How Could This Be Real?

8. Opening Ceremony

"Woah," I said, once again blown away. There were about a million seats (ok, maybe not that many, but a lot) and the stage was absolutely massive. It went almost all the way to both walls and had a giant screen behind it. There were also four more screens about halfway back on the ceiling for the people in the way back. We walked onto the stage. There were a few people on it, some other youtubers and some people I didn't recognize.

The people I didn't know were talking to everyone, "Alright, we're going to open the doors in a few minutes, does everyone know what they have to do?" They nodded. "Good, if anything happens talk to one of the stagehands. Alright, Stampy, Squid, Dan, come with me. Everyone else can go to your seats."

I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't think I should go backstage though so I followed Ash and Lee to the audience. We found a section front and center with a bunch of reserved signs on the seats and everyone started filing in. I wasn't sure where to sit since Squid wasn't there anymore but Ash motioned for us to come over to him.

"You can sit next to me."

"Thanks," I said. "How come you guys aren't going backstage?"

"We're not part of the opening ceremony, we'll have to go back there after for the Q&A though."

"So I'll be all alone?"

"No, you'll have Lee and I think Dan might be coming down here but I'm not sure. Oh, and Tom when he gets here. Where even is he?"

"Squid said he didn't want to wake up early."

"Well hopefully he's on his way by now 'cause otherwise he's gonna miss like everything. But anyways, how did you meet Squid?"

"We ate dinner at the same restaurant last night."

"And he just gave you these?" he asked, pointing to my pass.

"Uh, yeah, he was really generous. He booked our train and everything."

"Hmm, that's not like him to just give stuff to fans. Are you sure that was the first time you met him," he paused and leaned forward, "ElsieGurl?" I glanced at my dad but he was busy talking to someone else.

I lowered my voice, "How'd you know?"

He grinned, "I knew I recognized that hand."

"That really gave it away?"

"Nah, it was just a lucky guess."

"Well I guess my cover's blown. But can you keep this," I slid a finger along my lips.

"Yeah, you can trust me. But why do you want to keep it secret?"

"I don't know, it's just kinda weird for Squid to invite a fan to his house and I don't want people to ask questions. I know it's silly but-"

"No no, I would feel the same way. Don't worry about it. Should we tell him I know or not?"

"Um, I guess that's ok." Just then I heard doors opening and looked behind me. A rush of people came inside and raced to get the best seats. In no time, half the audience was filled.

Some girls sat behind us and one of them said, "Excuse me, are you Ash?"

"I believe that's my name."

She grinned, "Hey! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Lilly and this is my sister Hailey."

"We made this for you," Hailey said and handed him a piece of paper. She looked about six and Lilly looked preteens, a little younger than me.

"For me?" he asked, taking the paper. "Wow, this is really cool! Thank you! Did you want a picture or anything?" Lilly's eyes widened and she nodded, taking out her phone. I made sure I was out of the frame and they took a selfie.