Page 87 of The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

Jett turns off the lights, and his documentary comes on the screen. It starts with fanfare and then I ride into the arena. He’s slowed it down, so my horse gallops dramatically.

“Once there was one Girl Knight.” His voice-over comes on as my first video rolls through, now playing at normal speed. “And her struggles inspired people to dream of more.” He’s interspersed comments from the website with pictures of little girls in knight costumes and kids reenacting my video.

“She had a goal; she had a plan—a four-phase plan at that—but it wasn’t enough. Only when the Girl Knight found other Knights to accompany her on this quest was it really underway.”

Here Jett’s created a gorgeous montage of our training—Lizzy trying the complicated roll off the horse for the first time; Mags and I sparring with training swords and laughing together as we trip over our feet; Penny catching a ring with her garden-rake lance; Layla and Alex jousting with pool noodles in the laundromat; and much, much more.

“It’s definitely time for a change at the Castle,” says Alex, as the camera focuses on them for a one-on-one shot during our last training session. They wipe sweat out of their eyes. “I’ve wanted to be a Knight since I started working at the Castle, but it’s never been an option for me. Kit and the rest of us have been tirelessly pursuing this goal, and I think we’re really going to change things around here.”

Layla comes on next, riding her horse right up to the camera: “Why do I want to do this? Because I’m good at it! And it’s fun!” She rides off with a laugh, skillfully taking the horse through a series of obstacles.

Jett’s interviewed each of us in turn, and there are laughs and cheers for each person’s interview.

Then my face comes on the screen. Off-screen, Jett asks, “Why are you fighting so hard, Kit? What is this really about?”

I know my answer by heart because it ran through my head a dozen times last night as I waited for my friends to text me back.

I look right at the camera: “This is about my friends and me getting a chance to be ourselves. It’s about fighting against inequality and showing the world that gender shouldn’t be a bar for any job these days. And it’s about taking a battering ram to the notion that the heroes of the Middle Ages were all men.”

“Do you think you’ll succeed?” Jett asks.

“I know it,” I say into the camera. A smile lights my face. “With friends like these at my side, there’s no chance we can fail.”

The film stops there, carried off by some dramatic music. Jett flicks the lights on.

“Oh, Kit,” says Penny, tossing a balled-up tissue at me. “You big dork. You made me cry.”

I’m crying too. Layla wraps me in a hug. I lean my head on her shoulder.

“You’re right,” she says. “We can do this together.”

“And we should,” says Mags. “I’m with you if you still want to run the tournament, like you said in your text chain.”

“Me too,” says Lizzy. “And I’m sorry for getting mad, Kit. I know you didn’t mean to hurt us.”

“Group-hug time,” says Alex, standing up. Everyone surrounds me, pulling me into a large, sniffly hug. Over my shoulder, I see Jett filming it all and Chris grinning at me.

“Thank you,” I mouth to them. Jett smiles again, and I have a sudden image of us kissing for a very long time next time we’re alone together.

Clearly, I’m ready to be more than friends. But why did Jett do all this? Is it because he’s just the world’s best guy friend? Or does it mean more? I thought I’d ruined everything by breaking the rules. But the time and care he’s put into this video is more than friendly. Isn’t it?

Before I have time to think through the Gordian knot of Jett and me, another phone alarm goes off—not mine this time—and Chris grabs his phone. “I hate to break this up,” he says. “But it’s time to get dressed for the show.”

“Are you ready, Knights?” I ask the circle of amazing friends around me.

“We’re with you, Girl Knight,” says Layla.

“Until death, victory, or at least the end of the show,” says Mags with a sly smile.

42

TONIGHT THERE’S ONLY ONE SHOW AT THE CASTLE.

Normally we have two every day, but Len combined them into one evening show so the Corporate folks would have time to look around and so we could really fill the seats.

Not that we’d have any problem doing that based on how crowded the lobby is.

“Good thing you invited half of Chicago to this show,” whispers Jett as we thread our way through the growing crowd.