15
Willow
Watching Cody peruse The World of Games convention was nerve-wracking for Willow. He looked calm and casual, wearing sliders with socks and jeans. At least he could walk properly again, but could he talk?
Nudging Humphrey, she asked, ‘Do you think we should join in when he starts pitching?’
Humphrey’s fake emerald-green eyes held the bright lighting of the exhibition. ‘It is time to let our boy spread his wings, Silver Willow.’
Why he always called her that, she had no idea, but seeing how Humphrey often spoke like someone living in a fantasy realm, she let it slide.
The large London event was packed, with market stalls dotted everywhere, rooms hosting talks with people in the business, and all manner of computer and board games on display for anyone to play.
Willow knew both Cody and Humphrey were in their element, as were most people around her, judging by the excitement on their faces. It wasn’t her cup of tea, but supporting Cody was.
She browsed the merch on the table next to Cody as they came to the front of a very long queue and earwigged as he started talking to a lean man wearing a pointy hat.
Humphrey stood by her side, fiddling with some trading cards, according to the small sign on the white table cloth. ‘He’s Damon Rickshaw,’ he whispered.
He assumes I know what that means .
She smiled politely not wanting to give up her lack of knowledge and make herself look stupid.
It would appear Humphrey cottoned on, as he rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘He’s one of the top dogs at G-Force-Plus-Co.’
Again, Willow was quite lost, but smiled and nodded again.
‘Really, Silver?’ Humphrey shook his head in total disbelief as he pulled her to one side. ‘Has my boy taught you nothing?’
It wasn’t entirely true. Over the years, Willow had listened to Cody natter away about all sorts to do with the gaming world. She simply zoned out half the time, that was all.
‘In my defence,’ she whispered, ‘it’s a lot to take in.’
Humphrey nudged her elbow. ‘He put up a notice online that his team was holding a once in a lifetime pitching event today. Apparently, it’s his way of paying it forward, as someone once let him pitch to them at a party. Anyway, he’s the one you want to speak to.’
‘Will they sign anyone up today?’
‘No. If he likes Cody’s idea, he’ll tell him to submit to them, and you have to hope they’ll remember you from today. Face to face goes a long way, even in this day and age.’
Willow looked at the so-called main man politely listening to Cody.
Remember him. Remember him .
Using all her energy, she willed Damon Rickshaw to take notice, but judging by the amount of people in the queue all waiting for a meet-and-greet with the man and his team, she wasn’t quite sure how much good her telepathic message would do.
Cody came over. His eyes filled with amazement. ‘He told me to make sure I submit directly to him. Can you believe that?’
Willow nodded. ‘Of course. He didn’t get to where he is today by not recognising talent when he sees it.’
Cody narrowed his eyes. ‘You know who he is?’
‘Yeah. Damon Rickshaw. G-Force guy.’
The corner of Cody’s mouth twitched before he turned to Humphrey. ‘Right, where to next?’
Humphrey had his nose in the free bag of goodies they’d all received at the entrance to the event, along with an ink stamp on the back of their hands to prove they’d paid and could come and go all day. ‘We could go over to the board game section. Play some games.’
They saw that the games tables were all full, so mooched around, not wanting to miss a thing.
Willow chatted to a young woman about a game she was advertising on her stall whilst Cody was talking to someone behind her. She tried to gather as much information as possible so they could perhaps run their own stall at the next convention. It seemed like a lot of people there were trying to sell their own wares, so why not Cody?
The next stall had some really pretty pieces for sale, and Willow couldn’t help but buy a picture of a character she thought Cody might like, even though she had no idea who it was or what game they were from. There were some patterned dice with twenty sides, which she thought impressive, so purchased a set of those too, as they were so cute. The price, not so much. But she wanted a few bits and pieces that had the potential to spark joy within her best friend.
Humphrey appeared with a small bag of wrapped sweets and a huge grin. He waffled on about how he would never eat them in a million years, and how they might be worth a few quid one day, especially if they stayed untouched.
Willow was feeling a bit peckish.
They continued to check out the event, meeting, greeting, and shaking hands along the way. A young woman drew a glittery star on Willow’s cheek, and Humphrey had his picture taken with someone dressed as a wizard.
The morning seemed a success, but what did she know? Cody was all smiles, but he was surrounded by games, so he would be. She did wonder when they might pop outside for a spot of lunch but didn’t want to interrupt his flow. Plus, it wasn’t as boring as she’d presumed, as she got to play some games, including one yet to be released, and she even beat some man’s score on Donkey Kong , over in the retro corner that was set up like an arcade, which earned her one of Cody’s warm smiles.
Gamers were all vying for high scores, but the atmosphere was great, with competitors patting each other on the back and swapping advice.
Willow wasn’t just impressed with how friendly everyone was, but also how confident Cody was, not that he’d ever been a wallflower. She just knew how much his own game meant to him so was worried he might have crumbled in front of the publishers.
