This choice: Craft a new male identity • Go Back...Chapter #63Preparing For the New Guy by: rugal b.   "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 we just create a new identity entirely. A guy."
"Okay," Kim nods with approval. "Truth be told, I was hoping that you'd go for the new identity over replacing someone. I've got some reservations about that honestly."
"Don't know why you had to specify the gender," Caleb says but then breaks out into a grin. "Unless... Will, were you actually thinking of becoming a girl? Did you want to play with a pair of boobies that badly?"
"Shut up," you say. Well not just you. To your surprise Kim says it in unison with you. The two of you look at eachother for a minute and then snicker.
"Okay, anyway, yeah I considered it. So what?" you retort. "I thought it might've been best for hanging around Kim without rumors spreading. Evie too. I didn't want things getting weird with her."
"What, like she'd develop a thing for you?" Grant laughs. "Oh man, I don't think that's happening though. No offense or anything dude but, uh, I just don't see it."
Evie says nothing, just shifts nervously. It's Melanie who casts a hard look in his direction. "Well guys are idiots anyway but it'll be nice to have at least one non-shit-for-brains around," she says. Grant shrinks back a bit at the force of her words.
"So how's this going to work anyway?" asks Justin. "Not like you can just create a person out of thin air."
It's Caleb, however, who speaks up. "We've kind of been over this already," he says. "As long as you don't seal the mask it'll keep adding faces so the person will be a kind of blend of all of them."
"So he just puts the mask on all of us?" Joe asks.
"Sure, if he wants to be a sophomore," Caleb explains. "It's just a theory but I think it's a good one at least. But the way I assume it works is that it uses the first person as a template. So say we put the mask on Joe, but then put it on me and Will and, I don't know, Patterson then the end result will still be a sophomore. It'll just be a sophomore that has features from some seniors."
"Well that'd just leave you and me then," you point out. "And no offense but if I'm going to be a new guy I want to at least look a little better."
"Hey, if I were in your shoes I'd feel the same way," Caleb says. "We just have to find some of the better looking seniors and you're good."
Everyone seems to agree that's the best way to go but you notice that Evie's looking a bit uncomfortable. Melanie seems to notice too and she's the one who talks. "I don't really think it's going to be awkward or anything if you were a sophomore though," she says "Leaving these guys on their own is probably a bad idea."
"You guys would be fine with me using your faces?" you ask the boys. There's no objections. You look over at Caleb and all he can do is shrug; it's not his decision. Melanie's probably right but you still want to be a senior as well.
"What about getting me into school?" you ask as you try to delay choosing and give yourself a minute. "I mean I made my decision but still..."
Caleb looks at Kim and Kim in turn looks at him. Nothing's said for moment before Kim turns back to you. "Caleb and I will figure something out," she says. "In the mean time, what are you going to do for faces?"   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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