Rae Caldwell tries to keep herself an enigma. Unlike Alex and Izzy, who pretty much share their passions whenever they can, Rae’s style is to remain a little bit aloof, almost but not quite on the edge of disapproval. Of course, it doesn’t tie with what goes on in her head, but she’s found that feigned disinterest adds a surprising level of mystique in life. It’s almost like people go out of the way to try and gain her admiration if she doesn’t really seem bothered by anything. It also means people don’t double down on irritating shit that does bother her. It’s not a cold or calculating mindset, because she’s neither. But it does mean, while Izzy and Alex occasionally bump into each other just walking down the street, you keep a sedate distance, even if it’s obvious you’re with them.
It’s one of the first ways you wonder about exploiting your relationships. Even as you stride down 30th, back past the church where you made the swap and turned yourself into your current guise, you’re thinking about how to hurt Alex.
“Can’t wait to show you what I’ve got lined up,” she grins, giving you a flash of the eyebrows. You roll your eyes.
“At a guess, I’m going with art, debauchery and petty crime,” you reply. Alex grins. Izzy, for her part, sticks her tongue out.
“Know me so well,” she beams. You really do. The three girls have almost developed a telepathy. Alex’s brain is like a whirling storm, always looking for some way to release some of its raw, untapped energy and create a moment. Sometimes, that means she can’t quite place the words she wants, allowing Izzy and you to fill in the blanks. Of course, Izzy tends to talk in metaphor whereas you’re more direct. It’s a style that reverses whenever you talk about yourselves, though. Isobel Santos is an open book. She likes boys and likes fooling around, even if she’s from a strict Catholic family that probably wouldn’t approve of what their little angel is up to. Rae, your memories tell you, really hasn’t ever talked about relationships, keeping her cards almost pinned to her chest.
Both are things you could exploit. If Izzy’s attitude somehow came back to her parents, she’d be grounded or worse. Or, more direct, if ‘Rae’ suddenly showed feelings for someone unexpected, you have no idea what would happen. The girl whose life you’ve stolen is as straight as an arrow, even if she’s not interested in any of the jerks, dicks or small fry students at Eastman. But Alex and Izzy have never asked, and Rae’s never told them. If Rae started hitting on Alex, you have no idea what would happen…
“And voila!” Alex declares, coming to a halt and spinning on her axis, her large chest bouncing as she looks back at you. You raise a manicured eyebrow.
“Oh yay, an alleyway, you shouldn’t have.”
“C’mon, you’ve got to close your eyes,” Alex does so, extending her arms out, “feel your surroundings, let that vibe take hold. And then, slowly but surely…” she takes a sidestep and kicks on a side door. It swings open. “Ta da!”
“Oh, great. Breaking and entering again.” You keep your voice deadpan, although Izzy grins.
“It’s not breaking and entering if the door’s unlocked,” Alex says, grinning. “And who’s to say how it ended up that way? And now it’s open, we’ve got a duty to explore. It’s kind of a… y’know…”
“Moral imperative,” Izzy says.
“Opportunity,” you add, glancing down the street. Then, like water down a drain, the three of you rush into the space. It’s dark, and cramped at first, but soon opens out into a much lighter space, especially when Alex turns on the lights. You blink as there’s a flash in your vision, then through narrowed slits glance around at the space you’ve found yourself in.
“Holy shit!” Izzy says, bouncing. “This is the Old State Theater!”
“Well, duh,” Alex grins. “Didn’t you pay attention to where we were? Remember that exhibition I had, ‘bout a month or so ago? I saw how tight they’d locked up this old place. And then I thought ‘now, why would you waste a perfectly good abandoned theater like this one on Halloween?’” You’ve come out through what must be the dressing rooms, out onto a rickety looking stage. The floor looks solid enough, although you’re half-worried Alex’s pint-sized ass is going to fall through at any moment. “Just… look at it!”
You gaze out. There’s something about the Old State Theater that spooked you just walking past it, and now inside the thought is magnified. But Rae Caldwell doesn’t believe in ghosts or any of that bullshit, so you stride over to the side of the stage and step down into the main house. The seats are damaged, a few water-spoiled, but some are salvageable, so you find one, take a seat, and kick your feet up. Izzy, meanwhile, is trying her best to do a handstand on the stage, while Alex advances, like a Shakespearean actor about to give her big monologue.
“This place is great!” Izzy enthuses. “Make a few calls, get a few bottles. Could be some serious fun.”
“Oh, I’m not thinking a rave,” Alex says. “You gotta really… soak up the feeling for this place. Let it whet your appetite, feed your creative hunger, nourish all those beautiful ideas waiting to blossom out of your beautiful mind.” She backs up, grinning, even as Izzy topples to the ground. You recline further in your seat, impressed how far Rae’s long legs stretch out as you hook them over the seat in front of you.
“So what’s the plan then?” Izzy asks, splayed on the stage floor.
Alex grins, holding out her hands, thumbs at right angles, as if she’s framing the environment around her. “I’m thinking… tonight is movie night. Already got my Death Ray,” she’s referencing her projector, a powerful, near-blinding 4K portable that she uses to throw up outlines when she needs to stencil something quickly on a wall. “It’s all Bluetooth, so we load up some classics, project ‘em onto this big, empty backdrop and have our own scary movie night. Well… shitty movie night. I’m thinking we host Saratoga Falls’ own version of MST3K.”
“What’s that?” Izzy says. Alex rolls her eyes, while you shake your head.
“An old-ass show where people mock the shit out of bad movies,” you say.
“And creatively add to the film with their own commentary,” Alex adds. “Y’know, like we did with that bananas steampunk flying werewolf whatever.” You pull up the memory, and see flashes of the trio getting thrown out of Howling Skies for laughing at every stupid moment of it. “So, I’m thinking we call up anyone who’s down, and pre-Warehouse have a little cinema night.”
“Film first, drink and dancing later,” Izzy agrees.
“Porque no los dos?” You say to her, only to be answered by a raised arm and a thumbs up. “Assuming my fucking head clears by then.”
“Eh, we could just call it hair of the dog,” Alex says, walking over to offer a hand and haul Izzy to her feet. “This whole place is probably condemned or something, which is why I waited for tonight. Do this on Halloween proper and we’d have packed it out with costumed kids and all that cheerleader bullshit. Cops would have been swarming in under an hour, or the roof would have collapsed. Either way, is, y’know…”
“Awkward,” Izzy says.
“Fatal,” you add, before sniffing the stale air. “Shit, if we’re doing it we’re gonna have to pile up on Febreze. Probably need to hook up more lights too.”
Alex waves away your concerns. “Details, details. Right now, we’ve got the big picture. The kernel of an idea. And that is all we need. So, we in?”
“Totally,” you and Izzy say in unison. The younger of you means it wholeheartedly, while you’re too busy thinking about how to use it to your advantage. There’s so many ways you could use Alex’s little scheme to ruin her – not least calling the cops. Even if everyone manages to slip away, chances are she’d take a serious rep hit. Or, as Rae, you could make a romantic move on her. Alex herself is straight, and Rae knows she harbors a painful crush on someone called Brett Dutoit. A move could throw a spanner into the trio’s relationship.
Or, perhaps you could have a little fun first as Rae Caldwell. It’s not like Vee gave you a timescale.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
