Chase Bennett is a young man fresh out of college with a degree in investigative journalism, law enforcement, and an aspiring new self-made Private Eye investigation firm. Despite his youthful appearance, Chase is eager to make a name for himself by tackling some hard-hitting cases that even the most grizzled detectives would struggle with… unfortunately for him, the only work he could get for the first month or so was tracking down some lost pets, a stolen bicycle, and helping an old lady with her groceries. Some out-of-touch mother came in once to complain about her daughter spending too much time on social media and how it changed her behavior. The mundane tasks he had grown accustomed to solving were beginning to cause Chase to wonder if he had chosen the wrong career path.
The first sign of things to change happened when Chase received a few more complaints about some female social media influencers: another overbearing mother, a worried friend, and an anxious sister. Four separate individuals in question. The recurring theme finally had Chase’s full attention. After interviewing each of the concerned clients and browsing each of the girls in question’s social media pages, Chase was able to link together a few common threads.
First: The girls in question were all around his age. Eighteen to twenty-four range. Pretty typical for the intersection of peak popularity and youth on the internet.
Second: Chase noticed that as time progressed, each of the girls repeatedly promoted products from a certain fashion company more and more frequently, ranging from beauty products to clothes, accessories, and even technological devices. They even began constantly wearing some of these smart devices, raving about their convenience.
Third: As the girls made more and more money from their social media accounts, either through advertising partnerships or more risqué promotions, they seemed to spend their time more often at this exclusive resort on a tropical island in the Mediterranean.
Chase wasn’t the most social or outgoing individual during his college days, but even he could notice a change in the way these girls acted over the history of their posts. They seemed like they were becoming more addicted, even obsessive with their new lifestyle. Maybe one could just say that these girls were stuck-up and let the fame get to their heads, but something in Chase’s gut felt off about this community they were all a part of, and the company whose sponsorship was plastered all around it.
In order to dive deeper into this case, Chase read a post from one of the girls he was investigating. Kathy Bates, age 21, valedictorian of her high school class with short brown hair. At least that’s how she used to look. “Kitty-B’s Big Birthday Bash,” this Saturday at The Grove, a popular nightclub downtown, headlined the post as a girl with long platinum blonde hair extensions and some noticeable plastic surgery smiled while wearing a skimpy bikini. People were swarming the comment section of the post like vultures around a carcass, hoping to schmooze up to Kitty to get an invite. Chase knew that he had no chance of getting in through the front door, but fortunately for him, he had recently assisted the grandmother of someone on the kitchen staff and secured himself an entry passage to settle the favor. On the night of the party, Chase dressed himself up in a fake gold chain necklace, slicked his hair back with some gel, and met his contact in the back alley, letting him slip inside.
The music was so loud that Chase could feel it vibrating his very bones, but he went to the bar and ordered a drink to try and blend in. He continually scanned the club to clock his surroundings, and he noticed that there were quite a few girls there all wearing the same accessory- a black choker with a square LED display in the center, each one emitting a pink glow that illuminated the dark club like stars. Additionally, the girls that were wearing the chokers all seemed to be checking their phones pretty frequently, more frequently than usual even for a girl in her low-20’s. As he got closer to a group of girls, he turned his back and attempted to eavesdrop through the blaring music. One of the girls who was wearing a choker was talking about an app, almost like a sales pitch.
The conversation was cut off as someone shouted into a microphone and everyone started cheering. Kitty-B had arrived, fashionably late of course, at her birthday bash surrounded by a dense posse. If Chase wanted to gather some more clues, now was the time. He could try and find a way to get closer to Kitty, but that could also come with the risk of getting kicked out of the club. Alternatively, he could try and question someone further down the popularity food chain for information, though it might not be as reliable.
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