Abby laughed as Blythe broke the hug.
“It’s my new app. A beauty finder. It goes off when I get near someone extremely beautiful.”
“Aww. Sweet. But that may be the corniest thing you’ve ever said,” Abby responded.
Blythe’s phone continued to ping. “Hey, quick, Ricki, get a video of this.”
Like Pavlov’s dog, Ricki yanked her cellphone from her pocket and held it up. “Ready.”
Blythe pulled Abby in for another hug as her phone continued its nonstop alerts.
“Got it,” Ricki said after several seconds.
Blythe stepped back and stared at her phone. “What the hell is going on?”
“Sounds like it’s malfunctioning,” Abby said.
Blythe’s eyes widened as she stared at the screen. “Holy shit. Something big is going down.” She continued to scroll on her phone, and her expression went from amused to concerned.
“Is everything all right?” Abby asked.
“It sounds like Sweet Cyn is having a meltdown.” Blythe tapped on her phone. “Let me find her live feed.” Blythe cupped her hand over her phone, blocking out the sun. “It’s hard to see out here. Do you have time to come back inside?”
Despite being ready to hit the road for home, Abby said, “Sure.”
Once inside, they gathered around the kitchen table as Blythe held up her cellphone. Sweet Cyn’s face filled the screen. Her bright pink hair was a mess, and tears streamed down her face.
“How many more of you bitches are gonna join me live?” Cyn said, glancing down. “Oh, look at all of you. Bring it on.”
“What is she doing?” Ricki asked.
Blythe shook her head. “I don’t know. She’s been fired up all weekend because of the trolls calling her a fat, ugly dyke.”
“Her?” Abby said. “She’s femme. And she’s adorable.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Blythe said. “If they can get a rise out of her, they’re gonna say it.”
Their attention was drawn back to Blythe’s phone when Cyn starting yelling. “Where’s that bitch Stacy? Come on, let’s eliminate the cringe.”
“Oh, fuck,” Blythe said. “She’s not going after Stacy. She’ll get roasted.”
“Who’s Stacy?” Ricki asked.
“She goes by the handle Eliminate_the_cringe. She’s made it her sole mission to humiliate content creators that annoy her. She’s brutal.” Blythe snatched up her phone. “I gotta stop her.”
Abby made eye contact with Ricki, who shrugged as Blythe furiously typed on her phone.
“Fuck, Cyn’s not answering.” Blythe set her phone back on the table as Cyn’s incoherent rampage continued. “I sent her a text and commented on the live feed, hoping she’d answer.”
“Looks like she’s too busy screaming,” Ricki said. “Why is she starting something with this Stacy?”
“Suck my strap, Stacy,” Cyn yelled.
Blythe glanced at her phone—the concern evident in her eyes. “After the trolls attacked Cyn for being a fat, ugly dyke, she did the worst thing possible. She made a video attacking her haters. It was rambling and unhinged.” She looked at Abby.“Remember, I showed that video last night of the creator who’d stitched Cyn’s video. That was Stacy.”
“You’re gonna have to clue me in,” Ricki said.
Blythe had picked up her phone again, and her thumbs were flying as she typed in another message.
