All the Time to Lose (Wormverse)

Ch 31: New Faces

Three days go by before the costumes arrive. We try them on to guarantee that they fit and that we like the designs. The first time we wear them in public is at our swearing in ceremony. There are lots of important PRT people, some major local capes, and even some out-of-towners here.

Apparently, the tickets could start as low as $500 with opportunities to spend even more money. I can't even imagine having $10 let alone $50. $500 is beyond my grasp. The ceremony is quite simple but carries a certain respectability to it.

After the ceremony, the four of us stand alongside Weld and Miss Militia in a greeting line to welcome guests to the gala. Basically, it requires me to say hello to the guests and to thank them for coming.

To simplify things, I keep my greetings short and to the point, though I do greet a few foreigners and bilingual guests in their 'native' tongues, just to make things more interesting for me. I get a couple funny looks for it in the line and from my fellow capes.

I did travel a lot in those 8 years and I overheard/saw plenty of lessons in basic communication for a variety of languages in that time. I can say basic courtesy in Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Swedish, Russian, Arabic, Italian, etc.

Eventually, we are dismissed to get food and mingle with guests. Glenn added a visor to my costume between our meeting and when I received it. I don't see much point in it to be honest. Although, its presence would allow me to eat without revealing my entire face...if I decided to.

I'm still not great about eating regularly. It's an bad 8 year old habit. So instead, I hide in a corner. This past month has been the most human interaction I've ever had...or at least for as long as I can remember.

It's draining and all the talking of people overlapping with the quiet talking of my visions is creating even more noise. I don't really care one way or the other about crowds, but the noise of life and people is something that plays a big hand in my terrible social skills.

Vigilant is handling himself quite well as he talks to just about everyone that approaches him, easily answering some questions while deflecting others so he doesn't give away too much information. He doesn't have to be subtle, his marketing relies on people knowing what he is.

My head isn't in any pain but there's a dull throbbing from the excess external and internal stimuli. So many possibilities. I can see a few people stare at me, but none approach. They won't. Not for awhile anyways.

I see Weld talking to Fulgur. In almost every scenario, he's trying to convince her to stop talking to Kid Win and socialize with the guests. In most, he fails because she finds a loophole in the words he chooses to use.

I focus on my visions, trying to find the one I need. I saw a glimpse of it earlier when I tried to find out who would be attending the gala in the first place. When I find it, I stride over to Weld. On the way there, a woman opens her mouth to talk to me.

"Excuse me." I say as I pass her. I tap Fulgur on the shoulder. She looks at me, a bit annoyed that I'm keeping her from talking shop with Kid Win. I point out a middle-aged man in a simple black suit and tie. "He's one of the guys working to restore power to the city."

Fulgur's face lights up for a moment. I step aside just as she quickly makes her way across the room to talk to him. Weld looks at me with a small smile and a sigh. "Thank you." I nod. "There were very few scenarios in which you succeeded. She needs someone to talk shop with."

He nods "Thanks. You should talk to someone. Maybe a reporter? Cape fans?" I shrug. "I don't see why. A few of them will come to me within the next 10 minutes." He sighs "Fine. But if I find out you're making that up, I'll make you do extra paperwork."