“Yeah, they’re an uber-perf couple. Like Astrana and Prince Rainerrr,” Rebecca drawled. Both her and Danica leveled up to Levels 445 and 414, respectively. Their fans were easy to please— yet easy to scorn.

  “I hope that when she gets to know him, it all works out,” Elizabeth’s soft voice chimed. “I always love seeing how couples find out more about each other and fall in love.” The other two seemed like they wanted to roll their eyes, but her tag indicated she was getting close to Level 240.

  “Wait, what are we talking about?” Quinlan asked confusedly.

  “You remember Devon Arfimez, Quinlan?” His mother leaned forward and brought the viewer counter closer, as if warning him.

  The name instantly made him grimace, but at his mother’s look, he softened his expression. “Uh, yeah, he’s the life coach guy, right?”

  His mother chuckled. “Just the ‘life coach guy’. I love you, Quin. Yes, he’s one of the best Earthian life coaches and one of the most eligible in the country. And he’s very interested in starting up a couple trend with Calista on the channel!” At that, the viewer counted exploded with positive, excited reactions, accompanied by the hyena-like squeals from all the other girls crowded at the table.

  “You mean… being her…”

  “It’s called a boyfriend, Quinny.” Danica patted his head, her sparkling brown eyes holding condescension. “I wonder what… lucky girl gets to be with this cutie pie?”

  “Don’t call me ‘Quinny’,” Quinlan muttered, leaning away from her hand.

  “That’s what your little sisters are for, right?” his mother joked, and they all laughed, but Quinlan could tell the two were horrified at the idea— and so was he. He’d rather marry an Aelket.

  Discreetly, he summoned his Pet under the table and silently streamed the micro-camera footage to his sisters so they could see what was happening. They should’ve been back from the test by now, unless they’d somehow sneaked into Calista’s room without anyone noticing. As skilled a hacker as Katelyn was, being able to enter the house from anywhere else other than the front door was a stretch.

  “Guest: Devon Arfimez has arrived at the residence,” AIDA announced.

  “Oh, uber-awesome!” Quinlan’s mother exclaimed, standing. “Calista’s going to be so excited. I need to get her.”

  Task Changed: DISTRACT!— Rep-P Undetermined

  Quinlan blocked his mother from going to the elevator. “Wait!” She stopped, staring at him in shock. He quickly recovered: “I mean… she’s probably really nervous- I mean, she’ll be nervous, because she’s never really seen a boy- well, she has, but I mean that she’s never really talked to a boy like that and she doesn’t know that you want her to-”

  “Quinlan Astin Medley, what are you trying to do?” His mother’s painted lips formed a taut line and her hands settled on her wide hips.

  At that moment, Calista’s set-up ‘boyfriend’ walked through the front door. He was a tall, semi-thin boy with white-blond hair and sparkled silver eyes, wearing a deep red, old-fashioned suit and holding a synthetic red rose. His tag read:

  Devon Arfimez

  Socializer Leader

  Level 434

  The girls all squealed, but instantly composed themselves after a sharp look from the two leaders. They all stood in sync and approached Devon, who was promptly accompanied by five other boys around his age; his other channel leaders, all wearing white suits.

  Danica swished her now-black hair. “Devon! Haven’t seen you in literally forever. How have you been?” She playfully nudged his shoulder with a flirtatious smile.

  “Denise, right?” Devon said, his voice strangely raspy.

  Danica’s face froze. “Uh, no. It’s Danica. Lavini.”

  Rebecca snickered. “Well, you remember me, right?” She batted her blue eyes.

  “How are you, Rosetta?”

  Her smile faded. “Rebecca Silverman.”

  Devon chuckled. “I’m not good with names. And you are?” He nodded at Elizabeth, who was standing quietly behind the girls.

  “I’m Elizabeth,” she said shyly, her sparkled gray eyes blinking. “My friends call me Liz.”

  “Nice meeting you, Liz. She a new member of your lead team?”

  “No, she’s been around for… a while.” Rebecca let out a big sigh, glancing at the (former) redhead. “Anyways, you’re meeting Calista today, right?”

  “Devon.” Jennifer went up to the boy and greeted him. “I’m sorry, I just need a few seconds to wake my daughter up. She’s in beauty seclusion.”

  “Oh, yeah, I heard about that.” Devon’s silver eyes slid over to Quinlan. “Whose kid is this?”

  “Mine, of course,” Jennifer chuckled. “This is Quinlan.”

  “A little Medley.” Devon laughed a bit and leaned on his knees. “You probably feel weird being the only boy, huh?” He patted his shoulder, and through his blue bodysuit, Quinlan felt his ice-cold skin. What was he, half-Klausian?

  He raised a brow at Devon. “Not really.” This was the guy his mother wanted Calista to date? Really? Everything about his face looked generated and fake.

