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A high school student finds a grimoire that shows how to make magical disguises. |
Previously: "The Temptation To Be What Another Wants"  You nearly slide off the hood of your truck in shock. Gordon would be okay with me becoming Chelsea's new boyfriend? And he'll even help me get into a mask of whoever that new boyfriend might be? Even if you weren't sorely tempted by the idea, you'd be a fool not to take him up on this offer. And even if you never act on it, just having the offer in your back pocket would be a boon. "Okay," you tell him after sucking in a deep breath. "Welll, we can talk about, uh, Chelsea later. And who, um, might be a good match for her." You feel yourself reddening all over, and dart Gordon a quick look. "But right now— Jenny, huh?" You squelch the urge to ask him why he's interested in Jenny of all people. "You think you have a chance with her?" Even in the deepening twilight, you see Gordon's expression turn cold. "What I mean is," you stammer, "Jenny's had lots of guys chasing her, and none of 'em— I mean, this isn't about you—" You feel yourself starting to gabble and gibber. "It's about Jenny. I don't know if anyone—" "Maybe no one's tried hard enough," Gordon says in a chilly voice. Trying hard does not seem to you the way to win Jenny Ashton, but you feel like you've already crapped all over yourself enough. "Well, I can talk to her—" "That's what I'm asking you to do. I know what you're thinking, Prescott," Gordon goes on as you feel your stomach sinking. "You're thinking I'm some kind of dumb ape who just thinks he can—" "I don't think that, man!" "Don't shit yourself man. It's so easy what I'm asking. I'm just asking you to talk to her and tell her that you and Johansson have gotten to know me and you know I'm a good guy. And that I'm all through with Chelsea and I'm sick of girls like her, that I think I like Jenny and I want to get to know her better. Don't tell her," he continues, his voice heating up, "that I wanna fuck her. Just tell her I just think she's interesting and I think I want to know her. Can you handle that?" Well, phrased that way it doesn't sound nearly as unlikely, and you tell him that you think that would work. Or, at least, that it's a better approach than a lot of other guys have tried with her. "Phenomenal," he says. "Tell her you and me and Johansson are doing something Friday night, and she should come hang out with us." "Are we doing something Friday night?" you ask. Then you hastily correct yourself. "I mean, what are we doing Friday night?" "We'll think of something. We'll go out and get a pizza maybe. Ask her what she wants to do." You promise him that you'll talk to her first thing tomorrow. "You don't have to make it first thing, Prescott. There's no pressure on you here." Oh, but there is, you think. If I'm going to deserve the prize that you're promising me. * * * * * Preoccupied as you are with the job Gordon's given you, you completely space out on Caleb's suggestion that you skip first period and come hang out with him at the portables. It's not until you are in Walberg's classroom that you remember, and even then it's only after you've leaned over to hiss at Caleb that you've got to talk to him about Gordon. "Yeah, what's going on with him?" His expression is open and curious. You're about to tell him about the talk you had with him last night—the part about him wanting to ask Jenny out, not the part about Chelsea—when you are floored by the sudden realization that this isn't Caleb you're talking to, it's the fake that you all put in his place. Your heart does a couple of somersaults in your chest, and the world briefly turns gray as the blood rushes from your brain. "You okay, Will?" golem-Caleb asks. "Yeah, I, um—" You're about to tell him that you made a mistake, that you need to talk to the real Caleb, when it hits you that you don't need to. "David Kirkham" has nothing to do with Jenny Ashton, or with Gordon, and he barely has anything to do with you at the moment. If you're going to take Jenny out with Gordon, it's going to be this ... magical robot ... that needs to go with you. So— "He wants to do something Friday night," you tell him. "Yeah, what?" "I don't know. He doesn't know. He wants us to think about it." "It seems like all he likes to do is stay in." "Well, he wants to go out and do something. With someone." "Sure, I'm okay with going with him to do something. As long as it's not, like, getting in a fight with the football team again." "No, I mean there's someone in particular he wants to come with us. All three of us." Caleb's brow furrows. "Who?" You're about to tell him, but Mr. Walberg chooses that moment to heave himself from behind the desk and waddle up to the lectern. * * * * * You text Jenny between first and second period, asking her to meet up with you sometime during the day. Not lunch, you tell her when she suggests that you join her and Carson and James out on the front quad. Got a favor kind of to ask. She replies by suggesting you meet her in the library third period, if you can afford to skip. Not only can you afford to, you are happy to skip Mr. Petersen's dumb "Career Planning" class. You're less than happy, though, to find her at a table with four other girls, including Eva Garner, when you step into the library. "Hey Will!" she calls when she sees you. "Over here!" She beckons you to the one empty seat at her table. "Uh huh," you grunt as you join her without sitting down. "Can we go talk in a corner? Just for a few minutes?" She blinks at you, then turns to study the reactions of the other girls. They all exchange puckish glances, and you feel yourself blushing all over. "Sure thing, Will," Jenny says with a knowing grin as she gets up. You feel the eyes of the other girls on your back as you lead her into the farthest and emptiest corner of the library that you can find. "Okay, look, this is a really weird favor to ask," you tell her, and you are suddenly cold all over. "So, don't shoot me down right away, okay? Just hear me out." "I always give you a chance, Will," Jenny chirps. "Well—" You rub your sweaty palm on your shirt. "This isn't really about giving me a chance. It's about giving someone else a chance." "Uh huh?" Jenny's expression now turns guarded. "Look, I know you don't go out with guys—" "I go out with guys!" You do a double take at her. "You do?" you squeak. "Who?" She shakes her head. "Never mind." "Well—" "Just get to the point, Will." But now you're really on your guard. You have been expecting Jenny to shoot down your favor without even a listen, because she never goes on dates. Now she's saying she does date? You don't know what to expect now. "Listen, you know that Gordon Black moved in with Caleb? I mean, he's renting a room from Caleb's mom?" "Yeah. How's that working out, by the way?" "Fine. Great, actually. Gordon's actually a— He's a great guy. Um, once you get him away from his asshole friends," you add so that what you've said doesn't sound totally incredible. "Pfbt! Well, tell that to James," Jenny snorts. "What about James?" Her tone turns scornful. "You didn't hear? Gordon hauled him up to that gym loft of theirs yesterday, and punched him out. Like, unconscious." It takes you a moment to realize what Jenny is talking about. "Oh, right," you say when it comes back to you: Gordon carried James into the loft and put a brain strip on him, to copy his mind so he could do a Latin translation. "Is that all you have to say?" Jenny snaps. "'Oh, right?'" "Gordon told me about it. He's sorry." "Well, if he's sorry, he can start by making it up to James." You deflate, for now you see how impossible the job is. Jenny is being mad at Gordon on account of what Gordon did to James yesterday. The last thing she's going to do is "hang out" with the guy who "punched out" her friend. You're about to tell her Never mind when, in a flash, you see a Hail Mary play. It's a million-to-one shot, but it's the only shot you can make. "Well, what if I told you that he did that because he's jealous of James?" you say. Jenny frowns. "What's he got to be jealous of James about?" "You." * * * * * Gordon texts you at the start of fourth, to ask if you've talked to Jenny. You tell him what Jenny said. He then goes silent for the entirety of fourth and fifth periods. Not until it's almost the end of your lunch period does he send a reply: Would I have a chance with Jenny if I turned myself into Lamont? Next: "Challenge of the Girl-Bosses" |
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