The scene cut to a montage of Leo’s "greatest hits." There was the time he’d tripped over his own cleats during tryouts, edited in slow motion to a circus soundtrack. Then, a clip of him practicing his "cool guy" hair flip in the bathroom mirror, complete with heart-eye emojis and a caption that read: Main Character Energy (In His Own Mind).
The video opened with a high-definition close-up of Leo’s face from three nights ago. He was fast asleep, mouth slightly open, cuddling a giant, plush narwhal he’d kept since he was six. The lighting was professional—Maya must have used her ring light. SISTER HUMILIATES YOU.mp4
He renamed the ghost dance file SISTER_HUMILIATES_YOU.mp4 and hit "Replace." The scene cut to a montage of Leo’s "greatest hits
Leo sat in the back of the computer lab, his pulse thrumming in his throat. He’d found the file on his sister’s desktop earlier that morning while looking for a homework template. Curiosity had quickly curdled into a cold, sinking dread. Maya, a budding filmmaker with a mean streak and 50,000 followers, didn’t just "make videos." She made "content." He clicked play. He was fast asleep, mouth slightly open, cuddling
"Meet Leo," Maya’s voice-over whispered, dripping with mock sympathy. "The guy who thinks he’s ready for varsity football, but still asks Mr. Narwhal for permission to go to sleep."
Then, he noticed something. The file wasn't on the cloud yet. The "Upload Status" icon on Maya's open browser tab was spinning—it was only at 12%.