“No, Eliza, it’s not UFC,” she says.
I sign my life away, then sit back and rest my head on my bestie’s shoulder, a position lots of us have adopted in Conference Hall A. A flame of hair catches my eye. Vivian, Charlie Chamberlain and Sadie are in the front row – VIP seats arranged by Damon Van Schwartz himself. I allow myself a little eye roll at the backs of their heads and Vivian turns around. She probably saw the eye roll with her own third eye. Sadie looks round then jumps up and runs round the chairs over to us.
“Eliza, look!” She plonks herself next to me and flicks through her phone, then holds up a slightly blurry photo of me from last night. “I took loads of photos. I’m getting this one printed. I’ll send you some.”
“Thanks, Sadie,” I say, scooching closer and smiling as shescrolls through the photos. “Did you enjoy it last night?”
She nods until her head nearly pops off her shoulders.
“I liked yours better than Vivian’s, but don’t tell,” she says.
“Thank you,” I say, crossing my heart. “I won’t.”
I look over at Charlie Chamberlain, surprised that he’s looking right at me, his arm resting on the back of his chair. For some reason, I feel like I’m back on that stage again, the spotlight shining down on me, and I’ve forgotten why I’m there.
I gesture to Sadie.
“She OK with us?” I mouth.
“Of course,” he mouths back, nodding.
He smiles, as if he’s waiting for me to say something else, but I hadn’t planned on a follow up, so I just sort of look back at him and feel very conscious of my face. I don’t think he’s blinked once. Are we doing a staring competition? I probably shouldn’t look away or breathe, just in case.
Felix walks on stage, and we all look up at him. Thank goodness.
“Morning, everyone.”
Roxy frowns at me. Felix has the amazing ability to be the centre of the convention without being the centre of attention. He’s low key, but this morning he just seems kind of . . . low. Something’s missing from his voice.
“The judges really enjoyed last night’s performances, and I know the audience did too. Our competitors werefangtastic.”
Pause for clapping. I watch Vivian to see how she responds to the attention from those around her. As suspected; with ease. I guess she’s used to it. I need to look around at every single person to acknowledge the praise and file it away in my catalogue of emotions to refer to at a later date and remember how it feels.
“We’re working through the scores from the judges, plus our notes on the audience response for each competitor. But now,on to this round of the competition. Here,” he says, stepping to the side as the spotlight illuminates behind him, “we have three coffins. A member of your team must stay in the coffin for as long as possible.”
I glance at Sadie and Roxy, giving them a little shrug.
“Easy,” I say. “I’ll have my phone.”
“You will not be allowed your phone,” says Felix, even though he can’t possibly hear me from there.
I shrug again.
“Still easy. They can’t stick us in there and not allow breaks for the toilet.”
“There will be no comfort breaks.”
I swallow.
“Snacks?” I say, hopefully.
“Snacking is not permitted in the coffins,” says Felix.
“Whatisthis hell?” I say, shaking my head.
“This is a test of your love forVampire Falls,” says Felix. “Competitors, you need to decide which member of yourtomb, sorry,team, has what it takes to stay locked up in the shadows for the longest.”
Chatter erupts from the audience and this time I’m not enjoying all the looks, which are basicallyrather-her-than-me.
