Word got out that Bri had discovered the best bagel place in town. She was such a phenomenon that people wanted to know everything about her. She was a mega-influencer without even trying. Were there coffee shops she went to? Where did she buy her clothes? What bands did she like?
Bri was mobbed by people online and in person. She was “The Influencer” for the whole town. Bri deleted all social media. She stopped agreeing to meet people in public. She even wore disguises.
Bri was sure that all of this noise would calm down and she could go back to her normal life. She just wanted to get to a Salt and Cinnamon Horses concert. They were her favorite band and were playing at the Punch Up that weekend. So she lay low and waited.
Bri arrived at the venue after changing Ubers twice, just in case she was followed. She was pretty sure someone had followed her to her favorite smoothie place the week before, which had to close because it couldn’t keep up with demand.
She arrived just before the band was supposed to go on, but found the marquee to the venue turned off. It did not read Salt and Cinnamon Horses.
She had a bad feeling, so she went to their band’s web page. They were on a National Tour! How was this possible? They played Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh and Kansas City in the last week. Incredible!
She kept scrolling back, and there it was —a post that included her photo. It was a Polaroid she’d taken with the lead singer, Harvey, a couple of years ago. She’d written a caption with the band and given it to Harvey.
The band posted it and said, “Bri’s with the band.” The popularity of the post took off.
She sat on the curb, ready to cry, but then someone walked by and recognized her.
“Is sitting outside of closed venues cool now?” The person asked.
“I don’t think so,” Bri said.
“Well, it is if you’re doing it.”
They snapped a photo, and Bri called an Uber. She hoped she could get out of there before her wave of fans arrived.