by Jack Wallen
Timely and Babbette both giggled.
“No, silly,” Babbette’s voice broke through the laughter. “You think it off and then you pull it. If you don’t will it, you can pull all you want and it won’t come off. It is as much a part of you as your flesh.”
I had no reason to not trust Babbette. Should the mask fall in school, my only saving grace would be my reputation. Everyone would assume it just me being Spooky.
I couldn’t help but smile. Sally caught me out of the corner of her eye. “You can’t hide anything from me, Scott. I know that smile. What’s going on inside your brain?”
“I was just wondering what everyone would think if they saw the new real me.”
Sally patted my thigh. “Let’s just not allow that to happen, okay?”
I grabbed her hand and gave a squeeze. “Not something you need to worry about. I’ll be on my least Spooky behavior.”
The fifteen minute trip ended with Timely and Babbette in awe over the size of the school. Sally’s first class period was spent as an office runner, so she took charge and led the girls to the main office to get them started. I raced down the hall and into the west stairwell. Halfway up the first flight of stairs, I heard a familiar voice from above.
“If it isn’t Spooky. What’s up Count Creepula? Did you remember to pack a thermos of human blood in your lunch box?”
I stopped and slowly looked up. When I saw Cody’s pimply, slack-jawed face, I thought for sure the need to flee would wash over me. I was wrong. My feet were glued to the stairs and my heart failed to race. In the face of threat, I was calm and strong.
“What do you want, Sloan?”
“Oh my God, it speaks. Do you do any other tricks, Maskey? Come on, boy, do me a trick. Sit up and beg and I’ll give you a treat.”
Cody slowly took the stairs one by one until he was just above me.
“You’re still here. Why aren’t you running to your bitch, Ms. Middleton. Rumor has it you slept with her to get her off your back. Rumor also has it you couldn’t get it up so she now calls you One Shot Scotty. Is that true Maskey? Are you a One Shot Scotty?”
“Go to Hell, Sloan.”
Within a heartbeat, the nasty grin on Cody’s face transformed into a red-tinged rage. I should have been afraid…very afraid. I wasn’t. In place of that fear was brazen confidence. This was officially new territory.
Cody stepped down, until we were face to face. I couldn’t help but think of the Siouxsie and the Banshees song.
Face to Face.
The lyrics raced through my mind and I realized how that song was a perfect soundtrack to my life.
“What did you say, Maskey?”
I sucked in a deep breath and allowed the confidence to flow through me. “Go. To. Hell.”
Sloan drew back to crush his fist into me. I beat him to the punch and placed my hand over his face. A singular thought came to mind.
Piss.
As my hand pulled away, I could see the wet stain spreading across the front of Cody’s pants. Realization and embarrassment flooded his cheeks and eyes.
“What’s wrong, Cody? So scared you pissed your pants? Oh that’s just not going to go over well with the student body.”
Before he had time to react, I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of Cody – his soaked crotch totally pulling focus from the over-dramatic look of fear in his eyes.
Without saying another word, Cody sped past me and down the stairwell. After a moment, I heard the exit door open then slam shut. I managed to get up a single step before another voice caught me by surprise.
“So you’ve finally mastered your fear.”
I turned to see Middleton at the bottom of the stairs.
“I hope to never see a display of the forbidden on campus again.”
I took a seat.
“Is that what you call it? The Forbidden?”
Ms. Middleton nodded. “Seriously, Scott, you cannot use that in public…or in school. Those powers are forbidden. If Gorman Gaultier found out you made use of that power here, who knows what would happen to you.”
“Should we really be discussing this here in the stairwell, Ms. Middleton?”
Middleton took in a deep breath. “My name is Engrid. I still have an open door for you, Scott. Especially now…that you are one of us.”
For the first time since this strange storyline began, I smiled at the thought. I was finally, gladly, one of the monsters. Exactly as my noir-rimmed dreamscapes had predicted, the monsters were the good guys.
Engrid stepped up the stairs and took a seat next to me.
“So,” I broke the silence that had settled between us. “How does this all play out?”
Engrid laughed. “I can’t predict the future.”
“Do you think the three of us will survive here; me, Babbette, and Timely?”
“I don’t blame you if you’re worried about Babbette and Timely fitting in. They’ll do just fine. They’ve had decades to figure out how to blend in. You probably need to be more concerned about keeping the forbidden under control than anything.” She looked at me, her eyes piercing serious. “Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Engrid spoke softly. “I trust you, Scott. Please, don’t let me down. I have to report everything back to Gorman; so if you slip, he’ll know about it.”
“I won’t. I have no reason to.”
Engrid smiled, bright and wide enough to shame a shark-toothed Cheshire cat.
“I will let the incident with Cody pass through the cracks. As far as I know, he finally saw the real you and his fear got the best of him.”
We shared a laugh that was broken up when Engrid put a gentle palm to my cheek and looked deep into the wells of my eyes.
“You bear the burden of responsibility no other ‘Kind has carried. You may not realize just how unique you are. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”
“I don’t understand, Ms. Middleton.”
“You will. Someday.”
She stood and started to descend. After a couple of steps, she stopped and turned to me.
