Catfish

03: "Beauty and Brains"

They nodded.

"We understand. Let's get straight into this," Nev said.

"This 'Jay' guy...run us through everything again. It's been like a week, sorry. I just remember you guys meeting on Twitter," he said.

"Yeah, we met on Twitter and talked until we started developing feelings for each other. Each day, I would like him more and more, until it became a love thing."

"That must've be scary, right?" Nev asked.

"Yes. I was scared out of my mind. I was like I can't love someone if I've never met them. What would my parents think? , you know?"

They nodded.

"Do your parents approve?" Max asked.

"Yes, but they didn't approve of it first. They took my phone and everything. It was crazy. I had to convince them that he was real."

"How'd you do that?" Nev asked.

"I had to lie to them and say that we've video chatted, when we really hadn't."

"So how did they find out that you were lying?"

"I decided to tell them because I couldn't really hide it forever. Plus, I needed advice from both of them."

"Very true. What advice did they give you?"

"Well, my dad told me to never think negatively, but also to never get my hopes up. He also told me that I should keep my guard up because Jay could be anyone...a child predator , a serial killer, apart of human trafficking, drug abuser....I was like chill, dad."

We all shared a laugh.

"Wow, yeah. Your dad was pretty descriptive," Nev said.

I nodded.

"But yeah, it's always good to keep your guard up sometimes, especially on the Internet," he added. "Listen to that, kids!" he said and pointed one of the cameras.

We shared another laugh.

"My mom said that I need to think about what I'm doing. She said she was happy that I was in love, but online relationships were eerie. She also said if I ever do end up meeting him, and it turns out to be someone else, I shouldn't fight them or scold them. It's okay to be upset, but I should remember that person for helping me through problems or making me smile on bad days," I said.

"Your parents are wise," he said.

I nodded.

"But to continue the story, it turned out that Jay loved me back. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time, there wasn't because I still hadn't met him."

"Have you ever questioned him if he was real?" Nev asked.

"No. Never."

Their eyes widened at me.

"Why not?" Nev asked.

"I feel like if I ask him, he'll get defensive. He'll probably be like, Ooh if you really loved me, you wouldn't even ask me that. I don't know..." I said.