Outside were numerous eateries, and Willow was glad to sit and eat and give her feet time to relax. She was sure Cody was feeling achy in the toe department, seeing how he was still healing.
Humphrey snaffled the tomato Cody pulled out of a baguette. ‘Did you see Light Lemon? Oh, man, he was on form today. Got me an autograph, just saying.’ He grinned, then tucked into his food.
‘How you feeling, Sully?’ asked Willow, studying his face for any tell-tale signs of distress.
‘Better than I felt on our way here.’ He rubbed his stomach. ‘I haven’t eaten all morning. I just couldn’t.’
Willow shoved some fries forward. ‘Fill up.’
He nodded as he smiled. ‘I’m okay now.’
‘Buzzing is the word,’ said Humphrey.
Willow pulled at her burger. ‘It really is a lot of fun here. I got talking to a lady who told me all about the process of snagging a stall. We should totally do that next time. Get some merch together, perhaps a sign. What do you think?’
Humphrey snorted into his bite of baguette. ‘I’ve been saying that for ages.’
Willow frowned. ‘Ages? But Sully’s game is only ready now.’
‘For his graphic novels,’ said Humphrey.
‘What graphic novels?’
It wasn’t Humphrey’s groan from receiving a kick in the shin from Cody that had her suspicious, it was the flash of embarrassment that passed through Cody’s eyes.
Humphrey snarled at Cody. ‘He has a few under his belt.’
Cody flapped one hand. ‘It’s nothing. Just stories I play around with when I’m bored. You know how some people doodle? Well, I create graphic novels.’
Willow gestured over towards the main doors of the event. ‘I saw a load of comics, erm, graphic novels in there. A table had them on display with their game.’ She shrugged and scoffed some fries. ‘Worth thinking about if you can link them to your game.’
The pointed look Cody gave Humphrey didn’t go unnoticed, making Willow feel she was out of the loop about something.
‘Anyway,’ she added tactfully, not wanting Cody stressed about anything, ‘what else is on the agenda?’
Humphrey got busy with their itinerary. They had some parts of their day planned, but also left room for playtime. ‘We have tickets for Ray Lord’s talk.’
Willow crinkled her nose. ‘Who is that one again?’
‘Box Work Games. Big fish. Should be good. He likes to hand out hints and tips on how to get ahead in the industry. I won’t lie, he hasn’t got the best voice for this kind of thing, very slow and boring, no presence, but he knows his stuff, and he loves helping people climb the ladder.’
‘We had a lecturer at uni like that,’ said Willow, remembering falling asleep during class at one point.
‘After his talk, we can just hang out here or back at the hotel,’ said Cody, stuffing a handful of fries into his mouth.
Willow followed her friends back into the event after they had finished lunch. She wasn’t looking forward to sitting in a crowded room listening to some bloke waffle on about the world of gaming, but university lectures had her well and truly trained in the art of pretending to look interested.
She shuffled into a chair at the end of a row, squishing her arm into Cody’s as he lowered to her side. He looked happy enough, and that was all that mattered. The garden centre was her dream, so she didn’t have to worry about chasing a future, as thanks to her grandfather, her life was pretty well mapped out.
Two men and one woman sat on foldaway chairs on the small raised stage at the front whilst another man made the introductions.
Willow got as comfortable as she could on the hard chair, leaning closer to Cody.
I really hope all your dreams come true, Sully. You deserve the best .
She closed her eyes for a moment as the light was dimmed to show a screening of a game up on stage.
Something fishy is going on with his comics. I wonder if he’ll tell me later. Humphrey definitely put his foot in it. Hmm .
Yawning, Willow scooched down a touch, resting her head on Cody’s shoulder, smiling when his hand curled over hers on her lap. Everything could wait.
A voice droned on and on, fading to black.
Willow jolted up as Cody gave her a light shake.
‘Wake up, we’re leaving,’ he whispered.
‘Oh.’ Willow rolled her shoulders and wiped the drool from the side of her mouth. ‘Sorry.’
He smiled and grabbed her bag. ‘Let’s get some coffee.’
Humphrey leaned over, showing his phone. ‘Hey, do you mind if I shoot off for a bit? Some of my online friends are here, and I want to go meet them face to face for the first time.’
‘Sure,’ said Cody. ‘Keep in touch though.’
Humphrey saluted. ‘I’ll see you back at the hotel later.’ He slipped away before any more was said.
Willow frowned. ‘Should we check his friends are legit?’
Cody grinned. ‘He’s okay. He has loads of video chats first and wouldn’t meet anyone he wasn’t sure about. Besides, we’re not exactly in a dark and secluded place.’
Willow wasn’t as sure.
