Instafamous

by Evan Jacobs

  Art Seen

  Avalanche

  Baby Mama

  Blurred Reality

  Cloud Warrior

  Instafamous

  Lost in Time

  Summer Lake

  The Throwaways

  Copyright © 2018 by Saddleback Educational Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher. SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING and any associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Saddleback Educational Publishing.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-68021-477-2

  ISBN-10: 1-68021-477-2

  eBook: 978-1-63078-831-5

  This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.

  CHAPTER 1

  Being Kevin Sanders

  Kevin Sanders!” people shouted. “I love your videos!”

  “Make sure to like and comment,” Kevin said. He pushed his hair back and smiled.

  Fans held up their phones. He posed for photos.

  “Let’s go,” a man said. He was Kevin’s helper. Right now he had one job. Get the star through the crowd.

  A path had been roped off. But some fans ducked under it.

  “Back!” the man yelled.

  “Pipeline,” Kevin called. “Come to the booth.” He held up his phone. Fans cheered.

  Hollywood had film stars. These were online stars. There were dancers and singers. Some wrote books. Others were bloggers. Many stars gave tips. They were about fashion and makeup.

  Their posts got millions of views. It was how regular people got famous. There was a name for it. Instafamous.

  Take Kevin. He did pranks. Millions loved his YouTube videos. When he wasn’t posting, he was at events. Meeting fans was important.

  Today he was at See It Live. It was held once a year in LA. Tickets sold out in minutes. If you were here, you’d made it.

  Fans were a big part. But it was also about business. Agents handled that. They made deals. Companies paid stars to use their products. That was how Kevin teamed up with Pipeline Clothing.

  They saw a video he made. He was surfing with a shark. Then the video went viral. The company wanted a deal. Three million people followed Kevin on Instagram. One photo of him sold tons of stuff. In this case, it was surf gear.

  Kevin made money too. He got four grand to be here. His agent set it up. Ron Simon made great deals. Today the deal was simple. Wear the clothes and pose for selfies.

  “Kevin Sanders!” a woman called out. She was a reporter. “What are you working on?”

  “Aww. You know I can’t say.” He gave her a sly grin. “It’ll ruin the surprise.”

  He was working on a show for YouTube. It was called “I Am Kevin Sanders.”

  “Come on, Kev,” she said. “Tell us.”

  “Yeah, Kev,” a voice said. “We want to know.”

  It was Chase Rogers. He was also an online star. Sometimes the two teamed up for pranks.

  “What’s up?” Kevin said.

  “Your shirt,” Chase said.

  “What about it?”

  “It’s Pipeline’s. They hired me! You’re a cheap fake!”

  “Don’t make me hurt you,” Kevin said. He gave Chase a push. Suddenly the crowd rushed in. They started to pull the guys apart. But the two had stepped aside. People hadn’t seen them. Now the crowd turned on each other.

  Kevin headed for the exit. At the door, he looked back. A fight had broken out. Chase was close behind. They each ran to a limo and got in. Kevin called Chase.

  “That was epic!” Kevin said.

  “Dude!” Chase said. “Check out YouTube. This thing is blowing up! The traffic’s on fire!”

  “Doesn’t take much, does it?”

  “Are you kidding? We started a riot.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Committed

  The limo stopped at Kevin’s house. He lived with his parents in LA. Some called his family rich.

  “Hi,” Kevin said when he walked in. His parents were online working. Kevin’s career was a full-time job. The money he made had paid for their home.

  “You guys are online more than me.”

  His dad didn’t look up. “That prank with Chase? Over one million views.”

  “I know,” Kevin said. “That’s up from a minute ago.”

  “Checking Instagram now,” his mom said. “You have more followers.”

  “Cool,” Kevin said. He loved his parents. And they had to love him. He was their son. But at times he wondered. Was it about love? Or was it the money?

  “Good news,” Kevin’s dad said. “You’re booked for the month. Want to hear the schedule?”

