Unmasked (11 page)

She arrived at the field and noticed that she wasn’t the only one crying but several other characters as well with the ones they cherished most.

Miss Willows stood next to a maroon door, which seemed to be standing all on its own in the middle of the field.

After several bouts of sobbing and farewells, she rounded up the group and motioned to the door.

“Through there, you’re story experience will begin. While you may write to each other, I’m afraid that once the doors close, that you will not be able to come back here. So please make your final farewells and then follow me in here.”

She creaked open the doors and at first all Noelle saw was darkness, but the distinct hum of lights dully illuminated a school hallway. She began to venture toward it when she heard someone shriek her name.

Lacey sprinted toward her and enveloped Noelle into a hug before she could protest.

“Please remember me when you’re in there,” she pleaded. “But most importantly, remember the Author. I know that you’re angry and frustrated, but that’s because you can only see part of the picture now.”

They pulled apart and Lacey searched her face earnestly for some confirmation.

“Promise that you’ll consider it?”

“Promise,” Noelle grunted just so that we wouldn’t have to worry about Lacey bothering her in letters, though she had no intention of seeking after the Author when she left camp.

“Time to leave!” called Miss Willows shrilly as someone began dragging toward the door.

“Ready for this, Saint?” whispered a voice from behind her which caused goose bumps to form up her neck. She glared at Blade and threw a tuff of dignified hair in his direction as she scanned the field to find Bri.

She called Bri’s name and felt a hand lace with hers as they passed through the door.

“Noelle!” screeched Lacey’s voice. “One more thing! Please listen carefully! It’s something that I had to learn the hard way, and I don’t want for you to do the same!”

Miss Willows, on the other side began shutting the door.

“Listen,” Lacey cried cupping her hands around her mouth, “the reason why you’re clothes are stained is because –”

But something shuddered as Lacey’s voice muted, leaving an eerie echo throughout the hallways.

Noelle turned around, but the door was already gone.

The slamming of a locker sent chills down Hera’s spine as the most radiant smile faced her direction. Blade offered a warm welcome while a few annoying students passed discussing the Pre-Calculus test that was to be taken later that afternoon.

“Hi,” she began meekly trying her best to seem like an Extra. After all, lectors often liked reading about those characters.

They always admired the loser somehow managing to pull an underdog victory out in the end. Of course, Main Characters in the stories never were
really
like those poor excuses for characters.

Granted, the Main Character had to be beautiful, this, a must. After all, why would the audience read a story about some ugly buffoon babbling along like an ape who hadn’t showered in a week?

Second, wits were a small must, and Hera obviously had those. The other day, she spotted some Extra trying to figure out a direction by placing both of his ‘L’ shaped fingers in the air

“‘L’ for ‘Loser,’” Hera had muttered silently to herself. But he accidentally held them the same direction, and couldn’t figure out which one meant left. Boy, they were stupid.

Finally, power was a must. Of course, she did not lack in this area considering that she was even named after a goddess of a great nation.

But yet somehow the Extras still tried to speak incoherent babble as if she wanted to be their best friend!

The nerve!

They approached her with longing expressions hopeful for a chance.
To what? Redeem themselves
? She wondered scornfully.

Although, for the first part of the story she could probably pick up a few pointers from them on how to act like a loser who would eventually overcome her awkward problems, but how to word it correctly?

“Hello,”
she practiced a conversation to an Extra in her head,
“Yeah, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to be a failure at life so that when all seems lost, I’ll then switch my character and pull out a victory.”

Despite her rather viciously worded scenario, she simply pictured the Unwanteds falling at her feet in admiration. She threw a disdainful, but hungry glance back at a handful of Unwanteds and then threw a conceited twist of hair in their direction as she resumed her conversation with Blade.

Hera, in all of her arrogance, never once seemed to notice the pair of green eyes drilling in her direction. The one thing that she never guessed is that someone would be able to see right through her mask of lies.

#

Everything about Hera made her want to puke. Her cruel eyes, the way she disdainfully threw her hair over her shoulder made Noelle want to cut it off.

“Just sick,” Noelle muttered to Bri as a few Extra students passed her by discussing the lab homework that they had in Chemistry, “I guess it’s a good thing that we’re not Main Characters, otherwise we’d end up like a bunch of arrogant slobs.”

