Video Girl
The corridor went on for a while under cold neon lights, doors on both sides the same uniform beige. Stairs coming down from somewhere ended at a wood and glass partition that kept the two spaces apart. Had someone been there, they might have heard a muffled thump followed by hurried shuffling behind the opaque lower half of the barrier.
"Ow! Let me see!"
"Stop pushing! What are you, twelve?"
"Yes! What's your excuse?"
"I'm thirteen," whined a third voice.
"We know!!"
A mass of curly black hair rose behind the window, followed by a pair of bright eyes, then two more. They filed into the hallway: a brown girl in a pink dress; a short boy with vaguely Asian features; one other boy, tall and thin, with freckled face and too-big glasses. He looked around uncertainly.
"Which way now?"
"My informer says it's room two-oh-nine," the girl whispered with assurance.
The boy squinted at nearby room numbers. "To the left?"
"Left it is," she confirmed, and went that way without waiting. Both boys started in opposite directions.
"The other left!" she added over her shoulder. The target of those words trundled back on thick legs, sweating in his polo shirt and short slacks.
It wasn't far. The door looked like any other, but for the sign saying ON AIR. The lamp was off.
"Means we can go in, right?" asked one boy.
"What if someone's there?" countered the other.
"Let's find out," said the girl, and knocked.
Echoes rolled away like thunder, making them cringe. No-one answered.
"Here goes nothing," she concluded, and pressed the handle.
The room felt huge. A maze of server racks with bundles of cables running between them. MIDI keyboards perched on flimsy stands. An empty coffee cup forgotten between monitors on a desk, with a microphone hanging from above.
Among it all stood a transparent column lit from inside. There floated the shape of an older girl, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. She had long straight hair and black make-up that matched her streetwear, from the big stompy boots to the headphones with cat ears on top.
"Oh, wow, that's her! That's really her. We've made it!"
"Cool..."
"Guys, I think she's looking at us."
The shorter boy puffed up his chest. "Don't be silly, that's just a..."
"I'm right here, you know," the older girl said suddenly.
( Read more... )
"Ow! Let me see!"
"Stop pushing! What are you, twelve?"
"Yes! What's your excuse?"
"I'm thirteen," whined a third voice.
"We know!!"
A mass of curly black hair rose behind the window, followed by a pair of bright eyes, then two more. They filed into the hallway: a brown girl in a pink dress; a short boy with vaguely Asian features; one other boy, tall and thin, with freckled face and too-big glasses. He looked around uncertainly.
"Which way now?"
"My informer says it's room two-oh-nine," the girl whispered with assurance.
The boy squinted at nearby room numbers. "To the left?"
"Left it is," she confirmed, and went that way without waiting. Both boys started in opposite directions.
"The other left!" she added over her shoulder. The target of those words trundled back on thick legs, sweating in his polo shirt and short slacks.
It wasn't far. The door looked like any other, but for the sign saying ON AIR. The lamp was off.
"Means we can go in, right?" asked one boy.
"What if someone's there?" countered the other.
"Let's find out," said the girl, and knocked.
Echoes rolled away like thunder, making them cringe. No-one answered.
"Here goes nothing," she concluded, and pressed the handle.
The room felt huge. A maze of server racks with bundles of cables running between them. MIDI keyboards perched on flimsy stands. An empty coffee cup forgotten between monitors on a desk, with a microphone hanging from above.
Among it all stood a transparent column lit from inside. There floated the shape of an older girl, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. She had long straight hair and black make-up that matched her streetwear, from the big stompy boots to the headphones with cat ears on top.
"Oh, wow, that's her! That's really her. We've made it!"
"Cool..."
"Guys, I think she's looking at us."
The shorter boy puffed up his chest. "Don't be silly, that's just a..."
"I'm right here, you know," the older girl said suddenly.
( Read more... )