schlatt (+lunch club) : babysitter

twenty three +

life in austin is so much easier.

get up, get dressed, check social media, stream, talk with sponsors, water plants, go out with the other streamers.

i moved out of the new house pretty quickly because money started rolling in and i found myself a pretty nice place near miz and maya that i can get used to.

living alone seems like how i need to be. i'm happier than ever when it's just me in my house, nobody else to worry about. nobody else to clean up after. nobody else to take my spot on the couch. beat me at video games, grab me dinner, argue with ...

it's for the better though, really. i shouldn't miss la, i'm happier now. that's behind me.

mizkif and maya hold all these parties where i meet so many other streamers and become such a part of the community. hasan (awooga), lud, qt, nick, malena, poki. even connor lives down here. finally we could meet often, rather than just talk over the phone all the time. and everyone knows so much about me these days, it's strange.

the most surprising thing is that they actually like me. i'm the "nice streamer" who people rely on and come to for advice and a smile. i guess all those years in hospital made me more appreciative of the world outside of it.

lunch club becomes quite a distant memory.

i credit them when people ask where i came from, and i always chat to ted and charlie but ... it's been months since i've even heard about schlatt. i just remember seeing him in the waves back in la; a memory.

i try not to remember that night before i left. i hate to hurt people, but i know staying with him would just hurt him more. i know it would.

streaming really picked up in the pandemic. millions of people stuck in their homes just looking for something to watch. it ended up being beneficial for this new career where other careers suffered. my salary increased more and more with each sub and donation.

i've started even paying my own medical bills, completely living off myself instead of relying on my family. nurse jo is proudest of me. i told her all about everything and she's followed my career with her usual warm heart and enthusiasm, always there for me when i need her. and streaming has become my life over that crazy year.

and then when things opened up again, i could irl stream pretty fast because i'm pretty high risk and got my shots early. i often join in with the other big streamers in milking each other for content. say what you will about it's social effects, it works out well in terms of content.

i still stream most commonly at home though, in my cute little setup covered with plants and bamboo furniture. the norm for me is i just stream for a couple hours in the middle of the day to check on chat, game etc. sometimes i'll do late night streams in the dark and just sit with chat while they're all awake. that seems to be the norm for lots of young people and all my viewers are just insomniacs it seems. just like me.

tomorrow, maya and miz plan to have a party with people like minx and connor, so i've agreed to come.

between those two, maya is the one ive gotten closest with. she seems to be really trying her best to be kind and i appreciate it. i mean hell, she founded a non-profit to save animals. how much nicer can you get?

i'll often help her out there because it's getting so big she needs it. we spent today doing the usual rounds, feeding the emu, horses, donkeys, chickens, parrots etc. (i have a real soft spot for the emu) but all day i seemed to be coughing and weaker than usual. i try hard to brush it off, but it's worse than i thought. normally i'd run around with stompy or even go riding but something about me feels off today. when the time comes to leave i'm more relieved than i care to admit.

"it's not covid though, right?" she questions me as we drive back to our neighbourhood.
"no, no. i did a test this morning and i'm all vaccinated up. it's probably just dust or something minor." i respond, fighting the thoughts at the back of my mind.
"yeah, i hope it's not bad. party's tomorrow and it's suck if you weren't there. and also matt wants to use you minx and connor for content." she laughs and i chuckle a little.
"ah yeah.. he can milk views from connor and i playing mario kart."

"oh speaking of connor, apparently he's got a new roommate that matt knows too. don't you know him?" she says, gesturing one hand around while the other sits on the wheel.
i furrow my eyebrows, "no i don't think so .. connor would have told me surely?"
"i dunno." she says in a silly voice and shrugs.
"hm..."

she drops me at my place and rushes off to meet miz somewhere for dinner or something. and i'm left alone again.

i do my usual routine. food, chill, game. if i'm bored after that, i just go watering my little jungle of plants. these days i can have more and more of all sorts. since i'm not always away now, plant care has become a fact of life.

my phone buzzes.

"hello?"
"y/n!" it's connor.
"hey conar you need me?" i smile.
"yeah i need you on this game. i'm gonna get in some kart practice. i wanna beat this ... my new roommate guy."
"oh sure. i'll teach you my skills."
"you're a real one, y/n."
"we streaming this?"
"no no, keep it off the books. this is training time."
"you coming tomorrow?"
"hell yeah. haven't gotten sloshed with you in weeks. you gotta bring the whiskey."
"oh i will." i chuckle.

after a couple rounds of mario kart with connor just like the old days, i decide to go through a couple instagram message requests. ludwig did a video on reviewing them and i wondered if mine would be pg enough to review on stream.

a bunch of them are just fans sending in random memes that make me chuckle. these things just seem to be so much funnier at 2:30am. one sends a really sweet message, so i reply to them with a little <3 just to thank them. then i find one from

jschlatt.

he has instagram? this must've been him trying to message me back when we were in la ...

but it's from 2 minutes ago.

i shouldn't open it.

no, i should.

no, i shouldn't ...

i tap it.

jschlatt
i thought of texting you something cheesy like

"good morning, i can't sleep"

but then i remembered you're not a part of my new life, and i'm not part of yours.

im doing fine alone and you're doing fine with whatever it is your doing now, and that's okay.

but

good morning

i can't sleep.