Chapter #16A Plan, Put to the Test by: Nostrum   You're intrigued by the pens, enough to fight your desire to just lie down and sleep. (Your “nap” didn’t do enough to kill that feeling.) How do they work? And most importantly, will they?
You start with the brown pen, as it should be the safest to deal with. You twist and turn and unscrew it, but to no avail – there seems to be no seam, no screw, no hole from which you could disassemble it. You even try pushing the button while doing it, to no avail. It seems like it was soldered in, leaving no mark – as if made from one piece – which makes you think of a wand.
You notice they are very ornate compared to calligraphy ones. In fact, they look too ornate, with an intricate marble pattern. The ballpoint end is hollow, but as you press the button, an inner needle briefly shines with a spark. You recognize it’d be impossible for Claire to mistake them.
As you carefully observe the black pen, you notice its differences. The design is similar, but the ballpoint end is flat, covered in a lens, and you notice that the strange pattern is a richer golden, speckled and twisting in a very familiar way. Its pattern reminds you of a double helix.
Your investigations bear no further details, so you resolve to leave them as-is. You feel it may be easier for you to identify them now, but what makes them work is still a mystery to you. You hold them close, resolving to take them to school tomorrow; that way, you can test them the only way you know.
--
You wake up to loud pounding. “Davey!” Claire exclaims. “We’re gonna be late for school!”
Why would Claire wake me up? This weekend’s events have made you paranoid, and you wrap the pens around your towel as you bring them to the bathroom while you shower. You’re not bothered while doing so, but you get cornered by her as you step out. “Hey. You still got ‘em, right?”
“Uh...” You nod awkwardly. “Yeah.”
“Cool.” She looks outside, closing the door. “Listen - Tina should be going any time soon. Once she’s out, distract Mom so we can take her out.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one distracting her? I mean--”
“That’s the point! You distract her, I zap her with the pen.”
“Why you and not me?”
“Because...!” She huffs, shaking her head. “Alright. Since you want it that way, I distract her and you zap her.”
“Except, what if he changed into Tina sometime yesterday? Remember – you closed your door, but Tina didn’t.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That we can’t be too hasty.” You check your surroundings before telling your plan to Claire. “We’ll discuss it on our way to school, alright?”
“Davey, we shouldn’t waste any time! I can do it if you don’t.”
“Not without the pens.” You push her away, closing the door. “On our way to school.”
After a little tantrum, you notice she leaves, giving you time to dress. You check the pens, in case she took them on a whim, and hide them under long sleeves as you make a change to your usual attire.
This, of course, doesn’t go unnoticed, as your mother points out. “Trying to surprise someone?”
“Felt like it. I rarely use these shirts.”
“I thought you’d wear a shorter-sleeved one.” She shrugs, handing you a dish full of pancakes. “But, you do you.”
“Are Tina and Dad gone?”
“Yeah,” she affirms. “Left a couple minutes before you got down. Why?”
“I was just wondering if she was alright. Y’know, with the fever and all.”
“I don’t think she is, but you know her. Unless it’s something life-threatening, that won’t stop her. I told her she should go to the hospital, but she said she wouldn’t miss any more classes.”
“I told you!” Claire whispers. “She’s trying to leave!”
“You want Mom to know?” you whisper back, and freeze as she looks at you.
“What are you two whispering about?”
“Something personal...” You try to be as inconspicuous as possible, hoping for the best. If the impostor is still inside your mother, Claire just screwed up your plans.
And you waste no time telling her that as you make your way into school. “Y’know, if that guy was inside Mom, you just alerted him.”
“If you had done as I told you,” she recriminates you, “we could’ve fixed this now!”
“See, that’s why we can’t be too hasty. Tina has nowhere to go. If she runs away, we could call the police and tell them she disappeared. Mom and Dad’ll help us on that.”
“Davey, I thought the idea was that nobody should know.”
“Doesn’t mean we have to tell them about the pens. Though, I wouldn’t mind telling Mom and Dad. I want that fucker out.”
“Yeah...” Claire stares at the distance rather seriously. “Me too.”
--
Of course, there’s a reason why you wanted to delay things. There are too many things that could go wrong, and the most important involves the pens you’re hiding. You need the black pen to work, and you need to test it live. And a random student in the bathroom seems like your best bet.