  Do I have a choice?

  “Be Seen photo shoot. True Stars meet and greet. The Show List event in—”

  “Hold on,” Kevin said. “I have a test in two weeks. When will I study?”

  “Dad spoke to your teacher,” Kevin’s mom said. “You can make it up.”

  Kevin looked at his dad. “Are you sure it was the right teacher? Mr. Fail-’Em-All Foster?”

  “Yep. His son follows you. He thinks you’re . . . How did he put it? Oh yeah. Da bomb.”

  His mom looked up. “You know the deal. Five days for school. Weekends are for work. No rest for the famous.”

  Sometimes Kevin felt like he was being pranked. He just wanted to be normal. But what was normal?

  “See you later,” he said. Kevin stood at the door, watching them. They never looked up.

  Kevin’s phone buzzed. It was a text from his girlfriend.

  “Don’t forget. We’re meeting at the mall.”

  Being around Kyla made Kevin feel calm. Was that how normal felt? Whatever it was, it worked.

  The two had met when they were juniors. Kevin couldn’t help but notice her. She was so tall. Later he found out she played basketball. He started going to the games.

  Finally Kevin asked her out. They talked the whole time. He liked how smart she was. It was good to be with someone on his level. But Kyla wasn’t his type. Not because she was smart. Because of her online status.

  Kyla had only a small following. It wasn’t something she worked at. But somehow they stayed together. Deep down he knew the reason. He needed an escape. It’s what kept him from going insane.

  Now they walked through the mall holding hands.

  “Sorry I wasn’t at See It Live,” Kyla said. “I know it was a big deal for you.”

  “You could’ve come,” he said. “There was room in my limo.”

  “Ha-ha.” She leaned over and nudged him. “Not all of us can be stars. Some of us have to study.”

  “What can I say? I rule. You could be a star too. You just need millions of followers. Like me.”

  “I guess. But why? It’s not real.”

  “That reminds me of Bryan,” Kevin said.

  Bryan Lowe and Kevin used to be partners. They had a channel on YouTube. It was called “Lowe and Lower.” They did basic pranks, like wear masks and scare people. Or they’d make gross noises in public places. Anything to get a reaction.

  The two also had a show. It was called “Pop-up Pranks.” They’d go random places and give classes. Once it was karate. Another time yoga. It wasn’t real. But they always got laughs.

  Then it all changed. Kevin didn’t know it at the time. He found out later. Bryan had been feeling stress. It wasn’t the pranks. It was Instagram. Keeping up with it was a lot of work. But Bryan pushed himself harder.

  It became an endless loop. Taking photos and editing them. At night, he’d scroll his feed rather than sleep. He’d stay up tracking likes and comments. He’d even
check the number of double taps. That showed his fans really loved him.

  Finally it got to be too much. Bryan got sick. It was some kind of meltdown. His mom had a word for it. Agoraphobia. It was a fear of going places.

  Kevin didn’t know how to help. So he stayed away. A year had gone by since then.

  CHAPTER 3

  Bored

  Huge sneaker deal in the works!” It was a text from Kevin’s agent.

  “Keep them coming,” Kevin texted back.

  “Put the phone away!” Mr. Harris yelled. He was the sub for English. Kids called him Heartless Harris behind his back. The man was not nice.

  “Lighten up,” Kevin said. “I’m doing work.” It was true. It just wasn’t schoolwork.

  Mr. Harris pointed at Kevin’s phone. “I’ll take it.”

  “Relax,” Kevin said. He put the phone into his pocket.

  “Okay, class,” the teacher said. “You have the assignment. Ms. Ward wants it done by Friday.”

  The class had been reading a book. It was called The Catcher in the Rye. Today students were working in groups. They had to define words they didn’t know. Kevin typed blasé into the search box. Having no interest in something. So sad but so true.

