The Summer I Became a Nerd - By Leah Rae Miller Page 0,74
to watch Kelsey as he says this. Her arms are crossed. An evil smirk is plastered on her face.
God, I hope this works.
When Sorenson finishes, the bright fairies are waiting to talk to him. I hope they’re informing him that over the past couple of weeks, they’ve each brewed a potion. And sure enough, after a quick back and forth, Tommy reaches into his robe and pulls out some index cards. He writes something on them and gives one to each of the girls.
Courtney begins to search the crowd as they return to their spot at the end of the yard, so I step out of my shadow. Everyone from inside has crowded into the backyard. I go unnoticed as I walk by Courtney. I casually open my bag so she can discreetly slip the index cards in it. I whisper a quick, “Thank you.”
#27
Just like last time, there’s a long line to talk to either Sorenson or Torrak, the red-bearded dwarf. As I wait, I start to realize there are so many different layers to this game. First, there’s the main storyline developed by the game masters, but beneath that, there seem to be all these little stories going on at the same time that are created by the players themselves. Like, there’s a vampire under the disco ball who must have taken offense to some dwarf’s dirty joke because he’s now using an emotional control power to make the dwarf fall in love with the cute elf standing by the snack table.
This makes me think of my own little player-created story. I check over my shoulder to see if Logan is still in the lawn chair. He’s not. I really hope he didn’t decide to leave. My immediate reaction is to find Kelsey and make sure she hasn’t kidnapped him and stuck him in a tall tower somewhere. When I can’t find her in the crowd either, my heart really starts to pound.
By the time I get in front of Sorenson, I’m sure I’ve worn blisters on both my pinky toes because I’ve been bouncing on the balls of my feet.
“Yes, Laowyn, how may I help you?” he asks in his fake British accent.
“I need to speak with you and another, but I do not want to do it inside Sanctuary. I fear it may get heated.”
Sorenson crosses his fingers and holds them up for me to see, the sign he’s about to speak out of character. “Are you sure about this, Maddie? Kelsey’s been doing this a lot longer than you and—”
I hold up a hand. “I’m sure.”
He nods and uncrosses his fingers. “So be it. Lead me to the one you wish to speak with.”
I don’t tell Sorenson I don’t really know where she is. He follows me inside, and, thankfully, she’s right there in the kitchen. With Logan. He looks even more tired than he did earlier. Her right hand lays flat against his chest, right over his heart, and she’s looking up at him, saying something. As he shakes his head no, his gaze lands on me across the room. At first, he looks relieved, even happy, but his brows quickly knit together, his mouth turning into that thin line of pissed-offness.
“Her,” I point at Kelsey, “The fairy with my friend.”
“You go ahead out front. I’ll bring her out.”
The few people inside must have noticed the exchange between Sorenson and me because they part, giving me a clear path to the front door. My feet are really hurting me now so I sit on the porch steps and slip off my killer heels. The only lights out here are the streetlamps and the occasional headlights from a passing vehicle. I walk out onto the lawn, wiggling my toes in the still-warm grass.
I try to tell myself even if this doesn’t work and I don’t win, Kelsey will still be outed as the bad guy. Everyone will still respect me for figuring everything out, but that’s not the goal here. I don’t care what everyone else thinks. I want to prove to myself I’m not a coward. That the part of me that was obsessed with hiding who I am is dead. And there’s Logan, of course. I really only care what he thinks. I want him to know I’d do anything for him, even battle his ex-girlfriend to the death—or to the final hit point, as the case is.
The door opens, and out steps Kelsey, that same smug look on her face, followed by