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One knock on the door later, and Juno greeted me with a hug and a wide smile. Her skin glowed, as always, and her powder pink hair was pulled up in the perfect ponytail. The touch of glitter on her cheeks gave her just the right amount of sparkle to draw the camera’s attention to her bright eyes.
Squeezing me, she said, “Hey, girl. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me, too,” I said. “You look great.”
“You, too.”
I didn’t. I looked like I’d just rolled off of a stink sofa, put on some wrinkled clothes, and fretted and sweated my way here, because that’s what I’d done.
“Before we start, do you want to sit and chat things out a bit? I have coconut cake with passionfruit buttercream.”
“Yes to everything you just said.”
I followed her to the kitchen table. She brought along the cutest tiniest baby cupcakes to ever exist.
It felt strange being here, in the space we’d briefly shared. It felt like a life that could have been for me, but hadn’t quite fit. My current set-up was objectively way less awesome, but it felt more genuine, because it was mine.
“Before we delve into my damage, tell me about the Paprikatown saga,” I said. “How’d the apology video go? I’ve been so wrapped up in my own drama recently, I haven’t properly asked about yours.”
“It went…okay.”
“If you need me to kick someone’s ass, just give me a name.”
She gave me a small smile. “It went as well as it could. And everything’s back to normal.”
She didn’t sound happy about that. This would require further questioning.
I licked the icing off one of the baby cupcakes. Smooth, fruity cream bathed my taste buds in tropical heaven. “Ohmygosh you’re a culinary wizard.”
“Thanks." Juno chuckled. Then, without an ounce of judgment in her tone, she segued into my issues. “So you quit your job.”
“This whole fake friend of a billionaire thing is paying plenty,” I said, letting her change the subject. “There’s no reason to torture myself at Eterni-Tea.”
“Your arrangement with Gabriel has an end date though, right?”
“Valentine’s Day.”
“That’s kinda weird. Have you thought about what you’d like to do after that?”
I shoved a cupcake in my mouth so I didn’t have to answer. It was soft and pillowy and delicious. I chewed slowly, savoring it.
After a moment, Juno said, “I’m in a similar position.”
“Hawww….” I swallowed. “How so?”
“Well honestly, the whole brand deal aspect of being an influencer—it doesn’t feel right.”
Was this about the Paprikatown issue, or something else? “I thought you loved what you were doing.”
“I do, kind of. I’m wearing down. The burnout is real. And I don’t think this is something I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Just like Gabriel had said when he met her. Did that mean even though he was bad at talking to people, he was somehow good at reading them?
I asked, “So whatdoyou want to do?”
“I don’t know yet. Maybe something similar, but with less pressure to churn out new content constantly. I haven’t figured out the particulars, and I’m happy that the show money is there, and that I can get brand deals to pay the bills now.”
“You’re not having money troubles, are you?” I asked.