  Being a video star helped at times like this. Kevin knew how to act. Now he sat up straight. He nodded as kids talked.

  Mr. Harris seemed to buy it. He turned to face the board. Kevin took out his phone. He’d have to text fast. At one point, he looked up. Harris had reached behind his back.

  Something made Kevin start filming. Harris slid his hand into his back pocket. Then he took it out. This was too good. Kevin did a quick edit.

  After class, he uploaded the video. One of his friends came up. It was Adam. “Check this out,” Kevin said.

  The video was on Instagram. Harris moved his hand up and down. It looked like he was scratching his rearend. There was a caption with it. “What is this sub teaching us? #nobuttsaboutit.” It was already trending.

  “This is killer, dude!” Adam said. “You got his good side.”

  Nick walked up to them. He was another friend of Kevin’s. “I’m dying here,” he said. “This is a Paulson High first.”

  Adam looked at Nick. “Kev doesn’t care about that. He’s already famous. Right, Kev?”

  Kevin nodded as he tapped the view count. It was up from a second ago.

  “Kev does it like a boss,” Adam said. “He’s making mad bank.”

  These kids hadn’t always hung out with Kevin. In fact, they didn’t know each other at first. They had little in common. Adam wore tank tops and flip-flops, even in winter. And Nick was a rich kid into designer labels.

  Kevin had been taking drama. He wasn’t into social media then. It was his acting teacher who brought it up. “If you want to act, you need to be online.” Kevin took the advice.

  Soon he had a small following. It was mostly kids at school. Some started hanging around Kevin. Adam and Nick were two of them. They thought he was cool. Kevin had a different idea. He thought they wanted a piece of the fame.

  That gave him an idea. He reached out on Instagram. “Follow me @KevinSanders. I’ll follow you back.” It worked. Kevin’s attention was worth something.

  After that he posted every day. It would be a picture of him. Or it was something he liked. He spent time on the photos. They had to be perfect. He used filters to make them pop. His captions were clever. Then his numbers jumped.

  Who needed drama class? Kevin was famous. He just had to keep his fans happy.

  “Hey,” Nick said. “I just got a text. It’s about Mr. Harris. He quit.”

  “What?” Kevin looked up from his phone.

  “Yeah. It was your video.” Nick was reading from the text. “Kids wouldn’t stop watching it. Harris walked out.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Losing face

  Kevin had lost interest in the football game. He was taking selfies and posting them. The last one had a caption. “The Paulson High football team is _____. Fill in the blank.”

  With only minutes to go, the score was 21–0. Kevin checked his phone. The selfie already had 20,000 likes.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Kevin said to Kyla.

  Kevin drove them to Pizza Express. The place would soon be packed. They sat at a table in the center of the room. Everyone would be sure to see them.

  “That shirt looks really good on you, Kev,” Kyla said.

  “Thanks, babe.” Kevin stared at his phone. He hadn’t seen two guys coming his way.

  Both wore all black. Hoodies, jeans, and sneakers. One held a box. That wouldn’t surprise Kevin. It was common for fans to bring him gifts.

  Without missing a beat, Kevin looked up and smiled. He was always on. “What’s up?”

  “Kevin Sanders?” one guy said.

  There was no time to answer. Something came flying toward him. He could only sit there and take whatever it was.

  Splat!

  Kevin touched his face. His fingers felt something cold. It was some kind of sticky goo. He pulled back his hand. Whipped cream! He could taste the flavor of banana.

  The ultimate prankster had just been pranked.

  “I’m Brad Harris,” the guy said. “Harris as in Mr. Harris. The sub you made fun of. Now who’s the butt of the joke?”

  Kevin blinked through the goo. He started to wipe it from his eyes.

  “Why are you just sitting there?” Brad said. “Get up and fight. Or are you afraid?”

  Everyone in the place had gotten quiet. All eyes were on Kevin. Brad’s friend was recording the whole thing. Other people also held up their phones.

