Her readers demanded an update. Since her last post, her blog nearly doubled in size. Traffic shot up after the skate video went viral. She tagged her blog with the same keywords. The comment section exploded with memes and fan theories. Everybody argued over the family friend thing. The video Aliyah’s sister posted only confused them further. It was suspicious. Why was he in Los Angeles one week then Charlotte the next? Whoever he was, Gavins Gal needed to get to the bottom of it.
A dark woman in scrubs hurried down the hallway, trying not to drop anything. She carried a lunch bag, her purse, a stack of mail, and her scrubs from earlier. A bag of blood spilled on her last night. O-positive, luckily.
The light flickered by her apartment. Management recently replaced the carpet on her floor, but the walls still needed repainting. Some of the units had mice.
Inside, her dog whimpered. She shushed him through the door while she searched for her keys. Her purse overflowed with cords and toiletries. She stuck her mail in her mouth then tucked her lunch bag under her arm. Her phone charger fell onto the floor.
“Off,” she said as she walked in. Her pit bull jumped up and almost knocked her over. “I know I’m late. I’m sorry.”
He barked then scurried into the kitchen. Both his food and water bowls were empty. He nudged them with his snout, barking again.
“I hear you. I hear you.”
She fed him before making herself a pot of coffee. Overnights always wore her out. She tossed her old scrubs in the bathroom sink then microwaved a plate of mac-and-cheese from yesterday.
She usually took a nap, but today, her readers came first. She saw on social media that Aliyah was hosting a skate festival. She splurged and bought herself a subscription to their live stream. She figured, if Aliyah and her new guy were serious, he’d be there, too. He might be hard to find, so she paid for full access. She called it, “investigative journalism.”
She sat at her desk with her coffee and mac-and-cheese. Her dog jumped up on the bed beside her. She logged on just in time to catch the beginning. She shrieked when she saw Aliyah in the judges’ booth.
“Damn, girl! Are you bringing back the beanie?” She laughed. “Super cute. Now if only they could make a sequel.”
She shared the last of her noodles with her dog. He licked the plate clean, wagging his tail. They watched the stream together that morning. She toggled through the cameras to look for her boyfriend. But no luck.
Aliyah hosted the high jump to start the festival. She introduced the skaters and announced the height of the bar. She sounded genuinely impressed by the end. She even let the winner jump over her.
At lunch, the stream cut out for a minute. The screen read, “Technical Difficulties.” By the time it came back, Aliyah and her team were sitting down to eat. A skinny white guy pulled her chair out for her. He tried to steal some of her fries, but she slapped his hand away.
“There he is,” she shouted, waking up her dog. He barked as she danced in her seat. “She brought him. I knew it. That’s her boy!”
Finally, Gavins Gal had proof. She opened a blank document and began typing. She took a screenshot to prove it. Welcome to the Blog, y’all. It’s Gavins Gal here, your underground source for everything Aliyah Gavins. Big news!
EJShaun.com 