The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

The Assistant

Previously: "In Search of the Perfect Hiding Face" 

(text by rugal)

Stick masks onto influential people, put them under your control, make them like Chelsea and then you'll run the school. But you can't run it as yourself and the plan is for Westside's elite to be little more than proxies while you hide safe and sound in another identity. Someone below that upper strata or someone easy to overlook. But if they're easy to overlook, that means you need to make yourself aware of them which means you need the eyes, ears, and brain of someone who knows what's what around school. Someone like Deanna.

She might not be the person whose identity you need if you want to play the part of secret puppetmaster — she's a little too obvious after all — but you do need someone who knows things and she's going to know as much as anyone else in school can. You begin to feel a little excited at the plan that's starting to come together when reality smacks you: you need more. You've got two extra masks but what good would copying Deanna's body be when it's her mind that you're after?

You head out to the old elementary school to see how much of everything you have. You want to get started on the band but there's a pit that forms in your stomach when you remember how labor intensive it is. Besides, you have all this stuff for masks as well and it'd be a shame to not get any use out of it. After all, if you wanted to swap with Deanna then you'd need a mask of yourself as well; and maybe having more masks in case more... recruits reveal themselves wouldn't be bad. Even if you didn't want to be Deanna, you'll need a mask of yourself anyway for when you find who you do want to swap with.

So you put aside working on the band for the moment and instead get to work on the masks. Once you're done making the masks you then get to work on making the bands... well, the metal strips themselves; you don't carve anything onto them yet. All told, by the end that's six masks needing to be polished while seven bands sit waiting for their runes. But that'll have to wait for you check your phone and your eyes go wide when you notice the time. Your parents will be pissed if you're late for dinner so you lock up and rush home for now.

* * * * *

You're not gone all too long. You practically inhale your dinner — telling your parents that you just felt really hungry and that dinner was especially good tonight — before washing up and telling your dad that you're meeting up with some friends to study and do some homework. And when he casts suspicions that you're going to play around you, thinking on your feet, tell him that you're all doing it at the public library. That seems to mollify him enough that he only reminds you of your curfew.

Back in the basement, you're about to start polishing when you decide to try your luck and send a text to Chelsea asking if she's doing anything. When she confirms that she's not, you decide to press your luck with this whole "boss" thing and tell her to come out to the old elementary school and send her directions. You're busy polishing a mask when you're startled by a tap on your shoulder. You turn to see Chelsea looking at you with amusement.

"Jesus, you scared me!" you gasp nervously. Even if she's under your control, it's still Chelsea Cooper and you're still feeling nervous.

She simply giggles, however. "I wasn't, like, trying to or anything. I actually called out to you, you know being all like 'Hey boss!' and whatever, but I guess you didn't hear me," she explains. "So, what are you doing?" she asks as she cranes her neck.

You show her the mask you're working on, explaining the buffering process, and show her the rest of the masks as well as the bands. She's suitably impressed. "You've been busy, huh boss?" she says. "What for?"

"For making doppelgangers, remember? Like I told you about earlier? Like—"

"Like what, boss?" Chelsea asks.

You pause though. Chelsea's a doppelganger, your first doppelganger. But that's just it, she's not really Chelsea. She's whatever you want her to be. She has to listen to you, right? Obey your every whim and all that? If you wanted her to be nice to Yumi she'd be nice. If you wanted her to be helpful and charitable to everyone, then she'd be well on the road to sainthood. If you wanted her to love you... Maybe you shouldn't think of her as a simple doppelganger. You want to run the school and you want your replacements to be at your beck and call but if things change too much, too fast then wouldn't that weird people out? They need to still ostensibly be themselves and the changes can come more gradually.

Maybe then, instead of simply thinking of them as doppelgangers or replacements or fakes, you should think of them as the same people, just reborn with a new outlook; a new perspective. The girl before you looks and sounds, walks and talks, like Chelsea Cooper so just think of her as Chelsea Cooper. A Chelsea Cooper with an attitude adjustment.

