Don't Follow Vee Read online

She teleports out of the house. That’s what it feels like anyway.

  I turn to Mum. ‘Hey, why did you spill the jelly beans about one of our golden rules?’

  ‘I just told her the truth,’ Mum says. ‘It’s more your rule than mine.’

  ‘You swap those words around when it suits you.’

  ‘Why did you let Annabelle take some of your clothes?’

  ‘What’s the difference?’ I say. ‘They’re my clothes anyway.’

  ‘We entered an agreement with those clothing and jewellery companies,’ Mum says. ‘Only Vee is allowed to wear them.’

  I put my hands on my hips. ‘We don’t owe them anything.’

  ‘I don’t want to mess things up here,’ Mum says. ‘It’s such a great opportunity.’

  ‘Only for you.’ I march back to my room and slam the door. Mum’s taking it too far. She wants to control my life.

  When my birthday comes around, I may finally get it back.

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  On Monday morning, I arrive at Annabelle’s place earlier than usual, so I can give her some advice – if she’ll let me in. I sent her a zillion messages yesterday and I got nothing. Maybe she was bunkered in her slime lab, working on a giant slime monster to take over the city. It’s more likely that she was busy ignoring me.

  I knock on the door a few times and Mr Murphy opens the door. ‘Morning, Vee!’

  ‘Morning, Mr Murphy.’

  He lets me in and I sit on a chair, waiting for ages until Annabelle comes down the stairs. Whatever she was doing up there, it wasn’t brushing her hair, because it looks like she just woke up and chucked on her uniform.

  ‘Hi,’ she says.

  ‘Mondays, huh?’ I say. ‘I wish we could skip them.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  I look away from her groggy froggy eyes, trying to change the subject. ‘Now that you’re a YouTuber,’ I say, ‘you need to get ready to face your fans in real life.’

  ‘But I’ve only put up one video,’ Annabelle says.

  ‘One that’s had over ten thousand views,’ I say. ‘That’s more than anyone else at Merryford High, combined.’

  ‘What about you?’ Annabelle says.

  ‘Um, the Chronicles don’t count because that’s not my official insta.’

  ‘Er, right,’ she avoids my gaze. ‘So what should I do?’

  ‘Just be nice to everyone,’ I say. ‘And don’t forget to ask them to sub to your Slimy Annabelle channel.’

  Annabelle picks up her bag and heads out the door. I quickly follow her. ‘What happened to your ducky duck kiss with your dad?’

  Annabelle shrugs. ‘We’re late to school, right?’

  I tug onto the straps of my bag. ‘Um, yeah.’ It hasn’t stopped her before. Is this an Anti-Annabelle? I never thought that one could ever exist?

  For the first time ever, we’ve got nothing to say on the way to school. So I check my phone to look at Annabelle’s vid and most of the comments are about me.

  Wow Vee is on YouTube now, how cool is that!

  I didn’t realise Vee was into slime …

  I’m so excited hearing Vee’s voice for the first time …

  Well, I guess it is my first video too. Mum has never included any vids in the Chronicles. I feel like replying to all of them: It was only a special guest appearance. We walk to school and Larry leaps out at me. ‘I didn’t know you made slime.’

  I shake my head. ‘Annabelle’s the slime queen, not me.’

  I keep repeating that line to everyone else I meet. Meanwhile, I don’t know which superpower Annabelle is using – her invisibility or chameleon powers – but no one seems to notice her. And she doesn’t say anything at all.

  Hassan taps me on the shoulder. ‘When’s the next video?’

  ‘Never.’

  ‘Come on, Vee,’ Hassan says. ‘You could be an awesome YouTuber and maybe we …’

  ‘Don’t finish that sentence.’

  I shoo everybody away and we find a seat near G block.

  ‘See, this is why I didn’t want to be on your video,’ I say.

  ‘It was your idea,’ Annabelle says. ‘I guess it’s only fair that you get all the attention.’

  ‘This is meant to be your channel,’ I say, getting heated up. ‘Plus I’m not into slime as much as you.’

  ‘But it’s something we’ve always done, you and me,’ Annabelle says quietly.

  ‘I’m sorry, Annabelle, but I can’t be seen with you anymore,’ I say. ‘Online, I mean.’

