Everyone comes into the living room, standing around my television. I stand the closest, trying to take it all in andunderstand what’s happening. Blue, the man I met earlier today is sitting at a desk, his face taking up most of the screen. To the left of him is a window showing words.
“What’s this?”
“That’s chat. People are allowed to type in chat and interact with the streamers.” Oli points some things out for me. “People with vip by their name are Blue’s VIPs. They’re usually loyal fans or maybe even real life friends. The VIP status means their messages are bigger and that makes it easier for Blue to see. If they have that little icon in front of their name, it means they subscribe to the channel and can use special emojis. If they have ‘mod’ after their names, those are Blue’s moderators. They keep an eye on chat, can delete messages, and even ban people. They also help out with the behind the scenes things for Blue.”
“Interesting,” I say slowly, taking it all in. This is a world I know absolutely nothing about. Turning back towards Oli, I ask, “how can I talk in chat?”
Oli takes my phone and downloads the streaming app, entering the information he used to make my account. I turn back towards the stream, a frown on my face.
Sure, it’s really nice to hear him call me attractive. It leaves my limbs all tingly and my heart swooping, but after that, it all goes downhill. One moment, he’s waxing poetic about my face and then he’s making it sound like I was following him around inside the grocery store.
“He’s making this sound awful,” I tell my friends, crossing my arms over my chest. “I was not stalking him through the store. We happened to run into each other.”
Daniel pats my shoulder. “I know, but sometimes these streamers like to exaggerate so the story is more juicy.”
“But that’s not what happened!”
“This is bullshit,” Ivan says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Wow, this guy is such an ass!” Kent says, pointing at the screen.
All around me, my teammates start to get restless, all of them furious on my behalf. I’m still trying to process the fact that Blue is talking aboutmeon his stream. Not only am I the main topic, but he’s telling this story like I’m some sort of stalker when I am the furthest thing from that!
“I can’t believe he’s talking about you like this,” Bo says, his voice trailing off.
Kurstin pats my shoulder. “We all know the truth. Gods, I can’t believe this guy is such a jackass! How could he not see that you were checking him out and not, whatever the hell this tale is?”
Even Amour is nodding along, giving me a sympathetic look.
The screen changes as the words ‘You’re the Asshole’ appear below Blue’s face. Then there are sparkles and devil horns added to his face. I tilt my head to the side in confusion.
“His mods like adding stuff to the stream to bully Blue,” Oli says before pulling out his phone, quickly typing. Then he pats me on the shoulder. “Watch this. This is in your honor, Maki.”
I tilt my head to the side as a new message is read out loud.Roses are red, Violets are blue. You’re so full of yourself, you smell like poo.
The team all starts giggling. Bo slaps Oli’s back while Ivan just grumbles under his breath.
“Apparently we’re stirring the pot tonight?” Amour asks from beside Kurstin.
“Apparently so,” Kurstin says back with a smirk.
I take my phone from Oli. “How do I get the machine to read out my message like that?”
Oli looks absolutely delighted by this while Daniel and Ivan both try to stop me.
“Stop encouraging him,” Ivan says to Oli.
“Are you sure you wanna do this, Maki? It’s not usually your style to jump into drama,” Daniel murmurs.
“I don’t like how he’s getting to paint the whole story,” I say, entering my credit card information to donate ten dollars.
I look up at the screen, waiting. It takes a few minutes but eventually, the voice reads out my message.
That is not what happened.
I watch as Blue’s eyes widen almost comically wide. I didn’t know eyes could actually bug out like that. He turns towards the camera and it makes me feel like he’s looking straight into my eyes.
“Okay, Makiplaysvolley. First of all, thank you for the dono, but more importantly, how the fuck would you know?”
