Mr Hook's Big Black Box

«Everybody Lies»

"Wait," Ferrari interrupted, "Was every single one of you looking for a way to betray your friends? Don't tell me someone had you suckered with a feeble lie about what was in the Box too?"

"Well, I mean... I guess it's not that bad if we were all doing it, right?"

"Monty wasn't," Kris pointed out. He still had his arm around Destinee's shoulders. For just an instant she started to wonder, if he'd had feelings for that other girl too. How much of the love he'd shown her was based on desire for her body, and was her figure a constant reminder of a crush he could never confess now. But this was Destinee, and she couldn't keep her mind on bad thoughts. Every feeling had a good side, if you looked at it in the right way. And if he had said to her what he'd only thought about Monty, then that must mean he thought that she was more approachable, or more desirable. He saw something in her that he hadn't seen before, and that was the most she could ask for. She knew that he was perfect for her, as well, and she was sure that Montgomery wouldn't have reacted as positively. So she had exactly what she wanted and everyone was happy.

"I mean..." Kris glanced down at his fiancée, making everyone wonder yet again if he somehow felt that she would be pleased or offended by the opinions he had about Monty. Destinee could detach herself completely, saw no connection between the two of them beyond physical appearance, but she knew it wasn't so easy for everyone else. "Monty didn't lie to us. I don't know if she ever told even a white lie in the whole life of the society. And she certainly did not scheme to be sealed in an elevator with the Box or similar. While Dwayne had his interest in Cassandra S Pipestone, and I had my obligations and debts to my family, I don't think Montgomery had any secret that could be used to manipulate her."

"She kind of did," Marco spoke hesitantly, unsure if this was something he was allowed to say.

"How do you mean?" asked Ferrari. "She was so open about everything, if there were any skeletons in her closet I think we would have known all along. You can't blackmail someone so cheerful."

Marco slowly bit his lip and hesitated, not sure if he could say any more.

"Go on," Destinee reached across the bed and put her hand on his. "I can kind of... guess what it might be. But you're the only one who knows now. And this story's supposed to be about recovering my memories. So if there's a secret that involves me, I'd like to hear it."

"She didn't tell me much. And I think she wouldn't have said that if I hadn't been there at the right place and time. But... Monty was always keeping something from us. She heard voices, and she felt like she couldn't tell anyone or we'd think she was crazy. Point and laugh, and she'd never have any friends again. So she would have done anything to keep us from finding out, even though she trusted us more than anyone. Hell, even _because_ we were the people she's closest to."

"Nobody would use that to manipulate her, would they?" Kris seemed a little confused, and then a second later he realised what everyone else had already guessed. "Oh, you mean..."

"The Box spoke to her," Dwayne nodded slowly. "She knew that she couldn't tell us, because she didn't want us to think she was mad. So she was dealing with all of this by herself, trying to work out what to do without anyone to bounce ideas off. I think she was toying with the idea of opening it in secret before we even got it off campus, but she wasn't alone with both the Box and the key."

"And if she made any attempts, we didn't see," Kris nodded slowly. "It all makes a little more sense now. We all had our secrets."

"I wish we could have seen through the smile to help her," Ferrari said slowly. "The only one I didn't have even an inkling of. She kept her secret better than any of us."

Destinee looked down at her hands, blushing crimson. The others just sat in silence as they thought about what they might have done to help their friend.

"Well, we can't judge her for that," Kris said in the end, "She wasn't as gullible or manipulable as the rest of us, and she wasn't driven to betray us by someone pushing some selfish lever."

"Anyhow," Ferrari turned back to staring at Marco, "The question here was who managed to push Marco's buttons. A girl again? Did Cassie have both of you two wrapped around her fingers for insurance?"

"No, it was nothing like that. I wouldn't betray you guys just to get my hands on some jock's sex tape. I'm not that desperate. I mean, no offence dude, but that's pretty weak. No, I wouldn't do something like that for myself, and I wasn't even thinking about it before that afternoon."

"It wasn't about the video," Dwayne interrupted, "Cassie could have been a good friend, I'd seen her around, and it wasn't just about the rewards, you know? I couldn't let her get in that kind of trouble just because of some silly student practical joke. It was–"

"Anyway, Marco. You wouldn't betray the society for a girl, or for a video. So what _did_ drive you to betray us?" Ferrari was a little more insistent this time.

"That's what I was trying to do," Marco scowled, "If somebody would just let me finish."