  ‘I just wanted to do something together!’ Annabelle bursts out, puffing up her cheeks. ‘Why do you want to hide me away?!’

  It’s the loudest she’s ever spoken to me. Her voice barrels down the empty corridor.

  The Anti-Vee stirs inside me. ‘What do you mean, hide you away? Everyone already knows we’re besties.’

  ‘Not everyone. Not all of your followers,’ Annabelle says.

  ‘Who cares about them?’

  Annabelle stands up. ‘Your mum does. She actually wants me on there, along with Bryan and Matty. Why don’t you?’

  My face drops. I can’t hold back the Anti-Vee any longer. She’s rattling the sides of my ribcage, so I let her out.

  ‘Annabelle,’ I say, doing my best Emily troll voice. ‘Don’t tell me you want to be famous, like everybody else.’

  Annabelle clenches her fists. ‘This is about being a part of your life like a normal best friend.’

  ‘But The Chronicles of Vee isn’t my real life,’ I say.

  ‘You’re the only one who believes that. You need to wake up, Vee.’

  Annabelle snatches her bag and runs off.

  I slump against the wall and slide down to the hard ground. All this time I’ve wanted to get out of Instagram, and Annabelle wants in.

  I walk into English alone. Annabelle’s already in her seat. I slide my chair out and sit next to her. Is Annabelle going to build a wall with her books? Is she going to ask Miss Lam if she can change seats? Change class? Or even move to a new school?

  I sit down. ‘Look, Annabelle …’

  Annabelle’s half-moon smile has been eclipsed by a blank face. ‘Sorry, Veronica, I don’t want to talk right now.’

  Nobody calls me Veronica anymore. Hassan and Emily have called me all kinds of names. But they were paper cuts compared to this one. It’s a killer blow, like an axe to a zombie’s brain.

  Annabelle blends into her seat and shuts me out. She’s never used her chameleon powers against me before. I’m a living definition of devastated.

  If you think getting blocked or ignored is tough online, try experiencing it in real life. It sucks big-time.

  Over the next few days, Annabelle starts sitting next to Brenda and Audrey. I hear her voice and her laugh, and it’s like watching someone eat your favourite food. Pure torture. I’ve got to do something before she just becomes another copycat and starts following them. I bet they don’t even like slime.

  I’m feeling like a sour plum at school, and no amount of desserts can take this taste out of my mouth.

  At home Mum keeps taking the photos. I fake my reactions. All is normal for Team Vee. One night at dinner, I’m playing Minecraft with my food, making a fort out of my sweet potato mash, when Mum lays down her fork.

  ‘I’ve just made your favourite meal and you’re playing with it like it’s a game.’

  ‘I smiled when you took the photo, didn’t I?’ I say. There’s no nice filter for my voice these days.

  ‘Okay, you win,’ Mum says. ‘If you’re going to be this miserable, then maybe The Chronicles of Vee isn’t worth doing anymore.’

  Wow, that was easy. I don’t think Mum’s serious about shutting down The Chronicles of Vee but I know she’s worried. I knock my mash fort down with a swoop of my spoon, and I let my face drop. ‘Annabelle’s gone on a Vee-tox and has stopped talking to me.’

  ‘Is this my fault?’ Mum says.

  ‘Nah, it’s all me. She’s been bugg
ing me about being on The Chronicles of Vee, and I’ve run out of excuses.’

  Mum stares deep into my eyes. ‘Vee, what do you really want?’

  ‘Honestly, I don’t know.’ I stare at my half-eaten chicken and mash and suddenly my stomach has caved in. My headache has gone from dull to a throbbing sledgehammer to my brain. There are so many people to please. Mum. Annabelle. Me. Who is going to get what they want?

  ‘Sorry, Mum, I need to lie down.’

  I stumble up the stairs and collapse on my bed.

  When I wake up, Mum is pointing her phone at me. Yep, I’m definitely back in reality.

  ‘Please don’t post that,’ I mutter.

  ‘I was using a new medical app to see if you were alright.’ She places her palm on my forehead.

  ‘So what did Dr Google say?’ I say.

  ‘A little bed rest and you’ll be fine.’ Mum gets up. ‘We’ll see how you feel in the morning, my sugar plum.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum … look I …’

  ‘We’ll talk about that later,’ Mum says. ‘I hope you can patch things up with Annabelle.’