“And it’s Engrid…unless there are students around.”
With a smile she turned back and continued down the stairs.
In typical fashion, I couldn’t help but watch her go. And then the image of Sally in heels and a tight skirt smacked me upside the libido.
My first class was half over. I debated racing after Engrid to have her write me a note to get me into class. In the end I realized if I could take on Skorsdan and Cody Sloan, everything else was cake.
*
After school, we all met at Sally’s car. Babbette and Timely couldn’t help their non-stop report of how wonderful their day had been. Timely was convinced her physics teacher was an idiot.
“I had to correct him like five times! He insisted that quantum mechanics meant the world was completely random. The mere existence of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle does not mean probabilities do not go away when you expand the mathematics into the macroscopic lens of the universe.”
She continued spouting physics theories and math formulas, until Babbette finally interjected.
“A picture of some student was being spread around campus. Seems he had a bit of an accident in his pants…”
Babbette’s voice trailed off as she looked my way. I grinned and shrugged. “Scott,” she shrilled. “You cannot…”
“I know,” I interrupted. “I can’t use the forbidden. Trust me; I was already given the lecture by Engrid…er, Ms. Middleton.”
Sally drove us back to the house as Babbette and Timely continued the play by play of their first day in public school. When we arrived, I invited everyone in. We walked through the front door to be greeted by mom and dad, front and center, grinning at me. Mom pulled Sally into a massive hug and welcomed Babbette and TImely as if they were long, lost family. We sat around the living room table with snacks and drinks and enough parental curiosity to satiate ever
yone for a lifetime.
I had to admit, having a tiny group of friends was nice change of pace. Not that it was ever anything but wonderful with just me and Sally; but having new people involved made me feel less of an outcast. These particular friends had the added benefit of easing me through this transition from human to ‘Kind – without my freak flag getting shot through with bullet holes. Babbette and Timely made blending in look easy. They sat and chatted with my mom as if no divide existed between them. Mom was completely oblivious to what lay under their fleshy masks.
Our fleshy masks, I should say.
After Babbette and Timely sped off toward Tyler’s End, it was just me and Sally in my room. I couldn’t help but put on the Siouxsie and the Banshee’s song Face To Face. I wanted to see if Sally picked up on the lyrics as I had. While the song played, we sat in front of my full-length mirror and watched as I set about to remove my mask. I hesitated, only because I didn’t want to chance seeing Sally turn away from me. She’d seen ‘Kind, up close and personal. She was also there when I first turned, so there was little left to her imagination. Even so…pulling this off with her seated next to me gave me pause.
Please don’t freak out. I thought, just before I willed the mask from my face. There was no noticeable ‘click’ or mechanism release. What I felt was an indescribable freedom as I tilted my head down and the mask silently dropped into my waiting hands. I held my breath and slowly raised my head back to see myself in the mirror.
Sally didn’t freak out. What she did do was reach the tip of her finger to the flesh of my cheek and trace the line of my jaw bone.
“Your skin…it looks like it would be harsh and rough, but…it’s so soft. And under the color and textures, I can still see the shape and contour of Scott in there.”
I started to replace the mask. Sally reached her hand up to stop me, turned my head to her, and then pressed her lips against mine.
Kissing Sally through my new flesh sent a spark of electricity dancing across my skin. It was like having a first kiss all over again – only the kiss was infused with a carousel of emotions. Love, joy, tenderness, lust, desire, want, hope.
Sally pulled away, her eyes still closed. “You taste…even sweeter, Scott.”
I pulled her back to me and pressed our lips together. This time the kiss had more intention behind it. I wanted to drown her in desire. Before our lips parted, I drew in a breath through my mouth. The air pulled from Sally’s lungs was warm, but most of all…it was hers.
“I want to breathe you in, Sally.”
“I want you to.”
After a second pull of Sally’s air, I leaned back against my closet door and sighed.
“Good sigh?” Sally asked.
“Heavenly sigh,” I responded.
“Kiss me again, Scott.”
How could I resist such a demand? Our lips again came together, only this time they parted to allow our tongues to dance across the moist flesh within. Our teeth clacked together. We laughed and continued on exploring one another’s mouths.
Before the moment could get any hotter, a knock at my door sent shocks of panic through my system.
“Scott,” Mom’s voice called from the other side of the door. “Is Sally staying for dinner?
I scrambled to get my mask back on. The innocent question would quickly be followed by an innocent opening of the door – which would then be followed by my mother passing out upon seeing her monstrosity of a son.
As with any panic situation, grace had left the building. My fingers had somehow managed to adopt the agility of sausages.
Thankfully, Sally came to the rescue. Before mom opened my bedroom door; Sally had the mask to my face.
“Is everything okay, kids?”
“Yes, Mrs. Maskey. Scott got something in his eye. I was just helping him get it out.”
“Oh, I think you got it, Sally.”
I Pulled away, fingers crossed the mask would remain in place. It did. I quickly blinked my eyes to pull off the lie. “Yeppers, you’ve got the magic fingers.”
I realized the awkwardness of that sentence as it stumbled from my mouth. Fortunately, it went over Mom’s head.
