Shira was busy attracting followers on instagram. She would like other people's photos all the time, add anyone as friends, even register several accounts to like her own photo and pretend to be her own fans to gain exposure. It became an 18 hour a day job. It was not fruitless. Zack's photo was several times better than what she took with the low resolution camera on her own phone. People started complimenting her photos and even followed her.
"I'm sorry, but we are about to close." Shira looked up from her phone and didn't realize the sun had set. She gathers her things into the bag and feels a moment of exhaustion. On the other hand, she was just able to enjoy six hrs of free wifi and AC over a four dollar lemonade in the mall, that wasn't a bad deal.
She got a text from Gina: "Twenty-one year old girl missing. She is 5'7", medium build, with blonde hair. She might have a phone glued on the face. Shira, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Shira chuckled as she quickly typed: "I'm here! Alive! Let's hang tomorrow."
If a monitor camera was installed at Shira's home, you can tell she has been consumed by the Instagram grind like the first time a teenage boy saw an adult magazine. There is no restriction for Shira when it comes to being creative. She would double-tap others' photos to get attention, friend anyone who even remotely seemed human, and even registered a bunch of accounts to like her own photos and hype her up in the comments. "Wow, who's this goddess?!" one of her own sock puppet accounts would comment, only to respond with another, "OMG, you look STUNNING." She experimented with every trick she can think of—from 'accidentally' photobombing local influencers for exposure to starting feuds with imaginary rivals over who had the best #OOTD. She once even staged a dramatic 'photo rescue' at a mall fountain, pretending to save her phone from a watery demise. With no doubt, it's a 18 hour a day job. And Shira has been the employee of the month.
But let's be clear, it wasn't all for nothing. Zack's DSLR photos were a game-changer. His photos made Shira's old posts with her cheap cellphone low-res camera look like old sweaters...or something equally unappealing. Her photos start getting noticed. The old bitter words turned into cheerful compliments.
The followers started climbing up. At first she would be happy if there were one new follower every week. Very quickly it became daily. And then a few everyday. When Shira woke up each morning, she first thought not of coffee but of checking her phone.
As her follower count increased, so did the diversity of her audience. She found herself influencing not just local followers but people from across the globe. She started receiving messages in languages she couldn't understand, pushing her to use translation apps just to reply.
She began to notice patterns in her followers' preferences, tailoring her content to what resonated the most. OOTD posts on Mondays, throwback photos on Thursdays, and candid, heartfelt reflections on Sundays.
One inconspicuous Florida morning, or noon, Shira half-opened one eye and groggily fumbled for her phone. When her sleep-heavy swipe finally unlocked her phone, her eyes snapped open, and her heart skipped a beat. She had done it—reached 1000 followers! The kind of scream she let out was the sort reserved for horror movies.
Her father, who was passing by her room at the exact moment of her outburst, peered in with a look that was a blend of confusion and mild concern. "What in the world...?" he started.
"I reached a THOUSAND followers, Dad!" Shira proclaimed, her voice riding the waves of euphoria.
Her father's response was a chuckle, the kind that comes with decades of life experience aka parental skepticism. "And what, pray tell, will these 'followers' pay you with? Emojis?" he was amused by his own jokes.
"Maybe consider that Walmart job," he then suggested with a smile. "You are twenty one and eating our food everyday. You should think about getting your own place. "
Shira just stuck her tongue out at him as a rebuttal, the universal sign language for 'whatever, old man'.
She then sent the screenshot to Zack.
Five seconds later, he texted back:"Oh my gosh, you hit 1k! That's really cool. I'm so happy for you. I guess all those hours paid off, huh? "
Shira didn't reply.
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