“I think we still need to try,” Cecily says, more firmly this time.
But Amber just rolls her eyes. “It’s generating a ton of engagement.” Before Cecily can protest, she adds, “Mom would probably murder me on camera if she thought it would make us hit one million.”
For Cecily, it seems like all the air is sucked out of the room. “I . . .” Cecily opens and closes her mouth, unsure of what to say. She knows Amber is being sarcastic, but she also knows she needs to say something. She’s just not sure what.
“Have you read the replies?” Amber continues. The moment is gone. She clicks a comment.
That’s my house. Get out of my house.
Replies (11)
Your house?
Hey, @ColeTripsHouseFlips, you’ve got a psycho fan
Can it, creep
This is so fake lmao
Creepy! Stop!
Cecily’s brow furrows. She navigates to the newest comment and reads the replies—there are already three more. This stuff is really generating engagement.
This guy again!
What a weirdo, go buy your own house.
Are you that ghost kid?
Who hired you?
Rudy catches on to her concern. “Don’t worry, it’s just some internet weirdo.” When Cecily’s face doesn’t change, her brother flops onto Amber’s bed and shoots her a smile. “Think positive! This is great, they’re going to make us famous.”
“Doesn’t this bother you? Even a little?” Cecily asks, hating the fear that tinges her voice.
Rudy shrugs. “We’ve had weird comments before.”
Cecily shakes her head. “The username. It’s Alex Grable.”
Rudy swallows and nods. “I didn’t say that they aren’t . . . messed up to be doing it,” he says in agreement with a shrug. “But I guess you’re right that Mom should probably know. Even if we’re not going to do anything about it.”
“Still want to do your ghost livestream now?” Cecily asks, hoping against hope that the answer will be no.
But of course not. “Oh, absolutely,” Rudy says. “I’ve already started writing the script. No way I’m stopping now—and no way I’m letting some follower with the ability to google the history of a small town scare me off of it.”
Cecily sighs. At least she got him to agree with her about telling their mom about the follower ramping up his posts.
The triplets head downstairs, and Amber asks their parents to come into the library for a moment. Judging from their faces, Cecily can tell her parents aren’t thrilled to have been pulled away from supervising the kitchen demo and cabinet installation.
Rudy acts as spokesperson for the triplets and fills his parents in on the latest posts from the follower. Mrs. Cole cuts him off midway through and asks to see his phone so she can read the comments herself.
And then she responds exactly how Cecily was afraid she would. She scrolls through the comments and takes note of the number of replies. “It is generating engagement,” she says.
“It’s weird though, right?” Cecily asks, trying to keep a pleading note out of her voice. “The username . . .”
Mrs. Cole nods. “I know, sweetheart. But there’s nothing . . . illegal . . . about having that username, and they haven’t posted any . . . direct threats. It’s nothing you kids can’t handle.” She smiles up at Cecily, who is trying hard to keep her expression even. To not show how upset she is. After all, perfect people don’t get upset. Mrs. Cole continues. “As long as people keep responding, it generates engagement. And that gets us closer and closer to trending.”
“On that note,” Rudy says, winking at his sisters. “Just check out the threads about my graffiti art in the master bedroom. It’s got this follower really riled up. Talk about generating engagement! I think we should—”
“Rudy, no.” Mrs. Cole holds up a hand. Rudy frowns.
“I’m just saying, I think it’s a good idea—”
“I said no.” She snaps. Then she sighs as her face softens just a bit. “Listen, it wasn’t a bad idea at first, but now that the graffiti idea got this follower’s interest, I think it’s best if we don’t proceed with it.”
Amber takes a breath and starts to speak. “But—”
Cecily is surprised. It’s unlike Amber to disagree with their mom. At least not openly.
Mr. Cole cuts her off. “Your mother is right. Don’t engage with this guy. If he wants to comment and drive up engagement, he can do so all he wants. But we’re not going to interact with him.”
Rudy scowls. “Are you serious? It’s one-third my account—I should be able to do what I want on it.”
“Rudy, this is our account,” their mother says with a patronizing smile. “We all help. This is a family account—and we have all outvoted you.”
Cecily stares at her feet. She feels Rudy looking at her but she doesn’t say anything. Without her, they have definitely outvoted Rudy and Amber. Cecily wants Rudy to do his posts, but why can’t those posts be things that don’t rile up their internet follower?
“Seems like you only cared about the account when we started earning money, Mom,” Rudy mutters.
“Rudy,” their father says. The warning tone in his voice is loud and clear.
But if Rudy hears it, he chooses to ignore it. “Speaking of that money, where do you think it’s gone, huh? Why are we living in this dump when—”
“That’s enough!” Mrs. Cole says. “Amber, go into the account and take away Rudy’s admin privileges. Rudy, that means you won’t be able to post or respond to DMs from your phone. And I’m considering canceling your ghost livestream—which I didn’t want to let you do to begin with, remember? Rudy, you need to sit down and have some serious thoughts about how your actions affect this family—”
Rudy takes a step back. His face is bright red, and Cecily can see that he’s furious. “What? You’re seriously not letting me talk to fans anymore? And the livestream? Come on, this is ridiculous.” His voice cracks.
Cecily winces. She knows how much of a
