CHAPTER THREE
A thousand bulbs pop and flash, thundering diamonds making a piece of history eternal. Viggo Hayes’s garage door opens, and his pitch black car backs out. The tires roll with predatory grace. The paparazzi drones hover, making room for the car to drive away. From inside, both brothers with bruised, swollen faces stare ahead. The silence is deafening. The silence is safer. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJQKdscyKE
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They get on the parkway and travel into deep traffic. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnTSxSnRIV
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“Great,” Viggo taps the wheel. Kirby checks the speedometer. They’re going 70. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjULcHxe5a3
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They pass a car that had been ahead of them, a loser who had been texting. Kirby tightens his seatbelt. Has Viggo used a blinker? His brother places his cellphone on a mantle just as it vibrates, pinging a new notification. They see a text from Harold his lawyer: We have a Kirby situation. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NN7SCMmgJ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sjKYoS3bT
Viggo and Kirby share a glance, immediately suspicious of each other. They ask the same of each other: What is this Kirby situation? They pass another car. Kirby’s pretty sure this time that Viggo hasn’t used a blinker. What is this irrational fear? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBZkEzopfY
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Viggo calls up his lawyer, “What is it?” Kirby could lipread that much. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4BvZmzFxw
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The lawyer says something startling. Kirby notices how Viggo flushes pink. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP0260HjGT
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They brake to a horrid screech, almost hitting a car. As they enter a low-lit tunnel, Viggo puts on his seatbelt and ends the call quietly. Strokes across the screen bring up the news app and several articles. Lo and behold, Kirby Hayes is trending up there with the Taylor bombing.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeXGnDXsuC
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2li4QF24F8
Photos of last night, when Viggo had brought him a change of clothes at the airport, show Kirby unbuckling his jeans, stripping down to shamrock boxers. He has a hardened Spartan body with a happy trail down his flat stomach while Viggo hands him a highfalutin jacket. Planet Earth and the plane that blew are juxtaposed directly behind them. It looks planned, like a fashion magazine shoot. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTC1LctqpW
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“STRIP SHOW SCANDAL.” Yeah right, Kirby thinks, snorting by the next headline. “BROTHERLY LOVE.” Either way, it doesn’t come off as a bad situation. Maybe? They both seem to look good. Kirby smiles, wondering what Chance secretly thinks. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TTHOb71np
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Viggo, on the other hand, shoots him a hateful glare. He turns the volume to the max, shattering the silence with grating rock. Yikes. It unnerves Kirby to look the other way. Once he sees a driver wearing a wooden mask, he frowns. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSGTsIknKJ
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A horrible woeful face looks back at him behind glass, two stained rivers of black that stream down from the eyes. The cars are right next to each other. Viggo doesn’t notice. The Spook decides to wave with a gloved hand. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTV4h72UXE
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What the hell’s that? Kirby peeks back. That car backs out of sight, slowing down behind a sea of weaving vehicles. Skyden has weirdos too, I guess. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gW0OEIpU1
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBJwu6i1oN
Kirby faces straight ahead at the road. He starts to worry. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBwcRLkhis
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The traffic starts to lessen, so they speed up to 80. The music starts cutting. Viggo’s knuckles go white. When the road makes a curve, the car shifts. They rattle in their seats, leaning left. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5Z2eot8p9
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The speed radar sign flashes and tells them that they’re over limit. Kirby demands him to slow down. He’s ignored. Oh my god. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjcudVrIjp
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They go 90 and traffic is back. More cars flood as much space as they can, taking their sweet time. Viggo swerves in between two lanes. Kirby starts yelling at the top of his lungs but then stops. It does no good. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FyGu26QcQ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrIaTqthQW
He realizes with his eyes that Viggo’s already trying. He’s really trying to stop. His feet are already slamming down on the brakes. Nothing. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86kKZhgbpd
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JicYCb4mX
That’s when Kirby palms the window and thinks: We’re going to die. A semi truck with all its weight looms ahead. He begins hyperventilating, wondering what is the safest position to lock into before that smash. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXyFoAdiGY
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His brother slaps the wheel and steers ever so slightly to avoid such a swerve. The car jerks. They hurtle ahead many honking cars, cutting across several lanes, but they make it. Some cars spin to a halt. Oh god, oh god.566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2H6qPvh5ox
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Viggo squeezes at the car key, trying to yank it out. It doesn’t budge, and the gears don’t either. Kirby winces, peeking at the speedometer. They’re going past 100! 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DFMuQzh1K
