" you ask.
"My dad's girlfriend." Sienna answers, you can already see the disgust building on her face. "Some weathered bar skank who's going to squeeze every last dime out of him and then try and get high and mighty with me. She's not my mom but even if she was my mom sucked so fuck her. Fuck her right in her dumb whore face."
"What about your dad?" you ask.
"Fuck, my dad's great. Mom was a bitch. Cheated on my dad forever then ran off when I was six. That's why you don't try and tame a groupie I guess." she says with a wry grin, "Dad played in a band when he was younger. Never were the biggest but they did good in the area. He introduced me to all kinds of music. All this real hardcore punk shit that he was into when he was my age. It's awesome. He's awesome. I just wish he'd stop letting dried out, Pacific wide pussy control his life."
"Guess I'll go next." Andrea says as if this was group therapy. "We're doing the full Breakfast Club thing, right?" she smiles. "God I love that movie... Anyway, yeah. My parents aren't rich but they do alright. I dunno, I live on my own in a small house. It's a rental property they own that they've never been able to get any takers for so they gave it to me for half-off on rent when I turned eighteen. That was my birthday gift, I guess. Outside of that... I dunno, it's not that interesting I guess. I live a pretty spartan lifestyle. I don't need cable or any of that, just internet and whatever movies I can find."
"What about you, Fatima?" you ask.
She just shrugs. "My parents are muslim but they're not, like, strict about it or anything. I never really got into it. We tried the whole hijab thing for a while and it didn't work out. I think they decided that as long as I stayed out of trouble and was good to others that'd be good enough. It's a pretty bland home life, I guess."
* * * * *
Hanging out with Jelena's circle, or the ones Caleb gathered, is genuinely enjoyable and by the time you realize it it's close to ten. The conversations leave you reflecting though. Fatima's hesitance reminded you a lot of Dana's. The rest of you convincing her... well you tried that too. And maybe it was like when you had her put that mask on so you could control her. Is that what you should be doing? Should you really be getting Yumi's cousins involved in this and then force it on them if they don't accept? Maybe it's best to turn down Sarah and take the mask off of Dana; apologize and make them promise that they'll never speak of it to anyone again and hope they remain trustworthy.
Or maybe you should just leave things how they are. Concerns are concerns but you, and Caleb, have enough presence of mind to know when you've crossed a line... right?  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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