“How many times are you going to watch that?” I groaned at Anj.
“Hey, the more times I watch it, the more YouTube pushes it,” she said, unfazed, jabbing the pause button.“You’ll be an internet sensation.”
She tilted her head, studying the frozen frame.
“Who was the guy meant to present you with the award, anyway?”
“No idea,” I said, lifting my hands to make exaggerated air quotes.“Probably someone very important.”
She shrugged and hit play again.
An email notification chimed, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.
“The website’s back up,” I said.
“What was wrong this time?”
“No clue. Probably the same glitch as last time.”
???
I paused on the platform, glancing both ways, scanning the crowd. A strange sensation crawled up my spine—the unmistakable feeling of being watched.
But everyone around me was absorbed in their own little worlds. Phones. Blank stares. Newspapers.
The tube roared in with its usual gust of wind, carrying the same stale scent, the same familiar announcement.
Mind the gap.
The doors slid open, and I was swept inside, packed tight like a tin of sardines. I reached up, gripping the handrail as the carriage lurched forward.
Five stops later, I squeezed out and started my usual walk home.
Only this time, the unease followed me.
I kept my pepper spray clenched in my hand.
???
I was lying in bed, reading a book on Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, when my phone pinged. With a yawn, I stretched my arm across the mattress, fumbling until my fingers closed around it.
I glanced at the screen.
Darius:Congratulations on winning your award. Do you want to catch up sometime?
“Yeah, no thanks,” I muttered, switching the phone to silent before dropping it back onto the nightstand.
Someone who hadn’t been there during the hard times but suddenly wanted access now that I was doing well wasn’t for me. I didn’t have the time—or the patience—for that kind of bullshit.
I yawned again and closed my book. Just as I was about to set it aside, something made me check my phone again.
More messages.
My stomach tightened.
What the hell, Lielit?!
Did you give my number to someone?
