The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

The Connected

Previously: "A Consultation with Maria Vasquez" 

(Written by rugal b.)

Right now? As in right now? As in right this very instant now? You text back as much and the response is both expected and disconcerting.

yes. work to do. need time to do it.

It's incredibly brusque though that's unsurprising. Given how much you were needling her you wonder if you've pissed Maria off. However you avoid actually asking her about it and think that it's better to give her time to cool off.

They need an answer now? Well you'd narrowed it down to four and hadn't really had the chance to really weigh the pros and cons of each one. But there was one person that had taken a lead, even if it was a small one, as you were in the final stages of whittling down that list and now being put on the spot with no real time to think... well, there's nothing wrong with them you suppose. So you type in the girl's name and send it to Maria.

you sure? she asks and your response is confirming that yes, this is who you want. ok we'll get to work, she says before following it up with another text. meet us at top shelf around 10.

That certainly confuses you. Ten o'clock on a school night? y so late? you ask.

have to set things up + other reasons, comes the terse response. is that too late?

Ten will really be pushing it and though your curfew's at eleven you know that your dad will grumble and give you guff if you come rolling in after ten. But still, you think you can manage it so you text back an affirmative. it'll be fine, you send and that nets a confirmation from Maria.

So ten o'clock out at a studio in a storage facility on the edge of town. Oh your parents would definitely have fits if they knew where you were going. But they won't, or they shouldn't. So the important question becomes less about how you're going to play off where you'd been and more about what you
re going to do in the intervening time?

* * * * *

You're not really sure what to do so you decide to hang around the school for a bit and thinking of some of the possibilities mentioned earlier the most mysterious to you, at least of the people that actually attend the school, is this Lynette Kolaya girl. You like how Fairfax had described her -- a piece who could get other pieces moving for you -- but you don't know a thing about her beyond that. You head over to the courts to check out the tennis team but it's as you're there that you realize just what not knowing anything means.

You have no idea what she looks like.

There's a few girls that you do know, mainly Brooke Galloway and Kelsey, but of the others you're not sure. Well no, you can be reasonably sure that she's probably not one of the two Indian girls you see, but there's still a few others -- two brunettes, a girl with long wavy blonde hair and another whose hair is thick with loose curls -- and you'd have no way of knowing who's who.

At around that time you get a text from Caleb asking what you're doing and if you want to hang out. Considering this detour a bust you tell him that you're up for it and to meet you at the tennis courts. "Didn't know you were so interested," he says once he's made his way over.

You simply grunt at that. "Someone mentioned Lynette Kolaya to me," you tell him, "saying, I don't know, that she might be interested in me after all that shit?" A lie of course but it's not like you can tell him the truth... much as you want to. "Figured I'd come here and get a look but I don't really know who she is. Or which one she is."

Caleb points out the skinnier of the two brunettes. "I've got her in seventh, Hella smart, not the friendliest girl though," he tells you.

"She's a bitch?"

"Not like that," he shakes his head. "But she's friends with Brooke and I've been helping Brooke with math so I hear things. I guess she's had it tough, like she's had to work a lot harder than a lot of other people, so it's more like she comes off as not having a lot of time for people. That's how Brooke's said it anyway."

That doesn't really seem like the type of person who'd have a lot of connections. Maybe Fairfax was wrong about her? "Sounds lonely," is all you can say.

"Maybe but I don't think she's lacking in friends or anything," he responds. "Like I know she's friends with Sophie."

That causes you to shoot up. "Van den Berg?" you ask.

"As in her pedigree's got a pedigree," Caleb says as he points out the other brunette.

Well that changes the game completely doesn't it? Friends with an AP girl like Brooke, friends with someone like Sophie Van den Berg? But yet you wonder if that's something you'd want because the trade off for it is... Caleb said she's had it tough. But how tough is tough? Living in a trailer park tough? Abused by her parents tough? Strict family like your own dad tough (which is, admittedly, not all that tough)?

But it does make you think as you head away from the courts with Caleb looking for some place to hang out that's not just his house. Someone you didn't even know existed until a few hours ago, someone seemingly insignificant has connections like that? In a way it makes you feel even smaller than you'd already felt. But at the same time there's something neat about it too you can't help but think.

Being that insignificant yet that plugged in. Having useful connections like that. Someone like that can help your popularity but a thrilling, and scary, thought also occurs to you. Someone like that, someone positioned just right, could rule the school. The right person with the right connections, moving (to borrow Fairfax's imagery) all of the right levers.

Last night, after you'd managed to bully Fairfax into letting you have your way but before you'd all separated you'd talked a bit about the masks, about this golem stuff that you can put in them. Fairfax had wondered what the limit was. There had to be, of course, because what was going to stop someone from taking over the school, or town or worse? A whole school, a whole town replaced by automatons forced to obey the will of one person. It was a chilling thought but one even more chilling comes to you.

Who needs an army? A couple masks on all of the right people and you're good. Look what these guys managed to do for you with a few cheerleaders after all. Lynette knows one of the wealthiest people in town. She's on a team with the AP queen. With just three masks you'd have one of the most powerful, wealthiest cliques completely in your control and with them a good chunk of the school. A handful of masks is all it would take to run things.

Someone like Jenny would be in an even better position. If it was only you who knew about the book, if you switched with Jenny... a mask on Yumi gets you a mask on Chelsea. Who'd suspect Jenny of being the real brains behind the cheerleaders; behind the school? Hell, who'd suspect Cassie?

You suppose, then, that it's good the book fell into the hands of guys like Carlos and Phillip who seem to be a little more grounded. If you're having thoughts like this, imagine what would happen if it fell into the hands of someone like Chelsea or Patterson? That's a truly frightening thought and it's one that occupies you for most of the rest of the evening.

* * * * *

Ten 'till ten.

You park your truck in the parking lot of Top S(h)elf Storage inbetween two unfamiliar ones. A guy, hispanic and handsome but also unfamiliar, stands near one of them and raises a hand as you open your door. "Glad you made it," he calls out.

"Well, sorry I'm a little early," you say.

"Don't worry," he says as he walks up and claps you on the back before starting to walk you to the entrance of the units. "She got here right before you did. We were going to get the masks of you guys at the same time so there's no real issues." He says this as he pulls out his phone. "Just gotta let them know you're here so we can started."

"Uh, so you're friends with them?"

The guy looks at you with a grin as he opens the door. "Sure," he says before quickly adding, "seeing as I'm Carlos." He laughs a bit when he notices your double take. "Yeah, since everything was fine with Seth, Phillip said it was fine if we all get a second beta. Mike's out getting his, I got Marcos here yesterday after we left. You'll probably want to give a bit of thought to your second as well. Once you're settled in with your first of course. No rush."

So you've gone from no betas to soon having two? But Carlos is right, you'll have to get used to having a first one before you even think of seconds. A shiver of excitement runs through you as you get closer to the dual unit that houses the studio. It won't be long now until you have that first beta...

Next: "The Tomboy" 

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