Camilla runs into Emily's classmates.

Camilla lost track of time as she wandered the convention hall alone. She made a few purchases, but nothing major. Her heart just wasn't in it anymore. As the time dragged on like a nerd-stinking gray blur, Camilla wondered if she had ruined conventions for herself forever by forcing Emily to tag along. It just wasn't a good idea, in hindsight. She had pushed too hard for too long. It was no wonder that Emily had shown her up with her own costume. Camilla had been nothing but a nag to her daughter.

Eventually she straightened herself out. She couldn't just complain in her own head for the rest of the day. She had paid good money to be here and invested a lot of time into putting her costume, and it was a damn good costume! Camilla found her way to a mirror, straightened out her black long-legged romper, and tossed her hand through the fake blonde hair of her wig. The whole look fell apart under a bit of scrutiny, but at least Camilla knew that she looked damn sexy. All these nerds HAD to have been looking at her.

And they were! She was careful not to make too much eye contact, but she spent several hours roaming about, taking pictures with her 'fans' and watching them watch her. For the first time in years, she felt like she was desirable again. Why couldn't her husband look at her the same way that these nerds did? It just wasn't fair. But at least she was finally getting her due.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Camilla nearly bumped into someone she recognized-- those boys that Emily had been talking to earlier, from her high school. A part of her, the suburban mom part, wanted her to go over there and talk to them, see how they were enjoying the convention. Maybe that way she would get to learn something about how Emily's classmates viewed her.