Amelia sat in the backseat, feeling the weight of the secret pressing on her chest. She saw Tabitha watching her in the rearview mirror.
“So,” Tabitha said, pretending to be casual. “VIM? Really? What would you even do on a stream? Diagnose hamsters?”
Amelia laughed, grateful for the distraction. “Oh God, no. If I streamed vet stuff, people would cry. Or sue.”
“Then what?”
Amelia bit her lip. She couldn’t tell the truth… Not about the bee costume or the clumsy persona. But she could share a piece of it.
“…Cosplay,” she admitted.
Tabitha blinked. “You?”
Amelia nodded, brushing invisible lint off her cardigan. “In high school. And a little in college. I had phases. Lucy Heartfilia. Nami. Sakura. Sometimes all three if the con was a multi-day thing.”
“What?” Tabitha croaked.
“Oh! And once I tried to go as Zelda,” Amelia continued, leaning forward. “Except the costume company sent me a ‘Sexy Female Link’ outfit because they thought the guy in green was Zelda.”
Tabitha stared. “No.”
“Yes,” Amelia said, hand to heart. “Spent the whole convention explaining I wasn’t Rule 63 Link. I was just a victim of bad customer service.”
Something shifted in Tabitha’s eyes. She’d found a hidden menu.
Tabitha let out an involuntary snort. “Oh my God.”
Amelia smiled. “So… if VIM wanted me to stream? I’d probably do some anime reviews while in cosplay. Something fun. Something stupid.”
Tabitha stared at her for a full beat. Amelia saw the shift in her eyes – the realization that “Cardigan Nice” wasn’t the whole story.
Chase slid back into the passenger seat with a long exhale.
“Well,” he said. “Vincenzo is…elaborate.”
“That’s one word for it,” Tabitha said.
“He means well,” Amelia added softly, as if reminding herself. “He just… makes everything sound like camping.”
Tabitha gave a confused look.
With a quirky grin Amelia said, “In Tents… Intense.”
A mild look of disgust flashed on Tabitha’s face as she looked between them. “So you two are really considering VIM.”
Chase shrugged. “It’s a maybe.”
“A heavy maybe,” Amelia added. “We’re just… trying to stay afloat. Things are tight. This could help.”
Tabitha swallowed. “Okay.” She didn’t sound so much convinced, as decided.
Chase nodded, oblivious to the fact that they had just confirmed Tabitha’s worst fears about sugar traps. “Alright. Parallel parking. Attempt two.”
***
After dropping Tabitha off (she managed to park without hitting a mailbox, though Chase claimed his blood pressure would never recover), they drove in silence for a few blocks.
“That went well,” Amelia said.
“She drives like she’s angry at the pavement,” Chase muttered.
“She’s nineteen, Chase. Everything makes her angry.”
Chase’s phone buzzed again. A text from Vincenzo.
Come by HQ. We need to sync. Bring your A-game.
Chase sighed. “No breaks for us.”
“At least we know where the brake pedal is,” Amelia said, patting his shoulder.
Chase turned the car onto the highway toward VIM Headquarter. “I have a feeling Vincenzo doesn’t believe in brakes.”