You push your cheeks upwards, though it’s not hard for you since you’re already smiling. You’ve spent the last few minutes admiring Umeko’s face in the mirror, staring at it from the most prodigious spot – right where you’re standing.
You rub slender fingers through your hair, which falls far beyond yours, with a silkiness and shine you’re very sure you’ll never have. You turn your face from side to side, admiring a face that you’ve admired in secret.
For, even though she’s your cousin, you share no blood ties with Umeko. And thus, you’ve developed a bit of a crush on her.
To the extent of dreaming of seeing her naked.
And now, thanks to that weird book you bought for the biggest bargain in your entire life, you can fulfill that dream. You waste no time taking off your shirt and dropping off your pants, indulging on the sights. Nice, firm breasts that seem larger as you fondle them, probably because of her small frame. The barest hint of a hourglass figure, slim as she is but not blessed with large hips. And as you look downwards, you notice she’s left the treasure every man wants to see laid bare – for she’s shaved there, showing her pussy very clearly.
A hot flush runs over you as you press your full weight into one of your arms while you rub and feel your adoptive cousin’s - or you’d rather say, your – groin. You touch her smooth skin until you touch the labia. You push your fingers deeply inside that glorious hole, waiting for that sensation you feel when you wrap the old and smelly sock on your junk (the one you hide carefully so your mom doesn’t find it) but it never arrives.
Then you feel a cold chill run down your spine, and your mind runs tricks on you. What if Robert wakes up to see his cousin masturbating on your room, knowing very well she can’t be here because she’s at your uncle and aunt’s house? Or if your mom and dad do so?
You bite your lip as the excitement fades. You still yearn to explore, but prudence overcomes you, and you quickly search for the book to notice another page has turned. You spend a couple of minutes checking the contents – using your phone and the same online translator you’ve used for the previous spells – to see what else is new.
You deduce the page explains what you already know – that the plaster you made allows you to wear the mask and transform into the person you copied previously. (That much is obvious, seeing Umeko’s shaved legs flailing from your bed as they hold the book.) It also gives instructions to remove it – lucky! - which requires grabbing your face with your hands and muttering what seems like gibberish three times.
You practice the words before uttering them, giving a good look to your cousin’s borrowed body before losing it. If it comes out, however, you’re reassured by the idea that you’ll be able to enjoy it again and again – and perhaps, without your nerves betraying you like they did today.
--
“Mr. Prescott?” You feel the world crumbling before you when Walberg calls your name. “You remember the time capsule assignment was due yesterday, right?”
Your eyes bug out, but you make the best attempt to bullshit your way through. “O-of course! I was aware of it and rest assured you’ll have it – I was thinking about it all day and night yesterday--”
“Do you have it with you?” he insisted.
“Well, that’s the thing – I couldn’t find anything, but if you give me just one more day--”
“End of school day,” he sentenced. “If you want a proper grade.”
“Yes sir,” you reply, though you cuss internally, as you have nothing to offer. Now that you know the book’s invaluable – arguably more than the $500 that man, Blackwell, offered you – you're not going to put it inside. Nor the mask that allows you to become Umeko, which you left in your house to play with.
You lower down your voice, and you feel a buzz on your phone.
It's Caleb. u thot on wat i wrote u ystrdy?
You're reminded of the text you ignored during yesterday's "chaos". He asked you for a favor to help him with this very same assignment, but wasn't very clear about it. You respond with a curt nod and a ltr text, since he might also help you with yours.
--
That first class almost ruined the rest of your day, and before Lunch period, you wish you could put on the mask and run away. At Film as Literature – an easy grade, you thought when you chose it – Keith Tilley briefly pestered you, talking about how he spent yesterday with Mike Hollister and Carlos Montoya seeing a terrible movie, inviting you to come for next time. Then at English, you had a slight brush with Steve Patterson, one of the top goons at school, and you felt your legs melt into a puddle as you recall how Carson Ioeger was close to you seconds apart and how he suddenly appeared at his seat seconds later, meaning everything was planned.
Which means you actively avoid your usual group and text Caleb to meet you aside, sitting on another of the tables while trying to avoid Keith and Carson – and Carson’s best pal James Lamont as well. You look all around you, which Caleb seems to notice. “What’s gotten into you? You’re more nervous than usual.”
“It’s Carson,” you spit spitefully. “Pushed me on Steve’s path.”
“And?”
“He did nothing.”
Caleb sucks air from his teeth, pushing his chair a step backwards. “Sucks to be you.”
“Gee, what a friend you are! I’m here to listen to whatever you want me for, and this is how you pay me?”
“Well, you can still do me a favor. If Steve kills you, make sure your last words are to hide your corpse inside the time capsule.”
“What for?”
Caleb grips his curly hair tightly and screeches. “A distraction! I didn’t know we’d have to do an essay about the capsule afterwards!”
You snort. “What the hell you gave the Walrus?”
“A flash drive,” he answers, leaning closer. “With porn.”
Now you cackle – perhaps too loudly, as you notice Jenny Ashton looking at you from three tables away. “What the hell? What made you do that!?”
“I thought I could get away with it! What if he checks the contents and realizes that whatever I write doesn’t fit what I gave him!?”
“You're gonna get screwed. Then again,” you tell him, shrugging, "I’m screwed anyways. Not gonna help you there."
“Actually, you skipping class yesterday helps me a lot.” He shows you another flash drive. “All I need to do is replace the flash drive inside with another.”
“What does it have?”
Caleb rolls his eyes and sighs. “Memes. It’s less spicy than porn, after all.”
“And how can I help you?”
“Well...” He stores the flash drive and grins. “You’ll give him this flash drive. It’s identical to mine, ‘cept for a little nick that makes it different. Soon as you deliver it, figure out where he's hiding everything and we'll swap 'em out!” He taps the table desperately. “I’ll even help you on the essay! And I’ll be owing you a big one!”
“A big one, eh?” You grin this time, because this is yet another opportunity that fell into your lap. You had to scrounge up what little money you had for the stuff to make masks, and you’re running short. Your dad’s pressuring you to accept a job at his place – Salopek Engineering – but you’re not very interested in. You feel like you got no choice, but if you were to put on a good word for Caleb with your dad, he’d be owing you a lot more.
And because you feel generous because of his offer, you might want to show him the fruits of his "investment" - masks that let people turn into others. Surely he'll like the idea.
“Meet me at the old hideout,” you tell him. When he asks where, you remind him, “on the old community center at Acheson. We’ll discuss it there.”
--
You deliver the flash drive to Walberg, who seems surprised at your appearance. "Here for the assignment?"
You nod and deliver the flash drive. You use Caleb's excuse, saying that you spend your study hall at library gathering some memes in the Internet; you tell him that they represent today's culture, and you even add how memes exist since before the Internet (something you did spend your time checking), so it's a perfect snapshot of our times. Walberg pockets it, saying he wants a good essay from you "but don't expect any better than a B".
You're setting your bookbag on your truck when you feel a meaty hand grabbing you back. A few punches to the gut later, you hear Steve Patterson's menacing voice mocking you. "Watch where you're going next time," he says, and adds "tell Carson I'm not blind". You sit near your truck, reeling and gasping for air, thinking how to get back at him.
You still need to tell Caleb the news - that you couldn't make the switch and you don't know where he's storing everything - but you feel like doing a little payback.
All you need is a few clothes, the mask back at your house, and a place to meet.
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
