The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

The Breaking Crisis

Previously: "Puppet Appeal" 

Do unto Steve Patterson as Chelsea did unto Gary Chen? The idea has an undeniable attraction, but you don't have to decide anything right away. Besides, you've a hunch that Chelsea's plots will lead in other directions. If she thought Steve Patterson needed Chen-like handling, she'd have already suggested it to you.

You detour outside on your way back to class, to the edge of the athletic fields, where the soccer team is practicing. You stand there, watching a scrimmage, until you're sure that Chen has noticed you. That, you hope, he'll see as your signal that you planted the stuff.

Then you go off to Chemistry to collect a tardy.

* * * * *

The excitement starts during sixth period. One of the secretaries comes onto the intercom and asks Mr. Muniz to send Marc Garner to the main office. You don't think much about it until the start of next period, when you get a text from Lin telling you that Eva got pulled from sixth-period English. You're pondering that when Deanna Showalter comes up. "Did you hear that Eva got pulled out of English last period?" she asks with wide eyes.

You shove your cell phone into your pocket. "Yeah, I just heard."

"Is there anything going on?" Deanna is a notorious gossip.

Yumi's protective instincts kick in, and you clam up, even though your mind is going a mile-a-minute. "Not that I know of. Maybe she lost an earring and someone turned it in to the lost and found."

So you're tense when last period comes, and Eva isn't in the orchestra room. You tense even more when you get a text from Jenny Ashton asking if you've seen Jessica, for she wasn't in seventh-period English.

Then Gary Chen swaggers in. You hold your tongue and continue tuning up as he drops into the seat next to you. He's got his own viola out and is scraping at it before he asks, without looking over at you, "The fuck happened to Garner in math?" He was in that class with you and Marc when Marc got called to the office.

"I don't know," you snap back. "Maybe it was a family emergency."

"Maybe," he says. "Thought you might know. You're plugged into that shit, aren't you?"

"Why, do you want to be plugged into it?"

He shrugs and concentrates on tuning. But the signal has been given, and immediately after class you start shooting texts around.

* * * * *

"So how much trouble are you guys in?" you ask. You're sitting cross-legged on one of the beds in the room that Eva and Jessica share. They are sitting on the other bed with haggard expressions while Lin leans against the bedroom door with folded arms.

"We don't know," Jessica says. Though she looks as distraught as her sister, there's more fire in her eyes. "We won't know until our dad gets home."

"Marc says it'll be okay," Eva says mournfully.

"Marc knows he can get away with that shit," Jessica snaps.

"But that's good, isn't it?" you ask. "Your parents wouldn't go light him and heavy on you, would they?"

Eva shrugs while Jessica snorts.

Lin says, "How did you try to explain it to your mom?"

"We haven't. She told us to wait until Dad gets home."

"So practice with us."

"But we don't know how it got in our lockers!" Eva cries out. "We don't bring stuff like that to school!"

Lin frowns. "You don't keep any of it here, do you?"

"No! And Marc doesn't either!" Eva says. "At least—" She glances at Jessica. "God, I hope he's not stupid enough to bring any of it—"

"Eva!" Jessica says sharply.

You and Lin exchange a glance. "If you're talking about Kelsey's parties," Lin says, "everyone knows what gets smoked there."

"Well, it's not like we bring home doggie bags," Jessica huffs. "And we sure as hell wouldn't keep them in our lockers—our gym lockers—if we did."

You and Lin exchange another glance. "Well, it's the gym lockers that explain it, isn't it?" you say. You've been wondering why no one else has made the obvious deduction, so you make it for them. "It's Chelsea who's behind it, right?"

Their expressions tighten. "You think so?" Eva says.

"Sure! She's trying to get you thrown off the squad! Even if the school doesn't suspend you or anything, it'll get you kicked off. She'll be all about 'zero tolerance' and that crap." You blow a loose bang out of your face and fall backward onto the bed.

"But what about Marc?" Lin says. "Why would she plant any in his locker?"

"And how did she get ahold of any of that stuff?" Jessica asks. "I don't picture her talking to any of the guys who deal it."

"So she got Gordon to get some for her," you snarl. "And whose side are you on?"

"I'm just saying—"

Whatever Jessica has to say is interrupted by a lot of thumping, as of large animals stampeding down the hallway. A moment later someone bangs on a nearby door. "Yo, Garner!" a hard voice calls, followed by more knocks. "I know you're in there, open up!"