That attempt is about to be ruined as Jimmy bumps into you. “Hey. What’s with the shirt?”
“Uh... I wanted a little change.”
“Dude - that’s awful even by nerd standards!” He tries to pull your sleeves up, and you slap him in reaction “Ow! I was trying to help!”
“If I wanted my sleeves rolled, I would’ve.”
You try to make your way away, but he grabs you. “Bro, you’ve been distant. Something on your mind?”
As much as you’d want to tell Jimmy everything, you feel he’ll be too obsessed to see the pens in action to help. “Something that happened during the weekend. I’ll tell you later.”
“Hey,” you hear from behind you. It’s Claire, with a very sour expression in her face. “Beat it. I need to talk to my brother.”
“Is that the ‘something that happened’?” Jimmy asks. “And what’s with the attitude, Claire-bear?”
“Get lost.” As she drags you, you notice something. Claire hates to be called by her pet name, but her reaction – her whole intervention – was vicious and rude. You follow her, but your nerves are on edge. “Hey. I was thinking we could skip our next class and make a quick trip home to check if--”
“You remember who he is, right?”
She looks at Jimmy, nodding. “Your best friend. Why?”
“You’re never that rude at him.”
“After he called me ‘Claire-bear’? Yeah. He deserves it. Anyways--”
“Go apologize.” She stares at you in confusion, but you insist. “He was trying to be nice.”
“You were trying to slip away. I only tried to help.”
“Well - I still want you to apologize. So go ahead and apologize, alright?”
She snarls, shaking her head. “Al-riiiight. Wait for me here.” As she turns around, seeking Jimmy, you take the opportunity to slip away, making your way to the nearest bathroom. You notice there’s too many people inside, so you take the opportunity to piss inside one of the booths and wait.
To your surprise, Fortune smiles upon you. As the bathroom empties up, you notice the perfect test subject stepping in. He even jerks his head at you, greeting you with familiarity you haven’t given him. “Sup?”
You’d identify that annoying nasal voice anywhere. Scott Kilmeade is one of the school’s bad boys, and it shows – spiky blond hair, a face scarred by blown zits but otherwise smooth like a baby, and a mischievous grin identical to Jimmy’s own. He’s taller than you, but you feel you could knock him to the floor with a good punch to the jaw.
And, for some reason, this pock-marked loser has your sister head over heels. She deserves better. Not the least because of his rude attitude. “Hey. Didn’t your parents taught you to say ‘hi’?”
“They’re Claire’s parents too. They also taught me to be nice to people that deserve it.”
He snorts. “Hey - s’not my fault she can’t resist my charms. But I dig you. Big brother instinct. It’s a’ight.”
As he crosses past you, with his swagger, you don’t hesitate. You draw the black pen and zap him. To your surprise, the pen works – he deflates, just as Claire did last Friday.
You don’t want to do anything with him, so you clean your hands and wipe them dry, and as you leave, you zap him back into existence. You rush outside, trying to escape him, only to notice Claire managed to trail you.
“I thought I told you to stay put!”
“Did you apologize to Jimmy?” you tell her as you make as much space from the bathroom as humanely possible.
“Yeah, yeah – now follow me and don’t you dare make a sound!” She drags you to one of the empty classrooms, locking the door.
That proves one of your suspicions. “It’s you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She approaches you, mortified. “Y’know, I tried to warn you, but you’re the man with the plan, so I let you make the mistake.”
“First of all,” you growl at the impostor. “What did I tell you about switching to my sisters?”
“That I shouldn’t,” he confesses, “but as much as I liked being porked by your dad, I like them young. That’s not the point. I thought I could outsmart you, but I fucked up.”
You grab “her” by the blouse, fuming. “What do you mean by that?”
“I wanted to even the score, so I called a friend.”
“A--!?” You huff, eager to crush the impostor’s skull – if it weren’t because he was wearing your little sister. “What the hell!?”
“I figured, if I spooked you into thinking I split up or something, you’d be more docile. Except he doesn’t wanna drop your sister, so I had to switch into your kid one.”
“Are you an idiot!?”
“I thought I didn’t, but here’s the deal. Remember I told you Tina could escape? Well, she did. With my pens. So if you wanna help finding your sister, you’re gonna need to cooperate. Because that guy? He’s worse than me.”   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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