The Influencer
"I take my role as an influencer very seriously, offering life guidance to anyone who needs it. And, obviously, I’m a trend setter."
flash fiction: The Influencer
I’m what you would call an influencer. I have the most Instagram followers of anyone at my high school — 85, 974 to be exact. I take my role as an influencer very seriously, offering life guidance to anyone who needs it. And, obviously, I’m a trend setter. It’s important for me to post at least five times a day to satisfy all the needs of my followers.
I wake up in the morning, get ready, snap my first pic of the day by 7:30 and post it to make sure everyone knows the outfit that I’m wearing to school: #dressedtoimpress. Today I’m wearing my favourite pair of dark washed skinny jeans and a baby blue polka dot button up, untucked with a white belt. At the last minute I throw on a slim fitting, light brown blazer — I guess I’m feeling #studious today. Lol.
I also snap a picture of my breakfast today. I don’t do this everyday, but today I feel like inspiring my followers to stick to their healthy living goals: #watchingmywaistline. I mean, it is the new year and I’ve encouraged them to set healthy resolutions. No body shaming here. Just be you, and be healthy.
Last night, I should have been getting ready for my test in period 4 English class, but I remembered that I promised my followers that I would binge-watch four episodes of Vampire Diaries on Netflix — we watch it together — and then post my review on IG. I felt a little bit guilty about not prioritizing the test, but then I remembered that I owed it to my followers to honour my promise to them. I’ll just cram for it on my spare today. I’m not worried. It’ll be fine. Plus, there was some serious vampire drama and I ended up watching two more episodes. It was so delicious, and I tweeted about how shocking the ending was, and then posted a pic of my shocked face on IG: #didthatjusthappen? #vdiaries. It got over 20,000 likes!
At school, I take a quick pic with some of my besties before we go to class and the back lighting was soooooo fire. I look closely at the picture on my phone and I can see how long my neck looks. That’s why I wear a lot of scarves. I push past the self-doubt, saying you do you, and post it: #ownthisschool. Really, the key to taking a great selfie or “usie” is to make sure you take it from as high an angle you as you can.
So, now period 4 English is about to start. I just barely got ready for this test. It’s on Hamlet, and he’s totally hating on his mom and his uncle. I take a quick pre-test pic holding up my copy of the play. #hamletsstraightmadyo. #ihatetests.
I look at the classroom door, it’s partly open, and most students are already inside. The name on the door says Mr. Hennessey, AP English. Then, I walk in looking all kinds of confident and go straight to the front of the class and say, “Okay, everyone, clear your desks. All you need for this test is your brain and a pencil.”