Page 105 of Light Leech

If she needed a fix to boost her joy, she had to be struggling. The thought of a fix had my mind reaching for a socitab, but I held back. I held back for her.

“Sorry,” she said as she caught herself. She still struggled to breath without a laugh but slowed with a few seconds of silence. “I’m good.”

“You sure?”

She nodded, still smiling. “I didn’t want to use one, but it’s a low level giggletab.”

I smiled. If she was going to use a fix, at least it was one safe with kids. She used laughter to cope more than I had expected. “It was pretty stupid though, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “I must have found the wrong newscast.”

“I think you found the top sponsored coverage on the neuronet.”

“Classic influencers commenting without any professional knowledge.”

“At least we can see what the public thinks.”

“True.”

“You want to keep watching?”

“I’d rather be able to focus this time without laughing.”

“Pulse.” I selected one called: Neon Idol Returns to the Public Eye with a Medislavian Political Commentator.

“That one makes you sound professional.”

“I know. It almost makes me want to choose the other one.”

“Maybe after.”

“I plug.”

A single woman narrated the same footage.

“Naoma–the Neon Idol of Reef Records fame–was spotted at the base of Donki Tower in Chuyen today for the latest stop in 3Rochi’s pop-up tour. No clear motive was found, though sources speculate that she is trying to reunite with Reef through 3Rochi after the fallout with her previous producer.”

“Even the ‘professional’ sources can’t get the details right,“ Naoma noted.

“Mass confusion and speculation is a lot better than the truth. Not always, of course.”

“But in this situation, yeah, you’re right.”

”–unfortunately to lack footage from within Donki Tower. While many speculated that the Neon Idol would return soon after her brief contract with Nichley studious, many speculated as to where her loyalties lay after working on an Arabasian exclusive mindshow–The Red Geisha–which has since ceased showing in theaters.

“Despite speculation and Naoma’s Arabasian appearance, contradicting evidence leans towards her being a Republic native.”

“Do you think there is evidence?“ she asked.

“Doubt it. I feel like you would have known before them.”

“Someone has to know, right?”

I couldn’t answer in confidence.

“–take our attention to her companion in this appearance. Otherwise unseen with her, sources have matched this individual’s identity to the once-prominent Anti-Pavtov Medislavian social influencer, Petya Nebokov.”

I knew the world had heard it after hearing Kyo, but it didn’t make hearing it myself any less unsettling.