"You don't have to call me boss," you tell her and grasp her hands. "I want you to call me Will. We're not master and servant."

"But I still have to listen to you," she replies with some confusion.

"Well, yes, but..." How to word it, you wonder? "But you're doing it because you want to. Because I'm helping you. Because I've been nice to you." You pull her in closer. "That's what you think, isn't it? That I'm a pretty nice guy? Way nicer than Gordon."

Chelsea grins. "Oh yeah, definitely nicer than Gordon," she titters.

"And you like that," you tell her. "I'm a nice guy so you like me. You want to help me. You're my assistant, after all." Yeah, assistant certainly sounds better.

"Right, yeah, of course!" she replies cheerily. "So, what are we going to do then, Will?"

What you want to do is to pull Chelsea in, grab her and squeeze her, kiss her neck, maybe even go all the way with her. But you hold off on that, much as it hurts to do, because you've got more important work to concern yourself with right now. You've already explained the buffering process and so you tell her to go grab that and work on polishing the masks while you get the runes carved onto the band. As you work, you muse in your head that you kind of feel like a real magician as you steal a glance at Chelsea. After all, every magician has a beautiful assistant, right?

Chelsea's managed to finished a small handful of masks to your one band by the time you look at you look at your phone and see that it's closing in on nine. You decide to call it a night but not before asking Chelsea to shoot a text to Deanna. When she asks what you want her to say, you tell her to make up a story that you want to meet her at Salvation Donuts in the morning before school. From there, you'll take care of the rest.

* * * * *

Your parents are surprised to see you taking off so early the next morning. You spin a yarn about how you left one of your books with someone you were with last night and who you don't otherwise share any classes with so you need to catch up to them before school to get it back. In truth, of course, you actually head over to Salvation Donuts and there, in a table in the farthest corner and away from prying eyes, Deanna Showalter sits staring at her phone. Thankfully, of some of the pre-school hangout spots, the Salvation is the least trafficked.

"Hey," you say as you take a seat across from her. "I didn't expect to see you here. This seat occupied?"

"It will be," she says as she glances up from her phone. "What do you want?"

It's a chilly reception because, of course, you're a nobody compared to who she's thinking she's going to meet. But of course, that will all change soon enough. But you need to ease into it. "Well I just saw you so I thought I'd ask about, well..." She cocks an eyebrow, telling you to get on with it. "Has Lisa said anything about me? Like at all?"

"No," comes the terse response as her face scrunches up and you feel the air cool by about twenty degrees. "I don't really pay attention to what she says either. Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Sorry, uh, yeah. The two of you always hang out with Kelsey and them so I kind of figured..." You trail off as you reach in your pocket and grasp the mind band. "Sorry, that was dumb of me. I'll leave you alone then," you say but as you get up you let a look of concern wash over your face. "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" asks Deanna, now looking a little annoyed.

"You don't look all that comfortable. Are you sick or something? Maybe I can feel if you're warm or—" you say as you reach a hand out.

"What are you—" but she's cut off as you place your hand on her forehead. Her head lolls back as the band enters into her, her eyes wide and breathing steady as it begins to do its thing. After a few minutes the band comes out and you snatch it, just in time to hear the ring of a bell as the door opens. You see a few kids from school and get nervous, though they go and sit on the opposite side of the place, out of sight.

You reach down into the backpack to grab the mask and place it on her before she stirs but you pause. It'll be another few minutes for the mask to copy. Then you have to apply the goop and light it. All here in the restaurant. You're out of sight now, sure, but you might not always be and if someone comes along during that time...

Well, you're copying Deanna for her knowledge. You have it all on this band so maybe it'd be better to just give a quick apology to Deanna when she wakes up and skedaddle. Put the band on and you'd know everything she does and could just find a good hiding spot yourself.

Next: "The Advisor" 

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