The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

The Lady or the Alley Cat

Previously: "The Game" 

You're jumpy all the next day. You think about going to find the Jeremy golem, but decide to wait. You do see Patterson twice, in the halls, but he completely ignores you. At a break, you find Caleb at his locker. "The clubhouse after school," you tell him quietly. "The password is 'Pythagoras." (You've just gotten out of Math.) He peers at you queerly, but nods.

He is already waiting in front of the basement door when you arrive. You walk up slowly, and nod expectantly. He frowns for a moment, then makes a face. "Pythagoras," he mutters.

Well, that shows it's the same person you talked to at his locker. Still-- You reach for his face; he bats your hand away in irritation. You frown; he sighs and stands back patiently on his heels. You put your hands over his face, mutter the magic words, and pull. Nothing happens. You smile in relief and turn toward the door.

But he blocks you, and nods at you in turn. You sag, and submit to the same ritual. That done, he stands aside. "Countersign is 'Hawthorne,'" he says.

"Whatever," you mutter. "Let's talk."

But once inside he insists on doing a sweep of the cluttered basement before settling down to business. When you're both satisfied that the room is safe, you haul yourselves onto a dirty work table to sit cross-legged facing each other.

"I saw Patterson last night," you tell him. "You know how I told you he talked about making us junior partners on his team?"

"No you didn't," Caleb frowns.

You blink. "I thought I did."

"You didn't tell me anything, except that he pretended to be you yesterday, and that he had a fake version of me with him when he let you out of here."

"Oh. Well, when he let me out, he said something about how we could be junior partners on his team."

"What kind of team is that?"

"What kind do you think? Using masks and the book."

"What's he planning to do?"

"I dunno. That's what I went to ask him. And he didn't tell me anything."

Caleb rolls his eyes. "You brought me out here to tell me he didn't tell you anything?"

You hunch. "Well, not a lot. Except that we'd have to be willing to fuck around with people." You decide not to mention the "fuck over your best friend" bit.

Caleb blinks. "And what did he mean by that?"

"Again, he didn't really say." You make a sour face as Caleb snorts. "He did say something about helping us, uh, get close to Chelsea." You tremble--whether from horror or desire or some combination, you're not sure.

Caleb's eyes grow wide. "Are you serious?" His gaze grows distant. "Not a lot different from what we were thinking."

"Yeah, well, don't get your hopes up. It's Patterson we're talking about. Even if he helps us with something like that, he's gonna ask us to do nasty stuff first."

"Granted, he's a dick. But--"

"He said as much. He said he'd put us to a test before letting us on the team. You think the test is gonna be something nice?" Caleb's gaze continues to be thoughtful, but it clouds slightly. "He wants us to know he's the boss, and he's gonna force us to do something really ugly in order to prove we're willing to follow his orders."

"I suppose we could find out what the test is, and if it's really ... heinous ... we could refuse." You give him a look, and he twists his mouth up. "Yeah, he probably wouldn't like it if we did that," he admits. "Can we just refuse outright?"

"Here's the thing," you say. "I think we oughta take him up on it. I wanna know what he's up to, in case we have to stop him. And if we're not close to him, he might decide at some point to, you know, use those masks of us against us."

"He could do that anyway," Caleb points out. "He could turn us into golems."

"Not if he thinks we're loyal to him," you reply. "And he could have turned us into golems already."

"So why are we having this conversation?"

"I wanna know if you're willing to go along with me, join up when I do. You don't have to. When I asked him if he wanted you on the team, he said he didn't give a fuck about you." Your friend frowns in surprise. "I think he just wants me," you say lamely. "I wanted you to know what I was going to do, and I'd like you to go with me."

"But if he doesn't want me--"

You wave him to silence. "I think he'd take you. I think it just doesn't matter one way or the other to him. That's what 'I don't give a fuck' meant."

Caleb grimaces, but nods. "I'm with you." He holds out a hand, and you clasp it. "New password is 'Damon.'"

You arch your eyebrows. "Okay. Countersign is 'Affleck'."

He snorts again. "You really need to brush up on your classical mythology."

