Con Quest!

Alex couldn’t believe his luck. He’d hoped on the great Adrianna Tack that it would still be here waiting for him when he returned with Cat. And here it was. Alex sent up a silent thank-you to his idol (it was ridiculous, but just in case) and started toward it.

“Wait…,” Cat said, clearly processing what was happening. “Are we…?”

“We are,” Alex said firmly. “Because sometimes…”

Alex reached out and grabbed the handle. He swallowed. He squeezed the lever.

Click.

Still completely unlocked.

Alex cracked the door open and jerked his head, indicating that Cat should go in first. She slid through the small crack, and Alex snuck in behind her, shutting it silently behind them. They were in the little blocked-off antechamber Alex had found last time. Through the black curtains in front of them, Alex could hear the muted sounds of whatever gigantic panel was taking place in Hall M at the moment. He thought for a second. At this time … probably The Heroes of Justice. Cat was just staring at Alex with her mouth wide open. He loved when she was shocked into silence. It happened so rarely!

Alex grinned back at Cat. He whispered, finishing his thought from a moment ago. “Sometimes, one really does simply walk in the back door.”

24

Fi

“Do you think they made it into Hall M?” Fi was speedwalking the floor with Rowan, desperately searching for that Special Mystery Super Bonus Item Extravaganza.

“Between us?” Rowan responded, getting up on her tiptoes to peek at something on a booth’s upper level. She shook her head and kept power walking. Guess that wasn’t it. “I don’t know. It’s famously impossible to get into Hall M without a pass or, you know, sleeping in line for days.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s them,” Fi said with as much confidence as she could muster. “I mean, I hope so,” she added after a moment. “I’ve been ignoring my mom’s texts all day on the off chance that they can. So they better.”

“What does that mean for your camping trip?” Rowan asked casually, turning down another aisle as quickly as the con crowds would allow it.

“I…” Fi started to speak but stopped herself just as quickly. What did this mean for her camping trip? There’s no way her mom wasn’t going to be furious with her after this whole fiasco. And a furious Mom meant no definitely, totally chaperoned weekend away with all the coolest kids in her grade.

But also … did she care? Was that something she even cared about anymore? Fi slowed her pace to examine her surroundings more carefully. She’d been so afraid to be seen at this convention because of what Ethan and their friends—well, his friends, really—might think of her. But, Fi realized, she’d never bothered to think about what she thought of them.

Yes, obviously everyone was obsessed with them and wanted to be tagged in their party pics

online. But did Fi want to be in those photos because being at those parties would actually make her happy? Every time she hung around Ethan, Fi felt like she was putting on a mask—one way less colorful and awesome than the ones here at the convention. She felt like she always had to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, and that—at any moment—Ethan and his friends would realize she wasn’t cool enough to be around them and they would kick her out of their cool kid gang forever.

But Fi hadn’t felt that way around Rowan. Not even one time. Maybe it was because Fi honestly hadn’t cared about what Rowan thought about her at all when they first met. And despite that, Rowan still seemed to like her and wanted to spend time with her. Fi was even, somehow, having fun at GeekiCon.

At GeekiCon!

Her mom might ground Fi for all eternity, but at least she’d be excited to hear that.

“You what?” Rowan asked, nudging Fi in the side. Fi realized she hadn’t finished her sentence.

Instead, Fi spun around to face Rowan and grabbed the girl’s hands. “Over here.” She looked around quickly and saw a side of the Lunar Soldier booth nearby. The employees had set up a makeshift shop with lots of different comics and collectables, and it was filled with people milling around. Perfect.

She tugged Rowan over, through the window-shopping crowd, and tucked herself into an empty corner. No one was paying attention to them in the midst of all this Lunar Soldier excitement. Was Fi going to have to actually watch this show after the con was over?

Maybe.

Rowan pulled her phone out of her pocket, probably to open the Quest app again, but Fi shook her head.

“Okay, just, don’t interrupt me until I’m finished because I don’t really know what I’m about to say,” Fi blurted out.

Rowan bit her bottom lip but didn’t say a word.

“I don’t care about the camping trip.” Fi saw Rowan’s eyes get big, but she still kept silent. “I don’t. I don’t know why I cared so much about it in the first place, actually. I don’t even like camping. I like soccer. And I like Ducky McFowl, even though I would rather die than tell my mom that. I like running to true crime podcasts even though that’s totally creepy. I like my ridiculous siblings, even if they make me so, so angry. And…” Fi took a deep breath. “And I like you. You saved this con for Cat and Alex after I was, really, kind of a garbage older sister. And you saved the con for me. I was so set on hating everything here that I didn’t even bother to see the good in it. And you showed that to me. You’re not afraid to be exactly who you are, and neither is anyone else here. You taught me that this convention is about being exactly who you are, and about finding the people who love you for you. No matter what you love, someone else here loves it just as much. Probably more, actually. I’ve never been someplace where I can be sure that I’m not the weirdest person in the room. But also that all the other weirdos are probably kind of awesome. And…” Fi trailed off, suddenly embarrassed. “I don’t know. That’s it, I guess.”

Rowan, who still had her phone out, lifted it a little bit higher. Fi heard the camera sound go off.