Page 2 of Unfiltered
“I don’t care if it was her dog that replied.” Madeline’s over-the-top expressions always made Abby smile. “It came from her fricking social media account, so it’s good enough for me. You, my friend, have not just gone viral—you’ve arrived.”
“No.” Abby shook her head. She plopped onto a nearby step stool, fearing her rubbery legs wouldn’t hold her. “I don’t want to be viral. Viruses kill people.”
“Oh, for god’s sakes, girlfriend, give it a rest.” Madeline wiggled her shoulders. “You’re an influencer.”
Abby bit her lip, not wanting to laugh at her friend’s attempt at being cool. Madeline epitomized nerdiness, even more so than Abby did.
They’d met eight years ago when Abby became the Harveston Public Library director. At first, Abby worried she’d have trouble with Madeline, who’d been the assistant director for the past five years, assuming Madeline had been passed over for the job. Abby soon discovered Madeline hadn’t applied, preferring to be an assistant.
Once she got to know Madeline, she understood why. While Abby struggled with her own shyness, Madeline was awkward, vacillating between timidity and the opposite—having no filter. Through the years, Abby grew to love that quality in Madeline, but some patrons found it off-putting.
“One viral post doesn’t make me an influencer.”
“Girl, you better lace up your dancing shoes. Your fans want more.”
Abby let out a loud sigh. “How many times have I told you, I dance for the books I love, not to get fans?”
Madeline rose onto her toes and stumbled through a pirouette.
“Don’t quit your day job,” Abby said.
“Poppy poop.” Madeline’s eyes widened. “I never thought about that.”
“It’s poppycock. And what haven’t you thought of?”
Madeline turned up her nose. “It’s poop in my book. And don’t you go getting any wild ideas.” Madeline wagged her finger at Abby.
“What kind of wild ideas am I not supposed to be getting?” While Abby was used to Madeline’s head-spinning communication, even she couldn’t follow Madeline’s train of thought.
“Oh, don’t think I don’t see it. You becoming an influencer and leaving me here to toil on my own.”
Abby slapped her hand against her forehead. “I’m not the one trying to go viral. I’m just dancing about my favorite books. You’re the one who keeps track of my followers.”
Madeline had developed an elaborate spreadsheet several months ago to track Abby’s posts. Abby didn’t care how many people reacted to her goofy little book reviews. She did them for herself.
“Oh.” Madeline pursed her lips and sized Abby up. “There is that.”
Abby couldn’t resist ribbing Madeline, so she said, “I guess you didn’t think that through, now did you?”
Madeline’s reply was cut short when Clara pushed through the door. “You’re not going to believe this. I almost didn’t believe it myself.”
Clara was an octogenarian volunteer who worked the circulation desk. She was normally calm, but her frazzled expression said she was rattled.
“What’s wrong?” Abby asked.
Clara shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Just the opposite. You’ll never guess whose publicist is on the line asking for you.”
“Maya Ellis Lane,” Madeline said from behind Abby.
Clara’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
CHAPTER 2
Blythe Willoughby smiled intoher camera and said, “Dyke drop,” as she pretended to drop an imaginary mic. “Keep it unfiltered,” she said, finishing with her signature line before she stopped the video.
Without rewatching it, she hit post. Then she scrolled back to the video that kept drawing her attention away from her own content.
“Geez, Kris, are you still watching that video?” Ricki Jameson said when she walked into the kitchen.
