Internet Famous Read online

  Laurent’s phone buzzed, and he scrambled to grab it from the nightstand.

  u feel like going on a date tonight? (i have snapsed open and ready!)

  “Madi!” he breathed, then typed in his reply.

  of course! where are we going?

  i’m thinking coffee would be a good start

  Laurent grinned as he tapped in an answer.

  coffee is ALWAYS in order! where to?

  well, i don’t have a license (or car), so i’m putting on my shoes. u ready to walk?

  ha-ha! love it. those are magnifique! oh, how I’ve missed you, madi!

  i’ve missed u too but we’re together again. that’s what matters.

  how i wish we were.

  take my hand, laurent. this is our time

  i won’t let go.

  good, because i’m not that great with directions & i’ve only been told this coffee shop is good

  we’re going to a new one?

  yes! all right. i’m on the street. let’s go

  Laurent stared down at the screen, hands tightening around his phone. 4 … 3 … He knew that street. And the text was—2 … He leaned closer, squinting at the menu board. 1 … It was in French!

  The image blinked out before he could figure out where it was. “Merde!” Laurent scrambled to reply.

  OMG wait! WAIT! where are you, madi???

  i’m on my way to meet u for coffee. ur holding my hand. we’re walking. aren’t we?

  no, really. WHERE are you?!

  i’m getting closer to u with each step

  Laurent jumped from the bed, his chest heaving. There was no mistaking that sign. Madi was definitely in Paris!

  TELL ME WHERE TO MEET YOU!!!!!!!

  i’m certain you can find me, if you keep your eyes open …

  Another Snapsed appeared.

  Laurent’s fingers were shaking so hard he could barely type.

  I KNOW LES DEUX MAGOTS!

  thought u might

  can’t type. on my way!

  i just ordered our coffees. i’m getting something a little fancy this time. pretty sure u will approve of the taste!

  almost there. WHEN did you get to paris?

  this morning. i wanted to surprise u

  you did! YOU’RE ACTUALLY HERE!

  LOL i am! i’ve been dying to tell u!

  hold on. i see the café!

  Do you see me???

  YES!!!!!

  *   *   *

  Madi’s phone buzzed at the same time a figure came through the door. For the briefest moment her gaze caught on the Snapsed that had appeared on her screen. Is that me? Before she could decide, a familiar voice interrupted.

  “Madi?”

  Madi’s head bobbed up, and she surged to her feet. “Laurent!”

  The Parisian café faded as she focused on the man standing before her. Every detail that had dimmed in the last months of separation jumped back into focus: His lashes were black at the base but pale brown at the tips, his lips a perfect curving bow, the skin of his jaw stubbled dark, and his nose dotted with freckles, too light to be seen at a distance.

  Laurent was beautiful, yes, but more than that, he was good and kind.

  “I’ve missed you, minette.”

  Madi smiled through happy tears. “Missed you, too, Laurent.”

  “How are you here in Paris?” he murmured as he brushed a tear away with his thumb. “I don’t understand.”

  “It was time to start living my own life.” She smiled up at him, laughing. “And that meant moving on.”

  “But you have a life in the States. A family.”

  “I do, but I’ve always wanted to travel. Besides, there’s no reason I can’t do MadLibs from Paris. Sarah and I text every day. My being in France won’t change that.”

  “You came.”

  “I’ll always come back to you, Laurent. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  And as he leaned in to kiss her, the rest of Madi Nakama’s shining future began.

  Author’s Note

  I have two jobs: the first is my Superman job as a writer of YA and contemporary fiction; the second is a Clark Kent job as a high school teacher. I’m also a mom to three boys, one of whom has special needs. Every once in a while, these divergent paths converge.

  I teach a technology program specifically designed for students with mental, emotional, and physical challenges, the goal being to give them technical skills that will help them in both their academic and personal pursuits. Spending three hours a day with these incredible students has given me a valuable perspective into their lives. They have tremendous gifts, skills, and—yes—challenges, too. But their differences are far less important than their similarities. They are a part of the school community. They live important lives. Yet too often in literature, these special individuals are ignored and overlooked.

  Why is that?

  In the school where I teach, approximately one in every ten students has some kind of special need (including every single child in my specialized technology class). In my mind, that ten percent of students should be visible in #YA literature. This book tries to do that.

  While Internet Famous isn’t Sarah’s story, her inclusion is a powerful statement. It’s important that she’s there. And to all the students who inspired me to create her, I want to say: Thank you. You are amazing.

