Convention
A nerdy Gen X tale by Joshua King
This book is for anyone who ever found their people at a con.
Chapter 1- Character Creation
There are infinite numbers between one and two, and none of them are two. The same goes for the time between 3:05 and 3:15 in a high school classroom. That infinity doubles when you are on the cusp of going into the greatest weekend of your life, ConCon ‘94. I can’t be blamed for not paying attention to Mrs. Reagan. She was nattering on about a play I had read years before. I was not supposed to be in this class. I started the year in Advanced Placement. I had a high C, not too bad for never studying and doing about half the homework. Forces allied against me and cast me down two levels to the regular English class.
“So why doesn’t Shakespeare have the murders committed on stage? Aric?” she queried. I vaguely heard my name, but I was intent on my current, more important project. I scrawled away, trying to bring to life my reason for being, The Elf Girl. My artistic skills weren’t the best. I wasn’t McFarlane, but I wasn’t Liefeld either. I could draw hands and feet. I’d memorized every curve of her face and body from the time we first saw each other. In fairness, I saw her. I was in her line of sight. We haven’t talked yet. I didn’t know her name or what school she went to. I didn’t know her eye color. I knew I loved her, and I knew she had a rotten scoundrel of a boyfriend, Snake.
The rest of Chapter One opens in a new page.