Girl Online(28)

I look at the clock and see that I’ve slept for ten whole hours. This is an incredible achievement after the nights of fitful sleep back home.

Elliot plonks himself down on the end of my bed and opens his laptop. “OK, I know you didn’t want to go online while we’re over here but there’s something you need to see.”

I instantly feel sick. “No, please, Elliot, I don’t want to see anything to do with the stupid video. I just want to forget about it.”

Elliot shakes his head and smiles. “It’s not the video; it’s your blog.”

I stare at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you, my dear, have gone viral again—but this time in a very good way.”

“What?” I crawl up the bed toward him and turn the laptop around so that it’s facing me. I see my post about facing my fears.

“Scroll down,” Elliot says.

I scroll down. There are 327 comments.

“What the . . . ?” I stare at the screen blankly. I’ve never had this many comments. Ever.

“They’ve all been posting about their fears,” Elliot says, “and how they’re going to face them. They’ve been sharing it too. Look how many followers you’ve got.”

I look at the followers bar on the right-hand side of the screen. “Ten thousand?”

Elliot nods. “Ten thousand, seven hundred, and fifteen, to be precise.”

I sit back, stunned. “Oh wow.”

“You should read them, Pen, some of them are so moving. There’s one girl who says she’s going to stand up to the bully in her class and there’s another who’s going to confront her fear of dentists. And, oh my God, you have to read this one.” Elliot starts scrolling through the comments. “Look.” He turns the screen back to face me.

Hi Girl Online, my fear is a bit different to the others on here and, to be honest, I’ve never told anyone about it before. But if you’ve got the courage to face your fear after your car accident, then I feel like I ought to face up to my own fear too. My fear is my mum. Well, not exactly my mum herself . . . I’m afraid of her drinking. Ever since she lost her job she’s been drinking more and more and I hate what it does to her. It makes her really angry and moody and she always shouts at me. But that’s not what I’m most afraid of. I’m most afraid that she doesn’t love me anymore. That probably sounds really dumb but she seems so different—like she doesn’t care anymore, about anything or anyone, even me. But your blog post has inspired me to do something. Today, I’m going to tell my auntie how I’m feeling. I know she won’t be able to fix anything but she might be able to give me some advice, and just telling someone might help me to feel a bit better. Thank you so much for being so brave and for inspiring us to be brave too. Lots of love, Pegasus Girl xxx

I look at Elliot, my eyes filling with tears. “Oh my God.”

Elliot nods. “I know and look at this.” He scrolls right down to the bottom of the comments.

Hi again. Just wanted to let you know that I told my auntie and she was so lovely. She came over to see my mum and my auntie has asked us to both come and stay with her for a while. My mum didn’t get angry with me at all—she was really sad and she said how sorry she was and that she was going to get help. Thanks so much, Girl Online, you’re so right: sometimes you have to face up to your fears to realize that they aren’t actually real. Lots of love, Pegasus Girl xxx

Tears spill down onto my face. I wipe them away and stare at Elliot. “I can’t believe that—that something I wrote . . .”

“I know.” Elliot puts his arm around my shoulders. “I’m so proud of you, Ocean Strong.”

I snuggle into him. “Thanks, Elliot.”

He shakes his head and frowns at me. “Thanks, Waldorf Wild.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“It’s my new Sasha Fierce name.”

? ? ?

Nothing beats Dad’s “Saturday Breakfast,” but breakfast at the Waldorf definitely comes a very close second. After we’ve all feasted on crispy bacon, blueberry pancakes, and maple syrup all on the same plate (which might sound weird but actually works), Mum and I go up to the suite where the wedding’s going to be held while Dad and Elliot head out to do some sightseeing. Although I’m really flattered and excited to be asked to take some photos for Cindy and Jim, I can’t help feeling a little wistful. I hope I get the chance to go out later; I’m itching to see some more of New York.

As soon as we enter the wedding suite, I look at Mum and gasp. “Oh, Mum—it’s perfect.”

She nods and smiles. “I know.”

With the portraits on the walls and plush carpets and antique furniture, it looks just like the set from Downton Abbey.

Mum puts her To Have and to Hold planner down on a small table by the door and I instinctively turn my camera on. She’s put the planner right next to a beautiful antique table lamp, which seems to perfectly sum up the theme of the wedding. I zoom in close enough to pick up the lettering on the planner and take the picture.

“So, this is the room where they’re going to get married,” Mum says, gesturing at the rows of gilt-edged chairs that have been arranged in front of a grand fireplace. “Then after the ceremony the guests will be brought through to the dining room for the wedding breakfast.”