  Blog Post 418, Saturday 11:02 p.m.:

  The Force Awakens!

  With a blast of John Williams’s music, I launched into The Force Awakens, the ONLY movie in the Star Wars franchise I’ve never seen, and the movie that @StarveilBrian1981 has been promoting for more than a year. How did I miss this film? I moved to France last summer and was a little distracted with settling into my new MadLibbing life.;) With the hubbub of RL settled, I’m watching—FOR THE FIRST TIME—the movie that’s launched a thousand new ships.

  Williams’s music is only surpassed by the perfectly 1970s receding text. *mad screaming* The classic Star Wars intro is the best thing about any movie series EVER (and I’ll fight anyone who says differently). I must admit, though, the title always throws me. THE FORCE AWAKENS. Was the force asleep before this? Did it miss the alarm? IDEK.

  And from that epic intro, the newest Star Wars movie starts in the midst of some kind of get-together with a cutie-pie rebel dude and—wait!—is that the three-eyed raven from Game of Thrones? Yes, I think it is. So raven and rebel are chilling when a whole lot of bad guys show up. And just like that, the fight’s on!

  Pew! Pew! Swchwomp! Pew! Pew! Pew! (Is it wrong to love sound effects this much? Don’t answer that. ’Cause I totally do).

  The guy with the fabulous hair—who we find out is Poe Damn-eron!—gets separated from his cute little robot, BB-8. There’s a whole lotta fighting going on. Now, I’m not a huge fan of stormtroopers in general, but these guys seem even less “with it” than usual. Meanwhile, the epic bad dude shows up. How do I know?

  A) He’s in Darth Vader cosplay.

  B) He’s super tall, and that is a prerequisite in this franchise: smol versus tol. (Check Tumblr for details. If you’re over six feet, you’re a baddie. More on that later!)

  Back to the planet where one stormtrooper’s having a panic attack. And—oh crap!—the old guy just bit it. Poe shoots, but—WHOA!—Did evil Jedi guy just stop a laser blast midair? Yes, he did. We’ve got an epic J. J. Abrams lens flare to show how important this event is. I’m pretty sure this is an homage to the original series, when Obi-Wan was killed, but I kind of feel bad because we know so little about this guy (other than he’s also dead on Game of Thrones. RIP). Meanwhile, there’s a whole lot of banter and sass between Poe and bad dude, and for whatever reason, Darth Cosplay decides not to kill him.

  Aaaaaaaaand the stormtrooper with the conscience isn’t shooting, but his superior (who is also a tol) has taken note. He’s definitely getting written up for this one. Hold on. I’ve got to search who plays Captain Phasma, because she sounds REALLY famil
iar.

  *disappears onto the Internet*

  Aha! Knew it! It’s Brienne of Tarth. She’s six three, and the smol/tol Internet theory holds. (Aside: The GOT rewatch starts in two weeks. Woot! Check in for that later.)

  All right. Back to business: The new scene begins, and we are introduced to an adorable scavenger, Rey, who has paired up with BB-8. She understands the blips and beeps, and is fabulously awesome. Her apocalyptic steampunk garb is ah-MAZE-ing. She’s had literally less than a minute of screen time, and I’m already under Rey’s spell. (Note to self: Must buy a Rey action figure!)

  OMG OMG OMG! Cheesy transitions FTW!

  All right, so we know a few things about this scavenger girl:

  A) She’s living on her own by scavenging tech.

  B) She can talk robot. (Is she a robot herself? Oh! I like that idea, but this isn’t Battlestar Galactica, so it’s doubtful.)

  C) She insists her family will come back someday. Curiouser and curiouser!

  There’s an awesome escape with Poe and Finn, the boy-next-door-stormtrooper, who appears to have missed the class on how to suppress your emotions. (Offscreen: Finn talking to himself made me snork out loud and Laurent can’t stop laughing.) Is it just me or is there a level of romantic tension between Finn and Poe? Uh-huh. You bet there is! And I’m all in for Finn-and-Poe shenanigans!

  The two steal a TIE-fighter. *squeals* Could this be the start of a road-trip fic? Unfortunately, they end up crashing on the surface of the planet, and Finn isn’t able to get Poe out before the craft gets sucked underground. Noooooooo!: (Finn heads off, hugging Poe’s jacket like some sad little prize of what could have been. *sobs* My shipper heart is breaking! Why are you making me FEEL these things, The Force Awakens? WHY???