But Bri wasn’t listening, instead she fumbled around with mysterious note in her hand while casting a good long gaze at a door adjacent to the lockers. Her face began to pale as she froze, paralyzed, and seemingly gripped with fear.

Curiously, Noelle stole a glance at the note and then diverted her attention back to Hera who stared at Bri with an expectant expression, save the irritation rubbed into her facial features.

Suddenly Noelle realized that Bri needed to deliver the note to Hera in order to keep the plot going. Bri had one task, and she was totally bombing it!

Hera repeated her line a little louder smothered with annoyance, but Bri still didn’t manage to hear. Noelle began to shake her friend, but she noticed something in the distance pointing directly at her.

Noelle accidentally stared directly at the camera, or at least, that’s what lectors would describe it as. In her world, they described them as ‘scribe machines,’ for a fraction of a second, but immediately her eyes darted down at her feet. A mistake like that could cost her a whole scene.

“Never, never, never interrupt the scene or look at the camera!” They mentioned this rule about ten times before starting the story. The scribe, lectors would call him camera man, didn’t seem to notice, and she was in the clear.

She silently slipped the note out of Bri’s hand, who was still distracted by the door, and quickly walked over toward the Main Characters. Hera shot her a quizzical glance before realizing that Noelle had the note.

“Thank you,” she said coldly as Noelle passed the wad of paper with a feeble, shaking hand.

She elongated in that spot for a second longer than Hera would have liked because she heard Hera mutter under her breath, “Every time, they try to take up as much a spot light as they can, but editing will clear this up just fine.”

Noelle shot her the most loathing of glares before returning to Bri who had stood paralyzed in her spot.

“What is your problem?” Noelle hissed at Bri. “You missed your cue to give the note.”

Bri stared at her numbly expression full of fear, “That door is freaking me out.”

Noelle palmed her face, seething with an urge to lose her patience, “You didn’t do your part of the story because you were staring at some door?” she asked incredulously.

“I don’t know,” Bri spluttered. “It’s just the minute that I saw that door I felt this sense of awfulness inside and like something’s going to overpower me. I felt like this when I was around the Author, but that was different.

“I just felt sort of – small when I approached the Author knowing all the power that he has, but something inside that door gives me an uneasiness. Like it really shouldn’t be there.”

Noelle gaped at her skeptically, but when she turned her heel to face the door, she couldn’t help but agree when she read the poem on the outside of the door:

Knock and see the answers within

Who doth seek paths broad not thin

For new wisdom withheld is yours to keep

Until thou doth reach decaying sleep.

Bri shifted uncomfortably, “I think that we should avoid that door. I just have a bad feeling about it.”

Despite Bri’s words of warning, Noelle felt a new curiosity shiver down her spine. What was this “withheld wisdom”? Did the person inside know things that the Author never cared to tell her?

“What harm will it do to just see what’s inside?” Noelle asked.

Bri’s eyes widened in alarm, “No, one of the kids in Unknown said that his brother was in a horror subgenre one year! I’m telling you, doors with secrets hidden behind them are never a good sign.”

Noelle threw a wave of dismissal, “Oh, come on. This is Romance. The worst that can happen is that we won’t get a Prom date.”

She clicked open the door as she entered inside with Bri babbling, passionately-voiced warnings behind her.

Instantly, the most beautiful woman that Noelle had ever seen stared up at them with contempt and a slight alarm. Her cruel yet stunning eyes managed to paralyze Noelle with a flurry of silver hair that cascaded down the woman’s scalp in an elegant beauty. Her eyes, with a golden gleam like a morning star, gleamed like an alien light about to abduct Noelle and Bri on the spot. The woman wore a dress made of pure gold, which made Noelle question as to whether she was a principal at all because from what Noelle could recollect in her memory, principals wore business suits, not red carpet style dresses soft as silk and fascinating as a toxic diamond.

Something seemed very wrong, but very delightful about the woman at the same time. It was almost as if Noelle felt a little rebellion stir inside of her just by being nearby the woman.

Another poem lined the walls of the office in thick green paint.

Something forbidden for you to withhold

Brand new knowledge for one to unfold

All things given now, without delay

All you need to do is just turn away

“Like it?” she asked with her contemptuous smile curling in delight. “I rather delight in writing music.”