* * * * *

By working hard all through the night you manage to finish polishing the mask. Your woozy and your brain is muzzy go find Patterson the next day at school. "Done with that project," you tell him in a low voice at his locker, and do your best to avoid the gaze of Jason Lynch, who is nearby.

"Excellent," Patterson says in a loud voice. "You're a good little bitch. Meet me outside the gym at five." Jason giggles loudly.

"I'll be bringing a friend," you murmur, and swallow.

But Patterson just smiles. "You do that. We'll make it a party."

Five o'clock comes. You and Caleb rendezvous at the gym's side entrance, exchanging passwords and pulling at each other's faces, just to be sure. A few minutes after five, the door opens, and Jeremy sticks his head out. "There you guys are," he says. "Steve's waiting."

"You know what's going on?" you ask the golem in a low voice.

"Nope. He just said to let you guys in."

"What's he been doing the past week?" you ask. You've avoided seeking Richards, for fear of alerting Steve to this weak spot.

"He doesn't tell me anything," Jeremy replies as you cross the deserted gym floor.

"No jobs for you?" you ask. Jeremy shakes his head. "Well, keep your eyes open. Let me know what you hear, and anything he asks you to do." The golem nods, then points to some stairs in the back.

You and Caleb exchange uneasy glances. Those stairs lead up to the fabled "fuck room": the loft where Patterson and Black and their chosen few friends hang out. These are not the circumstances under which you'd like to visit that room, and with heavy feet you mount the wooden steps. You knock tentatively at the door, and muffled voices tells you to enter.

The room is crowded with boxes and crates and equipment, but there's an open space in the center. Patterson looks over his shoulder at you, and he smiles sharply. "Close the door," he says. "I had to act like an asshole to get this place to ourselves. You like it?"

You just shrug; Caleb doesn't even do that much, but just looks around nervously.

"Maybe you can become regular visitors," Patterson says, turning fully around. "First, show me what you got."

You hold out the mask you've finished up, and he takes and examines it approvingly. "Nice work," he says, "but I'd expect as much. You like my collection?" You follow his glance to the side. Lined up neatly on a nearby crate are half a dozen masks, gleaming in the late afternoon light that pours through the tall windows.

Your eyes bulge. "How did you get so many done so fast?"

"Eva's a good girl," Steve grins. "When you lock her up and give her nothing else to do."

"What are you going to do with them?" Caleb asks.

"Not so fast, Johansson," Steve says. "You both have to pass an initiation first. And since Prescott has actually done some work--" He brandishes the mask you gave him even as he picks up another from his stock. "He gets to pick which of the two possible initiations he wants to do."

"What kind are they?" you ask warily, remembering your earlier conversation with him.

"I want you to show me that you're a team player," he replies. "It's not all going to be fun, you know. You show me you can do the nasty stuff, and I'll let you have a shot at the fun stuff."

You suppress a tremble. He hands each of you a mask.

"First, there's your friend, Keith," he says. "Remember what I told you, Prescott, about being willing to fuck over your friends?" You try not to notice the glance Caleb shoots at you. "Well, I want Keith to make a pass at Kendra Saunders. He can do it privately, but I want him to tell her, exactly and in detail, what he wants to do to her after they've both got their clothes off."

"She'll kill him," Caleb exclaims.

"Oh, she'll do worse than that," Patterson laughs. "She'll tell Chelsea, and she'll kill him. You think Javits has had it in for Tilley before? Wait'll Chelsea forces Cindy to force Seth to really put the screws to him." He holds your eye. "So, Prescott. You willing to fuck your friend over? That's one of the jobs you assholes have to do."

"What's the other one?" you say, your voice dripping with loathing.

Patterson's eyes gleam. "I think you'll take the Keith job."

"Tell me the other."

He bites back a nasty smile. "You'll need a dress, because Lisa Yarborough is going to lose her virginity to Geoff Mansfield."

The world swims in blackness. But through it you hear Patterson's clear, deadly voice. "Which one, Prescott? The lady or the alley cat?"

Next: "Catching Keith" 

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