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Sirens wail behind them, red and blue thundering diamonds. The police. Three police cars and a helicopter gain on them. They see more police cars parked ahead. Viggo and Kirby share a doomed glance, their faces bruised and beaten. Viggo’s eyes start to lower, downcast and defeated. His brother struggles to say something final, something witty. Kirby’s eyes start to well up. This is it. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBP3eVS7Aio
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But something changes in his brother’s face. Another idea sparks. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpzpS7EkFY
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Viggo tears a net of wires from under the steering wheel. He gives some to Kirby who understands what they must do. More! Viggo fumbles with the wires, rooting through bundles for some taut lines. Together they roar and yank them out, flayed apart. That kills the engine dead. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rluuvEN13
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His brother slams at the brakes, but it’s still no good. The police orders him to stop. They don’t. Kirby holds his breath. The black car charges past the razor line with too much momentum. Rip. Pop. The tires are ruined but unstoppable. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8D8vh2COhO
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCX0nIkXV60
Officers scramble away from the rampage. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHYqQxNn4M
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They crash through the parked cars, significantly slowed. But along comes the edge. Beyond that is a long quiet fall to the ground. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGFdY5teKs
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Viggo eyes the emergency brake handle. He grabs it with a trembling hand. For a moment, he looks at Kirby who gives him a nod. Do it. He pulls it. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5fM1dbYX1
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The car flips. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWejStL7Xj8
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The world tumbles in a savage spiral as Kirby’s head knocks the ceiling and Viggo’s arm shatters through the window. No time to scream. Like a rollercoaster, gravity pulls them in a twist. Hair, face, sneaker. The car flips twice more through the air before scraping along the asphalt, raining sparks. They grind against the road. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRcJcVw6qC
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Ouch, Kirby thinks numbly before blacking out. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltDfUHXhy9
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It seems like a dream when Viggo is taken away, handcuffed behind his back. He’s alive. He’s shouting that his little brother’s deaf. Have mercy. Fade to black. It seems almost as if Kirby’s body is floating in black water until a dozen hands snatch him back awake. It seems like a nightmare but is real. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd8RtE4MWQ
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b0hERVw65
He’s on the parkway, lying in an ambulance. My neck… ack. The pain runs bone deep. This is Kirby’s first whiplash but he’s suffered only minor injuries. He recalls the Spook and that sympathetic wave. They were attacked in bright daylight and framed. Attempted manslaughter. What’s going to happen to Viggo? Or me? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0bVpwUnSi
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Kirby grips his neck, trying not to move so much. His entire body is so sore, he can’t help but squirm. It isn’t long before an officer gives him a ride to Pegasus Studios. It ends up an uneventful and brief ride, despite the alarms going off in his head. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKNr7nyXzN
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They arrive on a large campus where brick buildings and palm trees are lit up on display. They pass gigantic winged horses for statues and the crew on their sets. Unwilling to go any further, the officer drops him off at the curb and leaves. Kirby limps to the dorm alone, looking zombified. Everything about him is roughed up, like he had a fight with the road, and he lost. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ihKIuaXHH
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The dorm is a weird underground complex but small enough to navigate. It’s so early in the morning so the place seems dead, dreary lights, darkness, and all. He finds his room at the end of the white hall, marked with his name and his title, Pegasus Studios Intern. It’s a narrow room with bare walls, a window, and a double mattress. A prison bunk compared to the oversized bed he had last night. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfLdPY19bv
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The room does have a zero gravity button. I’d take this over that house any day. I’d at least feel a little freer. But not safer, that thought comes by. Not even a lock on the door. I can’t sleep with one eye open. Tried that once. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamUzWrwiL6
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He wastes no time starting a hot shower. That’s when he gets to thinking. They were targeted. It’s that sad weirdo, Kirby’s sure of it. Their car got hacked, remotely, on the road. Just like that. He had no time to tell anyone about it. He rubs his temples. Why target us? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGL6RIsZQ1I
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfBXT0lgj0
Kirby remembers the car crash all over again. It pains him to remember the way his brother looked wanting to say something, faced with the reality that they’d might soon perish. Viggo has never looked that guilty before. Monstrous but contrite. Like it’s somehow his fault, and he’s had it long coming. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCULhswWKTK
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSz6k61gr2z
Kirby gets out of the shower and checks his phone, even though he knows there’s still no reply from Chance Gott. Out of habit. Must be busy, I guess. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcv9GkYhHy
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He dries off and checks the news. This time, Kirby Hayes is trending everywhere, especially right after a cop chase turned car wreck was captured on live television. He buries his face into his hands. And I just got here. Mom and Dad are going to freak when they see this. He combs through the cheap branded hoodies and jeans for the best matching pair. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRW8FvGrk7x
