I look down at Jawfain then clutch him to my chest. Headset Lady shrugs, then Roxy runs up the stairs and takes him from me.
“Take good care of him,” I say, putting my hand on her cheek.
“I will,” she says, then heads back to her seat next to Vivian and Fake McKinley.
“OK.” Headset Lady sticks the clipboard under her arm. “Please step in and make yourselves comfortable.”
We all step inside our coffins. I sit down then shuffleuntil there’s enough space for my legs to stretch out. I shove the skeleton over and lie back, propping myself up on my elbows.
“H-how will we get out?”
“Just push the lid off and step out. Quietly though, or your competitors will hear you,” says Headset Lady. “If there’s an emergency, just ask for help. They’re made to keep sound to a minimum, but we can hear you if you speak up, don’t worry.”
“I’m sorry, why are we doing this?” I ask in a panic. “Coffins have nothing to do with vampires.”
The other two look round at me. I realise the absurdity of what I’ve just said, but I’m slightly panicking, OK?
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” offers Charlie Chamberlain.
“Who says I don’t want to do it?” I frown at him then lie back. “I can’t wait to do it. Lying in coffins is actually my favourite thing to do so I feel sorry for anyone who thinks they can beat me.”
“OK then.”
His voice floats from the other side (not literally) and I watch thestewards lower my lid down. I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes. Just focus on Comic Con, Eliza, you can do it.
CHPATER THIRTY-NINE
JULIANA THE DEMON HUNTRESS
I will never forgive you, for as long as I live all my lives.
Vampire Falls. Season two, episode seventeen – “Dead Moon”
My Trip to San Diego Comic Con and Megan Nicole Jefferies. ROUND THREE.
I open my eyes. The lid is on but thankfully it’s not as dark in here as a real coffin would be, I don’t think. I can actually see everything clearly, including the skeleton I’m sharing with who’s facing away from me.
“Rude.”
I try to rearrange him but I can’t quite manoeuvre my arms, so I just frown at the back of his head instead. I reckon it’s a he.I’ll call him Frank. My left bum cheek is going numb, so I roll onto my side until I’m kind of spooning Frank. Not that I’ve ever spooned anyone before. Great, so my first experience of intimate spoonage is with a life-size plastic skeleton. Brilliant.
“Have you done this before?” I whisperto Frank, putting my arm over his waist.
He doesn’t answer. He’s such a good listener. I peer at the side of his skull, where his ear would be. I wonder if it’s an anatomically correct skeleton but never listened properly in biology, due to it being on a Friday which is the day afterVampire Fallsepisodes drop on Netflix. My hand twitches. The desire to grab my phone and check how many bones a skeleton has is overwhelming. I wonder if I’m addictedto my phone. My hand twitches again, desperate to check the signs of being addicted to your phone. God, this is boring. I wonder how longwe’ve been in here.
“How long’s it been?” I call into the ether.
A pause, and a headshake. I can tell when people are shaking their heador rolling their eyes at me without looking. It’s a gift.
“Thirty-eight seconds.”
“What?!” I turn toFrank, shaking my head. “It’s been at least five minutes.”
“Sounds like you can’t hack it,” says Charlie Chamberlain, his voice clear but turned down a few notches.
I glare in the general direction ofhis voice, which happens to be the back of Frank’s head.
“I was merely assimilating information,” I respond.
