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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgW51cKqHMH
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They get on the parkway and travel into deep traffic. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAhmpM0Ich
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“Great,” Viggo taps the wheel. Kirby checks the speedometer. They’re going 70. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjPSGD3K9E
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OazGeQ7xX
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrbamhxD9r
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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7C5mlN5U4
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Viggo calls up his lawyer, “What is it?” Kirby could lipread that much. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFGCOJ9sgq
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The lawyer says something startling. Kirby notices how Viggo flushes pink. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXM3BEUE6b
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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.544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhilVtDz3Z9
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIKNchXXTV
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ad5v3NyYh
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmJlYyfk3h
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80viHHR1U7
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4wKSwMn0L
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Kirby faces straight ahead at the road. He starts to worry. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdINZekOfK
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pZ8KwbfOZ
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzabptazz5d
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsDjMstQk5
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQN35wu2zf
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAwL6CSunO
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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.544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkGTJuOYBi
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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! 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpELT5eVyR
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwow893Wrgg
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But something changes in his brother’s face. Another idea sparks. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk23bpONLQN
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQtqvQCMHR
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjptzoMMj13
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Officers scramble away from the rampage. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxDQrLM3vG
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3OHlcrN9n
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uabVu4X2b
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The car flips. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AnXI1vpyN
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY91cEzaqE6
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Ouch, Kirby thinks numbly before blacking out. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWckXB31RA
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z06SLOkCm
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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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQePGbvWeU
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJO2BfbvyfG
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWspijL45T
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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCtHjOF7uA
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOs1FI3lZT
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMrFMvww74
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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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qt2Y7jEtC
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtYMe1vaI3
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYCpv8pIyp
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQa3CWZF4K
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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?” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmeYwc1Mdu
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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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfqQX847fH
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPjsh2Mq2b
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKd98YpefGy
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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZziaXssKy
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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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSBKzn2seL
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Kirby recoils. He writes: Back at him? Why would I do that? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3CrKS65WU
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It dawns on Iris’s face. “You don’t know…” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hm0FSwSdD
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvAKuvVnhi
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R3jcWmhfF
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7DiDlg5vD
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7M7mgGLoq
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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? 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IrCJphY8L
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Kirby does not hesitate. He nods eagerly and writes: I want respect. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROrZlq41RA
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‘Yeah,” Iris Frisk says under bated breath. Her smile grows enormously. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSAgDWnFzv
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKW9UjKk6P
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“How are you feeling?” Iris asks out loud. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSMR66s9Lk
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Kirby shows a cue card to the audience: Like a car wreck! 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs88fkxOe8O
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The people laugh, laugh, laugh. All about Kirby Hayes. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTk7cTMPJ2b
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznAwpFV0Hc
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Kirby shows them another cue card: My brother? Driving a Lexus? Enough said. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeX7XcPtGc
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Iris giggles, “You don’t seem to have mental issues, like they imply. At all.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqKfBQjC64
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbh7BQbti0n
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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?” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlwgNXyjMU
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxcOrmpdvd
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“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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSlh7Z5O62
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNw974sccu
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“Hey Maddy!” Iris says. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWig1aHwXw
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“Not now,” Madeline Desjardins snaps. “Iris! Pour me coffee, would you, darling?” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGWbtrSCmX
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“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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnF3kh0l7e
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8FYES9egG
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“Maverick Clark,” he says and points to his name tag. “I’m a writer like you.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz5vP9pS04
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Kirby nods, weaseling out of the prolonged handshake. He writes: Nice to meet you. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyiQHJfMsc
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“Cool, cool, you too bro,” says Maverick. He puts in his pink earphones and tunes out. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYzwqmg4fY
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs68T6GnTh3
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjB2nPYOZL
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmP8U2SG6bt
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsUuMtrykp
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7Eh5o3ps5
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpuojkzry1
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZ2jEYmhJP
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd75wgLvMtm
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The lady notices everyone arriving and brightens, “Hey you!” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMJbtPpSdL
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“Dr. July Fanfare!” Iris calls her name with pizzazz. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUstOx7J0L
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZ38DAw9tg
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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFl38dZFN0W
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3dlDruMgz
“Boy,” corrects Dr. Fanfare. She makes a snip-snip gesture. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxduBDaKvHF
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgCgM9HII5
“Sorry, boy... What’s his name?” Iris rakes through its thick matted hair. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vtwX1XZcw
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NoUIrVSTQ
“It’s not mine, it’s Taylor’s,” Dr. Fanfare says. “There’s a collar, I believe.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKf09kKzERm
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZj7iyjhGJo
Simone checks it, “Aha, his name is Ishmael.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJW5zcoVux
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzCRAjkSXO
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGiQYAMG1M
“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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLcBBpAiIj
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPk74ecPkl
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Madeline’s hand shoots up. “Are you the teacher?” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNZRFOWe7F
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuaQ9sET1y
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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?” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqItr9lofNk
544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE7s5g0Z43
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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPanQmURRG
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The doors open. “Oh,” says Dr. Fanfare. “Looks like your supervisor’s coming.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡao9RIJrS4c
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Everyone looks back and stares. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREMOuuOjEO
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8ZesyxmR4
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKTBkORfHV
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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.” 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsci2wH0Lb
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The pair remains unruffled the best they could. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RBTUwUeKJ
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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. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmwkEGX44K
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Kirby deeply sighs. The war rages on. 544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bQZZwref4
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THE SPOOK IS SAD544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7ECS3gl1N
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Jack Steele Adams544Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUoSNyCAJR
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