"Is this everyone?" Kim asks as she surveys the relative crowd of people.
It's a little after noon on Saturday and a group is gathered inside the room you've been renting at the Donna Motor Courts. It's a rather large group as well. There's yourself and Kim of course, plus Caleb. In addition Bhodi, Justin, Grant, Andy and Joe are here too. None of that's a surprise, they've been your main conspirators for lack of a better term. No the real surprise comes in the form of three more people: Paulina, Melanie and, to your even larger shock, Evie are all here.
"We're missing two," you tell her. "Lindsay and Mrs. Matthias aren't here."
Kim nods. "Well if they couldn't make it--" she starts.
"Actually, it was by our choice," Caleb cuts her off. "Marianne's sort of being kept separate. You know, adult and all. She doesn't want a bunch of kids telling her what to do."
"Okay," Kim simply states.
"Lindsay would be against it no matter what," Caleb tells her.
"Yeah," Joe adds, "she's already demanding the book so she can get rid of it. She'd just tell us to put everyone back and be done with it."
"No matter how screwed up everything's gotten," you grumble.
"Lindsay won't be a problem," Paulina jumps in to your surprise. "If she asks, we'll just say that Bhodi gave the book to me so I could get rid of it. I wouldn't want it around after what it did to my friend after all."
"So what do we tell her about where I end up? She'll need to know that."
"Does she?" Paulina asks. You don't know her too well but it's a side of her you're surprised to see.
"It'd be a good idea to at least let her know," Kim states. "But after we've already done it. She can't do anything about a fait accompli. We do it," she points to Paulina, "then go with what she said."
"We're keeping the book?" asks Andy.
"You can't just throw a magical tome in front of people and not expect them to want to go through it," Kim declares. "But we'll do it carefully. At least one of us," she motions between yourself, herelf and Caleb, "will need to be present and everyone will have to be at least aware of what's going on. It'd probably be best to set up a group text once we're ready to go through the book."
You're impressed on the one hand but on the other you probably shouldn't be. It's the type of take charge attitude and foresight you'd expect from someone who's gotten to where Kim has managed to get. Would you have been this on the ball if you had put that mask on her and taken up her identity? Maybe, maybe not but it's all moot now and you're definitely glad that you were able to be truthful with her.
"But we're getting ahead of ourselves," she says as she turns her attention back towards you. "First thing's first, we need to get you back in the game. Have you figured out what you want to do?"
Yes, it's that time. You've been dreading it yet you've also been anticipating it. You were thinking about it all last night, you were thinking about it for most of the morning. Only a little bit before everyone started arriving did you finally come to a decision. You know that you can't back out of it this time. Whatever you choose is what you're stuck with but that's for the best anyway. Your old life is gone so there's not really anything to go back to. Best to start a new one.
"Yeah," you nod. "It'll be best if I just let you find someone for me. There's too many issues that come with just making an entirely new person."
"That makes sense," Kim says though she shifts a bit. "Honestly in regards to just replacing someone I kind of share Lindsay's hesitance. But you're right. It would be hard getting you into school without any identification or records and you can't just sit here all day. That'd defeat the entire purpose."
"So you're letting someone else pick for you?" Caleb asks.
"I'm letting Kim pick for me, not just someone else," you retort. "She'll make the best choice possible."
Kim looks at you for a second with a faint hint of surprise, then smiles and nods.
"Awesome, then you should pick a someone popular or hot," Caleb tells her with a grin. "Because when Will comes back I want to leech off of that popularity just a little bit."
"You want to be a senior?" Kim asks you but it's Caleb who answers for you.
"It's what he told me yesterday. That he was hoping to stay in the senior class."
"Wait!" a voice cries out. To the surprise of you and apparently everyone else it's Evie and she's looking at you with her eyes filled with worry. "You can't just, uh, stay with us?" she asks. There's looks of confusion and curiosity and Evie shrinks back a bit. It's not the kind of outburst she's used to. But she says nothing more and it's Melanie who speaks up next.
"Yeah, uh even though I don't go to Westside but I mean," she motions to the sophomore boys, "it'd probably be a good idea to have someone look out for these doofuses and make sure they don't cause trouble."
"Looking out for everyone might be a good idea too," Kim says, her face locked in concentration. Her expression brightens as she looks at you once more. "We could always get you a teacher. One of the younger ones maybe. You'd have a lot more freedom and if you wanted to look after any of us that'd probably be the best place to do it from."
"Income too," Caleb points out. "It costs money to go through the book. It's definitely a good suggestion but I'd still rather have you with me in the senior class."
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