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUY5YqbJnC
Even worse, medical records are turning up from his past, dredged up from planet Earth. He moans. Someone’s found out about a failed suicide attempt that happened one year ago. Pill overdose. That was a dark time. It becomes hard to swallow and even harder to think straight. Viggo isn’t kidding. The paparazzi really are sharks. The headlines scream echoes in his head: “DANGER TO SOCIETY?” “WHICH HAYES BROTHER DROVE OFF THE ROAD?” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtU3HphNEV
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Ugh. Kirby does an eyeroll as he puts on his sneakers, savaged from the wreck. His reputation looks ruined already. But if he’s not careful, either one of them can end up demonized. They’re good-ish, for now. Right? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7awspYAIxA
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrfmboy9I7
Iris Frisk knocks on his open door for a while, a redhead all dressed in white. He doesn’t hear her, but once he notices, he freezes like a deer in headlights. Viggo’s ex. She may look like Emma Stone, but she moves like Jen Lawrence. She creeps in with a big darling smile, a dry erase board and a marker, taking a seat next to him. He clears his throat to feel better. She’s not even a star but he’s already starstruck. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lE52pkOM1
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUTOHMlpZG
She debates on it but shows him a barely legible scribble: I’m Iris. I know your brother. Heard what happened... Are you okay? Is there anything I can do? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjZkjIiXYp
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uJWljETfC
He shakes his head and gives her a small appreciative smile. She’s more shy than she shows to the public. However, Iris doesn’t look satisfied. Her bovine eyes fixate on a spot for a minute before she wipes the board clear. Her small hand scribbles furiously. How are you getting back at him then? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWd2Gdsp0PU
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Tr3UCMalT
Kirby recoils. He writes: Back at him? Why would I do that? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir0ABReH4F
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It dawns on Iris’s face. “You don’t know…” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjQYpN6xVn
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She brings out her phone and directs him to a video of Viggo Hayes outside the police station an hour ago, rubbing his unchained wrists. This happened during the shower. An underlying headline shouts: “CHARGES AGAINST HAYES DROPPED.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyQcQlMYmJ
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That’s quick. Harold his lawyer must’ve said some things right. His brother looks banged up, but he’s all right. Viggo’s talked a lot to the press, but Kirby has no idea what he’s said. It’s not captioned, despite it being the law. They’re talking about him but he doesn’t know what they’re saying. This is some hearing bullshit. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyLZhwlYae
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Iris scribbles: He’s blaming it on the car, but since a reporter asked about your … past … and whether if you caused the crash, Viggo’s story changed. He’s not confirming but he’s not denying it either. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9y44D18Al
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That’s why you don’t want me talking to the press. Kirby’s face grows hot. So you can demonize me first and demonize me so good until I’m kicked out of the sky. Iris notices how angrier he becomes. She sighs, pleased with his rage. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScRt7xq1sq
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I was thinking, we should do an interview on my show. Let’s show them you’re sober and rehabilitated. Undo the damages that Viggo’s done. Let’s make him go INSANE, yeah? 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgbtBC6RWX
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mGE6jcNIy
Kirby does not hesitate. He nods eagerly and writes: I want respect. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHdYw0wC9H
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‘Yeah,” Iris Frisk says under bated breath. Her smile grows enormously. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmvp1x1LCO
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbWTvfDV1x
And oh they make it look amazing. Because of it, Kirby Hayes trends even higher than the Taylor bombing. He sits across Iris Frisk on her Iris and Bunny show, both grinning and beaming like children on everyone’s mobile, tablet, or laptop. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHtZX44Gn0
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“How are you feeling?” Iris asks out loud. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrDhPRwBYC
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Kirby shows a cue card to the audience: Like a car wreck! 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgMPSzpEMS
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The people laugh, laugh, laugh. All about Kirby Hayes. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGC0ROBcmF
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“Speaking of which Kirby, in your words, the ones that the officers on scene never asked for by the way, what happened exactly?” Iris asks pointedly at the camera, as if to ask those responsible. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYgwKNQ1e8
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Kirby shows them another cue card: My brother? Driving a Lexus? Enough said. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjKFNXXhW8
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Iris giggles, “You don’t seem to have mental issues, like they imply. At all.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QEjJZHzKk
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Kirby shrugs comically. Next cue card. I had no idea they were saying that. Maybe if I weren’t deaf, they’d talk differently. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrAhyiOJ7Q
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Iris agrees, “Ahem, I mean you were the passenger here.” She turns in her swivel chair and smiles at the camera. “Your thoughts?” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C0x5FbpOr