  “Embarrassed? How does it feel?” Brad asked. “Just wait till I post the video.”

  A worker came up to the table. “Leave,” she said to Brad. “Or I’ll call the police.”

  Brad leaned toward Kevin. “Where are your followers now?” He and his friend laughed as they left.

  A video like this could ruin Kevin’s career. Maybe his agent could help. Kevin texted Ron. “Call me. Now!”

  CHAPTER 5

  Bad Publicity

  Kevin drove Kyla home. “Check YouTube,” he told her. As he pulled into the driveway, his phone buzzed. It was his agent. Kevin told him what happened.

  “Look, Kev,” Ron said. “I get it. You feel like a jerk. But YouTube is not going to block that video.”

  “Why? I bring in a lot of traffic.”

  “So do a lot of other people. They don’t block content for you. Not for anyone. And even if you could get them to do it? Why would you want to?” Ron laughed. “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

  “I didn’t say the guy could film me.”

  “Listen to yourself. You want to play pranks on people. But you don’t want them played on you.”

  “I gotta go.” Kevin ended the call. He looked over at Kyla. She was looking at her phone and laughing.

  “You have to admit,” she said. “It is kind of funny.”

  “Really? You think that’s funny? What is wrong with you people?”

  Later that night, Kevin was sitting with his parents. They were talking business.

  Kevin’s dad looked up from his laptop. “There are a lot of cafes in town. Have you reached out to any?”

  “I’m working on a list now,” his mom said. “I plan to make some calls tomorrow.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Kevin asked.

  “How to cash in on this pie thing,” Kevin’s dad said. “Oh! I just got it. Something with a bakery. It’s a win-win.”

  Kevin didn’t know what to say.

  His dad smiled. “No deal is a bad deal. Isn’t that what your agent says?”

  “Something like that.”

  The time was 3:47 a.m. Kevin lay staring at the clock. He hadn’t yet watched Brad’s video. Maybe it went away overnight.

  Why had Brad reacted that way? No one had ever thought Kevin’s pranks were real. In his mind, they were having fun too. No one got hur
t. Not seriously.

  CHAPTER 6

  Insta-Shame

  Sanders got what he deserves!”

  “Love this vid!”

  “LMAO!”

  Three million people had seen the video. There were over 100,000 comments. Most were bad. Kevin did not want to know. But he couldn’t not know. Finally he hit play.

  First was the close-up of Kevin’s face. His lips were oddly twisted. A filter had made them bright red. The rest was in slow motion. His eyes opened wide. Shoulders hunched as he braced. Smack! His head moved back and bobbed. Splatters of neon lime whipped cream went flying. Pieces of pie stuck to his face. He scraped it away and licked his finger.

  That wasn’t the end. There was a quick rewind. And the video started again. All Kevin could think was freak show. He looked like some kind of crazed clown.

  They can’t do this to me! I’m Kevin Sanders!

  Kevin had to pull it together. He had a meet and greet at View U. It was like See It Live but smaller. The whole pie thing would be dead by then.

  When he arrived, a few girls came up to him. They wanted selfies. This made him relax a little.

  Just as I thought. Nothing lasts online. Nothing stupid. He pulled a girl from the crowd. “Let’s do this.”

  The girl was thrilled. She held out her phone. Kevin leaned over. He pressed his head to hers. Then he flashed a big smile.

  “Pie!” someone yelled.

  Without thinking, Kevin ducked. The pie flew over his head. It hit the wall and stuck there. After a few seconds, it slid toward the floor. Kevin stood and looked around. A sea of faces stared back. Did one of them do it? Then he saw the girl who took the selfie. Had she set him up?

  “Hey, Kev.” It was Chase. He was with another guy. The two of them were laughing.

  “What the—” Kevin started to say. “The pie just now. Did you do that?”

  “We were just having some fun. You know Alex, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” Kevin said. He recognized the guy from his trick-bike videos.