"i bet your house is where my other sock is, woke up this morning, thought i'd write a pop hit."
IN real life & instagram
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The number, clear as day haunted my dreams last night. How in the world could one Instagram post even remotely reach that many people in a matter of hours. The sucky thing was it continued to build every minute I stared at it in shock.
It was a video of me singing Stick Season by Noah Kahan last Tuesday. The most recent post on my account, and the likes on Astriella's appreciation post were starting to go up really fast really quickly.
This was one of those moments you'd read about in a celebrity's autobiography when they reminisce on their rise to fame. I was sure to be a one-hit wonder, dead end street sorta discovery, but the excitement it sent rushing through my veins was a feeling you couldn't find anywhere else.
"You realize what this means?" Astra mumbled, half asleep, but still chatting with me. I shook my head, I had no clue what this meant or if this meant anything at all.
"You're an influencer now." I cringed at her words and she bawled laughing at my reaction. I didn't even know she had that much energy in her to react in such a way. I lightly pushed her face down into her pillow and told her to hush and go to sleep.
I woke up in the morning not rested at all, but more lively than I had been all summer. I felt like I could run a marathon on less than 2 hours of zzz's.
"Why is Instagram suddenly asking me if I have a business email?" I asked her while she made eggs for us. One of the perks of her being the daughter of a coffee shop owner was she knew the fundamentals of cooking, and was really good at it.
"Because people want to contact you! They probably want to offer you brand deals and have you attend fashion shows and do all that cool celebrity shit like buy $19 Erewhon smothies and walk around LA in a Prada bucket that costs more than all the furniture in my room." I cackled at her statement, but she looked at me with serious eyes. "We have to get it set up!" She exclaimed, now drilling her urgency into my brain.
I put my arms in the air and she quickly put the eggs on two plates so she could come over and help me with my so-called "celebrity shit."
She ended up making my email super professional, only using my name and then @gmail.com and linking it to my account. I thanked her, but she shooed me off to get ready for the day while she scrolled through the endless pit of comments on the Noah Kahan cover.
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lizziethelizard posted!
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liked by planetastra_lara, dualipa, and others lizziethelizard appreciation post for my best friend who somehow managed to make me internet famous for a day and set up a business email for me @planetastra_lara
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planetastra_lara love you my amazing clout bestie ↳ lizziethelizard i'm going to pretend i know enough gen z lingo to know what clout means ↳ lizziethelizard but love you too pook
istanfrankocean i'm changing my username to istanastriellalara
swiftstyles_13 yesss our swiftie queen astra
planetastra_lara better use the email now that i set it up ↳ lizziethelizard i forgot the login alreadyyyy ↳ planetastra_lara you know, for being valedictorian, you're awful at remembering things ↳ lizziethelizard how tf do they correlate? ↳ planetastra_lara you tell me smartie pants ↳ keepdrivingharry LMAO
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We went into the part of London where the tourist traps engulfed the city later in the day. Soho and Carnaby were filled to the brim with families taking pictures and wandering around the colorful shops. Astriella and I made a break for Liberty and gossiped on their furniture for a good 10 or so minutes before we got kicked out.
The owner new us, and secretly loved us, he just wasn't good at showing his love and appreciation.
Instead, we found an Italian spot to eat in an outdoor courtyard area called Covent Garden and finished out chats there.
Astriella had met a guy at a Tesco the other day and apparently they were destined to be together. I didn't buy it, but I nodded along happily because she seemed to be pleased with their relationship status.
"So what about you, love in the picture?" She asked, damn well knowing the answer was no. She asked this out of habit every time we went out. It's not like she didn't know, I just always had a different answer.
"Never in the picture, doesn't mean it isn't on my mind though."
"What do you mean?"
"Man I saw a picture of one of my old friends' engaged the other day. She's only like a year and a half older than me and I guess I just feel like I'm late to a party that everyone got an invite to."
"First of all, I'm not getting engaged anytime soon, so let that be your relationship pathetic-ness radar, second of all, I know you love being independent and self-reliant, but it's ok to want to be with someone and have a person who cares about you, other than me of course." She wrapped her arms around me and I fed her pasta in a jokingly romantic way.
She told me it was practice for Drew Starkey, my alleged future boyfriend that I definitely did not agree to.
We headed home that night with full stomachs, a bottle of Apple Cider from the supermarket, and smiles on our faces from our odd Saturday in the happiest place with the best people in the world.
Nothing could be better than this moment, but as Astriella continued to remind me, after every 4 or so blocks, I'd have to check my email eventually and come back to the reality that I had been given an opportunity that I was letting go to waste every minute I waited.
Oh well, there's always working as a barista with Astra.
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a/n:
Vote! Comment! Love me, love me, say that you love me!
I know it's starting slow, but this is the foundational parts, getting to meet our two favorite girls before the movie whirlwind and dates come in to factor.
Next chapter's the start and it only gets better from there. You should tune in next time on "WHAT I WAS MADE FOR!"
