The Fandom(36)

Katie smiles at me. ‘That’s fine, Vi. Isn’t it, Alice?’

Alice nods, determined not to let Katie be the better friend. ‘Yeah, course. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the mercy dump. It was tragic. Heartbreaking. Rose crossed the border that night and returned to Rebel Headquarters to tell Thorn that she’d failed in her mission, that Willow didn’t fancy her. She did it so the rebels would leave him alone for ever.’

‘That’s the turning point in the plot,’ I say. ‘The midway twist Miss Thompson was talking about.’

‘It was kind of noble of her,’ Katie says.

‘Rose is – sorry, was – noble,’ I reply sadly.

Alice ignores me. ‘But Willow didn’t give up. He dressed as an Imp and followed Rose across the border, into the city, all the way to Rebel Headquarters. It was so brave and heroic. But the rebels caught him, peering through the keyhole of the church.’

Katie scoffs. ‘He sounds more stupid than brave.’

‘You leave him alone,’ Alice says.

Nate looks thoughtful for a moment. ‘We can influence stuff directly, I get that, but how do we get other people to do what we want? I mean, how do we make sure the rebels still catch Willow?’

After a long pause, I say, ‘Baba told me that the story wants to unfold, that the canon will drag us along or something.’

Katie frowns. ‘Yeah, and you’ve talked about the canon haunting us before. But it makes no sense. The four of us should be some kind of massive butterfly. Flapping our wings and cocking everything up.’

‘What are you on about?’ Alice snaps.

‘Jesus, Alice, the butterfly effect,’ Nate says. ‘You know, a butterfly flaps its wings and causes a hurricane halfway around the world.’

Alice looks a little confused. ‘It’s a film, yeah? My mum likes it. It’s got Ashton Kutcher in it.’

I nod and smile so as to offer encouragement. It’s hard when a fourteen-year-old knows more than you.

‘Well, we’re the butterfly,’ Nate says. ‘Flapping our wings, changing everything just by breathing.’

‘Only we’re not,’ I say. ‘That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The canon keeps dragging us back. It wants the story to complete as it should.’

‘All the same,’ Nate says, ‘we should stick to canon as much as we can. Avoid taking any risks.’

Nate and I nod. Even Alice nods.

But Katie looks unconvinced. ‘I don’t know guys, do you really think it will be that easy? You stick to the script and everything will just slot into place?’

‘Yes,’ Alice and Nate say in unison.

‘What other choice do we have?’ Nate says.

Stick to the script. This comes as a huge relief – I like plans, I like schedules, I like predictability. And in this crazy, dirty, mental universe, having a script in my head, a perfect plot structure, makes me feel safe again.

‘So remind me again what it is we’re sticking to . . .’ Katie says.

Nate slaps his hands to his head. ‘Jesus, Katie, you really need to watch the film.’

‘Well I don’t see a twatting DVD player anywhere, do you?’ she replies.

I pick up the story where Alice left off. It’s the only thing keeping me sane right now. ‘So after Willow was captured by the rebels, the rebels raided an Imp brothel—’

‘A brothel?’ Katie wails. ‘I thought this was a kids’ book.’

‘Young Adult actually,’ Alice says.

‘The rebels raided an Imp brothel,’ I say, ‘and the lovebirds used this as a distraction so they could escape.’

‘So Willow just forgave Rose for not telling him about the whole being a rebel thing?’ Katie asks.

I nod. ‘Yeah, because he knew she’d tried to protect him in the end.’

‘So then what happened?’ Katie says, leaning forward, unable to hide her interest, and for a lovely second, it feels like I’m back in Miss Thompson’s class doing that presentation again. Life as normal. Home.

I smile. ‘Rose and Willow dropped into the disused sewers, got kind of lost, but eventually emerged to find an old Humvee. They drove to the river and tried to cross to No-man’s-land in a boat.’

‘No-man’s-land?’ Katie says.

‘Yeah, these abandoned stretches of city and countryside where there aren’t any Imps or Gems. But they never made it. The Gem authorities tracked them down and lifted them from their little boat.’

‘You see,’ Katie says. ‘It’s like I said at Comic-Con, the government’s always the baddie in dystopian fiction, it’s so predictable.’

‘Katie, focus,’ Nate says.

I rush to the end, avoiding the dreaded hanging word. ‘Then Willow declares his love for Rose at the Gallows Dance. The crowd turn, they pull down the gallows, a revolution is sparked.’

‘How long until the next Gallows Dance?’ Katie asks.

‘One week from now,’ Nate answers.

‘One week?’ Katie says incredulously. ‘This all happens in one week?’

We nod. Katie’s got a point. It sounds so ridiculous, and I suddenly feel completely inadequate. How can I possibly make all this happen? How can I possibly be like Rose?