Chapter 9
Luca
How you reply to secondary characters can change the course of the game.
Choose your dialogue options with care.
“Thank you for your answer. It’s impressive to see how you’ve incorporated historical London into your game,” the gray-haired government minister says in response to my explanations on level design.
I can see Benji, my role model from Black Veil, give me an approving nod.
Normally, this would be the point where I’d jump for joy.
Now, though, my gaze flies over to our table for the umpteenth time since I’ve stepped up here.
Over to Lara. Only she’s no longer there.
“Any more questions?” Elsa sweeps her gaze across the room like I do and nods in satisfaction when no one else raises their hand.
“Well, thank you for your fascinating presentation and the demonstration of your game! Personally, I really want to try it for myself now.” She gives me a friendly smile.
I thank the audience one last time, put away the controller and my headset mic, and leave the stage.
“Not bad!” a strawberry-blond woman whispers. She’s here from a studio in Liverpool. I give her a tight-lipped smile in return and hurry over to my table.
“That was wicked!” Akito greets me the moment I sit down.
“I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Shane adds. Even he nods his approval. “Who would have thought a horror game, of all things, would be serious competition for me?”
“Thanks,” I reply, biting my tongue to avoid asking him where Lara went.
I remember how worried she was about what the others would say if they found out we’re sharing a room.
Maybe she just needed to go to the loo or catch a breath of fresh air to collect herself.
I watch as the strawberry-blond woman—Maeve, as Elsa announces her—walks on stage to present her visual novel, Matter of Time.
It’s an interactive story about a girl who learns she can time-travel.
The game sounds interesting, but my mind and my gaze keep drifting.
I can’t stop looking at the door every few seconds in hopes of seeing Lara return.
My phone vibrates, and I furtively pull it out under the table to check my messages. Most of them are from Maleek, but one of them is from our boss.
Hank: Good luck today! I know you’ll do Bytes apparently Maeve has just finished presenting.
I clap along, but I find myself unable to focus on the ensuing round of questions.
My thoughts are with Lara. Sure, she was nervous, she tripped, it wasn’t her best—but it wasn’t a bad presentation either.
Even if she hadn’t been able to utter a single word, her game speaks for itself.
And everyone in this room must have recognized the brilliant work behind it.
The door remains stubbornly closed. Would Lara just up and leave?
How do you know what I’m imagining?
She’s right. I have no idea what’s going on in her head, how bad the scenarios in there are.
That’s exactly why I get up before I can change my mind about what I’m doing.
Akito gives me an inquiring look, and I mutter, “See you in a bit,” not knowing whether I’ll be able to keep that promise.
There’s only one more presentation left before our break, but I don’t think I can stand another twenty-five minutes of uncertainty.
I hear nothing beyond the door to my room.
It took me just three minutes to run the distance we walked in five this morning, but what if I’m too late?
What if Lara’s packed up her bags and left Crow Manor?
After another knock with no reply, I unlock the door and enter.
It’s dark inside, and there’s an unpleasant feeling creeping up on me. She’s gone.
I’m about to stick my card in the slot you’re meant to leave it in, which also turns on the lighting, but pause in confusion when I notice there’s already one in there.
And yet all the lamps are off, and the curtains are drawn.
My eyes slowly adjust to the low light, and I see Lara’s shoes on the floor. Then I hear it. The sobbing.
“Hey,” I say gently to the room at large.
“Please leave.” Her voice sounds even rougher than usual.
Unsure of myself, I stop in the hallway. I can’t see her, but just hearing her like this makes my heart ache. All competitiveness aside.
“I’d like to stay, if that’s all right?” No reply from Lara; all I hear is another sniff. “But I can sit here if you need some peace and quiet,” I suggest, and when she doesn’t object, I take off my shoes. Then I sit down on the floor and lean my head back against the wall.
“You . . . you’ve seen the video, haven’t you?”
“No,” I say. “But I heard about it. And I’m sure we can find out who it was and report them. Recordings aren’t allowed today, and certainly not recordings meant to put down other participants.”
Lara gives another sniff. “Who do you think it was?” She makes a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob.
“No. I buggered this up all by myself. I had this one chance, and I’ve made a mess of it.
I should have realized from the start.” She exhales shakily.
“No one’s ever going to take me seriously again. ”
“Nonsense.”
“It’s not.”
“Yes, it is. These sorts of things pass. Nothing is forever, not even something like this.”
“That . . .” She sniffles again. “That’s rich, with the presentation you gave. You’ll have three new job offers from different studios by tomorrow, I’m sure.”
“Believe me, it wasn’t as bad as you think.”
“I saw it!” Her voice rises, and there’s a rustle from the duvet. Maybe she’s sitting up. “Just look at it!”
“I don’t need to; I was there. I know the work you’ve put into this game, and .
. .” I pause. Am I seriously defending our competitor right now?
And a competitor participating with a stolen game, at that?
But Lara isn’t Sophia. She shouldn’t have to pay for what Sophia did.
“You continued your presentation in spite of everything. That’s already a lot. ”
Lara snorts again and tries to say something, but all I can hear in the darkened room is a strangled noise.
“Can I come over, please?” I ask.
“Whatever; this is still your room.”
I stay sitting where I am until Lara heaves a sigh.
“Yeah, sure.”
Lara’s sitting on the bed, her back against the headrest and the duvet pulled up to her nose. Her hair is in a messy bun on top of her head. Her face is hidden in shadow, but I can still see her smudged mascara and wet cheeks. I settle down on the foot of the bed, which springs back lightly.
“Wow, no wonder you were sleeping like the dead this morning. This mattress is bloody brilliant.”
“I know. I didn’t tell you on purpose.”
I laugh, and I think I can see the ghost of a smile crossing Lara’s face.
“You can have it tonight; I’m leaving soon.”
“Why?”
She lowers her hands. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. Why?”
“Don’t you realize what a fool I’ve just made of myself? And don’t give me that whole thing about how it wasn’t even that bad. I can’t go back down there. I don’t want to see their faces, their pity.” She shakes her head. “You don’t know me. You have no idea how I feel.”
There it is again. Like I’d need to know her innermost secrets to be there for her. I pull my legs up into a cross-legged seat and shrug. “All right, then let’s stay here.”
“Let’s? You can’t stay here!”
“Why not? My presentation is over too.”
“Yeah, but you have no reason. Your presentation wasn’t the worst one today.”
“Neither was yours,” I retort. “Shane’s still on this afternoon, remember?”
This time, Lara doesn’t laugh. She scoots forward a little, her face illuminated by the scant light filtering in through the curtains. Her eyes are serious, and they’re fixed on mine. “Why?” she asks like I did earlier. “Why are you here?”
I swallow, because I know the answer. And I’m silent, because I know the answer. Because of you.
“You care about this prize just as much as I do. And unlike me, you’ve got a real chance at it. So why aren’t you downstairs in that conference room with the others?”