It’s not officially summer, but New York did not get that memo. It’s evening, so the temperature has dropped a few degrees, but the air still feels thick, like you could slice your way through it, and my T-shirt is sticking to my skin. I peel the fabric away and fan the shirt in an attempt to cool down. I’m mostly just blowing around hot air. I set my bag at my feet, remove my tablet, and get snuggled on one of the patio chairs. There’s a string of lights wrapped around the wrought iron railing, casting a glow across the balcony. I stare up at the evening sky, tinted pink from the setting sun.
“Alexa.” The light around the speaker beside my chair flashes blue. “Play Phantom of the Opera.”
“The Phantom of the Opera, original London cast and Andrew Lloyd Webber on Amazon Music,” Alexa says in her robotic tone.
The music begins, and I get settled into relaxation mode. I know Robbie and Alan said Zeppelin wasn’t on social media. But maybe things have changed now. I Google Zeppelin Reid on my tablet. The only thing that comes up is the playbill announcement about him joining the cast of Roman and Jewel. His headshot is the only picture I can find online. I add Zeppelin Reid Facebook. Nothing. Zeppelin Reid Twitter. Nope. No Twitter account. He really has managed to stay off social media. Fascinating.
Next, I Google Cinny, boyfriend. I see she’s rumored to be dating Shivers. He has a song called “Shiver Me Timbers,” and in the video, this dude literally walks around with a peg leg.
“Alexa?”
The music pauses and the speaker turns blue.
“Um, play Shivers?”
“Shuffling music by Shivers from Amazon Music,” Alexa replies.
Rap blares through the speakers.
“Cuz I’m gangsta. Not cho momma’s wanksta. You mutha fuckin’ pranksta!”
“Alexa!” I literally scream. The music pauses again. “Turn it off. I can’t. Shivers sucks.”
The speaker powers down and Shivers fades into the evening.
“Alexa. Play Hamilton.”
“Playing Hamilton, original Broadway recording by various artists,” Alexa replies.
Sensible music booms through the speakers. More than sensible. This music fuels me.
I should log on to Instagram. Do another live feed. My 114 followers await. We can finish our “what’s in a name” conversation that got cut short this morning. I slide my phone out of my back pocket, open Instagram and study the screen.
Eight hundred notifications? That’s like, impossible. What the hell is wrong with my account? I ignore the red icon with the hundreds of notifications. I’m sure it’s some sort of glitch. I open the camera, fluff out the ponytail on top of my head, and press the button to go live.
I wait a moment for someone to start watching. Riley_Roo is the first to join the room. I grin. Riley_Roo, aka Riley Powell, aka my best friend. We used to go to the same school, but Riley left for a public school with a better softball team. Unfortunately the school they settled on just so happens to be Newark, a forty-minute train ride away, so I pretty much never see her anymore.
“Hey, Riley!” I blow a kiss to the camera.
Riley_Roo: I’ve called you twice! Tell me about the show damnit!
I lean back in my chair, holding up the phone so my face is in full view and the balcony lights make my skin all glowy. I smile. “Whatcha wanna know?”
Riley_Roo: Do all the boys on Broadway look like yours? Cuz daaaamn. I should give up sports and learn how to sing.
What is she talking about? What boy?
Only before I can comment, the room fills up. Fast. I go from one person watching to five hundred. In a matter of seconds? I’ve never had more than a few people watch my live feeds. I study the messages as they pop up on the screen:
Phamtasiaz: Omigosh it’s Jewel! I love your voice. You’re amazing!
BillyIsMyElliot112: You make me wanna be in love.
American_Idolz777: Are you guys actually dating in real life?
BreeBrums: Can’t wait to see the show!
My brow furrows. There’s more. The messages are scrolling so fast.
Hot_sauceLover: Sing for us right now. Sing!!
KikisBaba: I never heard of you before? Where you been?
Monkeys_Mischief: I love you Jerzie Jhames!
Ram_Butt_Booty16: You foul! Cheating on me?! I been so loyal!
The messages are scrolling so fast I can’t read anymore. And suddenly the room has one thousand people in it. What the holy hell is happening? I press the button to end the feed.
A call is coming through from Judas. With shaking hands I click the button to accept it. My brother’s voice blares through my speakers.
“Hey yo. Sup, sis?”
“Judas.” I sit up, my heart still racing from the eerie live feed. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, man. I saw your video.”
“What video?”
“The one on YouTube. With the boy. Get it, sis!” He laughs.
I sit up and uncross my legs. My bare feet settle onto the warm concrete of the balcony. “I don’t have a video on YouTube with a boy.”
“Man, whatever. I watched it like three times. I stop it before the end though. Too gross.”
“Judas? I swear I dunno what you’re talking about.”
“The video of you and the white dude. Where y’all kiss at the end.”
I snatch my tablet off the chair. “What’s the title?”
“Roman and Jewel.”
As I type it in into the YouTube app, a crushing sensation settles in.
“Hiro told me about it when we were playing Financial Football online,” Judas explains. “I thought he was joking and didn’t think nothin’ of it. But then Brian texted me and DeMario and Jesse and like fifteen other people from school. I guess they all saw it on Instagram.”
“Instagram?” I click the link so that the video begins to play. Crushing sensation shifts into overdrive. Judas is not lying. There is a video of Zeppelin and me on YouTube. We’re singing “I Think I Remember You.” Our entire performance is now playing right before my eyes.
“You still there?” Judas asks.
“Judas, who could’ve uploaded this? This was a private thing we did earlier today. I was helping Cinny. This shouldn’t be online.”
I check the video’s time stamp. It was uploaded exactly two hours ago. Did Robbie do this? Rehearsal ended early for everyone except Cinny and, well...me. Robbie (or anyone else for that matter) would have had the time to get home and get it online. But why would he do such a thing? Why would anyone do such a thing?