Chapter #40Division and Multiplication by: rugal b.   "Welcome to the Sisterhood, Maddy. Hope you enjoy the experience."
That's what Alyssa had said right into your ear and you very much want to if that "experience" is being in this room, embraced tightly by someone like her. But like a flash, it hits you and you realize that you'll have to cut this little visit short for Maddy has plans of her own right now. To be sure, Maddy likes Alyssa. Alyssa, after all, is a girl with a strong force of will and yes she likes collecting and disseminating gossip. In a sense, one could say that she runs Eastman insomuch as anyone could.
That's what everyone says, right? That's why they call your little group the Rumorati, the girls who control the school from behind the scenes. They wheel and deal in information and chatter and sitting at the head of the table is Alyssa Randall, the High Queen of Rumors.
But like all rumors, it goes through so many rounds of telephone that it becomes distorted and cartoonishly exaggerated. Oh, Alyssa most certainly holds quite a bit of power in the overall social hierarchy that's as much due to the fact that she's head cheerleader as much as is her being a supposed information broker. In truth there are plenty of others who match or best her in terms of popularity. Jenny Taylor and her boyfriend Kyle Lakewood -- the power couple who combine athletic acumen with good looks and friendly personalities -- have her beat by far.
But Alyssa is shrewd and savvy and she knows how to use information; she'd holds a position on the debate team as well after all. Largely she uses it as a sort of balancing tool. The right positive rumor here or negative one there, knowing which party to show up at to give the host a boost. Eastman is certainly no Westside and in Alyssa's mind that is by design. Not to say that she can make or break someone's popularity with a word but Alyssa likes to think she's played some role in why Eastman isn't run by a menagerie of malcontents like its cross-town rival.
That's why Maddy likes Alyssa. In truth she's not much of a gossip but she respects Alyssa a great deal for wanting a sense of fairness at Eastman. It's even reflected in the makeup of the group itself, pulling from all directions of student culture. Maddy, for instance, is a smart girl involved in the AP scene so while she's not exactly one to ferret out secrets she can still pick up things and Alyssa respects and appreciates it.
But Maddy is also someone who takes things seriously, especially appointments, and though she was more than happy to accept a personal one-on-one with Alyssa, you realize that one of those appointments is coming up and thus you'll be needing to leave.
You inform Alyssa of this as you gently remove her arm from your shoulder.
"That's too bad", she pouts, "because I was hoping we could just right into converting everyone else."
"It might be good to wait a day or two before we get going in earnest," you tell her. "This is a new school after all and with these identities we've thrown ourselves right into the thick of it. So getting settled in and having some time to think about who else to add outside of the group might be the best option for the moment."
"That's true," she says. "But we should work out who gets who, at least. Counting us, there's six members, right?"
"Does it matter who gets who?" you ask.
"In a way. So let's take you for instance. You're Maddy so who would you typically go for next?"
"Probably Tina," you say after a few seconds of thought. "I mean, her and Maddy are best friends."
"Right, which is why I want her," Alyssa tells you. "These girls aren't necessarily hanging out exclusively and even majority with one another in some cases. So if I have Tina then that means the two of us can be around each other easier if need be."
"Okay, then what about the rest?"
"It all kind of falls in place from there I think. So next would be an identity for you and I think that should be Lisa."
"You think?"
"I'm suggesting," she says. "Because Lisa is trouble and if you're getting the memories faster than I am then it's important that she's quickly stamped out as a potential problem."
"Wouldn't it make more sense for me to be Summer, though, if it's about staying close?" you ask. "I mean, from what Maddy's brain is telling me Alyssa was the one who invited her in and she seems pretty protective of Summer."
"Right, but I'll be taking Summer for myself," Alyssa states. "Because I've already got another identity lined up for you that'll make you glad I took Summer."
That flashes something in your mind and you can't help to smile as you realize what she means by that. "Alright, so then that would leave Mandy and Natalie, right?" you ask.
"Mhm, and I figure that you can have Mandy."
"While you take Natalie," you state. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to have Natalie though? From what I'm getting she's more into the same kind of stuff I am. Will is, I mean, not Maddy."
"That's why I want her," Alyssa says as she grasps your hands. "I mean if we're going to be going out then maybe it's good if we take people who might help us understand the other a little more. So I can take a nerdy girl into nerdy things Natalie..."
"What, are you saying you're a partier like Mandy?" you laugh.
"Of course not!" she insists. "But Mandy is outgoing and has lots of friends. I'm not going to deny that I'm not a popular girl, Will, so I think it'd be good for you to be able to experience what popularity is like as well. Consider it a riff on walking a mile in each others' shoes."
"Alright, so Alyssa, Tina, Summer and Natalie for you," you say as you tick off your figures, "versus Maddy, Lisa and Mandy for me. Plus whoever you have lined up for me outside of the group. That leaves one more for each of us. Jenny?"
"Mmm, yeah, maybe. She'd be good but so would a lot of others. I need to think about it," she says before catching herself. "We need to think about it. Anyway, you had to do something?"
"Just meeting someone for lunch."
"Right, okay. Yeah, I'll see you later."
* * * * *
The meeting happens to take you right back to Besandwiched, of all places, where even more bizarrely you find yourself in a table near the back and out of the way sitting across from that girl who served you when you'd came in earlier as yourself. Her name, you now know, is Ursula Jensen, a girl with a sort of foggy prettiness and steely gray eyes who, you now know, is also a student at Eastman.
She's also heavily into divination -- tarot and astrology and things of that nature -- which more than a few students find odd and off putting. But not Maddy. Instead, Maddy has a bit of a natural superstitious streak and since last year has been coming to Urusla in regards to mock trials or big tests. The funny thing is that Maddy isn't sure whether she actually believes any of it but it's, instead, something of a way of reinforcing things for her.
Should Ursula's predictions and fortunes be positive, then Maddy feels as if she's on the right track and should keep doing what she's doing. But negative and she instead realizes that something must change: re-examine things to find missed details or study more or whatever. Whether Ursula can truly see into the future or whether Maddy herself is changing fate when the outcome is usually not quite what Urusula predicted she can't say for sure.
But it's a comfort for her all the same and, truth be told, she's come to find Ursula pleasant. Not that they're close friends who hang out but all the same she does enjoy these sessions like the one you're wrapping up now on Ursula's lunch break.
One that causes Ursula to look at you with confusion.
"What's wrong?" you ask.
"Normally what I'd see for you when constructing this horoscope is straightforward," she says quietly. "But I can hardly make heads or tales of this one. The conclusions it's leading me too, directions it's taking me... they don't even feel like they belong to you. Like someone else's got mixed up."
"Why would that be the case? That's weird, right?"
"Yes! It's very weird and I don't know why--"
But you're interrupted by your phone buzzing. It's a text from Alyssa asking you to meet her this evening around six if you can and curiosity comes over you once you see where she wants to meet you. In fact, you're about to send a reply when you stop and look up. Ursula's gaze is on you and though she doesn't look upset, she does look serious.
"Sorry, Alyssa business," you say laughing it off. "What's up?"
Ursula continues to study you before she eventually shakes her head. "No, it's just... I'm trying to figure out where I screwed up," she tells you. "I don't want Priscilla to think I'm screwing around," she mutters.
"It's fine, I'll just study like I always have and--"
"I get off of work around six," she cuts you off, seemingly as if she wasn't actually hearing what you were saying. "Do you want to hang out somewhere for a little bit?"
It's an odd, and seemingly random question but she seems serious about it. More serious than Maddy has ever seen her before.  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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