GIRL, UNPLUGGED
YA Novel Chapter 21 | 4 Minute Read
This is Chapter 21 of a YA novel. To see where the story began, check out the GIRL, UNPLUGGED table of contents post, or head to the GIRL, UNPLUGGED section of the Story Hoarder Substack page to see all the chapters.
This chapter is an 4 minute read.
CHAPTER 21: Happily Never After
Once upon a time there was a girl who had a crush on a boy. Let’s call him Em. The girl adored this boy from afar for years — studied his movements, his likes and dislikes, his art, and his school schedule. One day Em noticed the girl, and the girl was sure, if she didn’t screw things up, they would live happily ever after.
On their first date, their pairing was challenged by an external force completely out of their control and Em left the girl all alone with no explanation or good-bye. The girl was heartbroken, confused, and, ultimately, angry. As she struggled with her emotions a second boy, whom we shall call Ar, found the girl and made her smile. She wasn’t sure what to think of him at first, she had never been noticed before she had spent years crushing on a boy. Everything was moving so fast, but it felt right. She began to see Ar the way he saw her. She began to open her heart to the possibility of someone other than Em.
That is when Em returned.
It’s at this point in all stories, the audience will diverge into teams. Hashtags will be developed — #TeamEm versus #TeamAr. Internet wars will ensue. Each team will describe the virtues of the boy they have sided with and they will write long blog posts, comments, and create videos describing which boy is “best” for our girl.
I knew how these stories went.
I had been writing fanfic for a very long time. I had so often created fictional scenarios that started exactly this way just so I could create this kind of drama and audience excitement, but being this girl, living this story, truly and completely sucked.
Also, the reality went absolutely nothing like I would have written it. If Talia’s Tales were accessible in that moment, I could use it as a reference point on what could possibly happen next because I had written a number of outcomes for this type of scenario for various fanfics.
There’s the typical high-drama: Em versus Ar fight over the girl. One finding a serious character flaw in the other and — amidst the fight — shouting these findings out to the girl. The girl, stands aside feeling so conflicted about what the boy is saying and what she knows to be true about his opponent. There is an internal struggle of mind versus heart — which should she follow? Audiences all have their preferences and this turns the web chatter about the tale to a fever pitch. Memes would be created. Sometimes I’d check in on the audience before drafting my conclusion, sometimes I’d screw the pooch and just write whatever felt right for me.
There’s the scenario where our girl takes a stand, clutching tight to the new boy — the one who didn’t abandon her, the one who appreciates loyalty. She stands tall in front of the boy who left her with no word and she says something smart, strong, and complimentary to her boy of choice. Her soliloquy borders on preachy to any audience members who may not see the errors in Em’s ways. Our girl has grown since being the eager puppy at his feet, she now knows what she wants and goes after it. Stories like this result in another kind of audience fever pitch — there is a roll out of fanfic that writes the alternate ending.
Then there is the tale dripping with betrayal all around. When the first boy returns, our girl runs back into his waiting arms — betraying the new boy by rewarding the first boy’s betrayal of her. This often leads to a lot of online chatter in the form of “what was she thinking” from everyone except #TeamEm who inevitably trolls around the net feeling smug, because they “knew it all along.”
None of these scenarios describe what happened when my Em returned while I was holding the hand of my Ar. Because what happened when Murph returned was so subtly heartbreaking that I don’t think I ever would have written it into one of my stories. It lacked an external impact. I don’t know how it would play on a screen. No one would have noticed the drama. There were only three people — actors and audience — involved: Murph, Russ, and me. So much happened in such small movements.
Here is what happened:
Murph returned, saw me holding hands with Russ. I let go of Russ immediately. Murph looked away to start a conversation with someone else, and so did Russ.
#TeamNoOneLeftToChoose
I stood, unnoticed and alone. If my phone worked, I could pull it out of my pocket, start scrolling around and no one would think anything at all was wrong with me. It would look like I was doing something.
But my phone didn’t work.
Nothing did.
Not even me.
I didn’t move. I looked down at my feet and tried to freeze time — not that I wanted to live in that moment forever — but because I was terrified of what came next. I had no idea what to do. Would anyone care if I just decided to not talk to anyone for the remainder of the trip?
It occurred to me that my next choice might be scrutinized, reenacted whenever the world settled down and was ready for gossip, or maybe even before then. No eyes were on me, but I knew better than that. Everyone knew Murph was back. Everyone knew that Russ and I had… something… and now… what? What was I supposed to do?
What — if presented to a larger audience for scrutiny — would receive the most likes? What — if written in a story of mine — would make the most sense?
What — I finally realized the question I wanted to ask — would Talia do?
I made my move.
Leave a comment - Question of the Week
Thanks for continuing to read the GIRL, UNPLUGGED! Alrighty, I asked in an earlier chapter if you were #TeamMurph or #TeamRuss, but this is *the* moment Natalie has to make a decision. Which way do you think she should go? Why?
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