Chapter 17: Bona Fide Viral Sensation!

Briar and the others continue to walk past Main Street and head back to their dorm, the Ramshackle Dorm. However, when they arrive, they can see a crowd of people in front. This catches Briar and the others by surprise.

"Hm? What's with all the people outside our dorm?" Grim wonders.

"They don't like students or teachers," Tanzanite says.

"Then they must be Halloween visitors," Briar replies.

Soon, they begin to hear a lot of screaming and shouting.

A woman shouts, "Ooh! Over here, ghostie!"

Another woman shouts, "Gimme a wink!"

"Sure thing!" Patrick says.

Patrick, Albert, and John then give them a wink.

Both women scream, "Aaaah! So dreamy!"

All the people, especially the women and girls are going nuts as they scream in excitement. Among the crowd are Cater and Deuce.

Told you guys this was gonna be nuts," Cater says.

"What a huge crowd. You weren't kidding, Cater," Deuce says, shocked.

Sereia soon notices them, "Look, there's Deuce and Cater."

"You're right," Briar says.

Soon, Briar and the others walk up to them.

Briar calls out, "Cater. Deuce."

"Oh, hello Briar. Hello everyone," Deuce says.

"Do you guys have any idea what the deal is with all these people around Ramshackle Dorm?" Grim asks.

"You want to know the deal?" Cater questions.

Then Cater brings out his phone, "Check it out."

"What am I lookin' at?" Grim wonders, looking at the phone and notices it, "Magicam?" Grim looks at it and notices, "Wait a minute, that's the picture I took with the ghosts?"

Briar and the others look at Cater's phone.

"You're right. That's you, Grim," Jasper says.

Then Grim asks, "What about it, though?"

"You see that number under the picture? That's the like counter. Basically it's the number of times people liked your picture," Cater explains.

"What's the counter at?" Grim wonders.

Hen Grim finds the number, he exclaims, "Whoa, ten THOUSAND?!"

He then asks, "What in the world?! Cater, your Magicam must be bused or somethin'!"

Then Cater explains, "Ghosts don't show up in pictures very often. Of course it'd get attention when they do. And this is a ghost SELFIE! Plus a bonus cat pic - a perennial favorite online. Throw in some good ol' Halloween trendiness… And you've got a viral sensation on your hands!"

"I ain't a cat!" Grim says with a frown.

"You do look like one," Briar says.

The group giggles in reply.

Grim ignores them and says, "Anyway, it says only five friends viewed the ghost picture."

"So how'd it get ten thousand likes?!" Grim asks.

"All it takes is one user to spot the picture on their feed. They give it a like… Then their followers give it likes, and their followers' followers give it likes, and it just keeps spreading," Deuce says.

"Sounds a lot similar to the internet posting sites back home," Briar says.

Then Cater says, "From what I can tell, it got a bit more attention over time as Halloween got closer… But the real kicker was when a famous Magicammer made a post about it the other day. That sent engagement through the roof."

"Wow. All these people, buzzin' about a picture of me…" Grim says, surprised. He then frowns, "Awww, man! I'm totally blinking in it! I look way more handsome with my eyes open. We gotta replace it with a better picture!"

But Cater says, "Yeah, that's not happening. Tons of people have already saved it. There's no erasing something off the net once you post it. Social media sites are global. Even with zero followers, you gotta assume the whole world is watching.

"That's the power of social media. And it will be a matter of time before someone sees you," Briar replies.

And right on cue, a woman notices Grim, "Ooh, look! Isn't that the kitty from the ghost picture?"

Grim turns and asks, "Huh? You talkin' about me?!"

Then angrily says, "I ain't a cat. I'm the great Grim, future mage of worldwide renown!"

"He talks!" The other woman says, surprised, "I guess he's not a kitty after all. He's a monster!"

Then another woman says, "Awww, lookit the little hat he's wearing! Is he dressed up for Halloween?"

Then the second woman says, "Who cares WHAT he is when he's that cute?!"

Grim angrily says, "I AIN'T CUTE. Try 'cool,' okay?!"

However, all the girls squeal, "Sooo adorbs!"

Soon, the crowd begins to surround Grim.

"E-everybody's crowdin' around me…" Grim says, confused.

Then grows excited, "I'm a bona fide viral sensation!"

Then the woman says, "The ghosts and this monster are all precious."

"I always thought of ghosts as dark and scary and mean-spirited," The other woman says.

Another woman says, "If some ghosts are this friendly and cheerful, I might just have a career as a ghost hunter in my future!"

"I know, right?! They're so CUTE!" Another woman says.

Soon the people continue to crowd them.

"Boy, getting fawned over like this makes me glad to be a ghost!" John says.

Then Patick says, "Halloween's the best!"

Grim happily cheers, "Mya-hah! I'm the talk of the town! C'mon, lay it on thick!"

Deuce sighs, "The ghosts and Grim are letting fame go to their heads."

Then a woman asks, "Hey, ghostie, could I take a picture with you? I want to share it on Magicam. Anything to be in the spirit of the season, right?"

"You know, I've been thinking ever since I saw the front gate… Isn't Night Raven College basically THE perfect Halloween selfie backdrop?" A man replies.

Another man says, "Let's get a bunch of pictures posted!"

Soon, everyone begins to take pictures of the ghosts.

Briar and the others remain where they are with confused looks.

"Looks like we're not going to get back to the dorm anymore soon," Jasper says.

"I agree. Grim seems to be enjoying it," Tanzanite says.

Just then, someone asks, "Um excuse me."

Briar and the others turn to see a woman walking up to them.

Then the woman asks, "You two young ladies have nice costumes. You don't mind if I take a picture of you with the cat?"

"Um sure, I don't mind," Briar says.

"Okay," Sereia says.

Briar calls out, "Hey Grim, someone wants you, me and Sereia to have our picture taken!"

"Sure," Grim says, and rushes over.

Grim, Briar, and Sereia gather together and smile as they face the woman.

"Say, Happy Halloween!" The woman says.

"Happy Halloween!" Grim, Briar, and Sereia shout with a smile.

And the woman takes the picture.

Soon, a few teens asks Tanzanite, Jasper, and Trinket for their pictures. They love seeing Trinket dressed as the cutest and smallest ghost they've seen.

Seeing this, Deuce says, "Well, the visitors seem to be having a good time with it. Look at how much they're enjoying the setups we built. Isn't it nice, Cater?"

"Hmm…" Cater thinks for a bit. "Yeah, sure."

Then softly says, "I hope it stays that way."