AnOther Alice: A Novel (Undergoing Editing)

Chapter 11

After a ping from his pocket, Kasper quickly felt around his jeans for his phone and looked down at the illuminated screen. Steering the wheel with one hand, he rolled the van into an abandoned warehouse and stopped.

He texted back his mother, occasionally hitting the wrong keys due to his anxious fingers. He didn't want to give her the impression that something was wrong. He responded he was fine, that he'd pick up his younger brother from his aunt's place and that he was currently with his friends Olivier and Domnic. That last part, however, was a hidden message. So long as someone knew who he was last seen with, should anything happen.

Despite having driven them all to the deserted building, Kasper made up his mind to bolt whenever the opportunity presents itself. He was their friend, that was a given, but becoming a criminal overnight—all because of Oliver's ploy to alleviate Sloane's embarrassment by humiliating Alice—was crossing the line.

Casting a wary glance up at the rearview mirror, Kasper watched as Dominic and Olivier both dragged her out of the car and into the open, where they set her on the grime-covered floor right in front of the headlights. It was really the only place they could have placed her, as the entirety of the warehouse was almost near-dark and there were no signs of a light switch. As Oliver circled back to the driver's window, Kasper in a panic dropped his phone, which clattered to the floor.

"Hand me that case over there," Olivier said, pointing.

Kasper looked at the passenger seat. He grabbed hold of a cube-like metal case decorated with vinyl stickers, from cutesy animals to the logos of popular bands. "Why's there a makeup case here?"

Oliver took it from him through the window. "Sloane made some last-minute changes. She wants to do a video."

There was another ping. Olivier took out his phone, punched in the pin and looked at the message before showing his screen to Kasper. On the phone, Sloane just replied: Hey, you read what I said right? Forget taking a picture! Do a video instead, and make sure to lay on the makeup thick!

"She's not even here, and she's giving orders," said Kasper.

"My lady wants what she wants," Olivier said, pocketing his phone. "Better get this over with so we can all go home."

After leaving Kasper, Olivier neared Alice next. He set down the travel case on the floor and began messing up her light makeup by intentionally applying a thick powdery foundation over her face with a compact cushion. Grabbing more products from the case, Olivier then dipped a brush into a jar of liquid eyeshadow and began slathering it around the her eyelids, giving her a ghastly appearance. Lastly, he drew scribbles across her face with red lipstick.

"Now, all that's left is the video," said Dominic. "Let's hurry so we can leave. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about—"

"About what? Her?" Olivier said, pointing at Alice. "She's out cold. Quit acting like such a wuss."

Dominic shook his head. "She was awake in the car. I saw it right after we brought her in. For a second her eyes looked different, like really different..."

A smirk tugged at Olivier's lips. He threw a tube of lipstick Dominic's way. "Quit messing with me, man."

Taking out his phone again, Olivier then proceeded to take a video while standing over Alice. He zoomed in on her face and tooka series of shots, the flash going off with each finger-tap as he maneuvered around to get different angles of her face, and sent them to Sloane's inbox.

"Alright, we're done here boys," Olivier said, while starting to pack away the makeup products. "Dom, where's that lipstick I threw at you. We can't leave without it."