“Yes I know,” Bri spat suddenly. The amount of hate in Bri’s voice indeed surprised Noelle for she could’ve never imagined Bri taking on this tone with anyone, “and I know who you used to write songs for.”

The woman stared at Bri in astonishment while her delighted face quickly faded.

Bri turned to Noelle, “We should really leave. This was a terrible decision. Don’t you know who she is?”

“Bri!” called a voice in the hallway. “I need for you to give another note to Hera, she’s in Biology, now.”

Bri threw a longing glance at the door, anxious to leave and issued a final warning to Noelle, “I’d get out of here, if I were you. She can’t be trusted.”

But another student nabbed Bri’s hand and dragged her out into the hallway before she could say any more.

The woman paused for a moment before continuing the conversation.

“My name is Principal Angela Diluz, and there is a reason why your friend didn’t want for you to meet me. I knew it the minute that she entered, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

Noelle threw her head to the side in a bewildered expression.

“What did you know?”

“That she is a loyal follower to the Author,” Principal Diluz threw her head back dramatically. “But you would not believe how much knowledge he keeps from those trusted pupils of his. Think of all of his wisdom that he refuses to share with anyone else, how selfish is that?”

Noelle nodded her head slightly. She couldn’t deny that she had considered this before.

“I could give you knowledge,” Diluz continued with a greedy sort of smile. “All you have to do is simply turn away from the Author, even for a moment, and my deal is all yours,” she paused. “Oh but you already have – well this certainly changes everything.”

“How did you know that I already denied his plan for me?” Noelle asked suddenly.

Diluz’s eyes flashed as beamed at Noelle.

“I know
all
, and unlike the Author, I am willing to share it with those who are loyal,” she added with a wink.

For some odd reason, Noelle had a difficult time believing that the principal knew everything. After all, she never created the story like the Author.

“You feel unwanted,” the principal continued conversationally as if discussing a sport’s game. “You’ve tried so hard to prove yourself, but every time you failed.”

Noelle stared up at the principal in astonishment before meekly nodded, affirming that her claims were true.

“But here’s the thing,” Principal Diluz pointed an very bony, yet delicate finger at Noelle. “I can help you get fame, power, success – beauty,” she added the last word with an extra pause noting the hungry look in Noelle’s eyes.

“How?” Noelle asked suddenly clinging on to her every word.

“Easy, all we have to do is bend a few rules here or there.”

It sounded good. Too good to be true, but something felt terribly off. Even though she sought to ignore the Author, breaking rules seemed wrong.

Terribly wrong.

“Do we
have
to break rules in order to achieve this?”

The principal stared at her disdainfully.

“Ah I see,” she said nodding her head dramatically. “I’ve seen this in people who listened to the Author’s words. They often feel compelled to follow the rules and take boring paths. But if you want some excitement in your life, why not take a few risks? You only live once, right? So why not live for right now?”

Noelle glared at her wanting to prove that she had what it took to be a Main Character. The snobs who were in that position couldn’t hold  a candle to her, and the Author dragged her down so that she couldn’t reach her full potential.

“If you would rather follow the Author’s rules…” the Principal began to swivel her chair around to face its back to Noelle.

“Wait!” cried Noelle. “Please, I’m willing to bend a few rules, just please tell me what I need to do to become a Main Character.”

An odd expression of delight formed on the Principal’s face once again.

“Now you’re talking.”

#

The most odd thing happened to Noelle when she left the Principal’s office. She began to forget all about the principal, all she could remember was the plan that she gave her.

It was an awfully dreadful plan, that no lector would have ever expected “sweet” Noelle to do, but she figured that if she simply tangoed with a few forbidden things, then life would be abundantly greater.

Why not live for right now?
She wondered when considering the plan.
After all, I only live once, so why not make the most of it?

She settled on carrying out the plan that night, and tried her best to force down the sorrow that would come gift-wrapped with the deed.

When she spotted Bri, her friend paled and sprinted over to her.

“Did you leave the office right after I left?”

Noelle shot her a quizzical look, “Who’s office?”

“The principal’s!” Bri whispered as if she had just spoken a forbidden word.