Page 71 of Marked By Shadows

“I’ve not heard any updates,” Freya said.

“The police didn’t say anything when they were here,” Julie added. “They just took Melissa with them. I wonder if they think she did something.”

“Melissa would never hurt Byrony. Didn’t they find Joe already?” Nicole asked.

“Let’s not dissolve into that mess again,” Freya interrupted. “We’ll find out more when we find out more. For now, let’s focus on food and the evening cosplay.”

There was a grumble of agreement.

“Let me run over the rules for all of you while you eat,” Freya said taking her place at the head of the table. Alex nudged me and pointed in the direction of the doorway to the craft room, was the cat back? I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe last night had been a fluke.

“Is the cat there?” I whispered.

“Yes, but she’s a normal looking cat right now.”

I sucked in a relieved breath and focused on Freya and the rules for the upcoming event.

Chapter 21

“Everyone will be broken up into pairs,” Freya began. “To create an even number, I’ll be joining in.”

“I apologize ahead of time to whomever I’m paired with,” Alex said. “My sewing skills are minimal so far.”

“But his imagination and enthusiasm is unlimited,” I added, patting his hand.

“The objective is to create not one, but two identifiable costumes,” Freya continued. “Fully wearable. Judgement will be made on a list of criteria, including workmanship, design, innovation, originality, accuracy, and overall balance.” She passed out copies of a piece of paper which had a list and boxes to check with a one through ten option. “We are peer judged as always. Meaning once the time is up, everyone gets a little runway show and gives score. Ten points to the best in each category. Then we’ll add everything up to designate prizes.”

“Are we winning as a group then?” Jonah wanted to know. “How does that go for prizes?”

“Yes, wins are considered group wins. First place gets first choice from the table, and down the list. Hopefully no one will fight over anything in particular. There are a lot of great items on the table,” Freya said.

There was a murmur of agreement.

“What’s our timeline?” I asked.

“We begin at seven,” Freya glanced up at the clock. It was twenty ‘til. “Then we have until ten to complete our projects. I will allow for an extra ten minutes to put them on and ready for the presentation, that includes adding makeup or hairstyling.”

“Not much time for hairstyling,” Nicole said.

“Or makeup,” Julie agreed.

Freya nodded, “All part of the planning. As always, think ahead, plan, converse, and prepare. We all know that final stop in time comes faster than any of us realize.”

“No kidding,” Chad agreed.

“Costumes should also be solid enough to wear tomorrow,” MaryAnn added. “The company offering up the fabric and a lot of the prizes wants us to do a little walk through show tomorrow afternoon. It’s nothing but a runway type thing in which they will briefly talk about the fabrics used, but keep in mind they do want to see them.”

“So we’ll be wearing these in public tomorrow?” Alex asked, his eyes going huge.

“Yes, but only for a few minutes. They have a changing area in the back of their booth so you won’t have to spend the whole day in costume,” MaryAnn answered.

“This is so cool,” Nicole said.

“One of our best contests ever,” Julie added.

“I have so many ideas,” Jonah said.

Freya got up and went into the kitchen returning with an empty mug and a sheet of paper. “Let’s draw our partners then. Alex, since you’re the newest to the group, how about you go first?”