This choice: Michelle Estrich, really? • Go Back...Chapter #29Michelle who? by: imaj   Michelle Estrich sits opposite you, although the stupid grin on her face is one hundred percent Keith. For a moment you think he’s messed up until you remember that Michelle is the cheerleader that everyone forgets. Oh, she’s a good enough athlete, but she has a larger frame than the other girls. And despite her earlier fun bag comment, she’s not exactly voluptuous either. Tellingly, she has a somewhat plain face too.
Most people think she’s on the team because someone needs to be the base of the pyramid. The cleverer ones think it’s because Chelsea likes to have a ready made scapegoat for when she needs one.
“Michelle, really,” you say, pausing long enough for the controlling anima of Keith to pick up the double meaning. The stupid expression vanishes to be replaced with Michelle’s habitual downcast one.
“I’m the only one he was brave enough to go near,” she replies. “Or should that be she was the only one I was brave enough to go near. I don’t think it makes sense say it either way, but you get my meaning.”
“Quite,” you say primly. “We’ll just have to work with what with we’ve got. No offense meant, of course. You’ll make your way to Blackwell’s house after school and we’ll move onto the next phase of the plan.”
*****
It’s probably not a good idea to skip school two afternoons in a row, but you’ll need to prepare carefully for Keith and Michelle’s visit this evening. You bound up into the library as the golems are putting finishing touches on another set of blank masks. Ignoring its complaints about missing work, you set the Blackwell golem to searching through the library for some of the nastier hexes that it knows of. The Melody golem fetches the Liber and the pair of you work on unlocking the next spell. Luckily, it’s not so tricky as he torn page puzzle.
The new spells, and over the course of the afternoon you realise that you are dealing with three interlocking spells, prove to be fascinating. The first is a varnish that seemingly erases the contents of a mask. Melody is initially dismissive of your insistence that the spell’s sigil has a deeper meaning until your investigation of the second spell confirms your theory: It’s possible to make masks hold many images. In fact, you practically work out the third of the spells before even seeing it in the book – a simple incantation that lets you switch between images on a mask.
For all its grumbling, the Blackwell golem has done an excellent job as well. It shows you a selection of hexes. Some are a little permanent for your plans, so it finds some less deadly ones instead. It does, however, seem a little upset when you copy the selected hex’s sigil on to a clear plastic sticker with a marker pen.
All in all, it’s a very productive afternoon. When Keith and Michelle finally arrive, they are surprised to find you as yourself, without the mask of Kim on.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere,” asks Keith, smirking.
“Laugh it up, asshole,” you reply irritably.
“I intend to,” he sniggers. “But seriously, why the change of face?”
“Slight change of plans. I’ll explain in a minute. First this,” you say, unceremoniously slamming a blank mask onto Keith’s face. You let him topple to the floor.
Michelle stares at you, open mouthed.
“I took no pleasure in that,” you explain. “Ok, maybe a little.”
You’re busily applying a seal to the mask of Keith when he finally drifts back into consciousness. He hauls himself groggily off the floor.
“If you want to do something useful,” you say, before he can open his mouth. “Take a pair of scissors and cut a lock of your hair.”
“What,” he stutters. “Why?”
“Mask golem. When I put the mask on, they have to follow orders, when I take it off they’re themselves again. Since I don’t have any fucking use for a Keith Tilley golem, you get to be its master. Now cut off a bit of your hair.”
Reluctantly, Keith snips of a bit of his hair. You place it inside the bowl of the mask, along with a little graveyard earth and a couple of other components. Lighting it, the fire burns briefly before leaving the inside of the mask a dull grey.
“And now we make our copies of her,” you say, indicating Michelle. “Clothes off.”
“What did you say,” asks Michelle indignantly.
“Wait, did you say copies,” says Keith almost simultaneously.
“Clothes off,” you say to Michelle. “I don’t want anything damaged when we place the golem mask on you.”
“And what happens to me,” asks Michelle. “I mean, the bit of Keith inside me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll need you again later,” you say soothingly. “And besides, you didn’t really want to be Michelle anyway, did you?”
“What? Hey, why am I getting stuck as Michelle then,” interrupts Keith, but you ignore him.
Michelle, with some reluctance, disrobes. Ignoring Keith’s low, appreciative, whistle you reach towards her forehead and pull away at the anima band. It surfaces from inside her and comes away easily. She staggers for a moment, freed from Keith’s controlling anima which gives you just enough time to place your own mask on her face. You catch her as she falls, lowering her to the floor gently.
“What’s with the second mask,” asks Keith, noticing it sitting on a desk. “And what were you saying about copies.”
“You’ll see,” you say, trying to be enigmatic but coming off smug instead. Talking to people was lot easier when you were Kim.
After a few minutes your mask emerges from Michelle. You scoop it up and place the blank mask on her face. Instructing Keith to place the golem mask on her once the second mask is done copying, you attend to varnishing your own mask. That doesn’t take long at all and you have it back on your face quickly.
“Shouldn’t you have turned into Michelle,” asks Keith, puzzled.
You pass your hand across your face, mumbling a word of power. Luckily you’re only wearing a bathrobe so you don’t have to worry about ripping clothes.
“Wax on,” you say as Michelle, before repeating the process and turning back into Will. “Wax off.”
You repeat the process one last time.
“And wax on,” you say as Kim.
“Why can’t I have a mask that does that,” cries Keith.
“Mostly,” you reply, gesturing towards the mask that has now emerged from Michelle and rolled across the floor. “Because you are an idiot. Get the golem mask on her, then get the mask of her and bring it over so I can seal it.”
Things progress quickly after that. You leave the library, partially to get changed back into Kim’s clothes but mostly to avoid seeing Keith naked. Twice. When you return, both the Keith golem and new Michelle are thankfully fully clothed.
“I don’t know how you get through the day without playing with these puppies,” she says, casually squeezing one of her breast. “I guess whoever called them fun bags had it right on the money.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’ve had this conversation before,” you sigh. “Knock it off and listen.”
You explain your plan to the new Michelle. It’s another simple one, so again she should be able to manage without fucking it up.
“Remember,” you explain as you hand her the sticker with the hex sigil on it. “All you need to do is stick it on the sole of Chelsea’s sneaker before cheerleading practice tomorrow. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I get it,” she says. “I get it. Don’t fuck it up.”
“And stop thinking like you’re still Keith. Just let yourself slip into being Michelle.”
“Be Michelle, be Michelle” she repeats, almost as if it’s a mantra until Keith’s expression fades from her face. “And don’t fuck it up…”
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