“Well, I think he’s a long way from that,” Fatima said.
“You can give him my details,” I said. “I don’t have any experience, but if it’s a gaming shop, maybe I’d actually enjoy it.”
“Yeah, for sure,” she said with a smile before pulling out her phone and taking a picture of the character drawing up on my tablet in front of her. She spent a few seconds looking down and typing before setting her phone face-down on the table. “Done.”
The slight buzz of excitement mostly washed away the lingering embarrassment I’d felt. I’d only ever drawn for myself, so I’d be shocked if he wanted me for the job, and even more shocked if I could actually manage to do it. But at least it was something different – something that wasn’t a spreadsheet or a cold call. Maybe it would even be worth some more XP.
* * *
By the timeI got home that evening and sat down on the sofa with dinner – a poor attempt at a one-pot curry that had actually required a chopping board, a mixing bowl, andtwopots, since the first one I chose ended up being way too small – I had three emails waiting in my personal inbox. Well, four if you counted the one from the cosplay shop that kept emailing me after I downloaded a PDF from them called “The Perfect Guide to Ren Faire Layering”. But three that actually needed my attention.
The first was from Jared’s colleague.Damn, that was fast, I said, opening it up.
Hey Morgan! I’m Greg, Jared’s work mate.
Fatima sent the picture you drew, and I think it’s really cool - exactly the style I’m going for. I’m looking for something cool like an axe, or a sword and shield, or something that conveys combat since a lot of the shop will be minis. Also would be cool to have a D20 involved somehow? The shop will be called “Game On!” which I know isn’t that original, but it does what it says on the tin I guess.
The catch is that I don’t have much of a budget for this - £500 max really. I know that’s not a lot for a professional logo, so if you can’t do it, I totally understand. But if you’re interested, let me know and I can maybe send you a deposit? What do you think? However you would want to work. And if not, no worries, really.
Cheers,
Greg
I blinked at the email on my laptop. Five hundred British pounds? For drawing swords and axes, something I did for fun? Hell yes, I wanted to do it. I balanced my bowl of curry on the sofa – risky business, but my feet were occupying the free space on the coffee table – and was typing a reply almost immediately.
Hi Greg, nice to meet you!
I’m sure Fatima said, but I don’t have freelance experience. That said, this project sounds great! I can make that budget work, and it sounds right up my alley. What’s your timeline? Let me know and we can get started. Maybe you can send over some other images you like? And a deposit sounds good - let’s say £100 up front and the rest when we’re done? Let me know.
Speak soon,
Morgan
PS - I think Game On! is great! Like you said, does what it says on the tin. And I love a bit of friendly competition.
I wasn’t sure if I was completely off base asking for twenty percent up front, but I didn’t care; I would have done it for free as a creative exercise. So I hit send and did a little happy dance, almost sending my bowl of curry sliding to the floor, but I caught it in time with my free hand.
I let myself finish my dinner before turning my attention to the second email, which was from Mum. She sent them roughly once a month, letting me know where she’d been and where she was headed. She’d left Big Sur and was staying in San Luis Obispo, where she was taking a yoga instructor certification course for the next few weeks. I closed the email out without replying.
The last email was from Cara’s mum. She’d attached the listing for the house, which had apparently gone live a couple of days ago. She also had a block of time over the weekend that the estate agent wanted to show some people around.
I sighed and looked around me; I’d thought I might have more time to figure things out, but it seemed things would move quite quickly. I shouldn’t have been surprised, really; I’d been spending enough time browsing listings myself. I needed to make peace with the fact that I would have to give up my little home sooner rather than later.
Suddenly I was overwhelmed by a wave of nostalgia. I missed Cara. I missed when things were predictable, and safe, and I wasn’t being kicked out of my house and rejected on mountaintops and forced to cook myself horrible dinners. I missed my friend, and I missed what life was like when she was with me.
I picked up the phone to ring her. We hadn’t actually managed to catch up properly since she’d left, but was clear from her sporadic texts and her less sporadic Instagram stories that she was having the time of her life. I didn’t want to be the needy friend. But I really did need her in that moment.
I tried not to be surprised when it rang through to voicemail. And even though I stared at my phone for a solid five minutes after hanging up, she didn’t ring or text back. I thought about texting Chloe, or maybe even Jack, but instead I just grabbed a book I’d already read and let myself get sucked into the adventure there. At least I knew how it ended.
Chapter15
Morgan
Afew days later, I was relieved that nothing seemed to have come of the viewings that had happened over the weekend. I also hadn’t had a response from Cara at all, despite texting her the following day to see if she was doing okay, but I tried not to let that get to me. Because what I did have was a costume for the Ren Faire.
Or, well, a concept for one.
I’d messaged Phil separately to the rest of the group; my idea was a bit unorthodox for a Ren Faire, and I wasn’t sure if he’d be up for it. But I’d been so inspired by an outfit the character had worn in the fantasy book I’d been reading that I couldn’t help but draw it after I’d closed the book.