“So, Sally…” Mom gave Sally a raised eyebrow glare. “Dinner or no?”
Sally offered up her most angelic smile. “I’d be happy to stay for dinner.”
“Splendid. We’re having your favorite.” Mom started to pull the door shut behind her, but stopped short and smiled at me. “Let’s keep this door open just a smidge. Wouldn’t want to invite trouble, now would we?”
I wanted to beg her ‘Say no more.’ I refrained. Instead I waited until I knew she was out of earshot.
“Oh my God!” I whispered. “Can you believe how close we were to getting busted?”
“What’s this we thing you’ve got going?” Sally asked.
Sally almost glared at me. After a brief moment, she laughed.
“I”m sorry, I can’t lie. Yeah…busted…caught kissing. And then there’s that little issue of your mom catching you sans mask. Scott, how are you going to avoid that? They see you, day and night, good and bad.”
The thought had crossed my mind on multiple occasions. This wasn’t Tyler’s End, where I could come and go as I pleased. I lived with, and depended upon, my mother and father. I was still in high school and wasn’t one of those kids itching to get away from the oppression of parents. I loved my parents and enjoyed being around them.
“Babbette did say the only way this thing would come off was by my will. I suppose I have to trust that. I can’t let this run and ruin my life.”
Sally hugged me. “You’re right, Scott. We can make this work.”
We. She used the word we. The word filled me with peace and excitement. I was part of something bigger than just myself now. For the first time in my teens I felt like a normal kid.
The irony of the situation did not escape me.
Out of nowhere, a weight fell upon my heart. I looked deep into Sally’s eyes. “Do you think this is a mistake?”
For some reason, I expected a laugh to explode from Sally’s mouth. Instead, she returned my gaze and sighed.
“For this to have been a mistake, you would have had to choose it. It choose you. This was as much fate as it was anything. Scott, you almost died. This,” Sally traced her fingers around my face, “saved you. Had it not been for this mask, you and I wouldn’t be together – as a couple, as friends, as anything. I would probably be spending the day at a funeral home wailing over your coffin.”
I wrapped my arms around Sally and pulled her in so tight I thought our bodies would merge. I held the precious moment as if my life depended upon it. Finally, I eased up and said, “You have always known just what to say to make everything right.”
Sally smiled. “What can I say? I knows me some Scott.”
“Dinner,” Mom bellowed from below.
Sally glanced at the watch she always wore around her ankle. “Wow, did time really move that fast?”
It did. We were always taught time was a constant. I had a feeling that when love found its way into the mix, time became a relative parallel to the exchange of joy.
I hopped up and held my hand out for Sally. “This will be the first time you and I are actually doing something with my parents as a couple.”
“What’s the call on making out in front of them?”
I raised an eyebrow to Sally who then burst out into a windstorm of laughter.
“I’m so kidding. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself. At least I’ll try. I have a lot of years to make up for.”
“What do you mean?”
Sally bit her lip and said, “Scott, I’ve had it bad for you since middle school! That first kiss was an explosion of relief.”
“Would you believe me if I told you there were many times I nearly…” I stopped myself short.
“Oh no,” Sally stomped her foot. “No way. You can’t leave me hanging there.”
I scooped her off her feet.
She laughed. I kissed her quickly on the lips.
“Come on. It’s time to eat.”
“You suck,” Sally laughed. “And not in the good way.”
Today, this moment, reminded me that I had a long way to go before I fully accepted my own personal reality. There was so much strength and love surrounding me, I didn’t see how I could possibly fail.
twenty-five | scores and lies
Skorsdan sat, cross-legged, on top of a picnic table in the middle of Kinder Shade Park. A cold wind blew through the leafless trees and chilled the tips of his fingers as he tapped out a text on his phone.
“Who you texting, dude?” asked Skorsdan’s best friend, Valiskil.
Skorsdan looked to his friend and slowly blinked.
“Does it matter?”
Valiskil shrugged and went back to rolling a cigarette. “Whatever.”
Skorsdan pocketed his phone as he saw the other member of their trio, Comnical, rushing toward them.
“What’s up, bitches?” Comnical shouted, his high-pitched voice cutting the borrowed slang through the blustery wind. When he reached the table, Skorsdan slapped him on the cheek.
“What’s up is…shut your mouth, idiot. The last thing we need is to draw attention to us.”
Comnical rubbed his reddening cheek. “Ya, it might help if you’d at least let us know what in the name of names we are doing.”
Skorsdan stared at his partners and grinned. “Boys, I still have a score to settle.”
Valiskil and Comnical groaned.
“Not that again,” Valiskil mumbled.
Skorsdan sat up straight and stared down the other ‘Kind. “What was that?”
Valiskil shot a cold, deadly stare at Skorsdan. “You need to let that go, Skorsdan. Seriously. Gorman already warned you what would happen if you sought vengeance on that halfling.”
“I don’t give a damn what that blow hard says. No one makes a fool of me and survives.”
“That human saved your life,” Comnical added.
“After he took it,” shouted Skorsdan.
An all too familiar glow burned from Skorsdans fists. The other boys slowly stood and backed away. Valiskil held up his hands, palms forward, in an offer of peace.
