Two people step into the room behind Rin, flanking his computer chair. Rin mutes the stream for a moment and I look at chat, trying to figure out who these people are. According to Azaad, they’re Rin’s roommates and they’re going to be doing an advice podcast while Rin gets some rest.
Rodney and Suga take over the stream. One of them pulls over a chair while the other sits in Rin’s chair. They introduce themselves, the one with silver hair is Rodney while the brunette with the perpetual frown is Suga.
Makiplaysvolleyball(vip): I should get going. I have practice in the morning.
LiberosOnTop: ugh, saaaaame
Joker49(mod): Bye Maki!! Bye Libero!
Azaad(mod): Good night Maki! Good luck with your practice tomorrow!
ExcitedOwl(vip): ILL BE WATCHING YOUR GAME ON MONDAY!
Makiplaysvolleyball(vip): Thank you :)
“Bye Maki,” Rodney says with a grin. “I hope I get to meet you soon. Next time I stream, you should join!”
Suga nudges him with his elbow. “You just want to be able to drill him where Blue can’t see!”
“I would never,” Rodney says with a fake pout. “I simply want to meet my bestie’s new friend! That’s all! No ulterior motive at all. If he happens to like the vibes and subscribe to my channel, well, that’ll just be a handy little bonus.”
Suga looks straight into the camera. “Maki, if you were smart you would run far, far away from these assholes. I should have run years ago but now I’m in too deep. Save yourself!”
Rin peeks his head back in, pouting at his friends. “Don’t listen to them, Maki!”
Chat is going wild, surging faster than I can keep up with. I just shake my head and close my laptop, knowing that if I don’t, I’ll be stuck trying to keep up until it’s way past my bedtime. This sort of thing is addictive, wanting to stay part of the conversation, wanting to see what will happen next in the stream.
Suddenly, I get it. I get this side of the world. It might not bemy thingbut I get why people enjoy it so much. I get why Rin does it for a living.
My phone lights up with a new message.
Rin: Thank you for joining chat tonight. It was really nice seeing your name!
Maki: I had a lot of fun. I’m sorry you didn’t beat the game this time.
Rin: It’s fine! I think I’ll get it tomorrow :)
Rin: Hey, would it be okay if I called you? We can talk while I cook myself dinner. It won’t be long, I know we both need to get to bed soon.
I think about it for only a moment. I look over at Kurstin, finding him already asleep. I stand up and set my laptop away. Then I turn the television off.
As quietly as I can, I grab my keycard and step outside, sitting on the floor outside my room. I click on Rin’s name and hit call.
“Maki! Hi!”
I smile to myself, staring at my own feet. “Hi, Rin.”
“Thank you for calling! When I saw your name in chat, it made me so freaking happy. I couldn’t actually do a little happy dance because chat would have absolutely roasted me and teased me until I died, but just know, on the inside, there was a happy dance happening.”
I chuckle softly, trying to imagine what a happy dance would even look like. Cute. Definitely cute.
“Chat was very fun,” I admit softly. “Thank you for promoting me. I hope that’s not too much trouble for you. I still don’t know how these things work.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Now I’ll see your messages. My other VIPs are mostly just people who started as regular chatters and then I upgraded them because they’re funny or because I like them. They keep the vibes good, you know? Although, once in a while someone becomes a vip for something ridiculous.”
“Oh yeah? I would like to hear that.”
“Okay, so you saw TwinkleKawa, right?” I hum an affirmative. “So he’s been around for a really long time. He’s subscribed, he always supports me however he can, and I get the sense he’s a bit of a rich kid, right? One time I was part of a charityauction. I donated an hour of my time to the highest bidder with the promise of playing something with them or hanging out or whatever. Kawa won by bidding a ridiculous amount. Like, we’re talking thousands of dollars.”
