possessionmask1994

Original story idea by me, Haley and Janice Burnett are my characters. Sequel to Janice and The Mask. As always, I do not own The Mask. —————— Suitcase held in her right hand, mother looked towards daughter. “Do you remember my instructions for locking up at night?” “Yes, you’ve only told me, like, a hundred times.” Janice wanted to say something, but she couldn’t keep Mike waiting forever. “All right. We’ll call you when we get there. Don’t do anything crazy while we’re gone. I love you!” Waving goodbye, Haley listened as the garage door shut and the Ford SUV pulled away down the road. With her parents seeing old friends in Tennessee and Dylan staying over at his best friend Colton’s house, she had the house to herself for a rare two days. If only she knew what to do with them. Now finally in her senior year, a lot had changed for Haley since April. She had received and accepted a scholarship to East Carolina, where she would begin her degree in early childhood education. And her friendship with Carly Shepherd had remained steady, a relationship she hardly would have expected to blossom at the start of the year. Then there was the new boy, Ben Platten. He had moved down from Pennsylvania for his senior year - and ever since Haley laid eyes on him in chemistry class, she wanted to know everything about him. Tall and slender with sandy blonde hair, he had a bashful side that she just needed to know more about, if she could just get the courage to speak up. Of course, not everything had turned out rosy for her. While she thought making friends with Carly would get her into the school’s popular clique, it only meant that Carly fell down to Haley’s level in the senior social status. Not like Carly cared, she would still be going to UNC on a soccer scholarship. For Haley, it could only be called a massive disappointment. And lastly, there was the big secret shared between the two ladies of the Burnett family. While the “green-faced lunatic” hadn’t been seen in several months, Haley still struggled with the knowledge that those horrific acts were committed by none other than her own mother. After their second wild night together, Janice’s shame had kept her alter ego Jade from making a third appearance - but her fear of getting rid of the mask only meant it was hidden somewhere deep in the basement, a fact Haley knew full well. But such a fact wasn’t at the front and center of her mind at this time of the day. Getting onto her phone, she logged on to Facebook, mindlessly liking and commenting on her friends’ posts. Then it was on to Instagram, feeling a little envious at Emma’s photos with her new man Joey. But they were cute together. Someday that would be her and Ben, she just knew it. Suddenly, her phone rang. “Hello?” “Hey! You want to go out for pizza tonight? Just me and you, it’s been a while.” “I can’t, Shayna. I’m stuck at home because my parents are away this weekend, ugh. Maybe in a few weeks.” Hanging up, she felt a bit of guilt in ending the conversation that quick. Shayna was her best friend, and Haley could use some time to chat or gossip. They still needed to decide what they were doing for next Friday’s football game. Lee County was playing Apex for the District 5 title, and the whole school was awash in spirit. Besides that discussion, there wasn’t much on TV to watch, unless she counted another Ridiculousness marathon on MTV to be worth her time. So onto YouTube she went. By the time she looked at the clock, it was a little after 4:00 - somehow 3 hours had passed just like that. No longer bored, Haley now needed something to eat. She wasn’t getting much. Three Stouffer’s frozen meals were her options, with a lasagna sounding the tastiest. Picking through it with a fork, she groaned. Why couldn’t she be out doing something cool, something exciting. Wait a minute. The house was all hers, Mom and Dad were hundreds of miles away, Dylan was at the Gordons’ house for the next two days - this was her chance! As the sky began to darken, Haley made her way down into the basement. Opening the door to a room that had been called “the future office” for as long as she could remember, she began to rummage around, opening boxes and digging through the various decorations kept in the cramped space. Finally, she held it in her hand. Now it was the cleanup part, requiring extra effort to make the room look untouched. Flicking the light off, Haley trudged back up the stairs, closing the door behind her. It was just after 6 PM, the time for a real Saturday adventure to begin. In her hands, it wasn’t much. Haley could see why she first called the piece of wood a Halloween decoration - to unknowing eyes, it was an artifact designed to scare an unwitting stranger with its visage. But only Haley and Janice knew the truth of the incredible and unanswerable power held within it - a power Haley herself had never gotten a chance to try. Did she dare go through with it? After all, Jade was an uncontrollable figure, uncaring for anything but having a good time. Would Haley fall to the same whims? She thought of it more - whatever worries she had were assuaged by the simple fact she was not her mother. Haley didn’t know where the persona she had gotten uncomfortably close to came from, but that wasn’t enough to stop her from trying it on. Now, another question: was it really as easy as just bringing it to her head? As if it was listening to her thoughts, the smooth surface of the mask glowed a bright green, rippling like a wave from end to end. Her chocolate brown eyes taking the supernatural sight in, Haley had her answer. Hands bringing the mask up ever so slightly, she tensed up with anticipation for the delightful moment to come. Any second now… THWICK!!!! As the mask came across another warm face, a new maelstrom was ready to hit Sanford again. ——————