Queens of Geek

CHAPTER EIGHT: CHARLIE

The crowd cheers as the winners of The Rising cosplay contest are announced. The floor vibrates beneath me from the applause.

"This is gonna be intense," Jase says.

I nod. "It's gonna be awesome."

A girl in a SupaCon shirt and a headset runs over to us. "Ready?"

"Yep."

Two other staff are on either side, hands holding the edge of the tall paper wall in front of us, preparing to wheel it out onto the stage.

The host speaks loudly into the microphone, chatting to the winners excitedly. "Now, as the winners of The Rising cosplay contest, we have a special surprise for you!"

That's our queue. The set is pushed forward and Jase and I walk behind it, hiding until we reach our mark.

Gasps echo through the crowd as they all wonder what the surprise could be.

We reach the mark, get our smiles ready, and burst through the paper.

The screams are deafening. I hate that I don't know if they're cheering for me or for 'Chase'.

The host welcomes us while the two winners jump back and cover their mouths in shock.

I see instantly why they won.

It's like I'm staring into a mirror, seeing Ava and Will (me and Jase) exactly as we appeared on-screen, complete with torn jeans, dirt stains and blood spatter. The only difference being that these two are both girls.

"You two look perfect!" I say, but they're still freaking out too much to comprehend what I'm saying. I try again. "I can tell you worked hard on your cosplay."

"Th-thanks!" the girl dressed as Jase/Will sputters. "We've seen The Rising three times already!"

Jase walks to the edge of the stage, waving to the crowd and blowing kisses like he's strutting down a catwalk.

The girl dressed as me/Ava takes a step closer, and I notice tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, sweetie!" I put an arm around her. "Are you okay?"

"I love you!"

"I love you back!"

She wipes her cheeks and giggles uncontrollably. I can't help but giggle with her.

I live for moments like these.

Jase turns around to congratulate the winners, raising his eyebrows when he sees his role being played by a girl.

"You're a girl!" he says, pointing at her.

She laughs awkwardly and nods. "Yeah! It's a gender swap."

He considers her for a moment, and I pray he doesn't say anything sexist or demeaning. Even for him, that would be a new low.

He gives her a half-smile and shrugs. "Cool!"

He hugs her and she grins so wide I think she might burst.

We spend the next thirty minutes posing for photos with the winners and the fans. To my relief, only three people ask if Jase and I are back together.

But in my mind, that's still three too many.

When it's time to say goodbye and go backstage, I'm excited to spend a little time with my friends.

"Charlie!" Tay says when I hug her from behind. "How'd you go? Were they surprised?"

"Shocked."