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They end the show there. Shove it, Viggo. Chills run down Kirby’s back, the really good kind. They hug and perfect a high-five. He blushes, writing her: Thanks. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPdiRKR4Zz
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK87LNShaW
“Oh nothing to it,” Iris says, urging him not to make a fuss. She writes back: Thank YOU. We should get going. Our first meeting starts in ten minutes. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiPKfD3aG8
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They regroup with the other interns down the white hall. Kirby notices a blonde French woman bent for her five-year-old daughter, tying her little white shoes. It would have been picturesque except for her tired, frosty face. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCN9GJHEuw
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“Hey Maddy!” Iris says. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SvIU6wZdo
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“Not now,” Madeline Desjardins snaps. “Iris! Pour me coffee, would you, darling?” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemFRiY4vOV
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpgRZIEFxm
“Sure thing,” she says and clicks her tongue, her hands firing at the five-year-old like a cowgirl’s. “See you Maddy, see you Ruthie!” Bang! Ruthie shoots back. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeorSIxlkT
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A cute Korean guy with pink spiked hair leaves his room, dressed in a pinstripe suit. He gives a dimpled smile directed at Iris then Kirby and leers from behind his rectangular shades. He initiates a handshake, and Kirby is relieved, glad to take it. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClVCjzZPHh
566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAt2TPDStJL
“Maverick Clark,” he says and points to his name tag. “I’m a writer like you.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYi6bMfVbb
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Kirby nods, weaseling out of the prolonged handshake. He writes: Nice to meet you. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9VjtPNOKO
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“Cool, cool, you too bro,” says Maverick. He puts in his pink earphones and tunes out. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxg7pcxIKto
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They travel down the hall until a tall dark skinned woman in a grey business skirt leaves her room. This time, Kirby sees a more familiar face and becomes starstruck once again. She purses her burgundy lips into a sharp smirk. Simone Chaput struts away, leading the pack, with skull painted fingernails and skull earrings. She plays the goth role in several dramas on tv, and she’s nearly brought him to tears often. Her acting’s that good. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQP0tm4eD1q
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He’s always hoped to write her an amazing role in a movie one day but with Simone Chaput… in the same room, Kirby has to stifle his excitement. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxtZfADrxr
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The pack leaves the dorm and travels across campus, a mixed motley of style and talent. The glaring sun rises, filling the atmosphere and pounding each structure with glorious light and shadow. Iris pounces Maverick by surprise and rides his back. They whoop, towering like a two-headed beast. Simone lingers behind when she sees Madeline come jogging with Ruthie and a heavy jangling bag of books and binders. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHV0WX0l4Fn
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Kirby checks his phone, dwelling on the private number. No reply. Chance has been really flirty, but Kirby hasn’t. He realizes that with growing regret. His eyes should be on the prize, and that’s his career. It’s his brass ring and he has to snatch that before Viggo does. His heart wounds a bit. Ah, whatever. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjigppDDy2
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They approach a bricked building named after Dr. Taylor and slowly enter. Madeline tells her daughter to stay close. Kirby takes the time to view around a rosewood study that’s carpeted like a library or a college classroom. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyo7Ejieyy
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Carved into the walls are sea captains overlooking their ship masts, dealing with krakens and angered stormy gods. His fingers run over them as he gawks up. The white golden dome is both a ceiling and a lavish compass. He and Maverick gawk at each other gawking before they look away, feeling like fools. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCAQGBfaYZ
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Globes of all kinds are posted between classical Victorian street lamps. Simone dances with Ruthie, weaving around the lamps and globes like princesses at a ball. Madeline looks relieved, like she’s been given a break. Kirby looks back as the doors close. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0XyYeKn9J
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Madeline coaxes Ruthie to reach their seats as the interns look down to the center of the room where the skylight shines the brightest. An old woman with long white grandma hair leans over a large mahogany desk, scrying through scrolls, indexes, and almanacs. She pinches her spectacles and marks her place with a business card as her heavy lidded eyes dart down line by line. For a sleepy, trembly woman, she’s sharply dressed in a vest underneath a blazer with dress pants. She’s hopelessly distracted by the German Shepherd, muttering, “Please stop shedding.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmL8FhlCw9c
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The lady notices everyone arriving and brightens, “Hey you!” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLjUe4PdFG
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“Dr. July Fanfare!” Iris calls her name with pizzazz. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnK8yusiJaS
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Dr. Fanfare whips back her long white hair, using age as part of her charm. But she is still slow to react, as her mind seems somewhere else. She starts gathering her rare books and placing them carefully in glass boxes. “Sorry. Antiquarian habits.”