  Mum closes the door and I grab my phone. No new messages. I look at Annabelle’s Instagram page for the first time in ages. It’s funny, I hardly ever check it because we used to be real-life friends. Now I’m just one of her followers. I scroll through her photos. I’m surprised to see more than just slime on her page. Though there are no cheesy quotes like on her parents’ page. There’s a post of her riding a horse, another one where she’s chasing a butterfly and even a shot on a beach at sunset. I guess that picture is worth a thousand cheesy words. I had no idea she went to the beach. When did she get into horses? Why didn’t she tell me?

  I toss my phone under my pillow and stare at the ceiling. All this time, Annabelle has been a Veexpert, yet I hardly know anything about her. She wasn’t shy and invisible, I only treated her as if she was.

  I turn over and stare at my vault next to my desk. I think it’s time I let Annabelle see the real Vee.

  I feel a lot better in the morning and go to school. At lunchtime, I head to the library with my coloured pens and textas to begin a new calligraphy piece. One just for Annabelle. I choose colours that she loves. Daffodil Yellow. Sunrise Red. Toxic Slime Green. I go for broad strokes and vivid lines across the page. It’s an invitation fit for a slime queen.

  Lucy, one of my senior followers walks past me. ‘Are we going to be seeing this up later on The Chronicles of Vee?’

  ‘Nope. Catch it while you can.’

  Lucy laughs. ‘It’s good to see you don’t overshare things online.’

  I finish writing a special note to Annabelle. There are some things that look better when they’re handwritten. Plus I feel better writing it out. After school, I pop it into Annabelle’s letterbox. I don’t know if she’ll come. I just hope she reads it.

  The rest of the week drags on, as I wait for Annabelle to reply to my note. Maybe it got swept away by a gust of wind, snatched by a magpie, or a dragon. Maybe she’s deleted my number. That last one doesn’t sound so unbelievable. I shake off my sour plum vibes about Annabelle for Mum’s first public appearance with the Merry Glee Club. Mum’s getting really excited as we drive to the nursing home where they will be performing.

  ‘Guess what songs we’ll be singing?’

  ‘“Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees?’ I say, since Mum makes me watch Saturday Night Fever every time it gets a rerun on TV.

  Mum cracks up. ‘Tom did suggest that.’

  She parks the car and we find the other Merry Glee members. They all surround me.

  ‘So, you’re the famous Vee,’ Gladys says. She’s beaming, as wrinkles appear all over her face. I can’t help but smile back at her. It’s the first time I’ve smiled in days.

  ‘I can’t wait to hear you sing,’ I say, changing the subject. ‘Mum’s been hyping you all up.’

  ‘We like to do our little bit of community service,’ she says. ‘Your mum is doing a wonderful job of helping us spread joy and happiness all over Merryford.’

  ‘Yeah, she’s been bringing some of it back home,’ I say.

  The ten Merry Glee Club singers warm up backstage, while the residents all gather in the main hall of the nursing home.

  Monica is on the piano beside the stage. She starts playing ‘Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow’. It’s a great song and great advice too. The Merry Glee Club start twirling up to the front of the stage and sparkle with their hands.

  I sit in the front row surrounded by seniors, taking photos like I’m a parent at school assembly. ‘That’s my mum,’ I say after the first song.

  A gentle grey-haired man nods appreciatively. ‘You must be very proud.’

  The Merry Glee Club sing a bunch of songs that were around before I was born, but they still sound amazing. At the end, the seniors all stand up to give them a massive round of applause.

  I walk up to Mum. ‘You’re the star today!’

  Mum gushes. ‘Vee, can you take a photo of us?’

  Tom, Gladys and the others all pass their phones to me, and I stand there, taking a ton of photos. I can see them all being potential posts for Mum’s new Instagram profile. Mum grabs her phone. ‘Okay, Vee, get in there with the others.’

  Tom steps in. ‘How about I take it, Lynda?’

  Mum shoots him a sharp look. ‘No, it’s fine.’

  Tom looks wounded, like Mum’s told him off. But he shuffles in with the rest of the Merry Glee group. He was just trying to be nice. But he really has no idea about her Insta-mum ways. Mum posts a shot of me with the Merry Glee Club, even if I can’t sing to save my life.

