“How can I help you?” the smiling guy behind the counter said.

“You can actually help everybody. See that sign?” I pointed at the crooked piece of paper on the door.

“Yes?”

“Notice anything strange about it?”

His smile vanished. He looked again.

“What are you getting at?” he accused.

“See those quotation marks around slowly?”

“Yes?”

“Why are they there?”

“We’ve been having problems with the door. People are opening it too fast and slamming into people.”

“You don’t need those quotation marks,” I explained. “The sign should just read ‘open slowly.’”

“You serious?” He laughed. “Why are you wasting my time with this?”

I was two seconds away from grabbing the black marker from his desk, marching over to the sign, and scribbling out the quotation marks. But I restrained myself from looking like a lunatic at ShopRite.

“You should correct the sign,” I said. Then I walked away.

Walking away is not my thing.

For a while after the Open “Slowly” Incident, I corrected any typo I saw on a sign. No sign was safe. I did it on the DL so I wouldn’t offend anyone directly. It was my way of trying to make the world a smarter place. But whipping out a marker to change “their” to “there” in “Their are two lanes open” wasn’t enough. Not even close.

That’s why I want to be a book publisher. The decline of our society’s collective intelligence is sad. I mean, really, is this the best we can do? Not that I should talk. I didn’t take school seriously up until last year. School was just something I had to endure until I could graduate and focus on real life. But now that I have a career goal I feel passionate about, I’m putting a lot more energy into my classes. I want to show other people that knowledge is a good thing. As a publisher, I’ll have the power to share quality work that can change the world. I can make a much greater impact by publishing books that advance our collective intelligence than I can correcting a few random signs three people might notice. My mom is in full support of my career goal. She has a severe dislike for pop culture and what it’s doing to our society. She loves that I want to help preserve the English language.

When I see the ridiculous comments posted on Ethan’s pages with their typos and misspellings, I want to comment back how stupid they sound. But of course I would never do that. Restraint is just one way I support Ethan’s big dream.

4

[103,204 FOLLOWERS]


“Look at this,” Ethan says.

Something about being in Ethan’s room puts me in a warm, fuzzy trance. Maybe it’s how everything is so familiar. Or how it smells like him, a mix of Gucci Guilty and vanilla. I always feel so comfortable here. This is where Ethan grew up. His room knows all his secrets. His true feelings. His desires. I could stay on his bed reading for days. But I pry myself up and go over to his desk. What he’s pointing at on the huge computer screen is incredible.

He has 103,204 followers.

“That’s over five hundred more than yesterday,” he says.

“Of course it is. You’re amazing.”

Ethan reaches up and pulls me down on his lap. He slides his fingers through my wet hair.

“You’re amazing,” he says.

We just came in from Ethan’s pool out back. It’s one of the many reasons I love coming over to his house. His house is so massive, you wouldn’t even know his parents and little sister live here, too. I’ve come over lots of times without seeing any of them, even when they’re all home.

We read the comments on the new video he posted today. Or Ethan reads while I watch our reflection in the mirror above his desk. I love how good we look together. Ethan is athletic lean with big blue eyes and dark brown hair. He has the kind of look that makes girls melty. I’ve melted in many locations just because he looked at me in that intense boyfriend way. His eyes are almost the same shade of dark blue as mine. It’s weird seeing my hair so dark in the mirror. I changed my hair right before summer vacay. I’m still getting used to it being black with a jade streak.

Ethan pulls me closer. Right when he’s about to kiss me, his computer pings with new comments.


How can you look so sexy without even trying? You gangsta now :D


Hot video. Scorching. En fuego.


OMG!!!!!! we luv u in richmond, Ethan! Do a show hre pleeeeeze???

The very first comments Ethan got when he started posting videos two years ago were exciting. He told me he used to write everyone back. That was before I knew him. It’s so weird how I didn’t even talk to him back then. Ethan still reads and appreciates every comment, but now there are way too many for him to write back to everyone. He would if he could, though. The boy has serious love for his fans.

