Les Tales

by Nikki Rashan Skyy

  “Honey, are you all right?” Nia’s voice filled my car.

  It hit me that it had really happened. I started to cry again. “I can’t come. I can’t.”

  “Oh, hell no, you are coming!” Cree said, jumping in. “Fuck that ugly bitch. You deserve better. You are going to meet us in Atlanta, and we are going to take your mind off of her mud duck ass.”

  “Yeah, girl, you need your friends, and we want to be there for you. In fact, I think you should go ahead and take that bus out tonight and come on.” Nia was much more sensitive.

  “Yeah, I’m flying in tomorrow, and before you know it, you won’t even be thinking about her,” Cree added.

  “But I don’t want to ruin you guys’ weekend,” I sobbed.

  “Please! You are going to meet Ursula. Trust me, once you see her, nothing else is going to matter,” Cree said.

  I thought about what they were saying. I had been preparing for this trip for months and had spent hundreds gearing up for it. This might be the only chance for me to meet my TV idol. I looked at the clock in my car. I had one hour to get to the bus station to catch the last bus to Atlanta.

  “Fuck it. I’m gonna catch this bus. I’ll talk to y’all later.” I hung up to cheers from my friends. Nothing was going to make me miss meeting Ursula, not even a cheating girlfriend.

  The bus ride was just what I needed. It was a good thing there were only about ten other passengers on the bus. I got a good seat at the front of the bus, one of the few seats that had a table connected to it. I put on my iPod playlist of emotional songs and spent the whole seven hours crying on and off. We made our final stop in Birmingham before arriving in Atlanta. I knew I needed some time to myself, so I hopped on Hotwire and reserved one night at the Westin Hotel in Atlanta, one of the hotels hosting the convention.

  It was unusually cool for a summer night in Atlanta. I walked into the Westin to see WELCOME DRAGON CON signs hanging everywhere. It was like a ghost town in the hotel. I knew that in a few hours the hotel would be filled with costumed men and women, all ready for the convention weekend to start. I was happy for the quiet. I didn’t unpack my bags. I took my clothes off and headed to the famous Heavenly Bath the Westin was known for. I got in the shower and let the water hit my hair. I didn’t care about letting my natural curls show. I dried off and put on the robe that was hanging in the closet. I sat on my bed and closed my eyes. I just wanted to sleep and forget about my day.

  I heard my phone blaring. Cree and Nia were chatting it up in the group FB chat we shared. I turned the notifications off. I knew that starting tomorrow, my overprotective friends weren’t going to let me out of their sight. Just as I was putting my phone down, it began to ring. Ciara’s face popped up on my screen.

  I pressed ACCEPT. I couldn’t speak. I held the phone.

  “Temple.”

  Hearing her say my name broke my heart. I struggled to respond. “What?”

  “Why won’t you answer the door? We need to talk.”

  “I’m not home.”

  “Where are you?”

  “That’s none of your concern anymore.”

  “Temple, please. I just want to apologize.” Ciara almost sounded sincere.

  “You already did that. Anything else?” I could feel the anger starting to set back in.

  Ciara sighed. “You really want to act like that?”

  “Hey, it is what it is. Obviously, you did what you did because you wanted to. There isn’t anything to talk about. So, like I said before, you go be with her and I’ll be here in Atlanta with my weirdos.”

  “You’re in Atlanta?” Ciara was shocked.

  I didn’t respond.

  Ciara then let out a chuckle. “Well, then, have fun. I won’t bother you.”

  I hung up the phone. I knew there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t wrap my mind around why she would chose to cheat, and with someone of such low quality, just because I was into things she didn’t get. I was a geek and a fangirl, and I didn’t think I needed to apologize for that. I knew it was something she didn’t get, but I had never expected her to cheat on me because of it. I got angrier when I thought of all the things I had put up with from her. I hated the smell of weed, but I had let her smoke it in my house. I didn’t understand the fascination with watching every basketball game that came on TV, yet I had constantly watched the smaller bedroom TV when my shows came on, because she needed the fifty-five-inch for her games. I had never made her go to see movies with me, yet I had always found myself at action movies, which I couldn’t care less about.

