The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

Good Sports

Previously: "Group Activities" 

Good Sports

There's no time to waste, as far as you're concerned: The sooner you're out of your shit life and into someone else's, the happier you'll be. You'll also be happier if some of the jocks who pulled you outside are among the victims, but you'll settle just for being on a par with them. So:

"Let's keep it simple," you tell Sydney. "Let's take over one of the sports teams."

She gives you a sidelong look, and dimples show in her cheeks. "What?" you ask her.

"Nothing," she says. "It would serve you right if we took over the girls' basketball team.

Your heart goes sideways in your chest. "Is that what you want?"

She laughs. "I don't want anything in particular, Will," she says. "Except to do this thing and to do it with you. So don't feel like you have to make me happy."

You're not sure what she means by that, but you can make an educated guess, and it leaves you burning with embarrassment: She thinks you want to turn yourself into some chiseled jock in order to impress her. You remind yourself to keep the discussion firmly focused on who would be "best" from the point of view of your "Brotherhood-to-Be" when you talk it over with her.

* * * * *

Sydney drops you off at the elementary school to get started on things, then leaves to run errands and to pick up some supper. It's barbecue that she brings back, along with a few other things. None of them are ingredients for more masks or memory strips, though, and you'll need supplies if you're going to make enough masks for her plan, as you explain to her as she starts cutting up cardboard boxes. "How many?" she asks.

"At least twelve, right?"

"Twelve?"

"Well, ten for each of the brethren. Didn't you say we needed ten? And then we need two for us. To cover for us when we're pretending to be two of the other Brethren."

"Right. How many do we have to start with?"

You've got two masks ready to be used, and three more unpolished ones that need memory strips.

"That's enough for a start," Sydney says. "Our first two ... converts." She smiles privately to herself while concentrating on her work.

"Well, no," you correct her. She looks up. "That's enough for one switch. A mask to copy, um, one of us, to put on the ... convert. And one to copy the convert for us to ... wear."

"Do we have to do a switch right away?"

You take a deep breath. "I'd like to. Yeah, I'd like to go ahead and switch with someone, if you don't mind."

Sydney shows those dimples again, and drops the box cutters. She sidles over to you, and takes your fingers in hers.

"Don't get too used to the idea that you're going to be someone else, Will," she says. "I still want to be with a guy who looks like Will Prescott." She puts her open mouth to yours, and you strain with every fiber to fill her mouth with yourself. "Mm, yeah," she sighs when you break off. "Like that. So if made two brethren with the masks—"

"I still want to switch," you insist. "Um, I got in a bad fight with my friends today." Her brow furrows. "Basically, I'm not friends with them anymore."

She frowns. "What happened? You didn't pick a fight with them, did you, Will?"

"No! They just—" You feel shame flooding your cheeks. "They just figured out that I basically stole you away from Caleb. And so they don't want to be friends with me anymore."

She snorts. "Well, it's their loss. But that doesn't mean you have to run away."

"I just don't want to look at them anymore."

"Alright." She laughs softly. "We'll get you a new alias. You still want it to be one of the sports teams? Which one?"

* * * * *

Well, there's a lot of possibilities. And though you were thinking about the boys' basketball and football teams—as those are the teams that include those assholes from yesterday afternoon—Sydney has reminded you that there are some girls' teams too. And even some coed teams, like the swim team.

* To pick a girls' team: "The Jockettes" 
* To pick a boys' team, continue below

Manly Choices

Before you can make a decision, though, you need to know how Sydney envisions it working out.

"Okay," you say, "suppose we, uh, make it the basketball squad—"

"Boys or girls?"

"Well ... either. That's what I'm asking. Didn't you say we need, like, a mix of guys and girls?"

"Sure." She stirs her finger inside a cup of barbecue sauce, and sucks on it.

"I guess what I was assuming," she continues, "is that we'd do five on each team. Like, five of the guys on the basketball squad, and five of the girls on the girls' squad. Although—" She cocks her head. "Maybe it would make more sense if it was five on a squad, and then we just find five people who would be a good match for them. Like Gordon Black, he's dating the head cheerleader isn't he?" You nod. "So there. If we pick the boys' basketball squad, then his girlfriend and the girlfriends of the other guys would be the natural ones to add."

"Well, let's go with one of the boys' teams, then," you say, for you're still thinking in terms of those asshole jock friends of Blake's. "That would be— What are you doing?" you ask, for Sydney wiped off her fingertips and plucked her cell phone from her pocket.

"Just checking the possibilities," she says. "Basketball, football, baseball, right? Who else?"

"Soccer?"

"Uh huh." She drags a fingertip over her screen a couple of times, and taps at it. "Mm," she says. "There's a lot of overlap between football and wrestling. We should probably just dump all those guys in one bin."

"What about, like, the swim team?"

"That's more co-ed. Same as track and tennis."

"I thought those were different teams for boys and girls."

"Well, they are. Sort of. But there's more guys to pick from if we stick to—" She studies the screen. "Basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. Oh, and wrestling and lacrosse. You know, maybe we should just do a mix instead of pulling them all off of one team."

That's all for now.

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 4)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)"