The guys whoop with victory before Mick says,“Sweet. Our views double when you’re on.”
“Y’mean peopledon’ttune in for John’s sparkling personality?”
“Hey!”
“They sure don’t watch for his racing prowess.”
“HEY!”
The chat fills with talk of fake fans and compliments for John. A couple of people wish Julien good luck with his car, but most of them tell him to dump it.
“Yeah, the guys at the garage told me to count my losses and look for something else.” Not in such nice words, but that was the gist. “Anyway, every sub helps.”
“You heard the man, chat. If you’re a frequent lurker, consider subbing for five pounds a month to help a poor, struggling, Formation 1 driver.”
“Reserve.
“Reserve driver,”Mick amends.“We’re only two hundred subs away from reaching our goal. Don’t forget—when we pass four thousand, Julien will stream with his shirt off.”
“What?!” Julien balks. “I never agreed to that!”
“We took a vote on Sunday.”
“While I was racing?!”
“It was a chat suggestion.”
“You won by a landslide!”
“Congratulations.”
“Unbelievable.” Julien reclines in his chair as Kevin starts his lap in a Ferraro. “You wouldn’t have done this shit back when I was Romeo.”
“I thought Romeo was ugly.”
“Disfigured, for sure.”
“Thanks for the sub, glozzyblocks.”
“Maybe like, boils on his face.”
“Thanks for the sub, cheeky44uu.”
“A tooth that extended past his mouth like a narwhal.”
“No attractive dude would call himself Romeo.”
“Hey!” Julien sputters. “Fuck off!”
“Thanks for the—oh shit!”John’s excited voice cuts through the ribbing.“Rafael gifted us a thousand subs!”
“What?!” Julien scrolls back up, but the chat is flooded with viewers expressing their surprise. “You mean my—RafaelSouza?”
“Your Rafael?”
“I heard that too.”
“My teammate, you freaks.” After too much scrolling, Julien finally finds the gift.