  I go up to Tom. ‘No classic rock songs?’

  Tom smiles. ‘We didn’t want to make the oldies’ hearing any worse.’

  Afterwards, we go to Bianco’s Pizza next door for lunch. Tom and Mum are sitting together, joking around while we wait for our pizza. It looks like he’s swept that whole phone thing under the rug.

  It reminds me of Annabelle, who’s put up with my golden rules. They do sound pretty selfish when I think about it. If I’m calling Mum out for not putting herself online, then is refusing to put my friends on there with me any different?

  Mum and I walk back to the car, after saying goodbye to the others. She’s glued to the screen, checking out our Instagram.

  ‘Three thousand likes, not bad.’ She flips over to Facebook for the latest and bursts out laughing. ‘Oh my goodness, your friend Matty’s mum looks cute as a baby.’

  So Matty did get his revenge. Hang on, he’s not friends with Mum. ‘Are they under Matty’s own profile?’ I say.

  ‘It’s in her profile,’ Mum says. ‘She must have been inspired by the family history project.’

  I wonder if Matty hacked into his Mum’s own account. I’ll have to ask him at school on Monday.

  Chapter

  Seventeen

  With only two weeks to go before my birthday party, I have no choice but to hand out my invitations before I hear back from Annabelle. It won’t be the same without her. She has enough sugary happiness for three people.

  I find Matty and Bryan at recess and give them their invites.

  ‘Hey, Matty,’ I say. ‘Well done on completing your mission.’

  ‘Actually, my mum put those photos up herself,’ he says. ‘I chickened out at the last minute, but she found the scanned photos and loved them.’

  ‘Oh.’ I pat him on the back. ‘So you failed in your mission.’

  Matty shakes his head. ‘She thought I did the whole scanning thing as a surprise gift, so she agreed to take down my baby shots in return.’

  ‘No more Nappy Rash Matty,’ Bryan says.

  ‘Say that again, and I’ll …’ Matty pretends to knock Bryan’s head off.

  Bryan ducks out of the way. ‘Wait in line,’ Bryan says. ‘T-Wrecks already has dibs on killing me.’

  ‘Oh yeah, we should work on building up your appetite,’ Matty says. ‘Do you want to eat a dozen
donuts or a whole pizza with me after school? Maybe both?’

  ‘What I need is T-Wrecks to have food poisoning,’ Bryan says, eyeballing me. ‘Will you accept the mission, Agent Vee?’

  ‘Sorry, Bryan,’ I say. ‘I’m still working out how to get Annabelle to talk to me again.’

  ‘You’ve been besties since Year Three, you’ll work it out,’ Bryan says.

  ‘Just buy her a whole box of craft glue,’ Matty adds.

  I’m thinking my only option is to spill the jelly beans to Annabelle. She still hasn’t replied to me. I’ve been looking in my letterbox every day. Has she blocked me for good?

  My afternoons are so empty without Annabelle. So much free time. But I don’t feel like having fun, so I do some early Spring cleaning in my room.

  Mum knocks on my door. ‘I have a letter for you.’

  ‘Is it S for Spotless?’ I say.

  She hands me an envelope. ‘I found this in our letterbox.’

  I open it up and there’s a piece of paper with one word on it, written in large bubbly letters that weigh the paper down.

  ‘Yes!’ I say.

  ‘Good news?’ Mum says.

  ‘The best,’ I say. ‘Mum, can you bake some emergency brownies for Sunday morning?’

  ‘Is this another Vee stunt?’

  ‘No, this is different,’ I say. ‘Let’s just say it’ll be a grand opening.’

  Mum wakes me up on Saturday morning. ‘Come on, Vee, let’s get to Chipping Norton Lakes early, so we can run five kilometres.’

  I rub my eyes. ‘Someone is a keen jelly bean.’

  ‘Well, since we can’t run next Saturday because it’s your birthday,’ Mum says, ‘this is our final training session.’

  We get to the lakes and this time Mum takes charge. We jog the first three laps without taking a break.

  I run up beside her. ‘We don’t have to stop jogging together once we’ve done the Colour Run, you know.’

  ‘I was thinking that too,’ Mum says. ‘We can have Fiturdays! I want to look good.’

  ‘For who?’ I say.

  ‘For myself, and you,’ Mum says.