New Connections
“Hiyaaa! It’s Mia. I’m back again to put on another show! I bet you’re wondering what I’ll be singing today, right? Well, drumroll please!” Mia drums the desk in front of her. “It’s ‘Metali’ by Babymetal! I’ve been obsessed with their music lately, and ‘Metali’ is such a banger! Not to be confused with ‘Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!’.” Mia chuckles at her own bad joke. “Alright, I know, I know, too much talking. Let’s begin!”
The twang of the guitar sounds as the song kicks off. As the intro starts, Mia bobs her head to the music and flicks her hands in the air with each shout in the song. She can’t help but grin throughout, even when trying to stay in character to mimic Momo-metal’s expressive speaking part halfway through.
As the song builds toward its climax, Mia feels the excitement swell inside her, seemingly electrifying the air around her. Mia belts out the last “Wasshoi!” before playing air guitar for the final part of the song. Focusing back on her stream, she admits, “Well, that could have been a bit better,” letting out a laugh. She leans back in her chair, still grinning. As comments start to fill her screen, Mia averts her gaze. “That’s gonna be all from me for today! Unfortunately, I have real-life things to do, like laundry. It’s been fun! Thanks for watching, everyone. I’m Mia,” she says, throwing up a quick peace sign with a cheesy smile before ending her stream.
Ignoring the comments, Mia quickly closes the website and shuts her computer. The smile she had moments before fades. Staring at her mic, she wonders if streaming is still worth it, if it’s still fun enough. When she first began streaming, it didn’t take long for the haters to find her. Mia quickly developed a habit of ignoring the comment section on her videos and streams. She figured they weren’t worth her time, especially with how much hate she receives. She had made the mistake once of checking the comments after a month or two of avoidance. There were nice comments that made her happy, but one stuck with her: “Her name should be M.I.A. with how she ignores her viewers.”
M.I.A., huh? Maybe I am. Mia flops onto her bed and throws a mini temper tantrum, kicking and flailing her arms and legs. “Aghhhh!”
Ding! A notification pops up on Mia’s phone—a direct message on Instagram. Mia sighs and begrudgingly opens the message. Ignoring it isn’t an option; she has to check those notifications because you never know who might be reaching out.
Kara… never heard of her.
“Hey Mia! My name’s Kara. I'm a fellow singer! Well, an aspiring one at least, lol. I’m trying to get my career started, but I’m completely lost on where to begin. Maybe we can help each other out? I’ll buy you a coffee! Anyway… thanks!”
Mia clicks on Kara’s profile and scrolls through it. Hmm, not too many posts or followers. Not sure this would be worth my time. She taps on the only video posted to Kara’s account—one of her singing. Oh. Her eyes widen as she watches Kara dazzle through her phone screen. I didn’t know it was possible for someone to shine like this.
Mia returns to the message and types out a response. She pauses, looking over what she’s written.
Send.
Mia stares at the screen, her heart faltering. Was this the right choice?