I needed to talk to Brooks.
Stat.
Damage control.
Before Dad decided to get on social media and watch reels.
I’d be grounded for life.
Chapter 12
Brooks
Yeah.I saw it the moment I sat down for breakfast, and my Mom had a note stuck to my cereal bowl that said, “Check your socials”. Mom was a social media manager for her job, so she lived and breathed every platform out there. Of course she’d see that her son and his “girlfriend” had gone viral. Only, I hadn’t told her that I had a girlfriend yet. I hadn’t told my dad either, but my parents weren’t exactly on the best of terms lately—especially after the move—so I hadn’t wanted to make things worse. A year ago they’d been talking about getting a divorce. So far, they were still together.
Looking at my phone, I realized I probably hadn’t done that great of a job of reducing drama in our house.
“So you have a girlfriend already, huh?” Mom walked into the kitchen with her coffee cup and went to refill it at the pot.
“Yeah.” No way was I going to explain all the details to her.
“And is this AI story true?” Mom poured the coffee into her mug.
“Yeah, I guess.” I focused on choosing cereal and hoped Mom wouldn’t ask too many questions.
“So your new girlfriend made up an AI boyfriend for fun, and he happened to be just like you.”
“Name and all.” I poured Fruit Loops into my bowl. Usually, I tried to eat healthier to stay fit for baseball, but today was a Fruit Loops day.
“That’s crazy,” Mom put the coffee pot back on its burner. She took a sip. “Do I get to meet this girl, now that she’s made you a social media sensation?”
I glanced at my parents. Mom was cool. She didn’t overreact to this sort of stuff, and maybe she should. I dunno. She tended to overreact about other things, like moving to Wisconsin when she didn’t want to. I was on her side on that one. Maybe now more than ever.
“Sure. I can bring Brielle over.”
“Good.” Mom leaned against the counter. “I wonder if we could get sponsors . . .” She let her words hang, and I could see her marketing wheel turning.
“Mom,” I said. “We’re not going to monetize our relationship on social media.” Not to mention, I had a pretty strong feeling that Brielle’s dad wasnotgoing to react with the same type of calm as Mom.
“This whole girl and going viral thing better not make your grades worse.” She leveled her “mom look” on me, which had never really worked. Mom couldn’t look stern if she tried.
“It won’t.” I didn’t mention the extra credit project, but now, well—for sure we’d complete it because if we broke up now, it would affect the entire world. This was going to have to blow over.
The doorbell dinged, and I looked up from cereal. “Who’s here this early?” I muttered.
Mom gave me an exasperated look. “It’s one in the afternoon, lazy butt.” She messed up my hair as she passed my chair.
I heard Mom answer the front door.
There were murmurs.
One sounded a bit panicked.
I turned in my chair just in time to see Brielle hurry into the room, following Mom. That Brielle was trying to maintain a happy, non-affected demeanor was obvious, and even though I had only known her for a few days, I could seeimmediately that Brielle was anything but calm. I think she might have even been crying. Her eyes looked a little red-rimmed. But she also looked mad.
Great.
Sad. Mad.
