CHAPTER THREE

160K 6.3K 1K
                                    


Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

CHAPTER THREE

"What should I do?" I feel like my airways are beginning to close and I can't breathe.

"Breathe before you pass out!" Lucy quickly replies.

Taking a deep breath, I reach for a chair and take a seat. I press my face against the desk and lock my gaze on a section of children's books from the library. I allow my eyes to wander over the bright colours as I focus on getting air into my lungs.

Lucy takes a seat beside me and patiently watches with a curious gaze. She appears thoughtful which makes me wonder about her thoughts.

"So?" I prompt. "What should I do?"

"I bet you want to delete the video and of course, it's your choice. However, if that was me, I'd take advantage of the opportunity being presented to you."

"Deleting the video sounds nice, but there are copies of it everywhere." I frown.

That's one thing I wasn't thinking of; the internet if forever. I could never post again, or I could keep going. My stomach churns at that idea, but Lucy is right about opportunities. Some people spend their whole life trying and here I am, famous overnight.

"You look like you've decided." Lucy laughs.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep going?" I shrug. "I just need to work on worrying less."

"Just keep practising; you can only get better with time."

"Thank you for being supportive." I smile.

"I just wish I was there to hold your hand as you uploaded the video," she murmurs.

"You were with me in thought and that has to count for something," I reply.

"Now that you've decided, it's time that you joined the world of social media."

"Oh boy, this sounds worrisome." I nervously chuckle.

We download the Twitter app and create an account with a similar username. I tweak the profile setting and then link it to my YouTube. It doesn't take long for the world to notice because the follower count drastically increases.

When I hit a million followers within the hour, everything hits me like a ton of bricks. I'm famous or at least my voice is.

"What should be my first post?" I question.

"You could thank them for their support or give them an update on when the next video will be out," she suggests.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." I nod.

My first tweet is an announcement for my next video which will be on Saturday. Now that I've committed myself to it, the pressure sets in. If I can't follow my own words, nobody will believe me when it counts.

There are thousands of messages flooding my notifications which brings a smile to my face. I'm only able to reply to a handful before I'm being forced to shuffle to my next class.

I slip my phone into my pocket and wander down the hall with Lucy by my side. We wander into the gym and straight into the lockers to meet our sport teacher. When we arrive, I find a variety of students consumed by their phones including the teacher.

"It's raining," she comments, "so we're spending the class working on classwork in the library. We just need to wait for the rest of the students."

"Okay." We both nod.

Our class isn't sporty, and our teacher stopped trying to enforce her enthusiasm on us when she realised she was wasting her time. If it rained, we weren't stepping a foot outside because nobody wanted to be running through puddles or dealing with frizzy hair.

I take a seat on the bench and return to replying to messages on Twitter. I don't think I could ever get enough of this. I adore the support and heart-warming messages from people I'd never met.

"I can't believe it," one girl suddenly screams, "there are so many celebrities acknowledged The Masked Singer."3

"I wish I could sing like that." Another sighs.6

"It would be amazing," Lucy agrees.

"I wish she'd upload another video before Saturday or post something on her account. I'm addicted, and I need my next fix!" Farrah says.

"Yes, and I hope she's signed to a record company so that she can produce more music. I'd buy everything she makes," Taliyah comments.

"Hm, that would be!" Farrah agrees.

When the rest of the students arrive, we grab our things and wander back to the library. Lucy and I nab seats towards the side where we can be alone. The other girls cluster around a computer as they flick through their social media accounts.

The teacher ignores what they're doing in favour of talking with another teacher.

I re-open the Twitter app and resume answering questions and responding to messages. I probably look a grinning fool but nobody could knock me from this high. 

 

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Masked SingerWhere stories live. Discover now