The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

Vengeance on an Ex-Friend

Previously: "The End of One Road" 

"So who's our target for tonight?" Sydney asks.

You're driving home from school and squinting hard at the coagulated traffic on Borman Road—so many assholes trying to get home at the same time as you—so you don't answer her right away.

Which is just as well, for it gives her a chance to drop a thought that startles you: "I mean," she says, "it's not like it has to be Blake that we do the thing to."

"Yeah, lemme think about it," you mutter.

There's a lengthy silence, during which you almost run a red light.

"I'm not trying to take your mind off the road," Sydney says, "but what I meant was, we don't have to tackle Blake directly."

You shoot her a quick glance. "Why not?"

"Because maybe we want to start with his friends? If we want to convert his friends at all. I mean, if we're going to use Blake, maybe we should also use them, so they'd already by a natural group. And maybe we should start with them. We could even start by turning his friends against him, if you really want to hurt him first."

That's a point, but you're already thinking along different lines. "Well, we don't even have to use Blake at all," you say.

Sydney frowns. "We've got a mask of him already."

Yeah, but you've already got a mask of Caleb, too. And if there's anyone you're really mad at, it's Caleb.

Maybe it was Sydney's comment about "turning Blake's friends against him" that sent you hurtling down that parallel track. For as you brooded about Caleb, your anger welled up and boiled over with dark, vengeful fantasies. Did Caleb want Sydney for himself? I can arrange that. Did Caleb turn all your friends against you? I can reverse that. Has Caleb been trying to take everything from you out of butt-hurt pride? I can take everything from him!

"Will?" Sydney says. Her voice jolts you from your distracted reverie. "The light's green."

You jerk back to attention—you didn't get honked at only because there was no one behind you—and gun the truck through the intersection.

But you've made your decision, and free now of doubt and distraction, you can concentrate on your driving.

And on Sydney. You feel a crooked grin unfold across your face as you turn to her.

"You know, Caleb was really hot for you," you tell her, and reach across to palm her thigh. She twitches a little, but doesn't flinch. "How about we set it up so you and him can ... explore ... what might have been."

Her eyes widen.

"Oh my God," she murmurs, and she turns a little pink behind her grin.

* * * * *

The first thing is to take stock of your supplies, so you drive out to the elementary school. You've already got five masks made, but you suggest picking up more supplies anyway.

Sydney answers with a wry smile. "Let the Brotherhood provide," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll get our recruits to buy what we need." She picks up one of the masks, and dimples at you.

"Caleb hasn't got any money. The guy's dirt poor."

"He can get it from his parents, right?"

"His mom? That's how come he's dirt poor, she hasn't got any money either."

"Well, it's only a couple of hundred— Hmm," Sydney interrupts herself.

"What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing, yet. Just 'hmm.' A thought's trying to come. But go on."

"I don't have anything else. So what are you thinking?"

She chews on the inside of her cheek.

"I still don't see any point in spending our own money," she says, "when we can get the Brothers to pay for their own recruitment." She glances around with a quizzical look on her face. "Where's that mask we made of your friend?"

"Someplace. Why?"

"You didn't throw it away, did you?"

"No! I told you, it's around here—" You peer around without immediate success, and clamber over a conference table to get to some shelves where it might be. "Why?"

"Just doing a mask count." She starts ticking off her fingers. "Okay, the way I figure it, we've got enough here to make three recruits."

"We've got five masks."

"Sweetie, we need more than three to make recruits. I mean, if we're going to switch around and ... inhabit ... some of these." She smiles puckishly at you. "Isn't that the idea you had? That me and ... 'Caleb' ... could explore what might have been? I don't want to explore it with a magical department store mannequin."

Rrrhmmm! That gets your motor going again.

"So," she says, returning your grin with one of her own. "If you're going to swap places with Caleb, we need a mask of you to hide him under. And we'll need a mask of me—" She starts pushing the blank masks around on the table. "And of whoever I—"

She breaks off, studying the masks, and does another quick finger count.

