Imperfect

Comic Con

The day came and I was shaking with excitement. Springing out of bed, I practically ran to the shower. I had made sure to wash my hair the night before so time wouldn't be wasted in drying it. I began to pull on my Grace Falcon outfit, his love interest in the Exile Watch film. Jamie was helping me do up my corset, whilst I wrestled with the faux leather trousers and boots. One final check in my full length mirror confirmed everything was in place and I grinned. This was definitely one of the best cosplay's I had ever pulled off. A wolf whistle rang out in my room and I smiled at Jamie.

"That boy would be an idiot not to notice you in this girl." He started fussing over a few stray hairs that were peeking out from under my wig. He stepped back to give me one final look over. "Perfect." He said beaming at me. I threw my arms around his middle and squeezed him tightly.

"Thank you for helping today. Honestly my hands are so shaky there's no way I would have been able to do my eyeliner without you!"

"Just the eyeliner huh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And the wig, and the corset, and you know, just generally being ready for everything!" He nodded smugly at me.

"That's more like it, and you're welcome. I wish I could come with you! Make sure you take tons of pictures. I wanna live vicariously through you when I get home tonight!" I gave Jamie another hug and grabbed my beat up old rucksack, which I had stuffed with all my extra props, and tickets.

I was glad I set off early, but it was nine am and the traffic was at a standstill. Apparently there was a rugby game on in Cardiff too which just made matters worse. I turned the radio up when the music for the news report came on.

"Traffic is still at a standstill on the M4, and it's building. This is largely due to the rugby game, and of course comic con." I sighed, "currently there is no movement between junction twenty seven and twenty eight due to roadworks on the roundabout at the Newport exit, and people can expect up to a two hour wait." I knew I should have left at seven rather than eight. We moved a car length. The clouds started rolling in and little specks of rain started appearing on my windscreen. This really was the last thing I needed. The traffic was moving, but still at a snail's pace. I still had an hour and a half to get there before the meet and greet started.

Suddenly a miracle seemed to happen. The traffic started moving, and eventually I was really speeding up. I saw junction twenty nine and that was my cue to get off the motorway.

I found a multi story car park relatively close to the  Motorpoint arena and pulled in. Half an hour to go. My car slowly crept around each level as I was looking for a parking space.

"Yes!" A car pulled out from their space in front of me. Grabbing my rucksack, I exited the car quickly.

After a short walk, the arena appeared in view and I couldn't stop a huge smile spreading across my face. I walked up to the entrance and after a flash of my ticket and a quick bag search, I was in. It was so busy and colourful and I was in awe. There were many different stands. Some for comic books, some for independent artists, memorabilia from all kinds of movies and most of all, hundreds of fans, just like me. A comic book stand caught my eye, and my body instinctively moved towards it.

"Hey your costume is amazing!" The slender man behind the stall was staring at me. I checked to make sure he was definitely talking to me.

"Thanks! I made a lot of it myself!" I responded cheerfully. I was so glad my Mum had taught me to sew, this costume had been a labour of love, and I had sacrificed a lot of time money and effort to get it looking as close to the character as I could.

"Let me guess, Grace Falcon, from The Exile Watch, right?" He asked, a slight smug look on his face. I nodded and grinned at him.

"Guilty as charged! She's my favourite character. She manages to be this strong independent woman who takes no crap from anyone, and I aspire to be like that one day!" I beamed. We both shared a laugh. It felt good to finally be in a room with people who spoke my language. No one in my every day life really understood why I enjoyed comic books, anime, and reading as much as I did. Jamie was a fan of the comic book movies, but not the actual comics. No one expected me to be into these fantasy worlds that I loved. Especially because my job was based more on logic and maths.