The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

Clearing the Air

Previously: "Lost and Loster" 

[Text by rugal]

You could stop by Natalie's but you quickly realize that's totally unfeasible. Like Gillian had warned, you don't want to come off as a stalker and you're not sure how well stopping by her place unannounced would go over, either with her parents or with her. Yeah, you'd really come off as a creep, then. Plus there's the matter of you having no clue how you'll get back into the basement. You don't know the first thing about picking a lock, after all. But above all of that, you know that your dad would be upset with you if you took any unnecessary detours.

So out of a lack of real options more than anything else, you decide to lay everything aside and just go get that pizza. You do still want to make sure things are good with Natalie, however, so you shoot her a text: Gillian says u got buffer back is things ok? You don't even expect her to reply, so you're thunderstruck when she texts as you're finishing up dinner: can u meet me @ scool basement?

Maybe you're feeling a little pissy, because you decide to leave her hanging and don't respond immediately. This prompts another, more desperate sounding text from her.

will im sry but its rly rly important! plz!!!!!

At that you give in and text her back, telling her that you'll meet her as soon as you can. Your dad questions where you're going but all you say is that you're going to meet up with some friends and that you'll be back later. There's not much your dad can do except to remind you of your curfew. You assure him that you probably won't even be out all that long but that you'll be mindful of the time all the same. Then you hop in your truck and head out towards the community center.

* * * * *

For the second time today, you pull up to the Acheson Community Center although this time you make it a point to park in the parking lot—you really don't want to risk catching the attention of that annoying guard again—and make your way over to the school building and towards the basement. Natalie is sitting on the ground, face in her phone and back against the door, as you trudge over. When she spots you, she quickly pushes herself up and you note that her face is pale and expression panicked.

"Will!" she cries out. "Oh thank god, you have to help me!"

"Whoa, hold on," you say as pull up to where she is. "What's wrong?"

"That!" she exclaims as she points to the lock. "I need you to open it!"

You look at her, shake your head and sigh. "I can't open it," you tell her. "That dumb security guard changed the lock."

She stares at you for a moment, totally dumbfounded. "They changed the—can't you just, like, pick the lock?" she insists.

"I have no idea how to do that!" you exclaim in return. "I mean it wasn't even locked when me and my friend found it. I'd need bolt cutters or something to get it off. And probably a new lock, too."

"Then go get it!" she cries desperately. "Hell, I'll get you the stuff, but I need to get in there!"

It's not late and Walmart would definitely still be open so you could get what you need pretty easily and if Natalie is offering to pay, then even better. This is partly her fault, after all. Plus, she seems pretty freaked out and desperate and you're certainly curious to know why. So you ask her just that. She's quiet for a minute and awkwardly looks down at the ground, like she's ashamed, before she finally mutters something.

"I, uh, maybe lied," she admits. "My dad's buffer is kinda sorta still down there."

* * * * *

You get the story from her on the drive out to Walmart.

She'd gotten the idea to put that mask on you. Not for any nefarious purpose but just to surprise you as a joke. What she didn't expect was for it to literally sink into you and when it did, for you to fall to the ground. She panicked and tried to wake you up but it was pointless because you were totally unconscious. In her harried state she saw the book and the weird pentagram and Latin words. She did a quick translation and she couldn't help but think that you were "like Braydon" which was only reinforced, in her mind, by a message she saw on your phone that Braydon was looking for you.

So the two of you were obviously up to something and it was something weird involving her and this freaky book and the mask that had knocked you out so she grabbed it all up and hightailed it out of there.

"Natalie," you sigh, "that's completely insane."

"I know! But I was just so freaked out that I wasn't thinking straight! I mean, I watched that mask, like, melt into you and knock you out! I didn't know what the hell was going on!"

"Well I'm not in any kind of cahoots with Braydon," you say. "Fuck, I want to avoid him because somehow half the school somehow already knows that I was out with Gillian today so he's probably pissed at me."