  Dying from thirst, Finn heads to the village, where Rey is taking no shit from anyone. (Question: How difficult is it for the stormtroopers to get to the surface? I mean, it seems like Finn’s been down there for hours). Anyhow—back on the planet, Rey is beating up two guys at once. Let there be no question: I LOVE REY. I want to BE her. And it appears that Finn does, too. Unfortunately, she doesn’t see it that way. She chases Finn down, starts kicking his ass, but luckily they end up bonding over.… *insert epic music*

  THE MYTH OF SKYWALKER.

  Then, Finn’s horrible-terrible-no-good-first-day-as-a-nontrooper gets worse when the rest of his onetime colleagues show up to catch him, and Rey won’t let him play the part of the hero. “Stop taking my hand!” now ties for my favorite line in this film. Off they go! Cardio time! And they end up taking off with … garbage!

  *scratch that*

  IT’S THE FREAKING MILLENNIUM FALCON!!!

  But even once they get off the planet, things aren’t quite going the way they should be, but troubled or not, our fabulous BFFs are off and running. Incidentally, I love that Finn lies about his origin and makes it seem like he’s in the resistance … and BB-8 totally covers for him. Woot! Meanwhile, Kylo Ren discovers his plan didn’t work out and channels his inner man-child so he can destroy an entire room.

  That poor First Order assistant. Kylo Ren is the boss from HELL. I imagine the guy is probably thinking: But my personal e-mails were on that computer. They must have a full-time repair crew. LOL

  After another bout of epic music … Han Solo arrives! You heard me right. HAN freaking SOLO! Now, I’m totally up for the new adventures of Finn and Rey, but the retro-stylings of Han and Rey are a close second. I could totally go for a spin-off. These two are literally finishing each other’s sentences. She’s fixing his bucket-of-junk ship in ways even Han can’t imagine! Is it wrong I want a buddy cop smuggler movie? They’d be amazing together! The old curmudgeon smuggler and his scavenger apprentice. I imagine Chewie roaring as he rolls his eyes at the camera. LOL

  Okay—those rathtars in the ship are freaking me out, but … but … is that a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark I see? That rolling thingie definitely looks like a ball rolling down the hall. Yup. This show is full of references! It’s like an homage to film homage. A FILMOMAGE!

  Along the way, we discover Han Solo is Ren’s father. AAAAAHHHHH! WHAT IS MY LIFE?!? (Also, I now need another spin-off prequel. Would that be Episode 6.1? I could totally go for 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 … If Flash updates every two weeks, why can’t Star Wars???)

  *rewinds to find out what I missed while flailing*

  Oh! And it appears there’s a map (which fills us in on what Poe was carrying). Also—can I ask the obvious? Like, why did Luke leave? Going full-hermit seems like an extreme reaction to an apprenticeship program gone awry. Though I really love Finn and Rey together, the second-mate offer is golden. TAKE THE JOB OFFER, REY!!! (She doesn’t). So, with a lot of could-have-beens, the band of rebels—Finn, Rey, Han, and Chewie—head off to a thousand-year-old party palace.

  As an aside: The Darth Helmet is hella creepy. Can you imagine keeping your grandpa’s head on your coffee table? Nope. Me neither. First Order or not, that’s just weird.

  Okay. Here’s where we are with the plot:

  A) Finn wants to run away.

  B) Rey wants to go home.

  C) Kylo wants BB-8.

  D) BB-8 wants to deliver the message.

  E) Han Solo wants a drink and his ship.

  And finally …

  F) Maz Kanata seems to know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE, but won’t explain why or how.

  Things get a little LSD trippy when Rey has a flashback/flash-forward after she stumbles down into the inexplicably creepy basement. I’m no scavenger, and I’m certainly nowhere near as badass as Rey, but if I started hallucinating, a basement in a dance club would be the LAST place I’d go. There’s SO much going on at this point that I had to pause and rewind to catch up. I’m pretty sure we’ve got a flash of Luke’s creepy robot hand on R2-D2, Kylo and his First Order posse killing some random dude, and then some kind of forest scene. Rey realizes—WHOA! I shouldn’t have done that! (No kidding, Rey.) And then, just to twist the knife, Maz Kanata tells Rey that the person she’s waiting for isn’t coming back. Niiiiiiiiice.

