Diehard Fangirl

Andy Taylor

Andy received the text during English Literature class. Luckily, his phone was on vibrate so that the teacher didn’t know that he had brought it to class. After all, Mrs. Swann had a strict rule about cellphones in the classroom. Only Andy was known as “Above the Law” Andy because he got away with everything. At least that’s what his friends called him ever since he got out of the lunch detention after squirting ketchup on himself and pretending he was stabbed with a plastic knife while his friend, Kenny, videotaped it. One flash of his baby blue eyes at the lunch monitor and she melted. That was the end of any mention of a lunch detention and the birth of his nickname. 

He loved making videos, for YouTube as well as Vine. The Vines were harder to plan, but when the pieces came together? His base of followers seemed to appreciate his sense of humor. 

Glancing down at the phone, he typed the secret lockscreen code and clicked on his messages. Kenny. WTH? he thought. During school? 

                                Dude! Check out your Vine with your little brother! Viral.

Andy made a face at the message, not quite understanding what Kenny meant. He glanced up to ensure that Swann was still engrossed in the analysis of the Jane Austen book he was supposed to read (but hadn’t!). Once confirmed that she wasn’t paying attention, he swiped the screen and clicked on the Vine app. 

“Oh Snap!” 

Twenty pairs of eyes turned to stare at him, including the now-silent Mrs. Swann. 

“Mr. Taylor,” she said in her snooty, high-pitched voice as she peered at him over the top of her glasses. “Is there a problem?”

Andy shifted his weight and glanced around the room. “I…uh…I was just so engrossed with this sonnet,” he said, sitting up straighter in his chair. “I just realized that Shakespeare has a wonderful grasp of the emotional insecurities of the female! His writing clearly demonstrates his ability to understand the other sex and, in a century where women were so oppressed…”

Mrs. Swann lifted a perfectly drawn on eyebrow and nodded her head. “I’m impressed, Mr. Taylor,” she said. “There’s hope for you yet!”

The rest of the class tried to stifle their giggles, but Andy didn’t mind. He was too wrapped up in the fact that the ketchup video had gone viral…nineteen thousand likes and ten thousand new followers. 

While Mrs. Swann returned her attention to William Shakespeare, Andy returned his to the meaning of the virility of a six-second video and the massive crush of new fans. If he planned even funnier and more clever videos,  he might get more followers. And if that happened, he could sell advertising! And that would bring in money.   

My God, he thought, the possibilities are endless!