Cody laughed. ‘Fine, let’s go check them out, but I’m telling you, you get a lot of the same faces each year at these events, and Humphrey’s probably made friends online with most of them. This is his life way more than mine. He even did a degree in gaming design.’
Willow hung on to his arm. ‘Like you wish you had.’
‘Ah, it’s all good. I’m starting to enjoy having loads of different jobs. Breaks up the monotony. Look, there he is.’ Cody called as he waved his free arm.
Humphrey introduced everyone, and Willow felt relaxed in their company. They all chatted excitedly about who and what they had seen, and how much they were looking forward to the next day for round two.
Seeing how big and loved the convention was, Willow could understand why the event took two days to complete. She remembered Cody leaping into the air when he’d secured tickets.
‘Warlock told us all about you, Wisher,’ said a young woman with short pink hair. ‘I’m loving your stories. I bought them all. I’m already on volume three.’
Willow narrowed her eyes towards Cody, who had turned a slight shade of pink.
People are reading his stories? I haven’t even seen any .
Cody said his thanks and tried for a swift exit, but Humphrey’s group wanted pictures with him first, so Willow held the camera whilst trying to read in between the lines from the snippets of info she was acquiring.
‘Well, that was… odd,’ she said, as they left the venue.
The crispness of October whipped around their necks as they strolled along the riverbank, heading towards their hotel.
‘Especially the part where they wanted pictures of me,’ she added, side-eyeing him.
Cody brought them to a halt. ‘Okay, there’s something I haven’t told you.’
Willow’s mouth twitched. ‘That much is obvious.’
‘It started off years ago as a bit of fun, but then I got a little more invested in it and wrote a whole series. Twenty books in total. I’ve self-published them.’
‘I don’t see why you would hide this from me. We tell each other everything. I feel like you’re holding back here.’
Cody pulled his dark scarf out of his bag and wrapped it around her neck. ‘I based the main character on you. Well, your look. I felt embarrassed to tell you. Get it now?’
Adjusting the scarf, she smiled. ‘You’ve always doodled people around you. That’s no biggie.’
‘It’s a whole series, Wills. A fantasy realm, and it all revolves around one woman.’
‘What’s it called?’
That pink flush was back in his cheeks. ‘They’ve got different titles, but it’s all the Silver Willow series.’
Willow bit her bottom lip and breathed out a laugh through her nose.
‘It’s not funny.’
She nodded and balled his top. ‘Your face is.’
‘Come on. I didn’t want you thinking I was a weirdo, using your face and name for my ideas.’
‘I’m actually honoured.’
‘You are?’
‘Well, yeah. I’d like to see one.’
Cody’s head lowered as he cringed. ‘Really?’
‘Stop being bashful. It’s just me, Sully. Have you got any pictures on your phone?’
‘Thanks to Humphrey, I’ve got adverts now as well.’
Willow squealed. ‘Ooh. Have you sold many books?’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t looked.’
‘What? Why not?’
‘I’m not very good with rejection.’
Willow pointed back at the venue. ‘That woman said she was enjoying your stories, so that’s one good review. Doesn’t that help?’
Cody gave a half-shrug. ‘It was nice to hear, but—’
‘No buts. Let’s look now. See what’s happening with your work.’
‘Do we have to?’
‘Yep. You’re going to be selling board games soon, so this will be good practice.’
‘You sound like Humphrey.’
Willow dragged him along to their hotel. ‘Let’s get out of the cold, and you can pump yourself up while we walk.’
Cody laughed as she practically frogmarched him into the warmth of the light, open foyer.
The lift seemed to take forever to get to their floor, and Willow was so intrigued to see herself as an illustration, she jogged to their room.
Cody opened his laptop and pulled up his stories that were on sale, then gasped, making Willow shoot to the screen.
‘What is it, Sully?’
‘I’ve got over six hundred ratings on each story already.’
‘Is that good?’
He turned to her, wide-eyed with surprise. ‘Good? It’s bloody amazing. I haven’t been on there five minutes. Lord knows what Humphrey has been doing with advertising, but people are noticing.’
Willow flopped to the end of the bed. ‘Another job to add to your mix. Well done, Sully.’
He sat by her side, taking the laptop with him. ‘I wasn’t expecting this.’
She gazed at his mostly five-star reviews and smiled, leaning into his arm. ‘Talent, brains, and looks. Well, aren’t you blessed,’ she quipped.
Cody arched an eyebrow as he turned to face her. ‘You think I’m good looking?’
Willow felt some heat creep up her neck and wondered if removing her scarf would be the wisest move. ‘Erm, well, you know, credit where credit’s due and all that.’ She went back to staring at the screen, because floating away to somewhere deep within his piercing blue eyes just wasn’t acceptable in the world of friend zones. ‘I love what you’ve done with her.’ She pointed at an illustration of herself. ‘I wish I looked that good in real life.’
‘You do,’ he mumbled.