When I returned to Jeff's place, he was already hard at work. I threw Jessie's face on the nearest table.
"So, did you get what you wanted?"
"Pretty much. Can't you make these things a bit more...aerated or something?"
"I can try. But right now I need your help."
"With what?"
"Well, you made it pretty clear that you want to use my work for other purposes than reforming Jessie. And I've taken that to heart. See the wall? What's up on there?"
I looked, but the wall was pretty much the same. It was covered with rows upon rows of bald female head masks, their empty eye sockets and mouths looking like a serial killer's trophy case. But then I noticed something different. Previously, all of the masks had been of a small number of teachers, who all just so happened to be white. But now there were others. Black, Asian, Arabic, even a few races I didn't recognize. Jeff must have gone through everyone in the staff directory.
"How long have you been down here, Jeff?"
"That's irrelevant. Now, I need you to test these."
He pointed over to his worktable. There were three newly finished masks lying there.
Without a word, I walked over, grabbed one, and put it over my face. When I opened my eyes next, I found out that I was now Ms. Henlow, the Social Crafts teacher. I'd always been jealous of her curly hair and the way she always smelled of cocoa butter lotion. And now I was her.
"Well, how does it feel?"
"Fine". Speaking in the same tone Ms. Henlow used in class felt really strange. It was like I was an alien or someone doing a quantum leap into her body. It just didn't feel right. I ripped Ms. Henlow's face off and tossed it aside.
"Hey, hey, watch the craftsmanship. Here, try this one."
He handed me another mask, this one of Ms. Yung, the Chinese teacher who'd hated me ever since I embarrassed her by screwing up my Chinese oral exam last year. Ever since, she had made a point of thumbing her nose at me whenever we met in the hall.
And now I had her face. And her perfectly manicured nails. And her eyes like little almonds freshly shelled...
Jeff tore the mask right off me. "You're scaring me. Why don't we try this last one?"
Ms. Saminr. Or Samoud. I never could get her name right. She was my school advisor, and quite possibly the kindest woman I'd ever met. She came from a pious family and never went anywhere without a headscarf tightly wrapped around her head, so to see her beautiful black hair falling around where her neck should have been was like seeing the chick inside an egg. It just wasn't meant to be witnessed.
I couldn't wear this one. Not without a scarf. It just wouldn't be right. Jeff finally gave in, and put it away along with the others.
"So, do you think we can use these?"