  It hit me that I was in a one-sided relationship. I could give and give, but she wasn’t willing to give in return. I hated that I had just wasted ten months of my life on a person who didn’t deserve ten minutes of my time. I opened the Facebook chat.

  Made it to Atlanta. At the Westin, room 1919. Going to bed. See y’all later.

  I put my phone on silent and turned the TV on. I flipped through the channels until I saw a familiar face. There stood Ursula in her Greek attire. It was a rerun of one of my favorite episodes of Olympus. I knew then that I was where I needed to be. In a few hours I was going to finally meet Ursula, and all would be right in the world again.

  Chapter 2

  The sound of a man yelling “Whooo, whooo” in the hallway woke me up. I heard someone knocking on my door. I dragged myself out of the bed and cracked the door open. I saw Nia standing there, looking like Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. I couldn’t help but smile. This was my first time actually meeting her, and she was as flawless in person as she was in her pictures online. The dress was identical to the one in the actual cartoon movie.

  “I heard that a little girl was in need of some beignets and a kiss from a prince.” She smiled and held up a plush frog version of Prince Naveen. I grabbed the frog from her and walked back in the room. I climbed back in bed, holding the frog.

  Nia sat on the edge of my bed. She put her hand on the covers, right where my leg was.

  “You okay, sis?” Her soft voice was comforting.

  “I’m all right. I guess I should be getting up and heading to registration.”

  “Yeah, it’s crazy out there. I already checked into our room at the Marriott, so we can head over and take your stuff. I can’t believe you got this room just for a few hours. You totally could have come to my house.”

  I forced myself back out of the bed. I gave her back her frog and headed toward the bathroom. “Well, I needed a little bit of alone time.”

  “I understand. Well, Cree just touched down a bit ago, so by the time we get over to the Marriott, she shouldn’t be too far behind.”

  I popped my head out of the bathroom. “Cool. I might as well take my shower here and at least get some of my money’s worth out of the room.”

  I showered, put on my travel clothes from earlier, and grabbed my bags. We headed out of the room to find the elevator area already crowded with people. Immediately people wanted pictures with Nia in her costume. I snapped photos of her with guys dressed like the Mario Brothers. We got in one of the elevators, which quickly filled to capacity. I looked around to see the Mario Brothers, a fairy, and a guy in full metal armor from the Halo video game.

  I started to laugh. “Only at Dragon Con would I be in this type of elevator.”

  The crowd in the elevator laughed, knowing I was right. I knew the weekend was going to be great.

  It took longer than expected to walk from the Westin to the Marriott Marquis due to the crowd and the number of people trying to have their photo taken with Nia. I joked that I was her assistant as I held her bag while she posed like she was an actual Disney princess at Disney World. We finally made it to our room, where I set my bags down and proceeded to pull out my Princess Jasmine costume. I knew that the major costumes would be saved for the big panel with the Olympus cast tomorrow.

  I was working on my Jasmine ponytail when there was a knock on the door. Nia opened it, and I heard a squeal as Cree ran in and d
ropped her bags on the floor.

  “Oh my God. I just saw a bunch of Roman gladiators. I am in heaven!” She hugged Nia. “I’m so excited.”

  “Oh, that’s nothing. Wait till later, when they are all out at the after-hours parties,” Nia said as she picked up one of Cree’s bags. Cree was the only one of us who had never been to Dragon Con before.

  “Hey, girl,” Cree said as she hugged me. “You okay?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Well, you look good. Shit. You are wearing that Jasmine costume.” Cree started to open one of her garment bags. “Well, since we are doing Disney today, I guess I’ll get into this.”

  We both were shocked and ecstatic to see that Cree actually had a Pocahontas outfit. She had fought us like crazy about doing anything else girlie besides Aphrodite. An hour later we were all dressed as Disney princesses.

