by Sam Maggs
Cat’s lungs were about to burst out of her chest like the alien in that one scary movie with the buff space lady that she definitely was not allowed to watch but had streamed online anyway one time and had nightmares for weeks because of it. Fi was the soccer player; she was the runner in the family. Cat wasn’t exactly Alex—she liked to go to the climbing gym with her parents sometimes and really enjoyed dodgeball day in PE—but, and she was being completely, totally honest with herself here, she was not made for distance activities.
But escaping James M., it turned out, was the exact motivation Cat needed to become a runner.
But run to where?! Cat thought in a panic, her breath coming in short puffs as she raced down the emptiest corridor she could find. If James M. got off at the bottom of the escalator and hopped right back on again, he’d be on their trail at any moment. They had to find a place to hide.
Cat made a sharp turn down another hallway, this one even less populated than the last. Without even slowing down, she grabbed the nearest panel-room door she could find and swung it open, rushing through. The panel must have been something pretty small-time—there were a few speakers up front and only about fifteen audience members in the room. Cat skidded down the empty back row of seats and threw herself into the very last one. A couple of people had turned around to look at her funny, but mostly she was being ignored. She’d done it!
… That is, until Fi, Rowan, and Alex blasted through the door behind her, causing such a ruckus that the panelists actually stopped talking for a second to figure out what was going on.
“Sorry!” Cat gasped out, waving one of her arms from her seat and still struggling to catch her breath. “So sorry! We just realized we were late and didn’t want to miss the rest of the panel. We so totally, absolutely love you guys,” she added, hoping they would fall for a little flattery. It was Cat’s favorite get-out-of-trouble trick. Cat had no clue who they were, but they seemed nice, so it was probably fine.
Alex dropped into the seat next to her, wheezing. Rowan just sat right down on the floor in front of the chairs, her purple bangs sticking to her sweaty forehead. Fi, of course, was just lightly glowing. Her breathing was totally fine.
Show-off.
“What are we—?” Fi started to talk, but Rowan held up a hand to stop her. Fi shut up for a second while everyone else just breathed heavily for a couple of seconds and collected themselves. Cat tossed her hair into a quick ponytail to get it off the back of her neck and gave her sister a nod.
“What are we going to do?” Fi hissed, trying to keep her voice down so as not to disturb the panelists at the front of the room.
“‘We’?” Cat whispered back. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“Fi’s been collecting Quest items for you!” Rowan said, her voice muted but proud. “Didn’t you wonder who was crossing things off your list?”
Alex just nodded. Cat could see the gears in his head turning as he put it all together. “You’re our GeekiCon angel. That’s how you knew what item eighteen was.”
“Playing sports on the escalators,” Fi whispered back with a grin. “Twice in one day!”
“Shh!” One of the other audience members turned around to hush them. Cat put up her hands in an apologetic gesture until the person turned around again. They had a really tall hat on that had to be part of a costume, but Cat had no idea for what. There were a lot of fandoms out there; it was hard, sometimes, to keep up.
“You don’t have many items left,” Rowan said, lowering her voice even further so as not to risk disturbing the panel again. “I think, if we split up, you could get it done.”
“And we’ll be harder for James M. to catch if we’re apart,” Fi added.
Cat shook her head. “First of all, it’s totally weird that you’re into this all of a sudden,” she whispered to Fi, who just shrugged. “But also, it’s supercool and so I can’t blame you and I’m just glad that you’re finally admitting that being a nerd is awesome—no take backs, I said what I said.”
Fi pursed her lips but didn’t argue. For once!
“But we can’t get into Hall M,” Alex added, keeping his voice low, too. “We lost our passes.”
“I gave away our passes,” Cat corrected. It was time to be a big kid and take responsibility for her goof-up. She turned to Alex and looked him in the eye, even though she knew he would probably look away in a couple of seconds. “I’m sorry, Alex. I totally—”
“Shhhhh!”
“Sorry!” Cat and her crew all leaned their heads closer together. “Seriously, Alex, I totally screwed up. I should have been a better listener. Some of the best parts of the day today were the unplanned things you stumbled into.” Cat bit her lip. “I really did just want to win for both of us.”
“It’s okay,” Alex said, giving Cat a small smile. He tucked his chin down but kept talking. “Without your plans, we wouldn’t have gotten nearly as many Quest items done. I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you for taking charge, and I should have been more patient. I could have done a lot more and I just didn’t.”
“It probably would have helped if I’d listened to you guys, like, even one time,” Fi added. Rowan squeezed her hand and Fi smiled at her before continuing. “All I could think about was my camping trip and not what any of this meant to you both.”
“I literally just met all of you dudes like thirty seconds ago, but Fi’s really rad and I’m glad everyone seems to be getting along now,” Rowan added quickly.
Cat had to stifle a laugh. Rowan seemed way cool, actually.
“Yeah, well.” Cat tossed her ponytail back and forth. “We’re family.”
“Selfie!” Rowan said, holding up her camera to capture a picture of the four of them. They shoved together and she hit the shutter—and the flash went off. Sound and all.
The panelists stood up, and the volunteer guarding the door was on Cat and the crew in seconds. Laughing harder than she probably should have been, Cat let herself be ushered out of the room behind Rowan, Fi, and Alex.
Back out in the hallway, Cat stood next to the door and huddled up with her fam. Rowan showed the others the selfie on her phone (completely cute, thanks!), but the screen was interrupted by an alert.
“Oh My Academic Heroine!… ‘New Quest Item Added’?” Cat read off the screen. She felt her heart start pounding almost as hard as it had been when they’d gotten to this room in the first place. “Is that for real?!”
