"Hey guys, it’s your favorite girl, NoraWill! I just wanted to thank you so much for all the support you’ve given me and to show you my new bag!"
Nora smiled for the camera with her designer bag that sparkled like a star on a dark night.
The comments from her stream kept flowing.
“This bag is a designer, a new one, and only a very few were able to get it! And thanks to your support, I was one of the luckiest to get it first!”
"Wow, Nora is so beautiful!"
"I wonder how much money it takes to be so beautiful and rich like her?"
"I love you, Nora!"
"Please, tell me how to be rich like you…"
She looked at the last comment, and her forced smile almost faded away. ‘Rich…’ she thought to herself.
“Anyway, it’s just a quick one before I go! You all know how busy I am with my collaborations. See you guys later!”
click
The live ended.
Nora heaved a lengthy sigh before gently setting her phone on the bed and collapsing onto it, like a snowflake drifting down to the warmth of a winter blanket.
“If only I was rich…geeeh,” she burped loudly as she put one week’s old potato chips into her mouth.
As she stared at the ceiling, the glow of her phone's screen had faded, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She let out another heavy sigh and pushed the empty bag of chips aside. The room was quiet, with only the distant sound of traffic humming outside.
She thought about the comments she had just read. The admiration and the envy, all directed at her.
She had always dreamed of being in the spotlight, but now that she was there, it felt different than she had imagined.
The pressure to maintain a certain image, to always be "on," was exhausting. She longed for a moment of genuine and real connection.
Nora ran her fingers through her long, wavy blond hair, a feature she took pride in, while her bright blue eyes twinkled like soft little lights.
She was slim and always had a cunning smile on her face, making her look powerful and threatening.
“I’m so fake…”
Despite her struggles, she had a good sense of humor and a positive outlook on life even if she was poor and luck wasn’t her best friend.
She reached for her phone and scrolled through her social media feed.
“Meeeh,” Every post seemed to scream for attention, each photo was made to project an image of perfection.
“Sigh…fake lips and nose…I wonder which surgeon did she go to?”
Nora had been working hard to make ends meet. She had been taking online business and fashion classes while working odd jobs to support herself.
Her dream was to attend university, but finances had made it difficult.
However, she didn't let that stop her. She was ready to make something of herself, and she had a good sense for fashion that she hoped to turn into a career one day.
Her thoughts drifted to her recent purchases, the knock-off clothes and accessories that she had carefully brought to create the illusion of wealth and luxury.
They were like symbols of a life she wished she had, but the act was becoming increasingly exhausting.
She stared at the fake designer bag she had shown in her video. It was undeniably beautiful, but it felt empty in her hands.
“Why can’t it be real? Why must I be poor?” she asked herself out loud.
bzzz
bbbzz
bbbbzz
Her phone rang, and she turned around to pick it up. “Oh, it’s that reminder…is it today already?” She glanced at the calendar on her wall. “June 21st,” she spoke.
Then she dropped the phone back on the ground and got up. “I guess there’s no way of escaping it... I will need to find a dress to wear.”
Meow a white-furred cat appeared from the counter.
“Mojo, come here.”
The cat didn’t move.
“Come here and help me dress!” She commanded, but the cat didn’t move.
“Fine, stay where you are! Like I care!” She turned around at her cupboard and started looking at the dresses she could wear for tonight’s event.
Nora picked a red dress.
It was bold and had a big neck cut. She found shiny, long earrings. They looked like diamonds. She tied her hair up tight. “Tonight is the night I make a name!”
She wanted to meet wealthy people at the party to help build her personal brand. She needed connections in that world, not just anyone.
But someone who was husband material.
She could have easily become wealthy and famous if she had been willing to sell her own body for profit.
Watching other popular influencers’ trips to faraway places and their luxurious lifestyle without any partners or work-related posts, Nora understood the situation perfectly.
Especially after receiving strange private messages from rich men and their offers.
To these men, influencers were like shiny objects, almost like escorts to be seen with, after which they would just return home to their wives.
And that wasn't what Nora wanted.
She desired a reputation that didn't involve her using her body for the wealthy, but rather her intellect.
There had to be someone out there who could appreciate her for her true abilities, who could see her talents. Those talents shouldn't go to waste, not in this lifetime…
“Mojo, if I can't meet someone who would help us tonight, in two weeks, we’ll be living on the street.”
“Meow.”
“Yes, I’ll be doing my livestream with a garbage background…maybe I should tell everyone that I’m taking a break from social media?”
“Meow.”
“But knowing what happened to NaniRabby, it wouldn’t be a great idea…” She let out a long sigh. “No! Tonight is the night!”
She grabbed her shining bag and walked out of her one-bedroom apartment.
When she was about to lock the door, Nora noticed a letter on the carpet, ‘A notice of evacuation…’ she read that with her eyes. “Damn it! They didn’t even give me more time!”
Her lips thickened as she clutched the letter together. “Tonight!”