  We headed toward the registration area, which was at the Hyatt. The convention was being held at a group of hotels in the downtown area of Atlanta. We got stopped by other con goers, as well as by others in town for various events on Labor Day weekend. Not only was it Dragon Con, but Atlanta was also holding host to LudaDay Weekend, two major college football games, a baseball game, gay pride weekend, and countless family reunions. Guys in college jerseys called out to us, trying to get our attention, as we walked to the Hyatt. We made it to the end of the line. Cree was shocked by the line, which wrapped around the side of the building. We quickly let her know that it wasn’t as nearly as bad as it would be tomorrow.

  The one thing you knew to expect at conventions was lines. Even with the long line, time flew by as we took pictures with other con goers. Cree and Nia made sure to take as many photos with hot guys as possible. It was a little odd being the gay girl with the straight girls, but they made sure to make me feel as comfortable as possible by pointing out all the attractive women they thought I should try to talk to.

  After an hour and a half of waiting in line, we finally made it through registration. We got our laminated cardboard membership badges and purchased lanyards to replace the little clips that were provided with the badges. We walked to the lobby of the hotel and sat down to rest a bit before heading back out.

  “Did you guys know Billy Dee Williams is going to be here too?” Nia said as she flipped through the schedule book. “Would it be crazy for me to go to the panel just so I can hold up a twenty-dollar bill and ask him if he’s gonna make my arm fall off?” We all laughed.

  “I think he would welcome questions about anything other than Star Wars. Let’s add it to our list.” I pushed the star on my official app for the convention to add it to my program on my phone.

  “Can we discuss something that’s actually important, like the fact that I am going to finally get to be eye to eye with Les?” Cree’s face was very serious. She was the fangirl of Les more than anyone else. She followed not only him as Zeus, but also a show called Liason, which was about being an assassin and which had had its final season a few months earlier. “I can’t wait till he sees me in my Lexi costume.” Cree was in impeccable shape. On top of winning an actual costume from Olympus, she had also won an auction for one of the bodysuits worn by a woman on the show.

  “I can’t wait to see his reaction, either,” Nia added. “We should probably head back to the room so you can get into your costume for his solo panel today.”

  “I can’t wait for the panel tomorrow. OMG, I’m going to see Ursula.” I was giddy again.

  “Yep, tomorrow is going to be epic,” Cree added. “Now, let me go get ready for my man.”

  As we stood up, my phone began to ring. I looked at it and saw Ciara’s face again. I sighed. Cree saw my expression and grabbed my phone. Before I could say anything, she had pressed ACCEPT.

  “Temple is busy right now,” Cree growled. “What do you want? I don’t really care. Look, you sorry excuse of a woman, you don’t know my ass. I am from Detroit, and I will come to Memphis and rain hell on your ass.”

  I grabbed the phone from her.

  “What?” I said.

  “So you gonna let your little friends talk to me like that? You don’t even know those girls like that.”

  “Ciara, what do you want?”

  “I’m coming to Atlanta. We need to talk.”

  “Don’t bring your ass here.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Oh, yes, please bring your ass here. Please do.” Cree was pacing back and forth and throwing her hands up as she talked.

  “We need to talk,” Ciara said.

  “Damn it. You have already hurt me, and now you are trying to ruin my weekend too. Don’t come here. And I’m not answering your calls anymore, so stop calling.” I threw my phone on the chair and stormed off.

  Cree and Nia caught up with me. I didn’t want to talk about it. I let the convention consume me as we walked back to our hotel. Cree and Nia played along, not bringing up what had happened. I didn’t care that I didn’t have my phone. I would be just fine not hearing it for the rest of the weekend.

  We sat in the room as Cree changed into her catsuit. Nia and I pulled out our seventies vixens for the rest of the day. I let my naturally curly hair poof up in the Afro it got, while Nia opted to wear a blond wig. I had on a multicolored one-piece jumpsuit, while she rocked super-short shorts with a halter top. We added fake guns and looked like we were Foxy Brown rip-offs.

  There was an unexpected knock on the door. Nia let us know her friends Carlos and Jason were meeting us to go to the panel. I opened the door to find a six-two, handsome, dark-skinned fellow in a baby blue suit, with an Afro, and a shorter, brown-skinned guy wearing tight bell-bottoms and rollers in his hair.

