London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton

Author:Jacquelyn Middleton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Kirkwall Books
Published: 2016-10-14T06:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

That birthday glow began to fade, and within a month, Alex was in the shadows again. When an unexpected bus of famished tourists unloaded at Tasty Munch, bringing rushed orders for eight all-day breakfasts and six cheese omelets, a sneaky panic attack began to rise. If everyday stressors were triggering her attacks, how would she survive writing rejections or demanding theatre producers?

Negative fixations on unimportant things, such as the schizophrenic English weather and the mess left behind by her estranged flatmates, tested Lucy and Freddie’s patience. At least Alex still had her crush, but Mark’s birthday offer of another Vespa adventure had yet to materialize. They’d exchanged the odd text, but she never saw him. Alex didn’t dare ask Freddie about his whereabouts—girls probably bugged him all the time about his Irish mate with the killer smile—but one evening when Mark blew out plans to catch a film, Freddie joked that the only mistress in Mark’s life was his work. Well, since Freddie went there…Alex dived in, tossing Julia the Voicemail Girl back at him over her popcorn. Freddie’s floppy fringe shook defiantly; he denied that Julia was to blame—they only went out twice. He was adamant; it was Mark’s hectic whirlwind of auditions and bar shifts keeping him at arm’s length. It all conspired to quash Alex’s creativity. Her writing inspiration…gone on summer vacation with no forwarding address.

On the second Saturday in August, Lucy and Freddie dragged her to a London comic con in the hope that cosplayers, comics, and autograph sessions would revive her drowning spirit.

“Isn’t this brilliant? Your first British con. Look, it’s our tribe,” said Lucy, dressed in head-to-toe PVC as Storm from X-Men.

A child hidden in a Dalek costume wheeled by, accompanied by a tanned Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a pair of tall Hobbits. “If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, I’m not sure what will.”

Alex frowned at the Sailor Moon cosplayers clustered nearby. “It’s kinda crap. This con can’t compete with the events back home. It doesn’t even have any major actors for autographs or photo shoots. The guy who played Ewok number six in Return of the Jedi? Hardly a must-see, is it?”

“Do you enjoy being a buzz kill? Seriously, Alex. You’d be more into it if you were cosplaying. Why didn’t you wear your Wonder Woman gear?”

Alex shrugged, her eyes flitting over her Batman tee and jeans.

“Not feeling any chirpier, then?” asked Lucy.

Alex flipped through a bunch of graphic novels on a vendor’s table. “I’ve been thinking about things a lot lately…it feels like the universe is telling me I’m not supposed to be here…in London.”

Lucy slammed a Watchmen graphic novel down on the table, the force of its reunion with the other volumes causing the whole display to shake and a skittish Pikachu cosplayer to scurry. “Oh, come on. I know you’ve been out of sorts since the fundraiser, but that’s no reason to second guess everything.”

“But if it was meant to be, wouldn’t it be easier?” Alex

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