  “I’ll just get Calista down here and all of you can talk. In the meantime, you can get to know her channel-mates, who I’m sure will be great friends to you.” Quinlan’s mother’s green eyes carried a heavy threat towards the other three SociaLights, who shrunk at her gaze, the two goblins stepping away from Devon.

  Quinlan followed his mother, his heart pounding. “Mom, I really don’t think today’s a good day to-”

  “Quin, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but if you don’t stop-”

  “Calista and Katelyn Medley have arrived at the Medley Residence,” AIDA announced.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Task Failed— -2 Rel-P

  Quinlan stopped, wincing. “AIDA, what do you mean, ‘arrived’? Calista’s in her room,” his mother said.

  “Calista’s room is currently vacant.”

  “What are you talking about?” She looked at her son. “What’s going on?”

  -5 Rel-P

  “Okay, so… I can explain. It’s a… surprise.” Quinlan smiled nervously. Did the girls not see his messages?!

  Before he could come up with something, the Medley sisters appeared in the house, stopping short in the large foyer. “Uh… hi…” Calista said, frozen on the spot. She had a light layer of makeup on, her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she wore a plain pink bodysuit that was in no way glamorous. She’d never appeared so messy in front of the micro-cameras, ever.

  As if commanded, all the girls quickly lined up in two columns flanking Calista and Katelyn, the three leaders ushering the boys to the end of the line and standing in an arch. The girls began clapping in rhythm.

  “The day’s today, Calista,

  We’ve got someone for you!

  The day’s today, Calista,

  You’ll go from one to two!”

  “Stop!” Everyone silenced at Calista’s mother’s command and made way for her to approach her daughters. “What are you two doing out? You’re supposed to be in your room!” She pointed at Calista.

  “I thought you were at a conference?”

  “It got canceled, and good thing it did! What are you doing?!”

  “We were… going on a secret fashion inspo trip!” Katelyn quickly interjected, putting her arm around Calista. “We thought we could make some secret outfits and surprise you.”

  “Is the secret outfit in the room with us?” Danica raised a black brow at Calista’s appearance. She was like a mean version of Calista in that moment, with only her caramel skin and sparkled brown eyes there to remind everyone her true identity.

  Katelyn gave her a seething smile. “I’m sure whatever we’d pull out of the cachebin is leagues better than whatever the bugs you all have on.”

  “Katelyn, you’re being very rude to our guest.” Their mother’s eyes widened with warning. Only then did the sisters notice the boys standing behind the red-clad channel leaders.

  Her mother motioned to Devon, who approached them with an awkward smile. “Calista, this is Devon Arfimez— you’ve heard of him. Devon, this is Calista… my daughter.” Her brows quirked in shame.

  Calista shook Devon’s cold hand. “Nice to… meet you.”

  “Devon’s parents and I have been talking, and we’re thinking you two can couple-channel. He runs the Ice Life channel, but I’m sure he can collab with you four, as long as he and Calista keep spending time together.” Jennifer winked.

  “Couple… channel?” Calista’s green eyes looked between her mother and Devon. “Wait, I’m confused.”

  “Confused? We’ve talked about it before,” her mother said nervously.

  “Uh… no, we haven’t.”

  Her mother laughed. “Yes, we have. Many times. You said you were excited.” She showed Calista the viewer counter, which was in a mixed feelings range. Many reactions were outraged at Calista’s appearance, wondering why she was in beauty seclusion for so long, and why she was being so rude to Devon. Quinlan couldn’t see her Rep-P progress bar, but he knew it was likely decreasing.

  “Cali, we haven’t seen you in a week, and you haven’t even asked about us.” Danica and Rebecca approached, the former giving Calista a once-over. “You said you were in beauty… seclusion?” Seeing Danica’s judgment, the other SociaLight members also gave her judging looks.

  Quinlan secretly scoffed at them. Didn’t they see themselves? Their blingy pink outfits, tacky bows, and awful, loudly-colored hairdos were apparent even to him. They had no right to judge Calista, who looked perfectly fine.

  “Yeah, I needed some rest, but I didn’t know I was stopping so soon,” Calista said softly.

  “You were literally out with your sister.”

  “That’s different. Secret outfit portfolios are a lot of work,” Katelyn insisted.

  “What would you know?” Rebecca scoffed, tossing her black ponytail and blinking her thick eyelashes. “With hair like that, you think you can help with a portfolio?” She motioned to Katelyn’s blond bob. With a smile, she signaled the other girls to snicker.

  “If beauty seclusion makes you look like… this… then it’s an uber-scam,” Danica said, waving to Calista. “Don’t you think so, girls?” They all nodded in agreement except Elizabeth, who stared guiltily.

