A Storyteller's Game

Chapter 0 - Magic and Mundane

Alex Goldstein sat hunched over in the back of the car, wondering what he had gotten himself into. This was his first convention of any kind, much less a large one like SmileCon.

 

He hadn’t really thought that his mom was serious when she had suggested it. But no, supposedly it would be good for Alex to meet new people in a terrifyingly unfamiliar environment. And here he was, sitting in the back of his mother’s car while she cheerfully drove him there.

After what seemed like only a few moments, the car stopped in front of the convention and Alex stepped out hesitantly, dressed in full Harry Potter regalia. <i>There are Harry Potter fans in conventions, right?</i>He certainly hoped so.

 

He stood in front of the building, pondering his next move. He figured that his best bet would be to find some Harry Potter fans and tail them to some more hospitable place for a fellow HP fan. They could discuss The Books, possibly with a cup of tea and a fake British accent to boot. It would be nicely quiet and… “Mom? Mum? <i>Where’d you go?</i>” His mother had already pulled away, and he could just see her waving at him through the car window, probably calling out to him to have fun and talk to people.

 

<i>Well.</i> He was on his own.

 

Not that he really minded being alone, but it was rather unsettling to be dropped off in front of an unfamiliar building and be expected to socialize with a crowd of strangers.

 

The con building was enormous, and Alex proceeded to get lost the moment he entered. It was just so incredibly noisy and crowded, filled with people wearing everything from flowing robes to rather...skimpy costumes.

 

<i>Cosplays</i>, he reminded himself. At anime conventions, costumes were called cosplays. He darted around various groups of chattering teens, narrowly missing getting beheaded by a templar wielding a dramatic-looking sword. It may have been made of plastic, but still. <i>Better safe than sorry.</i> As Alex wove among the crowd, he thought back on his beloved fandom.

 

<i>Harry Potter.</i>

 

He still remembered that rainy day in the library when he had plucked the fateful Book off a nearby shelf. He had read through the entire afternoon, sitting hunched over at a library table. That night, Alex had astonished his parents by chattering about magic, Quidditch, and Nicholas Flamel all through dinner. The sheer detail of the world had blown his ten-year-old mind, and he had been hooked.

 

The characters in those books had been so much more interesting than his fifth-grade classmates, and he had loved the Weasley family right from the start. The Weasley twins in particular had fascinated him, and he had spent many happy hours imagining himself in their place.

 

Alex was cosplaying as Fred Weasley, the slightly more commanding twin. His outfit was neatly in place, Gryffindor robes, wand, and all. He even carried a box of Nosebleed Nougat, homemade from marshmallows and peppercorns, for extra authenticity. The one flaw in his cosplay was his hair. Having naturally light brown hair, Alex had tried to dye it orange, with mixed results. His hair was now brown with orange stripes.