Alex sat in her room. She had pulled her new hair up into a small bun, setting it at the base of her skull. She still wore her pajamas and sat cross-legged on her bed. Her fingers tapped on a laptop. Soft music played out of the speakers. The morning sun rose up from outside her window, illuminating the cool colors of her room.
She scrolled through a social site. Selene had emailed her several posts that she should check out. The Pep Rally lasted longer than she initially thought. After the designated performances, an open mic had been set up and a few students came to take the stage.
The latest pinned post of the school newspaper’s blog was a video covering all the highlights of it. Alex nodded her head, impressed by Selene’s quick work.
After reading a bit of the comments, ignoring any negative ones, she went to the online suggestions board. It had a template that mimicked a corkboard with several post-its. Students could amp up one by sending it hearts.
Selene’s message in the email had read:
Good morning! Next week is the countdown for the championship! You might want to check on the suggestion board. Our audience anticipates several things 😉
True to that wink emote, Alex read the top suggestion.
Suggestion #1:
Interview between Logan and Alex, please!
The rest of the basketball team too but mostly Logan! 😀
She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She inhaled, taking her time. She counted from 1 to 10. Then, she held her breath and counted the same. Her exhale also received the same treatment.
A weight jumped on the spot next to her.
She snapped her eyes open.
“Wow, are we that popular?” Logan blinked at the monitor. His knees bent over the side of the bed, his feet touching the floor. He leaned down for a better look at the posts.
“What—Why—” Alex gasped in between breaths. Her lashes fluttered at her guest. Then, her head whirled towards her open bedroom door. She yelled, “Mother!”
“Be nice!” Angie answered back.
Alex rolled her eyes.
Of course, she let him in the house…
… and in her room!
She shifted her attention in Logan’s direction, “Do I even wanna know why you’re here? I’ll give you credit for not trespassing this time around.”
“Does that mean I can come to your room at any time I want?”
“Get out.”
Logan laughed, holding his hands up, “The door was already half open. I took a peek and you looked troubled. I came in to check on you. It turned out to be the suggestions board.”
“We already had an interview planned,” Alex explained, “We would have done it even without this post.”
He nodded his head as he absorbed her words, “Then, what were you sulking about?”
“Selene was just teasing me about it” she replied, slamming her laptop closed. She scooted off the bed and attempted to place it on the study table.
Logan snatched it from over her shoulder. He moved to the edge and held the device captive. It hadn’t been long since it was closed so it turned back on easily. He scowled at the home page, “You don’t have a password?”
“And you still have no boundaries!” Alex accused, lunging back on the mattress. Her knees supported her upright as she tried to get her hands on the laptop. He blocked all of her attempts.
“Aw, come on. I know you have a set of questions ready but we should hear out what they have to say,” he pointed. He clicked on the post and moved it to the top. The site had a string there for accepted suggestions. From there, everyone could leave comments.
His fingers flew into action, trying to keep up with his trach of mind.
“`Now, accepting questions for Logan and Alex! Be sure to indicate on who it is directed for!“`
Logan clapped his hands, “There! We just need to wait for them to flood in and we can start.”
Alex dropped her bottom onto the bed, “What do you mean by ‘start’?”
“The interview.”
She opened her mouth but no sound escaped. She crossed her arms over her chest. Her forehead creased as she closed her eyes. Her mind processed the current situation and deciphered the message Logan wanted to convey.
Clearing her throat, she glared at him, “Where?”
She already had a bad feeling about his answer.
“Here, of course” Logan snorted. He stood up and spread his arms, admiring the room, “Let them have a little sneak peek at your life. That’s like two birds with one stone.”
The walls had been covered in powder blue while her closet had ivory paint. Most of her belongings were tidy. Her gray blanket and pillowcase had a minimalistic design. The things on her study table had been organized neatly.
It was spacious. They could almost use any part as a background.
He also couldn’t see her laundry basket.
“Hello? Privacy?” Alex scoffed, rising to her feet and jumping to the floor, “I’m not letting them see my room.”
The only people who had been here were select people: Aunt Lilly, Emily, her mother, her father, Lauren and Logan. he spent most of her time in it. She’d almost consider it as her personal bubble. SIf she even had her way, Logan wouldn’t even be part of the list.
Then again, he was in it because he always barged in.
Logan’s shoulders shook, “Too bad because I sent a post.”
“What?!”
He fished out his phone and opened an app. He immediately went to his profile, revealing a picture as his most recent activity. It was taken from the doorway. It was also exactly what he had described earlier about Alex seeming troubled. The combination of colors in the room added to the aesthetic.
Her laptop monitor hid most of her legs and her stomach. Her hand covered her face. The oversized gray shirt emphasized her small stature. Hair strands stuck out from the back of her neck. It almost seemed like a model posing for a shoot.
The caption read: Should I approach or should I not approach?
It had been up for a few minutes but it already garnered reactions and comments.
Dumbfounded, Alex took the phone and smacked the screen against Logan’s forehead.
“How could you post a photo of me without my permission?!” She exclaimed, stomping her foot. She hit his shoulder, “A picture of me in pajamas and in my room no less!”
Logan picked up his phone. He had held it when Alex aimed for his forehead. Then, he lost the grip when it made contact against his skin. He checked the screen if he hit any button. He also wondered if that move typed out gibberish and sent it as a comment.
“Oh, Emily left a comment!” Logan smirked. He stretched his arm, holding the phone up to the ceiling. He deepened his voice and read, “‘Approach but with caution.’”
Alex’s face fell into a deadpan expression. What was she? Some kind of animal?
He caught sight of it from the corner of his eye, “No need to worry. I only accept people that I know. It won’t be all crazy like Lauren’s video post.”
Hearing that relaxed her a bit. She didn’t even know how far that video went. Her mother had assured her, at least, that they had it blocked from IP Addresses that didn’t belong to the school.
Basically, they could only open it from the school’s wifi.
They probably had done it after they saw it. Others could have seen before that happened.
“Oh, Devin also commented” Logan thought out loud, “‘Do not approach’. Hm, kind of a bit late.”
Alex raised an eyebrow, “Would you have listened?”
“Nope.”
“Thought so,” she muttered, her temple throbbing. She left him alone and climbed back to her bed. She grabbed her laptop. The monitor still showed the suggestions board. Comments flooded the post Logan had accepted.
Her eyes widened at the demand.
“‘Approach and do an interview’ is what Selene said.”
“Did you even think this through?” She scolded him, turning her laptop around for him to see what she meant, “What did you think we’re going to do? Live stream?”
Logan crouched, watching users add more comments. It was on its way to reaching a hundred. A bulb lit at the top of his head. He grinned mischievously, “A live stream not a bad idea.”
“No.” Alex rejected. She closed her laptop and hugged it tight, “No, no, no—”
If she remembered right, a stream fared longer than the interviews she’d done so far. It could even last up to hours. Not to mention, they’d see how many would be watching. There would be a chat box too.
She had walked through crowds but she’d never addressed them.
This was a different playing field.
“I bet Selene would agree” Logan snapped his fingers, straightening his posture. He tapped on his phone rapidly, “Let me send her a quick chat.”
“Absolutely not!”
Alex placed her laptop on the bed and hopped off. Her feet closed the distance between them. Her legs pushed her up onto Logan’s back. Her knees held onto the sides of his waist as her hands tried to reach for the phone. Logan bowed to the waist, supporting her with a flat surface.
He shifted his weight so she won’t fall off. He caught the back of her knees and pushed her up. Alex grabbed his shoulders in reflex. Her breath tickled the back of his ear.
“Too late” he grinned over his shoulder, “She already agreed and will announce it soon.”
