“Cat!” She’d finally come to a stop next to a massive line that was snaking around the edge of the AC Comics booth, wrapping back on itself a few times over.
“Sorry,” Cat apologized to someone in the line, squeezing past them despite their complaints. “’Scuse me. Comin’ through.” Alex was at a total loss. Was Cat cutting into this line to find her new friends?
Did Cat’s newfound love for cheating know no bounds?!
Alex clutched the strap on his messenger bag and followed his sister with gritted teeth, making an apologetic face at the people in line he was cutting past in her wake. Thankfully, they didn’t have to go far—Cat found the three women from their Hexforce Legends win almost at the very back of the line, just next to the lime-shirted volunteer with the LINE CAPPED sign.
“Made it!” Cat said triumphantly. She high-fived one of the ladies.
“Hi! So glad!” One of the other women smiled. She turned to Alex quickly and introduced herself as Ohsa—or Ohsarry88 online. Her friends were Kate and Wendy. They were all super-nice. But Alex had bigger fish to fry.
“Hi, I’m Alex. Cat.” He tugged on his sister’s sleeve to get her attention. “Do you still have the Hall M passes? And it’s almost three o’clock; we have to go—”
Cat just stared at him for a second. She turned back to Ohsa. “We’re good from here, friends. We really appreciate the help.”
“Well, you got us that win earlier, so we’re even now.” Ohsa laughed. Alex had absolutely no idea what was going on. And Cat was ignoring him. A cheater and rude.
He didn’t even know his sister anymore.
Alex watched with total confusion as Ohsa and her friends left the line, leaving Cat and Alex on their own. Just when Alex was about to repeat his previous sentiment to his sister, she pointed around the corner of the AC Comics booth.
“Just look around the corner,” she said slyly.
Alex sighed. He hated these games. But he knew how Cat worked.
He peeked his head around the side of the booth. And he saw …
… the Pixel Comics booth next door. And the start of the line of which they were currently bringing up the rear.
The Epic signing line.
Cat.
Cat!
“Cat!” Alex turned around, his mouth hanging open. “How?”
Cat’s sly smirk turned into a full grin. “I texted Ohsa while we were running from James M. I knew we were going to be too busy to stand in line ourselves, and I figured they would be willing to do us a solid and save us a spot in line. And I’m glad they did,” Cat said, her face changing just slightly, “because this line is really long.”
Alex took in his surroundings with fresh eyes. Just ahead was the Pixel booth, Epic central, the place that not only held the key to a Quest item but also one he’d been dreaming about for months on end, mindlessly drawing Epic’s infamous bird beacons in his sketchbook when he should have been doing his homework (or in class, or whenever he was bored). The wall of people stretched around the Pixel booth several times and then snaked through the center. There must have been at least two hundred people standing with their Epic comics and beacon bird plushies at the ready. Without VIP access, they were relegated to taking their chances with the queue. They were in before the cap but just barely. If the line didn’t move fast enough to get to everyone before the hour was out …
“We’re toast.” Alex sighed. He started breathing fast again. His mood changed so quickly it might as well have been the wind by the sea outside the convention center. It felt like the weight of the cosmos was hanging around his shoulders, flattening across his chest.
“We’ll be fine,” Cat reassured him. “Let’s kill some time. What do you have in your bag? Show me…”
Alex had forgotten for a moment that he was even carrying one—remarkable, considering how heavy the thing was at this point. He knew his sister was trying to distract him from his panic attack, but he didn’t care—he did what she said. Alex slung his messenger bag off his shoulder and thumped it onto the ground. Kneeling down, he dug through its contents.
“Let’s see,” he said, mostly to himself. “That guy’s book, some apples, my console, Cards for Bad People…”
“No, no, and no.” Cat dismissed each one in turn. “Nothing else?”
“Well,” Alex offered, looking up at his sister. “There’s my sketch pad, I guess.”
Cat’s eyes lit up. “Perfect. You should sketch!”
Alex shrugged. He didn’t know if it was perfect—it certainly wasn’t going to make the line move any faster—but he pulled the pad and a charcoal pencil out of his bag and settled himself down cross-legged on the floor. Alex stretched out his neck and fit the pencil comfortably into his hand. “What do I sketch?”
“Anything,” insisted Cat. “This is the best time killer in the world. There’s so much good people-watching here. Just look around.”