“Boy or girl?” Iris crouches next to it and checks. “Girl.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr09tPrRBAF
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“Boy,” corrects Dr. Fanfare. She makes a snip-snip gesture. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡby1e3IWjTj
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“Sorry, boy... What’s his name?” Iris rakes through its thick matted hair. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVokYwWwtv
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“It’s not mine, it’s Taylor’s,” Dr. Fanfare says. “There’s a collar, I believe.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAqUHZSCoR
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Simone checks it, “Aha, his name is Ishmael.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgYtuxsOZ5
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Dr. Fanfare chuckles. “He does love his books about the sea.” She sniffles and shakes her head to stop herself from tearing up. “I mean, Taylor had loved those kind of books. As you can see, he left things behind. His entire life, I suppose.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XAMK6CuU3
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“Anyhoo,” says Dr. Fanfare, addressing everyone. “Congratulations to Iris Frisk, Kirby Hayes, Simone Chaput, Madeline Desjardins, and Maverick Clark. Welcome to your internship with … Pegasus Studios.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCI05XTpfi
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They clap and hoot. Kirby plays along and claps with them. He can figure out their commotion, though he’s surprised a sign language interpreter hasn’t shown up. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡardPFIk6I6
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Madeline’s hand shoots up. “Are you the teacher?” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQMr7CPSNF
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Dr. Fanfare calms them down, “I’m just the assistant. But I can be the best darn cheerleader you’ll ever meet. As to who will be your supervisor, I don’t know who it is, I’m afraid. They’ll be coming by shortly. Until then, icebreaker. You.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1KTbLAUIa
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She points a bony finger to Kirby Hayes as she turns on the projector. They look to the screen glowing on one wall. She reads it out loud for them, “What is your mission?” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BCfl0CneC
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Kirby takes a second to think about it, but he already knows. He writes on the dry erase board and shows Dr. Fanfare. She quotes, “I want to make Pegasus Studios millions of dollars in revenue.” Scattered laughter. The old lady nods deliriously, struggling to keep her eyes open, “You’re going to be popular with the board, Kirby. Hehehe.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyNy9wsQal
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The doors open. “Oh,” says Dr. Fanfare. “Looks like your supervisor’s coming.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZtHgwSvY3
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Everyone looks back and stares. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdzBLyFuBw
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Viggo Hayes struts down the aisle, passing globes and lamps, and greets them in both spoken English and American Sign Language, “Hello, interns. Let’s get you hired.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivpBH8v3af
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He stands next to Dr. Fanfare and Ishmael, patting her shoulder, with a perfected face. There is no sign of cuts or bruises. He doesn’t even look like he’s been in a fight or an accident or even a police station. He stands proudly in the limelight, a champ, in his best suit. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUVinqgs32
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Viggo Hayes and Dr. Fanfare stand together as judges, arms crossed, before the five interns. His psycho orange eyes scan them before locking onto little brother Kirby and ex-girlfriend Iris. “Don’t assume that I’ll take it easy on you two.” 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrg51fOMBK
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The pair remains unruffled the best they could. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz9fRHsRs8
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Viggo nods their way with a growing monstrous smile. As if to say that’s right, I’m the gatekeeper. I’m the one who gets the final say of who stays, who goes. Who officially gets in Pegasus Studios, and who never ever will. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXwgrrGX8m
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Kirby deeply sighs. The war rages on. 566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wZ4eN8r8j
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THE SPOOK IS SAD566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNdVfmrHXD
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Jack Steele Adams566Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzbDuHsu1D
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