  “Calista will be back,” Jennifer said in a rush, pulling Calista by the hand. Her fair skin was red and her green eyes swam with shame. “Devon, if you and your boys don’t mind waiting in the dining room…”

  “Sure…” Devon’s sparkling silver eyes looked Calista up and down a bit judgingly as he went to the table with his posse.

  Quinlan watched his mother and sister walk to the elevator. He could see his mother whispering furiously, bringing up that stupid viewer tracker once again, which had reached lower levels of emotion. Meanwhile, the SociaLights continued to pick a fight with Katelyn.

  “The older sister’s supposed to be in charge, not the other way around,” Danica’s snooty voice said. “What were you doing?”

  “Unless you modded your ears off your head, I’m pretty sure you heard me clearly,” Katelyn retorted.

  “You don’t have to be so rude, Katelyn,” said Rebecca. “We’re just asking.”

  “Oh, what, you don’t think there’s different types of beauty seclusion?”

  “She’s got a point,” said Elizabeth. “I mean, I’ve never done it before, but-”

  “Shut it, Elizabeth,” Rebecca snapped. “What do you know? Even without your stupid freckles and uber-ugly hair, you’re still mid as cache.”

  Devon’s eyebrows shot to his hairline and he held in a laugh, his posse also trying not to smile. The other girls were mostly shocked at first, but started giggling when Danica laughed.

  Elizabeth’s jaw trembled, her gray eyes wide. Her Level downgraded to 239. Quinlan anticipated her to defend herself, retaliate at the insult, say something….

  She looked away, clearly trying not to cry. Really? She wouldn’t say anything?

  “Don’t talk to Liz like that,” Katelyn defended her instead.

  “You and I both know Calista wasn’t in any ‘seclusion’. If she was, she was in prison. Look at her!” said Danica.

  “She looks perfectly fine. Just because she doesn’t have thirty layers of makeup and mods doesn’t mean she’s-”

  “I can’t do this anymore, Mom!”

  Everyone turned their attention to the foyer, where Calista was walking away from her mother. “I just had one of the worst days, and you just come in and say, ‘By the way, I’m coupling you with someone you don’t even know’?”

  “You know Devon! What are you talking about?” her mother said.

  “I don’t know him! I don’t know anyone! I don’t even know myself!”

  “Stop being dramatic. I have the right to be angry. You lied to me, you snuck out with your sister, you’re embarrassing me in front of all-”

  “I don’t care about them, Mom! I never did!” Calista burst. “I wanted to come home and just have a glitching break after today!”

  “What do you mean, ‘after today’? What did you even do?”

  “First, that stupid balloon mod, then I almost get killed in a raid, then I have to get my whole body fixed…”

  “Cali.” Katelyn shook her head, panicked.

  “…then I completely bug up that stupid test, and now I come home to this!”

  “CALISTA!” both Katelyn and Quinlan shouted.

  Silence. Jennifer stared at her daughter, her green eyes blinking with shock. The two cliques stared at them both, Devon’s face breaking into a smile when he realized he was witnessing a dramatic family secret-spill.

  “AIDA, shut off the micro-cams,” Jennifer commanded.

  Now Quinlan knew it was bad. She never did that, not even when things got tense between them.

  “Mom, she didn’t mean… it’s not what it sounds like,” Katelyn began.

  “Go to your room, Katelyn Lakynn.” Their mother’s voice was dangerously low.

  “Mom, just hear us out-” Quinlan said.

  “I said… go… to your… room. Both of you.” Her eyes were dark, the emerald green color seeming black.

  -20 Rel-P

  Quinlan shivered, hiding behind his sister. Katelyn took his hand and nudged him towards the elevator. Looking back, he noticed his mother wasn’t kicking the others out.

  “Everyone under Level 150 and under the Best Friend rank with the leaders, go home,” she said. The girls in question (about 80% of the group) groaned, but obeyed, going to the front door.

  “You too, Elizabeth.”

  Everyone paused, looking at the girl clad in red and the fake black hair, with only her gray eyes left to mark her real appearance. “Mrs. Medley?” Elizabeth inquired.

  “This doesn’t concern you. Go home.”

  “But I’m… I’m a Level 240… a-and I’m a Confidante.”

  “You’re Calista’s Confidante. And you’re a Level 239,” said Rebecca, crossing her arms.

  “I… you’re all my Confidantes. I see it.” Elizabeth brought out her Pet to check.

  “Maybe to you, but not to us.” Danica then giggled. “You thought Relationship Status went both ways? Where have you been, in a smartphone?”

  “I don’t care what Level you’re at,” said Jennifer. “Leave this house. Now.”

  “You heard her,” Danica scoffed, nudging Elizabeth to the front door. Her sparkled gray eyes full of hurt, the former redhead went to the door and disappeared, followed by the hesitant group of girls not meeting Jennifer’s requirements.

  Quinlan didn’t get to hear the rest of that conversation, going up the elevator with Katelyn.