A Stroke Of Originality

Leah went to the thrift store with her mom, where she saw a mask that caught her eye. She stared at it and came to the realization that she had to have it. Quickly grabbing the mask, Leah went to find her mother.

“Mom! We have to get this! It’s only three dollars!” Leah pleaded.

“That mask is hideous, put it back.” her mom replied.

“But mom!” Leah appealed. ” Just three dollars.”

“Fine! Get the damn ugly mask, and don’t let me see it anywhere but in your room. Understood?” Her mom stressed.

“Yes, ma’am!” Leah replied, quickly shoving the mask in the basket.

The pair walked up to the cashier to purchase their items.

“Whoa, you sure you want this mask?” He asked. “According to our closing crew, it does some weird things at night.” The cashier shrugged.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Leah answered, snatching the mask from his hands.

“Don’t be rude!” Leah’s mom scolded her and paid for their things.

Once they arrived home, Leah couldn’t wait to hang the mask in her room. Leah sprinted to her room and slammed the door behind her. Quickly snatching some posters off the wall and placing the mask in the center of the room with superglue.

“I’m going to call you…” She paused and thought for a moment. “Joe! Joe, the mask.” She smiled and hopped on her bed.

“So, my name is Joe now? Not a bad name, I like it.” Joe pointed out.

Leah leaned up in her bed and blinked multiple times, trying to figure out if she really just heard the mask talk. Did I…? No way it just spoke, she thought to herself.

“I want to thank you for giving me my name and freeing me from that horrendous place,” Joe said.

Again, Leah stared at the mask in disbelief.

“Yes, I can talk. Now, can we move on?” Joe asked.

“AWESOME!” Leah screamed, charging up to the mask. “How are you able to talk?”

A green light appeared in the eye sockets on the mask. “Well, I used to be a mage, but I lost a bet against my brother, and I ended up getting turned into a mask.”

Leah’s eyes widened. “A mage?” she shook with excitement. “What kind of mage, and what was the bet? I have so many questions.”

Joe seemed delighted to tell her, “Well, to be frank, I had the power to control the elements, but I lost them to my brother over a stupid bet, and it cost me everything.” he sounded ashamed.

“What could you two possibly have bet on to make you want to put your powers on the line?” she asked.

Joe huffed before he spoke. “I bet my brother that I could win a race to the pool, and he would be the last one in. If I won, he had to loan me his powers and wear dresses for at least two hundred years, and If he won, then I had to be a mask for two hundred years, and loan him my powers.”

“Really?” Leah asked unamused. “That’s what the bet was?” she glared.

“I actually won!” he countered. ” It’s just my brother is a crafty one. We raced, and I got to the pool first, but he never jumped in! which made me the last one in the pool.”

Unentertained, Leah gave Joe a blank stare and proceeded to walk out the room.

“Okay, look, hear me out.” Joe pleaded, “What if I make you a bet?”

“I’m listening,” Leah said, stopping short of walking out the door.

“I bet that I can get off this wall and out of that door before you can stop me.”

Leah smiled. “Okay, and what do I get if I can stop you?” she asked.

“I’ll give you my power of levitation,” he assured.

“Okay, and what do you get if you win?”

“You must embark on a journey to help me find my devious brother so I may get my powers back.”

“Okay, deal.” Leah agreed, holding the door open.

“Why can’t I move?” Joe asked as he tried to float away from the wall.

“I superglued you to the wall. The guy at the thrift store seemed sure that you did weird stuff at night, so I couldn’t take any chances.” she shrugged. “Now, my levitation powers, please.”

“You monster…”

“No, no, you made the bet, now pay up.” Leah gestured her hand towards the mask.

“Fine, but I’ll get you back!” he vowed, releasing his power onto her.

“Thanks!” Leah said, levitating out of the room. “Mom! Look at what I can do.”