Signing up on U didn’t really change much. I didn’t get many followers. Every couple of days, I’d get a new follower notification, but I never checked who it was. Nothing annoying happened for a while, and I was enjoying the uneventful days. I felt so contented, I didn’t have time to worry about the virtual world.
Spring came.
In the mornings, I crossed the Chinka Bridge. I didn’t look down like I used to. Instead I faced forward, striding over the bridge with Mr. Reseggnation bouncing against my school bag. My feet felt light, like I could skip along the road at any moment. I felt indescribably free. I was surprised by how dramatically the simple act of singing in U had changed my mood.
I finally felt like a normal high school student.
I started my junior year. I looked at the blackboard like a good student and felt hopeful about my classes. At lunch, I met up with Hiro and went to the school commissary. I picked over the array of stuffed breads at the bakery counter, which was always packed. We’d go back to the classroom, and while we ate, Hiro would spout off reviews of the latest books she was reading. She talked about the crucial turning points in human history and the contradiction between freedom and equality and the imbalance between scientific development and the human spirit and so on and so forth.
After school, I wandered along by myself, listening to my favorite bands’ new songs with my earbuds in. I bought ice cream at the sweet shop I’d always been curious about. I squatted down to pet the white cat stretched out in the sun in front of the church. I walked along the road by the river, looking up at the evening sky.
At night, I took long, relaxing baths. I dried my hair, put on pajamas, reorganized my notes from class, and got ready for the next day.
The days passed without much happening.
The next thing I knew, it was the start of summer. In gym class, we ran around the track as the blinding sun reflected off it into our eyes. Everyone dragged their feet, complaining about how hot it was or how they felt like throwing up. Secretly, I was having a great time. I used to hate gym class, but not anymore. I felt light, like I could run forever.
I went back to class pleasantly sweaty and changed into my uniform. Classes were over for the day. I thought about where to stop on the way home from school.
A refreshing breeze ruffled the curtains. I tightened my necktie, stuffed my gym clothes into my bag, and checked my phone. There was a follower notification. I opened the U app absentmindedly.
Bell: 32,460,428 followers
“What the…?”
What’s happening?
I had more than thirty million followers. As I watched, the number rose with dizzying speed.
Why?
A video of the song Bell had sung a cappella on that snowy night had been shared around the world. Not only that, but the video had loads of “related videos” linked to it.
“What related videos…?”
Sounds had been added to Bell’s simple a cappella song and chords layered on, transforming it into a standard pop number. Who did that? No sooner had that question crossed my mind than I discovered that someone had used a vocoder to turn Bell’s voice robotic. Before I could register shock, the song morphed into a classy jazz band accompaniment, which slid into a red-blooded heavy rock version.
What the heck?
As I stared at the screen, remakes in all imaginable genres flashed past. Hip-hop, string quartet, reggae, folk, bossa nova, EDM… Bell’s song had been adapted into all these genres by the most skilled of musicians. They melded together into a single grand collaboration. It was like a magnificent operatic suite played by an orchestra.
That wasn’t all.
Bell had been wearing a simple white dress, but now versions of her dressed in all different outfits proliferated everywhere. With each outfit, she made a dizzyingly different impression. She was a pop idol, an opera singer, a nineties-era grunge singer, an athlete, a flapper, or dressed in menswear or an exosuit. Then she was a cybergoth, a biker babe, a coverall-clad worker, a gangster, a bicycle racer, a UFC fighter, a cyberpunk, a modern geisha, a baseball player… The list was endless.
Millions of ASes were commenting from around the world:
What the heck, this is awesome
I’ve never heard anything like this.
This arrangement’s wild
Damn she can sing
She’s got a quirky kind of beauty.
What’s this song called?
I searched but I can’t find it!
Her fashion sense is crazy
I’m obsessed with her
Someone tell me who Bell is!
The more comment bubbles appeared, the higher the follower number climbed.
Bell: 38,641,027 followers
Bell was going viral.
Then the popular singer Peggie Sue interrupted.
“Bell? Yeah, I’ve heard some of her music, but she’s nothing special, y’know?”
She was draped over an expensive-looking sofa and wore a haughty expression, like she was talking down to some underlings.
ASes critical of Bell started liking Peggie Sue’s interview, and it suddenly generated a buzz.
She’s right!
Her voice is so grating.
Bell’s a huge diva
Is she betting on her sex appeal?
Trashy.
Classic online bashing. The bubbles popped up one after another, igniting a fire.
She doesn’t know the basics of songwriting.
It’s only good because of the arrangements
Her outfit doesn’t go with the song
The lyrics are way too personal
Bell had only just arrived in U, but the critical ASes were already slamming her.
Don’t tell me she’s trying to be some artiste
She lets other people do all the work.
Scathing bubbles filled the screen until I couldn’t even see Bell’s video.