VOICEOVER
Once a semester, MU held the Costume Draw. A wooden box, a thousand slips of paper, and a simple promise: whatever you pull, you wear. No trades. No exceptions. It was stupid. It was arbitrary. It was the most honest thing the university did all year. Because in the end, no one gets to choose their mask. The mask chooses them.
THE STUDENT CENTER – MORNING
The line snaked around the room. Students laughed, shoved, compared their slips. A girl shrieked with joy when she got "Princess." A guy groaned when he got "Clown." Someone else got "Vending Machine" and immediately started planning.
Rose stood near the front of the line. She wasn't excited. She was observing. The way people's faces changed when they read their themes. The way some clutched the paper like a lottery ticket. The way others crumpled it immediately.
So much emotion, she thought, over a piece of paper.
She reached the box. A large wooden thing, painted gold, with a slot on top. She reached in, felt around, pulled out a slip.
"Angel."
She stared at the word. Then she smiled.
Perfect.
ROSE'S POV – LATER, HER DORM
Rose sat on her bed, phone in hand, scrolling through the group chat she'd named The Garden. Seven girls. All part of her harem. All under the impression that they were special.
Rose (11:15 AM): Costume theme: Angel. Suggestions?
Temi: White dress. Wings. Duh.
Adaeze: You should do a fallen angel. Sexy. Dark makeup.
Chloe: Or a biblical angel. Lots of eyes. Creepy.
Rose typed back: I'll decide later.
She put down her phone and looked at the list on her wall. Names. Checkmarks. Question marks.
Nelly: Check. (Loyal, but boring.)
Kelly: Check. (Sharp, useful.)
Mandy: Question mark. (Too focused on Jon. And lately, someone else.)
Zizi: Cross. (Would never join. Too loyal to Vicky.)
Ese: Cross. (Too quiet. Unreadable.)
Vicky: Cross. (Enemy.)
She picked up a marker and crossed out a name she'd been considering for weeks.
Mandy.
Not worth the trouble.
She drew a star next to another name instead.
Temi's friend. The new girl. Pretty. Desperate.
Rose smiled.
The garden was growing.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Kelly: Nelly wants to know if you're coming to the girls' night this weekend. Everyone will be there.
Rose typed back: Define everyone.
Kelly: Vicky's squad. Our squad. Peace treaty for one night. Drinks. Games.
Rose stared at the screen. A peace treaty. A room full of enemies pretending to be friends.
Interesting.
Rose (11:23 AM): I'll be there.
She put down her phone. She had a week to prepare for Costume Day. And after that, the girls' night.
Two masks, she thought. One for the campus. One for the room.
She wondered which one would crack first.
THE BOYS' DORM – AFTERNOON
Aaron was last in line.
Charlie had already pulled "Superhero." Wesley had pulled "Villain." Oliver had pulled "Reaper" and laughed for the first time in days; a hollow, bitter sound.
Now it was Aaron's turn.
He reached into the box. Felt around. Pulled.
"Clown."
Charlie burst out laughing. "CLOWN? Oh my God, that's perfect. You're always clowning around with your feelings."
"Shut up."
"No, no, no. This is fate. This is destiny. You were born to be a clown."
Wesley looked up from his phone. "At least he got something. Oliver got Reaper and he's already planning to scythe someone."
"I'm planning to scythe Charlie," Oliver said, not looking up.
Charlie kept laughing. Aaron stared at the slip.
Clown.
He thought about what clowns were. Smiling on the outside. Broken on the inside. Making everyone laugh while dying slowly.
Yeah, he thought. That tracks.
He was walking back to the dorm when a guy stopped him. Third year. Film student. Wore glasses and a beanie even when it was hot.
"Hey. You got Clown?"
"Yeah."
"That's wild. You look like Klein Moretti."
Aaron frowned. "Who?"
"From Lord of the Mysteries. Web novel. Klein Moretti. He's a clown at the beginning. Broken guy. Has to wear a mask and smile while everything falls apart." The guy adjusted his glasses. "You've got that energy. Twisted but strong. You should read it."
He walked away.
Aaron stood there, holding his slip.
Klein Moretti. A broken man who has to be strong.
He didn't know whether to be flattered or offended.
He decided on both.
THE CAFETERIA – LATE AFTERNOON
The usual table. The usual chaos.
Vicky sat beside Aaron, her hand on his thigh. Zuru was across from them, scrolling through her phone. Zizi was picking at her food. Ese was reading.
"You got Clown?" Vicky said, looking at his slip.
"Unfortunately."
"I think it'll be cute. You can do that sad clown thing. Big tears. Big smile."
"Are you calling me sad?"
"I'm calling you emotionally constipated. There's a difference."
Zuru snorted. "She's not wrong."
Aaron ignored her. He looked across the cafeteria. Mandy was sitting with Jon, laughing at something on his phone. She looked happy. Normal. Like she wasn't texting him at midnight.
His phone buzzed.
Mandy (4:30 PM): Clown? Really?
He looked at the screen. Then at Mandy. She wasn't looking at him. How did she know?
Aaron (4:31 PM): How did you know?
Mandy (4:31 PM): I have eyes everywhere.
Mandy (4:32 PM): Also Charlie posted it on his story.
He checked. Charlie had indeed posted a photo of Aaron holding the slip, captioned "CLOWN ALERT " with thirteen crying-laughing emojis.
He wanted to kill Charlie.
He also wanted to laugh.
He did neither.
THE BOYS' DORM – NIGHT
Charlie was doing pushups. Wesley was playing guitar. Oliver was lying on his bed, staring at his phone.
Aaron sat at his desk, pretending to study.
"Costume Day is going to be lit," Charlie said, not stopping his pushups. "I'm going to wear a cape. A real one. Not that cardboard shit."
"You're going to trip and break your neck."
"Worth it."
Wesley strummed a chord. "I'm just wearing black. Villain is easy."
"Because you're lazy."
"Because I'm efficient."
Oliver didn't say anything. He just stared at his phone. His face was pale. His hands were shaking.
Aaron noticed. "You okay?"
"Fine."
"You've been saying that a lot."
"Because it's true."
It wasn't true. They all knew it wasn't true. But no one said anything. That was the rule. You don't ask. You don't push. You wait until they crash, and then you pretend you didn't see it coming.
Aaron looked back at his textbook.
Klein Moretti, he thought. A broken man who has to be strong.
He wondered if Oliver saw himself that way.
He wondered if he saw himself that way.
He didn't have an answer.
He never did.
VOICEOVER
Costume Day was still a week away. But the masks were already being chosen. Angels. Clowns. Reapers. Villains. Everyone thought they knew which one they were. Everyone was wrong. Because the mask you choose is never the mask you wear. The mask you wear is the one you've been hiding behind your whole life. And Costume Day was just the excuse to take it off.