The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

The Alteration of Jeremy Richards

Previously: "Send in the Clone" 

You feel like you've victimized Eva enough. You're also not much inclined to victimize Jeremy, until the next day comes, that is. You're in the hallway between periods when Lester the Molester strides through, announcing that "Someone needs a beating!" You duck your head, but not before your eye accidentally catches that of Jeremy, who is nearby. "How about Prescott!" he shouts, and the Molester drags you outside for a little light humiliation.

You have a quick consultation with Caleb afterward, and the plan comes together quickly. (Your brain feels like it has supercharged electricity coursing through it.) He disappears to take care of his end, and you go back to the clubhouse, where you quickly carve the sigil in the top of the conference table and drop a bit of your hair and some magic mix onto it. You then put on the Eva mask and the pink sweatsuit and hide in the back.

It takes a quite a lot longer for Caleb to get your victim to the clubhouse than the two of you had planned—perhaps he's suspicious—but you've got Eva's boobies for company. You actually jump a little when the door opens and you hear Richards' voice. "You're so full of shit, Johansson. I'm gonna fucking bust your face open." You take that to be your cue.

"Hey," you say coquettishly as you step from out of the shadows. Jeremy's jaw drops. "Toldja," Caleb smirks.

Jeremy looks from Caleb to you, and then smiles. "Hey," he says with a laugh. "I thought this fucker was lying when—"

"Don't call him names," you say, walking shyly toward him. "Caleb's my friend. Not the same kind of friend as you, though." You put your arms around his torso and hug him. He awkwardly hugs you back.

"Anyway," you say, pulling back. "I wanted to tell you I forgive you for what you did today."

"What did I do?"

"Never mind." You pull off the top of the sweatsuit and turn your massive bosom toward him. His eyes bulge. "You wanna touch 'em? Play with 'em? I'll let you," you giggle.

Jeremy's mouth works. Then, without taking his eyes from your breasts, he jerks his head back toward Caleb. "Johansson can't watch."

"Cover your eyes, Caleb," you giggle breathlessly, and he obliges. Jeremy comes forward and gingerly touches your nipples. You give a little squeak. "Suck on them."

He kneels, and his lips close around them. They are sensitive, but he knows what he's doing—the fucker—and you actually feel a little aroused. "You like them?" you say. "They're real, and they're magnificent, aren't they?"

"Mmmm," is all he says.

You pull away and sit down on a desk. "Okay, now I've got something really special to show you," you say. His eyes grow very large, and he swallows. You put your hand to your temple, say the magic words, and rip the mask away.

Jeremy blinks. He blinks again. He blinks a third time, very stupidly. "Prescott?" he says thickly.

You grin. "In the flesh. Did you like my boobies?"

He looks you up and down. It's probably the fact that you are still wearing the pink sweatsuit that convinces him that this is not some weird stage trick, and his face turns an alarming combination of colors. "Whoa, pax, man," you say, holding out your hands as though warding off a blow. "I told you, I forgive you for sicking the Molester on me. Anyway, we're even now. I wanna be friends. That's how come we asked you here. To be a part of our club."

"What kind of sick ...?" he starts slowly.

"It's magic," you say, and point to the mask in your hand. "Eva? She's in here. Well, a copy of her body is. Boobies and everything. You can just put her on and take her off. Those boobies? You can play with them any time you want. 'Cept, of course, they'll be hanging off your chest. But you'll have her cunny too, and her fingers, and you can—"

"Stop it!" he cries. "Magic? Bullshit."

"You want me to put it on again? I will. I'd love to." You start to bring the mask up to your face, but he stops you with a gesture.

He is staring hard at you, and then his attention shifts to the mask. Slowly he extends a hand and steps forward. You let him get to within a few inches of the mask, and then you pull it back. "Not yet. First, we gotta prep you." He gives you a puzzled look, and you turn to stare at the table with the sigil. He follows your gaze. "Something Caleb and me had to do, too," you explain. "Gotta go through with it if you wanna wear one of these masks."

He stares at the table, and then back at you. He nervously licks his lip, and you can see that he is beginning to breathe very heavily. Sweat begins to glisten on his forehead. He swallows.

