The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

The Westside Book Club

Previously: "The Search for Support" 

[Text by rugal.]

You can show them the book and Kim could certainly help you with this stuff... if she even believes it of course. But at the same time someone like Fairfax might just have the kind of detail-oriented mind that could help with something like this. Of course that doesn't mean that you can't just both show them the book and ask Mike about Fairfax either. So you decide to hedge your bets. You'll show them the book and if you can get them, or at least Mike, on board then you'll ask about Fairfax.

"Well, all I did was follow the instructions that were in the book," you say as you open it up to the first spell.

"Latin?" Kim asks as you hand her the book and she's able to get a good look at it. "Where'd you get this book again?"

"At Arnholm's?" you answer more nervously than you'd intended. "I got for two bucks because the pages were stuck together."

"Hmm," is all Kim says as she examines the book further. "No wonder the pages were stuck together," she says as she hands it back, "it looks really old. I mean what was the last book you can think of that was written in Latin?"

"It gets crazier," you say as you flip the page back to the warning. You point to it. "It translates as 'claim me with blood'."

Josie pales. "That is so creepy," she says.

"I like the addition of the bloody thumbprint though," Mike laughs. "Really going the extra mile with that. It'd make a great prop in some horror piece."

"That's my thumbprint."

"Dude!" he exclaims as you show him the cut left on your thumb from your pocket knife. "That's maybe going a little too far."

"It was," you start and now you're suddenly very wary that you're probably going to be embarrassing yourself in front of these people. "It was the only way I could get that page to turn. I told you that when I bought it all of the pages were stuck together and that included that first page there. But I did that and then I could turn the page."

You notice the three of them look at you skeptically so you pass the book off to Mike. "It's true. Try to open that page with the diagram," you tell him.

He takes it and pulls at the page. He pulls at it again and grunts. "Man, I don't want to tear the thing," he says.

"What's the matter? Is a little glue too much for you?" teases Josie. Mike just shoves the book over to her in a wordless invitation for her to try. She trues to pull it but to no luck. She pulls it a little harder but again no dice. She tries to see if she can work her finger underneath the page but there's absolutely no space for her to do it. Turning red from embarrassment she then slides the book back to you.

"I don't understand," she says quietly. "It's like it was one big, solid block. Like it's some kind of novelty fake book or something."

Mike, though, is feeling jovial again. "Maybe it's magic," he says half-jokingly which causes Josie to make a face.

"Maybe it is," you chime in, "because the way this works is that I guess as I finish each thing it unlocks the next page. I 'signed' the book with my thumb print and it turned. So if I finish polishing this," you say as you grab the mask, "then I guess that would mean this page would turn too."

"I don't think it's magic like in magic spells or anything," says Kim, "but I could see it being like a magic trick. Well maybe not a magic trick, more like a puzzle perhaps? Like a mental challenge." She takes the book and studies it and you see her eyes begin to light up as she gives it back to you once more. "It'd be pretty neat to try and solve it and see if the puzzles get harder over time don't you think?"

"Uh, so, do you want to maybe meet up after school and take a better look at it?" you ask her and suddenly you feel like a doofus because you realize that could easily sound like you're asking her out which you're not. Not that you wouldn't want to, Kim is cute with her long red hair and glasses, but you figure... well, you're just not asking her out.

But if that's the interpretation one could make then Kim either doesn't pick up on it or ignores it. "That would be fun and I'm off work today," she says as she gives it a moment of thought; her face soon softens considerably. "Oh, why not? Sure, let's do that."

Your heart skips another beat at that but it's broken up by Mike. "Man, if Kim's in then I'm in," he says as he flashes you a smile. "I kind of want to see what this thing has going on. What about you, Josie?"

"Me?" she asks as she looks at the book and mask. She looks over at Mike and yourself and seems to relent. "Sure. I guess the book's kind of creepy but it's harmless right?"

"So then we'll need to meet up somewhere," Kim says. "Unfortunately I don't really have anywhere."

"There's the community center in Acheson," you chime in. "I've got a key for a basement in the old elementary school. Me and my friends have been using it as a hang out spot."

"I like it," Mike declares with a grin. "I mean what better place to do magic than in a dank old basement?"

"I don't have any problem with it," Kim agrees. "Okay so we'll meet up at the community center after school and then Will can show us the basement if he's alright with it."

You're more than alright with it to be honest. You've never talked much to Mike but he seems like a friendly enough guy, plus spending some time in the presence of Kim and Josie sounds like a definite good time. So you agree with her and plans are set to meet up there once school lets out.

* * * * *

"Hey, so you know Philip Fairfax right?" you ask Mike as the two of you head off to Gladstone's class.

"I know him, yeah? Why?"

"Because," you begin to admit, "I've just heard he's got, like, this really mechanical mind and I thought someone like him might help with these, ah, puzzles."

"He does," Mike says. "So you want me to ask him if he wants to meet up with us?"

You nod, but then Mike snaps his fingers. "Forgot," he says. "I'm s'posed to make a video today with him and Carlos, some other guys. How about we all come out after to meet up?"

You hate to say no, but you try to soften it. "Maybe just you and Fairfax?" you suggest. "This isn't such a big deal that we need to tell everyone at the school."

You worry that you'll have insulted Mike, but he takes it in good spirit. "Gotcha," he says. "I'll put the bag on Philip and haul him out here after we're done making our video."

You don't really want to know about what this "video" is he's talking about, so you ask instead how he came to be hanging out with Kim and Josie.

"Well, it's not too interesting I guess," he says with a shrug. "Josie took one of the acting classes last year. I wasn't in the same class but the actors and theater people all know each other so I helped her out some with being comfortable in front a camera and on stage and stuff; I'll still help her out with that.. With Kim, I think it's because the two of them have to do some kind of two-person speech for their seventh. So we all got kind of mixed in together."

* * * * *

Fairfax studies the mask and the book for quite a bit in silence as the five of you hang out in the basement that's served you and your friends as a makeshift clubhouse.

It's Tuesday. Mike was too busy with his friends to make a time to get together yesterday, but he's more than made up for it by bringing his friend Philip along. You're still more surprised that both Kim and Josie accepted your texted invitation to join you and the others to study that book.

"I think yours and Kim's assessment of how the book works is correct," Fairfax says, "or rather it's what makes the most amount of sense. It's always the simplest answer." He then takes the mask and turns it over. "How long have you been working on this?"

"A few hours yesterday and a few hours on Saturday," you tell him.

"It looks like it's barely even been polished," he says in surprise. "And you've been using this cloth?" he says as he picks it up off the table. He examines it and this causes him to shake his head. "If you need to polish it why even waste time? Nothing will get done at this rate so you might as well give up."

"What are you trying to say?" you ask.

"I'm saying," he replies, "to get yourself a car buffer or something twenty-first century. It should probably work just as well."

It takes you a second to process that and then you're kicking yourself. "I'm such an idiot," you groan. "Hey, I live right down the street so will you guys hang out if I go and check to see if I've got anything like a buffer at home?"

Everyone else says they're fine with that as long as you don't take too long so you head up the stairs and out of the basement. You're surprised, then, when someone calls out to you and you turn to see that it's Kim. "Hey there," she says with a friendly smile. "Is it fine if I come with you?"

"Um, you want to... with me?" you ask dumbfounded causing her to giggle.

"Yeah, there's some stuff I want to ask you about. You don't mind do you?"

Next: "The Renewal" 

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