23
Alex
Alex snatched his phone out of his messenger bag and had the Quest app open before Cat could even finish asking her question. It wasn’t unheard of for the Quest to add random items over the course of the day; they were usually small challenges to keep people checking the app and on their toes. Really, Corwin Blake was kind of a prankster online. He did all this for charity, but it was widely speculated that he also did it because he had a really messed-up sense of humor and enjoyed watching people do ridiculous things in service of his goals.
But mostly the charity thing. Probably.
There it was: “New Quest Item Added!” Alex clicked on the notifications tab and checked the list.
“Look!” Alex said, flipping his phone around so everyone could see it. Sure enough, there at the bottom of the list, Corwin had added a special task just moments ago. All the item said was “Find this.” When Alex clicked the item, it took him to a blurry photo with absolutely no context around it.
Just … a blurry photo.
“Find that?!” Cat burst out. “How?!”
“What is it?” Fi asked, equally confused.
“Check the list again,” Rowan suggested. “Does it say anything else?”
Alex flipped the phone back around. He frowned as he scrolled up and down, hoping for any little hidden hint they might find. “Nothing.”
“Wait, here!” Rowan jabbed her finger at her own phone. “Look—the Rewards page!”
Alex quickly popped over to that section of the app. This was where it detailed
what you got if your team managed to get the most points in the Quest: spending a week with Corwin and his Paranormal costars doing charity work and the chance to qualify for a special mentorship. Cat cared about the celebs (and the charity work, if Alex was being fair). Alex cared about the mentorship. He really wanted to know how he could get to the next level with his art.
But there! Rowan was right. At the very bottom of the page, there was something new, in teeny-tiny font, that hadn’t been there before. Alex squinted at his screen and read the text out loud.
“The first Quest participants to successfully upload a photo of the Surprise Mystery Item will win a Surprise Mystery Prize to be presented at the Quest Masquerade Awards Banquet this evening. Good luck, Questers!”
“Cool,” Fi admitted, almost without realizing it. Rowan stuck her tongue out at her.
“It’s not just cool,” the purple-haired gal corrected. “It’s epic.”
“It’s just a blurry picture!” Cat wailed in despair. “How can we find this and find our way into Hall M?!”
“Fi’s right,” Rowan said, tucking her phone away. “The best way to get everything done—and to avoid that complete toolbag James M.—is to split up.”
Alex couldn’t help but agree. He didn’t like many people without getting to know them first, but Alex was starting to think Rowan might be someone he could like. Eventually. “Who wants to go where?”
“I’m sticking with Alex,” Cat said firmly. Alex looked at her with surprise—he supposed they were okay again, after all that.
“Sounds good,” Alex agreed, giving his sister a smile back. They were always okay again. That was the best thing about being twins with Cat.
“Obviously.” Fi rolled her eyes. “But who’s taking the Surprise Mystery Item?”
“We can do that,” Rowan volunteered. “I know the con pretty well. I’m sure we can find it.”
Alex nodded. “And we can get into Hall M.”
“Cocky, but making it fashion,” Rowan said approvingly. Alex didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded positive. “I dig it. Text when you’re done, okay?”
“Not if we text them first!” Fi laughed. She grabbed Rowan’s hand, and the two of them split, running back toward the escalators.
“Don’t get kicked out of the con for life!” Cat called after them. She shook her head and shrugged at Alex once they were out of earshot. “Teenagers.”
“So weird,” Alex agreed. “And I’m probably the weirdest one here, so I can say that.”
“If you’re the weirdest, then I’m the weirdinator,” Cat said firmly. Alex didn’t know what that meant, either, but that was pretty typical for a Cat-ism. “Still. I think it’s good we’re doing Hall M. I feel like … it’s our destiny now, you know?”
“I think so, too,” Alex agreed. “We can do it. I know we can do it.”
“I know we can do it, too.” Cat smiled. Alex could see his sister struggling to keep the smile on her face.
“What is it?” Alex pressed.
Cat sighed. “It’s just…” She dropped her head down and stared at the floor. “I have no idea how we’re going to get in. I know we’re being all cool about it now but … I really did give away our passes. And the line is ten trillion miles long. We have no chance of making it in there by the end of the day.”
“Oh.” Alex laughed. “That’s it?”
Cat stared at him like he’d grown another head and that head had seven ears and one of them was maybe purple. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s pretty big.”
Alex grinned. “When I said I know we can do it, I was being serious. This time, I really did plan ahead. Follow me!”
Alex took off in the same direction as Rowan and Fi. Cat kept pace at his side.
“Where are we going?” she asked excitedly.
“It’s a surprise!”
“Why?”
“Because … surprises are fun?” Alex suggested.
Cat laughed. “You surprise me all the time, bud.”
Alex and Cat reached the escalators and took one down, peeking out over the sides for any sign of James M. It looked like the coast was clear—for now. Alex couldn’t believe they’d managed to lose him. He could still feel James M.’s clammy phantom hands on the back of his neck. Alex shuddered.
Thinking about James M. just intensified Alex’s desire to see this Quest item through to the end. If James M. thought they weren’t real nerds—well, Alex would show him. He would show everybody who ever doubted him!
“This way!” Alex said, scanning his pass and bursting out the double doors into the sunshine.
“I believe in you!” Cat sounded like she was trying really hard to convince herself of that. It was okay—Alex knew he was on the right track. For both of them.
Alex led Cat down, down, down the convention center’s long outdoor veranda. He rounded the concrete corner. There, across the way, was the press hotel. Over there was the Hall M line—as gigantic as Cat said it was. There was the sound of the ocean, just on the other side of the building …
And there was the press door to Hall M.
Still completely unguarded.
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.”