"Okay, I counted wrong," she says. "We've got enough here for three recruits, along with Caleb." She looks up at you. "Between the four of them, I think we can afford to let them pay."

You shrug. "Okay then."

Her grin turns lopsided. "You still need to find that mask of Caleb."

"It's around someplace."

"Try to find it, Will," she chides you. "Besides, if you find it, we could go ahead and start ... exploring now."

Your guts and loins try to explode outward, to wrap themselves around her and pull her close. But though you find the mask, you don't put it on.

"Let's wait," you tell Sydney as you put an arm around her waist. "Let's wait until I— Until he," you correct yourself, "can get you in his bedroom."

She squeals, and cradles the back of your head as she puts her lips to yours.

* * * * *

You and she spend some time that evening talking about what to do and how to do it. Being a longtime friend of Caleb's, you have a pretty good idea of what his daily and weekend schedules are like. Like you, he doesn't go out and about much, except with friends, and because his mother works six days a week he's often at home by himself. There's a good chance you could find him there.

But maybe not. Having gotten pissed off at you, he might be out with Keith and Carson and James. And even if you did find him alone at home, you'd probably have to get violent with him—if he didn't get violent with you first.

So Sydney suggests that she make the approach.

"I could always just text him or call him and tell him I want to talk," she says. "I could tell him that I was talking to you and found out that I came between you guys, and that I want to talk to him about it."

You agree that's a possible way of handling thing.

"And then when I got in his house and got him relaxed, I could—" She picks up his mask and holds it front of her face for a moment before peering around it with a mischievous grin. "And then I'd text you, 'cos you'd be parked around the corner—"

"We'd have to be sure his mom's not there," you point out. But she doesn't reply, and her face has gone blank. "Sydney?" you ask.

"Hm? Oh. Do you think we could do it tonight?"

You grin. "You really can't wait to start 'exploring' things, can you? Should I be jealous?"

"Don't be a goose. It's just that we've already got everything, so why are we waiting?"

You pull out your cell phone. "I guess I could text him, tell him I—"

"Let me do it, Will," she says, and she grabs your phone and sets it on the conference table, out of reach. "What's his number?"

You kiss and smooch at her thigh while she composes and sends a text via her own phone. After she's done, she says nothing, but she also doesn't flirt back at you. So you're still kissing and touching her jeans with the tip of your tongue when she says, "Will, what would you say to having your best friend back?"

"Huh?" You look up at her from under your brows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, having Caleb back as your best friend? All forgiving you for— Well, for nothing that's your fault, and being your best bud again and everything going back to the way it was. Except I'd be with you."

"That'd be awesome," you agree. "Except that's never going to happen, and I'm pissed off at Caleb now too. And aren't we doing that now, basically? Isn't that the plan? Turn him into—?"

"Well, yeah. But you can't have your best friend back if you're being your best friend."

You scootch back and look at her quizzically. "What are you saying?"

She sighs.

"Oh, nothing you'd probably want to go along with. Just a crazy idea. But I was just thinking, well—" She gets a pinched, embarrassed look before saying, in a rush, "That maybe I could be your girlfriend and your best friend both. I could put on the mask and be Caleb and be your best friend, and I could also be your girlfriend." She turns very pink.

And you think, Whoa!

Because you're not sure what else to think. The idea that the gorgeous Sydney McGlynn would want to turn herself into the goofy Caleb Johansson is staggering, and seems like a waste. At the same time, though, you see her point. Sydney, who with her breasts and legs and silky hair and tender throat could be your girlfriend; and at the same time could be your best friend? That would be a way of getting the best of both worlds, wouldn't it?

But for the moment you only say that you'll think about it.

* * * * *

And you'll have lots of time to think about it, because Caleb texts Sydney back to say he's at the movie theater and will talk to her tomorrow.

"His mom'll be at home by herself now," Sydney muses. "Maybe we could start with her?"

Next: "The Friends We Make Along the Way" 

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