Page 22 of The Reunion

“Oh, absolutely,” I say. “Who wouldn’t feel quite a bit lacking when held up to the impossible standard of Honor St. Croix? All of us have experienced that over the years, people expecting us to be like our characters. I needed a break from the scrutiny.”

I needed a break from everything.

“You’ve famously turned down a number of offers for big roles since your time on the show, choosing to focus on only a handful of quiet projects,” Marissa goes on, checking her notes. “How does it feel to be front and center in the spotlight again after staying out of it for so long?”

“It’s different this time around.” Not as bad as I expected, truthfully. “There haven’t been as many cameras or microphones in my face—but thanks to social media, there are more voices in the mix.”

Alotmore. Millions, and growing by the day. It’s best if I don’t know exactly how many, or exactly what they’re saying—thankfully, Bre and Attica are on top of all that. Everyone has a camera, everyone has a keyboard. Everyone has an opinion about what I should or should not do with my life.

“The blessing and the curse of social media!” Marissa says with a wink, gesturing to the Snapaday logo behind us. “I can only imagine what it’s like for you, Liv. For all of you! What would you say the best part of that sort of visibility is?”

“The best part?” I repeat. “For me, it’s been the freedom to pursue the projects I love without having to worry if they’ll find an audience.”

“And the worst?” Marissa says, leaning in.

“The false sense of intimacy it creates,” I say. “It can be easy tothink you know someone based on the carefully curated moments they’ve chosen to share in snapshots, when in reality, the relationship there is nonexistent.”

In truth, the actual worst thing I can think of carries this idea one step further: that false intimacy can lead to obsession—and when the public at large shares that same obsession, it sparks a lucrative pursuit by the paparazzi.

It didn’t end well for my father. I’ve been reluctant to embrace the same level of visibility.

Marissa moves on to Millie. “Millie, I know this takeover is all about the show,butwe can’t resist the opportunity to talk to you about your pivot toward pop these last few years. You dropped your latest single overnight and it’s already at the top of the charts. Can you speak a bit about ‘Midnight’?”

It’s no wonder Millie’s been buzzing all morning—her first albums received mixed reviews, many people unable to get past the fact that they’d known her primarily as Natalie St. Croix since she was five years old. None of her songs ever came close to topping the charts.

“Thanks, Marissa,” she says.

I might be imagining things, but I think she’s picked up on the voice-lowering thing Sasha-Kate does to make people take her more seriously.

“It’s been a surreal day, to say the least! I’m so happy the single is resonating with people—we worked harder on this one than ever before, so it’s nice to see it taking off.”

They talk for a minute more about her inspiration, about her decision to pivot toward music from acting, about if she can give any more hints about her upcoming album.

“Actually, I’m glad you asked!” she says with a mischievous smile to the camera. “?‘Meet Me in the Garden,’ my next single, will drop sometime in the next few days—there are some hints already in my feed, and there will be more. If you think you’ve figured out the hidden message, which is a lyric from the chorus, tag me in a story. First to figure it out will win some signed merch!”

“You heard it here first, friends!” Marissa announces excitedly. It’sa win for both of them: more traffic to Snapaday, more exposure for Millie—whoever advised Millie to drop her single right before this takeover needs a raise, because it was undoubtedly part of their strategy, to keep Millie front and center of the reboot and this press moment.

Marissa checks her watch, an analog timepiece with a strap made of sunny-yellow silicone. “I had a few more questions, but I think that’s a great place to leave it. We’ve got twenty minutes until we go live for the Q and A—why don’t you all take a break, get some snacks, and we’ll meet back here at five to noon.”

Sasha-Kate abandons her director’s chair before the words are even out of Marissa’s mouth, stalking across the room like she can’t get away from us fast enough.

“What’s with her?” I say to Millie before I think better of it—the last thing I want to do is pour fuel on our old feud.

Millie rolls her eyes. “It’s my fault,” she says. “First thing she said to me when I got here was, ‘Congrats on hitting number one, Halo’spissed.’?”

“Well, congrats on pissing off Halo,” I say cheekily, and she laughs. Halo’s reign at the top of the charts lasted a solid ten years—Millie’s dethroning her is no small feat. I absolutely get why Halo would feel threatened by it.

Millie pulls out her phone, reminding me I have a missed message of my own, probably Bre or Attica with some last-minute reminder for the interview. But no—it’s Ransom—I’m still not used to seeing his name on my screen again after all this time.

I swipe it open, and my screen fills with an extreme close-up of Ford and Ransom together, making a pair of faces so over-the-top serious they’re hilarious.

you’ve got wardrobe after your snapaday thing, yeah? if you’ve got time for lunch while you’re near the studio, ford and i are headed to the diner—we’ll do our best to snag the haunted booth just for you ;)

I laugh, despite myself, and Millie briefly glances up from her phone. I’d forgotten all about the haunted booth.

Tell Ford he’s going to break his eyebrow if he arches it any higher, I write.And yes—count me in.

SNAPADAY LIVE: Q&A #GIRLSTALKGIRLS TAKEOVER

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