Page 60 of With a Little Luck

I don’t realize I’m chewing on my knuckle until Pru reaches over and pulls my hand away.

The video finishes with a pale green screen, the credits scrawling in my own sloppy handwriting. Ari for singing and songwriting, Quint for videography, Pru for production team, me for editing, plus a special thank-you to Ventures Vinyl. At the very end, a cloud sweeps across the screen, clearing out the text and leaving a single small heart behind.

The video ends.

“It’s okay if you hate it,” I start. “I made another version, without the—”

Suddenly, arms are around me, hugging me from the side. “Iloveit,” says Ari. She grabs my head and pulls me closer to her, kissing me on the cheek.

My face flames.

“It’s perfect!” she continues. “It looks like a real music video. Except, you know, without a bunch of fancy costume changes and a million-dollar budget.”

“Are you sure?” I say, even more nervous now with Ari’s arms around me. “I wasn’t sure if maybe special effects are against the contest rules or something?”

Pru takes back the computer. “I’ll check the small print to be sure, but I think I would have remembered something like that. And I’ve gone through the hashtags to watch other entries, and lots of people are trying to make their videos stand out by doing different camera angles and strobe lighting and … Actually, there were some with costume changes, now that I think of it. We should be fine. And I agree with Ari—I loved it, Jude. It fit the song perfectly.”

Ari gives an excited squeal and releases me.

I sink into the couch cushions.

“All right, enough chitchat.” Pru opens up Ari’s brand-new YouTube channel. With a few clicks, she uploads the file, chooses a thumbnail image, and pastes in the description with all the necessary details about the festival competition.157

When she’s done, she passes the computer to Ari. “You do the honors.”

Ari sits up taller and reaches for the touch pad. On screen, the arrow hovers over the publish button.

“Wait.” I settle my hand over hers.

Ari’s whole arm tenses.

“I know this is weird,” I say, my fingers tingling where they lie flush against her skin. “But I’ve been feeling really lucky lately, so … maybe some of it will rub off on you.”

Quint snorts. “If EZ were here, he would have a field day with that comment.”

Pru turns and glowers at him.

Ari gives me a hesitant smile. “I’ll take all the luck I can get.”

Together, we publish the video.

I pull my hand away, and we all sit there staring at the screen, where an image of Ari and her guitar, with a little white heart over her shoulder, sits at the top of her otherwise empty channel.

“It looks lonely,” says Quint. “You’re going to have to record more songs.”

Ari hums thoughtfully. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. It was kind of fun making this. Maybe we could make more?”

“Absolutely,” says Pru, hopping to her feet. “Now that we’ve made one, the next will be faster, easier, cheaper to produce. Basic economy of scale.”

Quint chuckles. “Not to mention that Ari has a whole bunch of great songs that people might want to hear.”

“Well, yes,” says Pru. “Obviously, that, too.”

“What about entering the contest?” asks Quint. “Does that part happen automatically now?”

Ari shakes her head. “I need to submit the entry form, but I’ve got it filled out except for the link to the video, so it will only take a second.”

Pru side-eyes me. “Do you need to help her with that, too, Jude? Let more of your luck rub off? Or are we going to trust in her hard work and talent for this part?”158

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