  But the bad day isn’t over. (C’mon, it’s Star Wars.) Kylo Ren and henchmen show up and the whole place gets trashed. Meanwhile, Rey has a lot of FEELS and runs off into the forest with BB-8. Side note: It’s pretty convenient that stormtroopers can’t actually aim. You’d think that the Empire would look into that design flaw.

  Kylo heads into the forest to get Rey, where it becomes completely clear Rey’s out of her depth. Kylo Ren Force-kicks her ass. Meanwhile, Finn freaks out when he realizes that Rey has been taken, and there’s the reunion with Han and Leia. The feeeeels!!! But that’s only the start.

  Wait for it.…

  WAIT. FOR. IT.…

  The big reveal is that Kylo Ren is Han AND LEIA’S son. (But of course he is, because who else could Han love other than Leia? I mean, really!) The one small part of their chat that made me giggle is Han hinting that there’s “too much Vader” in Kylo, which seems to be the equivalent of “that’s your side of the family’s fault.” Leia doesn’t seem to mind. Maybe—like me—she’s been missing Han, too. (Please tell me you’ve seen the adventures of Emo Kylo Ren on Tumblr. If not—GO LOOK IT UP.)

  And then the moment. THE. MOMENT. Oh God, you guys. I can’t tell you how I’ve been waiting for this. Poe and Finn reunite, but Finn’s wearing his jacket like some YA novel with the quarterback and his best friend/soon-to-be-boyfriend. THIS IS ADORKABLE! Holy crap, did Poe just do a lip bite??? In case you missed it, I rewound, and YES, he actually did. I seriously love this movie!!! #StormpilotFTW

  Now, amidst the family bonding and Poe/Finn feels, Rey is locked up with Kylo Ren. And as much as he claims she’s there as his guest, Kylo, dude, I’m pretty sure this isn’t the definition of “guest behavior,” unless you’re using 12 Cloverfield Lane as the benchmark. (Aside: If you missed my MadLib on that, you can find it HERE.) So Kylo monologues a bit like any good James Bond villain, but then the mask seems to bug him, so he pulls it off,
and oooooooh! He’s actually really good-looking under that mask. Not scarred or creepy or disfigured. Halp! I’m suddenly conflicted about Kylo. Damn, son. You have L’Oréal hair!

  *ahem*

  Okay, so Kylo does the Jedi mind-reading trick as he tells Rey he’ll take whatever he wants, but Rey’s not some weakling. She repels his attempts. Stranger yet, she CAN fight off his Force attack. Kylo’s face—when he realizes he can’t get into her head—is FANTASTIC! OMG I love Rey!!! Because now she’s in his head. And that changes everything.

  Change scene to Snoke, Kylo, and tol number three, whose name I’m too lazy to look up, but who was in the Ex Machina movie. (ETA: Laurent tells me it’s Bill Weasley aka Domhnall Gleeson, son of Brendan Gleeson aka Mad Eye Moody.) Seems this is all a 3-D Skype meeting of some kind, and Snoke says he wants the girl. *shudders* Snoke is creepy AF, but I’m glad that Andy Serkis is getting work.

  Meanwhile, Rey pulls an Obi-Wan. Wait! NEW THOUGHT! *hyperventilates* OMG—could Obi Wan be her dad??? I mean, she was abandoned, right? Could that be why? He’s not coming back because he’s actually dead. She does almost the same thing as Obi-Wan did when he and Luke met up with the stormtroopers.

  Cut to … Temper tantrum number two. EPIC! I kind of love that the two nearby stormtroopers run away because CLEARLY they have seen this happen before. No one wants to be around Kylo when he loses a prisoner or his popcorn burns in the microwave. (God! He must have been a JOY when he was a teenager.) Somewhere the plant manager for this place must be face-palming. What?! Sector seven’s trashed AGAIN?!

  In other galaxy news … the rebellion creates a plan, and the plan seems to be … almost the same plan as the way they destroyed the Death Star thirty years before. (WTF???) Serious question here: It’s been, like, a full generation since the Death Star was destroyed. Isn’t the oscillator design flaw something the Empire should have addressed in that time? Anyhow. I don’t care about blowing things up because POE AND FINN ARE TOGETHER AGAIN! *swoons* They have another moment, and though they don’t kiss, there’s lots of hot and heavy looking. Yes. I’m definitely invested in that ship. I totally want them to make it! They are bbs, while Leia and Han are all sorts of adorbs.