  “Hey, Mama. What’s the word?” said Carlos, the taller guy, as he held up the black power sign.

  “Hello, Black Dynamite and Cream Corn.” I smiled, loving his costume. I knew instantly who he was supposed to be from the suit.

  “What’s happening, Mama? And you are?” He held his hand out to give me a handshake.

  “I am Temple.”

  His facial expression changed. “Damn, all the fine ones are gay.”

  I playfully hit him as they walked in the room. They both felt like olds friend instantly. Carlos greeted Nia and continued to talk just like he was Black Dynamite.

  “Okay, are y’all ready?” Cree yelled from the bathroom.

  We yelled at her to come out. She walked out of the bathroom, and all our mouths dropped. The suit looked like it was painted on her body. The middle was cut out, showing off her abs, which I could only dream of having. She obviously didn’t skimp on the wig, either, which hung straight down her back. She was identical to the character on the show.

  “Girl, he is going to lose his mind,” I said and smiled.

  Cree smiled. She was ready to claim what was hers.

  The line was shorter than we had expected it would be when we arrived at the ballroom. We knew we would get good seats. We all laughed at Carlos and Jason, who never seemed to break character. People asked to take pictures of us. We all took on personalities, striking various poses, ones you would see on the covers of old seventies movie posters.

  “So you are telling me your girlfriend was mad that you like to cosplay?” Carlos asked me as we stood in line.

  “Yeah, well, that I like all things geeky.”

  “I think that’s like the best thing ever in a woman.”

  “You would think that, wouldn’t you?”

  The usher for the ballroom told us to file into the room. We lucked out, getting seats in the fourth row, but this didn’t make Cree happy, because she wanted the front row. We convinced her that she would get his attention better when she asked her question at the question podium.

  Once everyone had been ushered in, the moderator for the panel came out in front of the curtain. We all clapped as he introduced Les Moore. Les came walking out, holding one of the prop guns he used on the show. Even I couldn’t help realizing how gorgeous the man was. Cree excused hersel
f the second they called for questions. We listened as Les answered stupid questions from people who lacked originality. There were the usual questions, like What costume would he wear if he attended a convention? And Was there anything he looked forward to seeing? He joked about the things he had heard about Dragon Con after dark, and said he hoped to hit a party or two.

  We watched as his eyes suddenly widened. He leaned forward in his chair.

  “Lexi, it’s you!” Les pointed at the person in line.

  We turned to see Cree standing there with the microphone in her hand. She held up her gun.

  “Oh my God, that is amazing,” he gushed. “I mean, goodness, you look more like Lexi than Heather, the actual actress. Goodness, you look like you could kick my ass.” The crowd was loving it.

  “I’d take that challenge,” Cree said, flirting, causing both Nia and me to clap for our friend.

  After the crowd calmed down, Cree asked the first good question of the panel. Les discussed his feelings about the final show and revealed how emotional it was to watch the final episode. When he was finished, Cree started walking back toward us. Les stood up and held his arms out, motioning for her to come onstage. We were shocked and the crowd went wild as Cree walked up on the stage and hugged Les. The hug lingered, and he asked her something that made her laugh. She finally came back to her seat.

  “OMG. I can’t believe that happened,” Nia whispered. “I’ve never seen anyone get called onstage before.”

  “Me either.” I was equally excited. “What did he say to you?”

  “He said I looked amazing.” Cree couldn’t hold back her smile. “I can’t believe I just hugged Les.”

  “You lucky bitch!” Nia hit Cree on her leg. We giggled before finally focusing on the final bit of the panel.

  After the panel we headed back to the bar at the Marriott. The Marriott was party central for the crazy after hours of Dragon Con. There were parties in all the ballrooms, not to mention the mini parties that people threw in their rooms. This was the major thing that separated Dragon Con from all the other major conventions. It was a twenty-four-hour party. At night raves lasted till six in the morning. People hung out and drank and took pictures. Also, the costumes got more risqué after hours. A normal Poison Ivy costume would no longer require a leotard, but just some green body paint and ivy leaves. Men rocked crazy getups, some walking around with just towels and nothing else on.