The Fandom(2)

I nod to Miss Thompson, who takes her cue and crosses to the interactive whiteboard. A YouTube clip launches into action – the opening scene of the film. The camera zooms in on Rose as she scales the outer stone wall of the Coliseum. She looks awesome, her long dark hair tumbling down her back. She reaches the crest of the wall, accompanied by a swell of violins.

The camera switches to the spectators inside the Coliseum. A crowd of Gems – their beautiful faces baying for Imp blood. Nine condemned Imps are led on to a wooden stage, the nooses placed around their necks. I know they’re only moments from being freed, yet I still feel this twist of anxiety in my stomach. I steal a quick look at my classmates. They actually look concerned, absorbed. A smile pulls at the corners of my mouth.

The Gem President appears on a giant screen behind the stage and introduces the condemned Imps by their alleged crimes: theft, rape, murder. The camera swings back to Rose, her dark hair whipping before her eyes – she knows the condemned Imps are guilty only of poverty and hunger. She pulls a grenade from her belt, touches it to her lips, and then hurls it over the crowd below.

The clip ends just before the bomb goes off.

I turn back to the class, bolstered by their sudden interest.

‘While the Gems were distracted by the bomb, the rebels launched a rescue mission and saved the condemned Imps from the gallows. Rose slipped down the outer wall undetected, her worth as a rebel secured.

‘So Thorn sent Rose on the most dangerous rebel mission to date: the Harper mission. Rose infiltrated the Harper estate deep in the Pastures, and posed as a slave for the master of the house – Jeremy Harper, a powerful Gem official. Rose quickly befriended Jeremy’s son so she could discover classified Gem information.

‘Jeremy’s son was a Gem named Willow.’

Willow. The main reason I wish I was Rose. And even though my hands still tremble, the residue of adrenalin moving through my veins, I keep gripping his picture, holding it up for the class to see. I just can’t bear the thought of a drawing pin jabbing a hole in his perfect face. I’ve gazed at this poster for hours, memorized every contour of those features – all caramel skin and cheekbones. I hear a couple of sighs from the girls, a couple of ‘phwoar’ noises followed by a cluster of giggles. I tuck his image back into my pile of notes, a sense of possession gnawing at me.

‘Spying and relations with a Gem: two crimes punishable by death for any Imp unfortunate enough to get caught. But Willow was kind and beautiful, and Rose soon realized that her greatest threat was the strength of her feelings for him. Unable to betray him, she fled the manor without ever revealing her true identity as a rebel. She returned to the Imp city, informing Thorn that the Harper mission was a failure—’

‘Boring,’ Ryan says.

‘Ryan, seriously,’ Miss Thompson snaps. ‘Stop interrupting, you’re in sixth form now and I expect better.’ She turns to me and smiles. ‘And I think we’ve just reached the midway twist, the turning point, is that right, Violet?’

I nod. ‘Rose fled the manor to protect him, she prioritized Willow over the rebels. She chose love.’

‘Yes. An example of how popular, modern novels still follow the traditional plot structure . . . carry on.’

‘Willow disguised himself as an Imp and followed Rose across the city, desperate to win her back. But he was captured by the rebels and, finally, he learnt of Rose’s initial plan to betray him. Heartbroken, held captive, all hope seemed lost.

‘But Rose told him she truly loved him, and together, they escaped from the rebels, determined to forge a new life together.

‘Sometimes, however, love cannot conquer all.

‘The Gem authorities tracked them down and Rose was taken to the Gallows Dance, accused of seducing an innocent Gem boy.’

Another YouTube clip. Rose at the Gallows Dance, but this time, she stands on the wooden stage at the front of the Coliseum with a noose around her neck, the crowd of Gems chanting for her blood.

‘STOP!’ Willow vaults on to the stage. ‘My name is Willow Harper. And the Imp you’re about to hang has a name. Rose. And she is the bravest, kindest person I’ve ever known. Imp or Gem, she is a human being. She isn’t a temptress or a criminal. She is my best friend. And I love her with all my heart.’ He gazes into her determined face. ‘I love you, Rose.’

‘I love you too,’ she cries back.

I know what’s going to happen, of course I do, but I still feel the weight of tears on my lower lashes, this overwhelming urge to reach into that 2D image and snip the rope.

The trapdoor beneath Rose’s feet flies open. Her body drops, her legs twisting and kicking as she dances her final dance.

The clip ends. Nobody speaks.

Finally, Miss Thompson breaks the silence. ‘What a wonderful black moment the author created. But surely there’s some sort of resolution?’

I nod, and shuffle to my last page of crumpled notes.

‘Willow cradled Rose’s lifeless body, his tears falling into her face. He berated the Gems for allowing government sanctioned murder to continue, he begged them to join him. So moved were the Gems by this tragic scene, they ripped the gallows to the ground.

‘The Gallows Dance was finally banned.

‘Rose’s death sparked a revolution.

‘And the Imps and Gems called themselves humans once again.’