AJ knew she was addicted. But there was no point in getting clean before Blue Con. So, this weekend, she would get whatever unresolved teenage bullshit out of her system. Then she’d stop.
Blue Coats Society: Arho\\Summer Cons\\2012
ANABonANzA4:Make sure to ask if she’s going to #mounthim.
Navi:
Good plan. Great plan.
The Empyrean Conference Centerwas a thirty-minute drive from Providence, Rhode Island. The instant AJ’s Uber pulled in, she knew Blue Con was going to be special. The tree-filled campus and wooden architecture felt more spiritual retreat than corporate trade show. Otto and Oona must have called in a lot of favors; AJ couldn’t believe they had pulled this together in six weeks.
“We sold out completely,” said a very businesslike Oona as AJstepped from her Uber just after noon. Oona was in her usual Rho outfit, with the addition of a black headset. “Wow, you look—”
“You look smokin’!” said Otto, in his Ana robes and a white headset. He gave AJ a kiss on each cheek. “Come on, we can’t wait to give you the tour.”
“You go,” said Oona stoically. “Rho and Glimmette—I mean, Noah and Eudora—should be arriving in the next ten minutes, and I don’t want to miss them.”
As AJ’s Uber pulled away, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the car’s veneer.
It wasn’t like she had triedthathard. She’d just blow-dried her hair to resemble Ana’s style. And okay fine, she’d splurged on a white cashmere sweater and white leather skirt. It was very little effort in view of all Otto and Oona had done.
“So how many people are here?” asked AJ as Otto led her toward an enormous tabernacle. A group of Navis craned their necks at her as they passed.
“We’ve got just under a thousand staying the entire weekend,” he said. “And then another eleven hundred here today. Ooo, this is the most exciting!”
He opened the doors to the hall.
“Holy sh—”
AJ was standing inside a full-scale replica of the crale.
As Otto walked AJ through a re-creation of the captain’s quarters, he explained how he and Oona were installation artists who both adjunct taught at RISD. “Our grad students were super into this, so they helped us design and plan the whole thing. Wait till you see Rho’s cell!”
From there, Otto led AJ to the main chapel, where the panels were being held—a huge wooden venue with a vaulted ceiling reminiscent of a ship’s prow.
He deposited AJ with security in a row near the back. As she watched Dave and Xiaobo discussing disenfranchised war heroes onstage, her phone vibrated.
Brian.good luck today <3
AJ looked up to find Oona approaching with Eudora and Noah.Her heart did a somersault as security stood to let them pass. She shoved her phone into her pocket and followed suit.
Eudora, outfitted in a stunning beige camel hair coat, gave AJ’s arm an affectionate squeeze before continuing down the row, muttering “damn Nauticals” under her breath.
Noah looked incredible in a black sweater and matching jeans. His hair had been cut since Comic-Con, and he was tan again—perhaps he and Allison had gone on vacation before the publicity forByrontook over their lives. Risa, AJ noted, was not with him.
Their eyes connected, and Noah touched her arm just as Eudora had. Then he took the seat beside AJ’s, and her body reacted as if she’d been shot out of a cannon.
They sat side by side without exchanging a word. As the minutes ticked by, AJ could feel her entire frame of reference contracting into the one inch of space currently separating their knees.
God fucking damn it.
Eudora’s crossover chat with Elmore was next, and it was adorable. They greeted each other onstage as old friends, casually flirting as they settled in. Much theatrical glasses adjusting was involved.
“She’s such a ham,” Noah whispered as Eudora got a huge laugh. Above her, a clip ofAstronauticalsplayed on the projector screen.
AJ smiled, not looking at him. “I can’t believe she wanted to do this.”
Noah nodded. “As she’s gotten older, her stage fright has sort of faded,” he said. “Fair warning—so has her filter.”
