Dead Air by Michelle Schusterman (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

agreed, stepping out of the bathroom. “Who cares, it was worth it. Now we know the truth about the stupid host curse.”

“We do?”

I stared at Oscar in disbelief. “Weren’t you listening? Roland told Carlos the curse was going to happen again! He said I’ll take care of that. It really is just a publicity stunt.” I shook my head. “And it sounded like he was trying to get Carlos to help him, even though he got him fired. No wonder Carlos hung up on—ah!”

The hotel door slammed into my arm. Rubbing my elbow, I spun around and found myself staring into Jamie’s wide blue eyes.

“Sorry!” he said quickly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I replied in what was probably an overly casual voice. Jamie smiled and my anger dissipated. (Well, mostly. Oscar was still snickering at me.)

“What are you guys doing in here?” Jamie asked.

Oscar didn’t miss a beat. “Spying on Roland because Ms. Conspiracy thinks he cursed the show.”

“You think so, too,” I shot back, irritated. “You heard what Roland said.” Oscar shrugged and I checked the hallway before closing the door. “Where’s Hailey?”

“No way she’ll be up before noon,” Jamie said. “She was awake till almost five talking about your post.”

It was a moment before I realized what he was talking about. “You read my post about Sonja already?” I asked, trying not to sound too flattered.

Jamie nodded. “Well, we figured you’d blog about it. Hailey kept refreshing the page until you posted. That picture is amazing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to show Oscar.” I sat down behind the laptop, ignoring Oscar’s loud, weary sigh. When I saw what was already on the screen, my mouth fell open.

P2P FAN FORUMS

Do you believe? Think again.

Anonymous

All you’re watching is a bunch of morons hanging out in the dark faking sound effects. You’ve got a better chance of talking politics with a Chihuahua than Sam Sumners does of actually contacting a spirit.

Want proof? I’ve got it. Stay tuned to this thread to find out why this entire show is a sham.

skEllen [member]

OMG DO NOT TALK ABOUT SAM LIKE THAT HE IS PERFECT I MET HIM ONCE AND HE TOLD ME DOCTOR MEW DIDN’T BLAME ME FOR GETTING HIT BY THAT CAR SO HOW DO U EXPLAIN THAT????!!!!1!!!!11!!!!!!!!

Maytrix [admin]

Boys and girls, we’ve got ourselves a troll!

AntiSimon [member]

Who’s Doctor Mew?

skEllen [member]

MY CAT. HE DIED LAST YEAR AND SAM CONTACTED HIM FOR ME.

YourCohortInCrime [member]

I’m listening, Anon. Enlighten me.

AntiSimon [member]

Don’t feed the troll, YCIC. Sorry about your cat, Ellen.

“It’s Roland,” I whispered. “Anonymous is Roland. Look at the time—it was just posted an hour ago. He must’ve done it before we came in. And then he called Carlos.”

“Carlos Ortiz?” Jamie asked, and Oscar filled him in on Roland’s phone call.

I drummed my fingers on the desk. “The first time I met Roland, he admitted they fake stuff sometimes. He said, ‘We do our best to make things entertaining.’ Like the host curse.”

Jamie frowned. “So you really think Roland actually fired all the other hosts?”

“I think he set them up, yeah,” I said, relieved he was taking me seriously. “It started with Emily. She was in love with Sam, but Roland was in love with her. He was jealous—that’s what my grandma says, anyway, and I think she’s right. So he got her fired, and the ratings went up because everyone was wondering what happened to her. Then Carlos . . .” I paused, thinking. “Carlos was fired for writing that exposé about the show, but he denied writing it. And he didn’t—because Roland wrote it. He knew ratings would shoot up again if they lost another host.”

“What about Bernice?” Jamie wondered. “They never explained why she left.”

“Grandma said she was afraid of her own shadow,” I said slowly. “That’s why she only lasted four episodes. I asked Roland about her, too—he just said she got freaked out and left. He must have scared her off somehow. And now he’s stirring things up in the forums because the show’s probably going to get canceled after Halloween.”

“But Roland asked Carlos if he knew where Emily was, remember?” Oscar said. “After he said he’d take care of the curse, he said, ‘I just need to find Emily.’ That doesn’t make sense.”

I gazed at the screen, dread settling like a rock in the pit of my stomach.

“Yes it does.”

“It does?” Jamie glanced at the screen, too. “How?”

“The host curse,” I said quietly. “My dad’s next—two episodes, right? Then he’s gone. But Fright TV wants to cancel the whole show after Halloween—two episodes from now. Unless something big happens.” I swallowed. “Roland knows he can’t keep doing the host curse. That’s why he’s looking for Emily. He wants to bring her back.”

Oscar squinted at me. “What, to be the host again?” When I nodded, he laughed. “Why would that work? Most fans hate her!”

“Exactly!” I said. “They hate her, but they love gossiping about her. Haven’t you seen those old threads in the forum? She loved Sam, Sam was clueless, Roland was jealous . . . The fans love all the drama, you know?”

“That’s true,” Jamie admitted. “Although . . . if Roland’s in love with Emily, why would he want to bring her back when Sam’s still on the show?”

I frowned. “Maybe he thinks she’s over Sam?”

“Maybe.” Looking doubtful, Jamie grabbed the mouse and opened a new tab. “Oscar needs to see that photo of Lidia,” he reminded me, and I leaned back as he typed in my blog’s URL.

Lost in Crimptown

Comments: (27)

“Whoa, twenty-seven?” I made a move to click the comments open, but Oscar swatted my hand away.

“Hang on, I want to see the photo first.”

“Fine.” I scrolled down until the photo of Lidia filled the screen, and the three of us huddled close to the screen to study it. Maybe she didn’t look like Sonja, but the image was still creepy—strands of hair floating around her head like she’d just pulled on a sweater straight out of the dryer, eyes wide and unfocused . . . and the outline of a boy at her side, reaching for