This new video is getting more views and comments than ever. Ethan’s mom hired a professional filmmaker to do his last three videos. Then Ethan hooked up with Red Bedroom Records, an indie label that’s all about discovering stellar new talent. He recorded his first album with them. Forever is about to drop. Red Bedroom only wanted Ethan, so he recorded Forever without The Invincibles. He’s hoping that attention for the album will inspire attention for the band. Ethan’s stoked that Zeke signed him in the spring. That gave Zeke time to hustle enough to make sure Forever will be huge.

Red Bedroom is releasing the song for this video, “Night on Fire,” as Ethan’s first single off the album. The video is fierce. Instead of the standard overproduced video format, Ethan wanted to go with something more relatable to his fans. He filmed most of the video himself with a handheld camera. The filmmaker recorded the longer shots of Ethan and did the editing. “Night on Fire” is about one magical summer night when a boy and girl meet. They have this immediate connection. It’s love at first sight. In the video, they spend the whole night together in downtown Manhattan, playing mini golf on a pier in Tribeca, getting Italian ices at Rocco’s, and walking along the Hudson River. He kisses her on the rooftop of a building they sneak into, sparkles of city lights all around them. Watching the sunrise, they realize that no matter what happens, they will always have this one night to remember forever. The fire of their passion will never die.

Obviously, this video is speaking to a lot of girls. More melting the first time I saw it.

Ethan isn’t a typical teen rock star. His music has a quality and depth that boy bands typically lack. You can totally hear Ethan’s influences in his music. His sound is a combination of pop and hip-hop mostly inspired by The Beatles, Elvis, and Michael Jackson. Ethan believes they were the musicians who made music what it is today. He’s also into contemporary artists like Eminem, Usher, and Justin Timberlake. Ethan’s musical style is hard to describe. He has a unique sound no one else has ever created before. Even though his music is so original, its tone is familiar. His songs somehow relate to everyone. They just feel like home. His lyrics achieve the impossible by being both catchy and deep. His target demographic is girls ages twelve to twenty-four. But nine-year-old girls and grandmas also love him. Plus he has lots of guy fans. Basically, Ethan makes the kind of music generations have been waiting for. It’s obvious why he has such widespread appeal.

More comments pop up.


Brazil LOVES YOU!!! Te amo xxx


Where can I get a night on fire?


Ahhhhh how are you so perfect? <3

“That last comment was obviously meant for you,” Ethan tells me.

“You’re the one who’s perfect. I should know. I’m your biggest fan.”

“Hmm.” Ethan scans the comments. “I wonder why my biggest fan didn’t comment?”

“All of my comments are private.”

“But you like the video, right?”

“I love it. You’re so hot I can’t believe the screen didn’t ignite.”

Ethan kisses me. When Ethan kisses me, every part of me ignites.

“Ahem,” goes a voice in the doorway.

“Nice knock,” Ethan says.

“Um, your door was open?” Sydney says with tone. Sydney is Ethan’s little sister. She is thirteen and not at all impressed with Ethan. Which is ironic considering she’s in his target demographic. If Ethan becomes even half as famous as he’s hoping, Sydney’s friends will be dying that he’s her brother.

“What can I do for you?” Ethan asks.

“Mom wants to know where Sterling put the garlic press.”

“Then why don’t you ask her?”

Sydney’s detached gaze flicks over to me. I’m still sitting on Ethan’s lap. She’s clearly wondering why I’m even remotely interested in her brother.

“It’s in the second drawer by the refrigerator,” I tell her. “The one with the big utensils.”

“That’s not where it goes.”

“Oh, sorry. I thought it was.”

Sydney retreats, shaking her head at the floor over my audacity at presuming to shove a garlic press where it does not belong. She plods downstairs to rectify my outlandish behavior.

“How dare you,” Ethan says.

“I thought that’s where it went.”

“Garlic presses don’t like to be misplaced.”

“Oh, really?”

“Know what happens to people who put garlic presses in the wrong drawer?”

“What?”

“Tickling.”

“No tickling.”

Ethan presses his fingers against my sides.

“No tickling!” I spring up from his lap, laughing hysterically even though the tickling never started. Even the threat of tickling makes me hyper.