He's within moments of snapping at the hook, you can tell. All you have to do is hold his gaze without cracking for just a few more moments. Luckily, you are almost telling the truth ...

With a quick step he springs toward the conference table. "What do I do?" he asks.

"Just lay down in the middle," you instruct him. "We'll do the rest."

He nods distractedly, and stretches out on top of the sigil. "What's this shit?" he asks as Caleb begins to spoon graveyard dirt over him.

"The stuff to, uh, prep your skin so it ... it bonds with the mask," you say, thinking quickly. You pour fuel over the dirt. "Ready?" He nods curtly, and his hands flex and uncurl.

"Hang on," Caleb interrupts. "We almost forgot the ... uh ... the prep mask. You and Jeremy look at him quizzically as he runs over your pile of stuff and rummages through, returning with another mask. "This is to ... uh ... align your features with the ... mask design ... uh ..."

An alarmed look crosses Jeremy's face. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Trust me, I'm a doctor," Caleb says, and drops the mask onto Jeremy's face. An instant later it sinks into him, and Jeremy goes into a daze.

"The hell are you doing?!" you explode.

"Insurance, man," Caleb says. "That's his mask. In case something goes wrong, we have all his latest memories on file. I mean, we don't really know what this spell is gonna do. Suppose it gives him super powers? Like, shapeshifting powers?"

"Then we use it on ourselves."

"And if he's pissed?"

"Why would he be pissed? We've told him we're friends and want to share the magic stuff with him."

"He's not my idea of a good partner," Caleb mutters.

"Shut up, he's coming around."

Indeed, the mask has reappeared. You snatch it up and, without waiting for Jeremy to regain consciousness, light a match and toss it onto him.

A bright purple flame blooms off the table, enveloping Jeremy, and a hot blast of air sweeps out. "Holy shit!" Caleb cries. "Fire! Get a fire extinguisher!" You look around frantically—of course there's no extinguisher—but an instant later both the heat and the flame have vanished, leaving behind only ...

* * * * *

"Fuckers," Jeremy says in a surly voice, and glares at you.

"Will you shut up?" You turn back toward Caleb. "We have to undo it."

"Why? No one can tell the difference."

"But we killed him!"

Caleb turns to Jeremy. "Do you feel dead?"

"I feel like fucking you guys up."

Caleb turns back to you. "See? No difference."

"But it's not Jeremy! It's another fucking golem, wearing the Jeremy mask! It's a golem that we made out of Jeremy! And we have to undo it!"

"Sure thing, buddy," Caleb says cheerfully. He snatches up the book and starts to read the next spell, which you've just unlocked. "I'm always up for another bit of magic."

You snatch the book away. "Listen to me, or I will give it permission to fuck you up."

Caleb looks at you patiently, and waits. And then you realize you've nothing to say.

"Can I go home now?" Jeremy says.

"Okay," you say in a resigned tone. Then you wheel on it. "But remember, you're my slave. Don't tell anyone anything, don't say anything about this, don't let on what you know! Understand?" It makes a rude noise, but nods. "We're friends, and that's an order!"

Jeremy gives a little start, and then a huge grin breaks across his face. "Sure thing!" He claps you across the shoulder. "See you guys tomorrow, maybe some hoops after school?"

You blink. "Are you being sarcastic?"

He looks hurt. "What? Why would I be sarcastic? We're friends, I thought we'd hang out. Been a long time since we acted like buddies, you know." His tone actually sounds a little wistful.

You and Caleb exchange a shocked glance, and then you tell the golem it can go. Afterwards, Caleb grabs you by the shoulders. "You changed his personality! You saw that, right? Total presto-change-o! You are brilliant!"

"It was an accident!"

"Who cares? You know what this means, right?" His eyes gleam. "We do the same trick on Chelsea Cooper, the jocks, suddenly we're part of the popular crowd! Hell, forget popularity!" He starts bouncing on the balls of his feet. "How'd you like to have the Molester for a bodyguard?!"

Next: "A Surprise Visitor" 

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