Page 23 of The Top of Admiration
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Ping.
I woke groggily, grabbing for my phone. I squinted my eyes at the screen. Who was texting me at 4 am?
It wasn’t a text. It was some kind of message, like an app notification.
“Daily reminder: Being a decent human is free.”
I opened the notification, which took me to an app called “BroMinder.” I never installed this. I deleted the app and went back to sleep.
Ping.
Fucking hell. 5 am.
“Texting ‘u up’ doesn’t count as intimacy.”
BroMinder again. I deleted that! I deleted it again, pushing my finger furiously against the screen. Working at a mobile shop was fun, but it was full of dickheads.
By the time I dragged myself out of bed at 8 am, I had another two messages.
“Still no emotional growth detected. Please remember to water your soul.”
“Goal for today: Less narcissism, more functioning adult.”
“Reminder: A guitar and a man bun are not personality traits.”
I’d deleted this piece of shit app several times now. This had to be a virus. I’d have to chat to Lee when I got to work. If it wasn’t him who installed it, he’d at least help me get rid of it. I didn’t want to go back to factory settings. I had a million music memes on my phone that had taken me ages to accumulate.
When I arrived at work, Lee had called in sick. Great. Now I’d be covering for two people while dealing with constant BroMinder interruptions.
“Hey, Cam! Long time no see!” I spun around to see Melina, my cousin.
“Long time no see, cuz!” I walked around the counter and gave her a huge hug. “How is Auntie Toni?”
“She’s good. She’s only eating fruit these days. She’s insisting that it reinvigorates the soul.” Melina screwed up her nose.
“Well, let’s take a selfie. Mom will be stoked that you’re back in town!”
We huddled in together and I snapped a selfie of us.
“Send it to me too. I’ll forward it to Mom.”
I went to send it but noticed something in the corner of the image. Enlarging the picture, I saw the disappointed man meme. The disappointed cricket fan in his puffer vest with his hands on his hips stared at me from the corner of the screen with his viral look of disdain and boredom.
I snapped another photo, and there he was. Again. Another fucking app. Realization dawned. Asshole Cam was an app developer. That fucker messed with my phone when Cordelia was spilling her word vomit. This was a mild punishment for sabotaging Randa, but it was as annoying as hell. Even more annoying was the fact that he was the one behind it, like he was her protector now.
The guy was way more tech savvy than me. I sighed, drawing a confused look from Melina. I’d have to go back to factory settings. I couldn’t beat Cam at this game.
I turned my attention back to Melina, wondering what other fresh hell he’d planned for me. I’d delete this and not say a word.I deserved some karma. I just hoped it wouldn’t be a Harrison-level campaign.
Chapter 19: Miranda — Surprise reunion
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare
I dragged my tired feet through the terminal, excited to be home but exhausted by the journey. Three months had flown, and I found myself renewed, inspired, and beyond eager to apply my new techniques. I’d made some great friends at the retreat, and although I was there to enrich myself professionally and artistically, my sojourn in Lyon had become so much more. I felt refreshed, and while I was quite social when I was there, I’d spent a lot of time alone, reflecting on what had brought me there.