You all look at each other, and there's a general rush on the door. From behind Eva's shoulder you peer out into the hall. Gary Chen is banging on a closed door a few feet down. George Mendoza, one of his hulking flunkies, stands behind him. Both of them glower over at you and your quartet.

The door opens, and Marc doesn't even have a chance to speak before Chen and Mendoza shove their way in. The door slams, and loud but inarticulate voices sound.

"Shit," Jessica mutters. "Why did Mom let that psycho in?"

"Does she know he's a psycho?"

"One look ought to warn her." She hurries down to put her ear to Marc's door.

The rest of you rush after. "Come back here!" you hiss. "Get away! If they hear you—!" Jessica shushes you, but Lin and Eva help you drag her back into the bedroom. "Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm being smart! You saw Gary's face, he's going to kill—!"

"Not here he's not!"

"Then why is he—?"

"Same reason we're here with you," Lin says. "They're on the soccer team with Marc, they probably want to know what the fuck is going on."

"They know what's going on!" Jessica snarls, "'cos Gary's the one that peddles that shit around school!"

"And if they're worried about the team," Eva says, "where's Marcos? Shouldn't he be out here, like you guys are with us?" She looks between you and Lin.

"I'm calling him," Jessica declares. "Someone has to be in there with Marc in case those assholes—"

* * * * *

She does eventually track down Marcos Rivera, Marc's best friend and his right-hand man on the soccer squad, but he's busy with other stuff and can't come out. Anyway, Chen and Mendoza leave long before he could show up. You see them when they go, too, for you struck a compromise with Jessica so that the girls' bedroom door is open. And when Chen comes charging out, he gives you a very direct look.

He even stops not three feet from the door to stare at your quartet. His eyes settle on you. They seem to spark.

Then he takes off downstairs, his and Mendoza's feet thundering loudly as they go. You hear a "Thanks, Mrs. Garner" from Chen and a grunt from Mendoza, and then they're gone.

Jessica and Eva have already rushed to knock at their brother's door, and you and Lin follow. Marc, looking pale under his tan, answers. "Are you okay?" his sisters ask.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"What did Gary and George want?"

He cocks a sour eyebrow at the question. "What do you think they wanted? Same thing you wanted," he says as he chucks his chin at you and Lin.

"What did you tell him?"

"That I didn't know how the stuff got in my locker."

"Did he believe you?"

Marc shrugs, then snorts. "Would you believe it? Chen actually lectured me on staying away from that shit!" He then gently pushes Jessica back and shuts the door.

"I guess Gary doesn't know what kind of stuff gets smoked at Kelsey's parties," Lin says as the four of you troop back to other bedroom. She cocks her head as she closes the door. "So I wonder where she gets it from."

"Ask Martin," Jessica says as she throws herself onto the bed. "He's the one who brings it in."

"I can't picture Martin buying weed from Gary," Lin says. "I can picture Kelsey buying from him, but—"

"Uh oh," you say as you examine your phone, which has dinged with a message. "Maybe I'll have a chance to ask him if he knows about Kelsey's parties." The others frown as you look up. "He just sent me a text, asking to meet."

"Who?" Jessica gasps. "Gary?" You nod. "Son of a bitch!"

"You're going to tell him 'No', right?" Eva says.

"I— I don't know." Probably you shouldn't have mentioned the text, but you were being too deep into character to catch yourself in time. "Maybe he wants to talk about Marc? And you guys? Find out what we're thinking and saying?"

"He's not the thoughtful type," Jessica growls.

"He just wants to get you alone," Lin says. "Don't do it."

"Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock," you murmur when the next text comes through. "At Starbucks." You swallow. "I don't think he's going to jump me in public."

* * * * *

The next morning. A Saturday.

"Omigawd!" Chen squeals. He grasps you by the hands and draws you over to a corner of the coffee shop and into a pair of leather chairs. "Yesterday was so awesome! I was so—!"

He gasps as he falls into a chair, and as he splays his legs you're startled by his very visible erection.

"How did—?" he starts, then catches himself. "Okay, first of all, how would you like to be Amanda Ferguson?"

* To continue: "The Script Takes a Screwy Turn" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 3)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)"