"Yeah but you have that, uh, magic book and he likes magic so I thought that maybe—"

"I've barely ever spoken to him!" you protest. "Like I said, I picked up the book at Arnholm's because it was cheap. I was intending to submit it for this dumb time capsule project for my sociology class originally. I'm not some kind of occult freak like Braydon but it's, apparently, real magic so who wouldn't be interested?"

Nothing is said beyond that and you glance over to see Natalie, arm propped against the door, staring out the window. "Sorry for being a dumbass," she says softly. "God, I act like such a stupid kid some times."

You're not really sure what to say to that and so you wind up driving the rest of the way to Walmart in silence. But with a little time to cool down, you decide that you can't stay all that mad at her.

* * * * *

You're able to grab the stuff that you need and true to her word, Natalie pays for it. She explains that while doesn't have a job right now, her parents are somewhat generous in providing an allowance—she insists on calling it a stipend—for their daughter. The two of you then make your third trip back to basement where you're able to successfully get the current lock off and put the new one in place. Natalie wonders if they'll get pissed that the lock was changed but you guess that they probably won't even notice.

"Nobody noticed our original lock after all," you add.

"Yeah, how did they notice it this time?" Natalie asks.

It's your turn to feel embarrassed and contrite as you admit that it's your fault. "When I came to you were gone so I'd asked one of the security guards in the building if he'd seen you or my stuff," you explain. "When he was helping me look, he saw that the door was open and when I came by later that's when I saw the new lock."

"Well, I guess we were both dumbasses, then," Natalie replies with amusement.

Down in the basement, you find the still plugged in car buffer and grab it. On the drive back to her place, she's now much chattier with a lot of focus on her interests, telling you about how she'd love to make comics or trying to convince you read certain manga that she likes. You're glad that her spirits seem to be up again after what you'd seen earlier.

"Hey, uh, about what you said earlier when we were driving out to Walmart?" you blurt out as you pull up to her home. "Don't worry about it, I'm not mad or anything. I like hanging out with your."

That seems to catch her off guard. "I really thought you'd be super pissed off," she says with a nervous smile and laugh. "And, uh, yeah, I like hanging out with you, too. We can get together tomorrow, if you want."

* * * * *

It's around ten on Sunday morning when Natalie texts you asking if you want to hang out, though you have to tell her to wait until later because you've got church with your family. Once it's done, you send her another one asking where she wants to meet but she says she'll swing on by your place and asks you for your address, which you give her. It's not terribly long before you hear the doorbell ringing and race down, opening the front door to see her standing on the other side. You invite her in though you're curious how she even got here.

"Uber, duh," she answers with a giggle while handing you a bag. "Here, it's your stuff. I forgot to give it back to you yesterday."

In a mirror of yesterday, you introduce Natalie to your parents and she makes it a point of telling your dad about her dad. His response is gruff but positive, saying that he's a good employee and that he'll likely go far in the company. You're ready to leave and are about to put the bag up in your room when Natalie stops you.

"Hey," she whispers, "you know I tried looking at the book last night out of curiosity and I couldn't turn the page. But there was this spot on it that was shaped like the mask and when I put the mask on it the page turned!"

"What? Really?" you ask in surprise.

"What do you say we go the base and take a look at it?"

Well, you'd wanted a partner for the book a week ago and you'd considered Natalie as a potential one so this would eliminate that barrier. But she was also freaked out by it yesterday so you wonder if that's a good idea. You do want to hang out with her but you know you don't need the book for it, even if she's the one offering.

Besides, you get a text from Caleb asking if you're doing anything today and that makes you wonder if it'd be good to bring him into this too. Or at least, introduce Natalie to some of your friends and bring her into your group. Maybe that'd dispel the idea to anyone that you and Gillian were up to anything yesterday.

Next: "The Perils of Pushing Your Luck Too Hard" 

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