Page 86 of Light Leech

“I was in it enough in Arabasia.”

“Well, this is you putting yourself back into your throne with full control.”

“If anything, I should be more confident.”

“Exactly!”

She strutted forward, catching glances followed by whispers as we neared the front of the building. I heard her name echoing around me with gasps and exclamations. As people started to shout her name, she tossed her hat and any remnants of a disguise she had worn.

Amidst their gawking, she stared at the storefront with determination. Her charisma did not waver. In place of a stern glare, she held her smile triumphantly, just as she would before a concert audience.

The storefront was transparent with a slight violet tint radiating outward from the violet grid that lined each floor. The bottom level store front took up the first two floors. The store was all visible, save the end of the line on the second level, which was obscured by a giant screen playing 3Rochi music videos.

The voices from the crowd amplified as the uniformity of the line struggled to hold.

“Is that her?”

“Oh my Light, she’s back!”

Multiple sets of eyes flashed with the light of the neurospace as they began recording, as noted by the single red pupil in each of their sets.

“Naoma!”

“Neon Idol!”

“I love you!”

She grinned and took my hand again, squeezing it tight.

“Who is that?”

“Zeg me,” a man with a body-builder’s form said. He grunted as he punched a wall.

“She’s got a boy!”

“Who is he?”

She pulled me forward.

She waved to the crowd as we approached the door, but their voracious obsession would not make it easy. People swarmed from behind. Some in the line removed cards from their pockets, searching through their Reef collectibles to find the Naoma cards that they held out, begging for an autograph.

I stepped before her, pushing people out of the way when words weren’t enough. More approached from behind, leading me to push our pace to squeeze through the crowd at the door. People shouted, rushed to her for a picture or even a touch of her hand. The passing skyrides and sounds from street advertisements added to the cacophony of obsession. When a request for a picture wasn’t enough, people forced their way in to stand with us. Naoma smiled the whole way, though I could tell that frustration was working its way into her composure. I pushed fans away as we reached the bottleneck of the door. As the crowd clustered around the entrance like filth in a filter, the line inside struggled to maintain order. People reached out to touch her as we passed by the line up the stairs to the second level. Though only a minute had passed since her exposure, I was sure that the neuronet was filled with posts of the Neon Idol’s reappearance. Though she had been out of the public eye for only a short time, she hadn’t produced a weekly song like the other Reef artists.

We reached the second level and despite the three idols sitting on their neon thrones–for whom the crowd had come–the fans focused on Naoma. Pressure built up from behind as people who insisted that they “weren’t in the line” pushed forward to touch the Neon Idol. I stepped behind her and pushed her forward, positioning myself to block anyone else who felt they deserved an exception. I realized the futility of the situation as people swarmed from the side, no longer worrying about their position in the line.

The girl in the red bob and outfit shouted to the security officer at her side, though I couldn’t hear over the crowd. The guard stepped forward as if just now noticing the disorder. He pulled out a violet rod, waving people back from the platform on which 3Rochi sat, then away from Naoma. Another guard approached, neither of them stopping until the crowd pushed itself back to the top of the stairwell.

I let out a breath as I regained breathing room.

“Quiet please!” the girl in red shouted with an amplified voice.

“Is that the Neon Idol?“ the girl in yellow said, no longer needing to shout as she stepped down the platform.

“Where have you been?” the girl in red asked.

“We’ve missed you!” the girl in blue said.

Yellow rushed Naoma, taking her in a squealing embrace, then kissing her on the cheek. “Nay, we’ve missed you sooo much around the studio. Whatever happened between you and–“ She reached for Naoma’s hand, only to meet mine. Her smile turned towards mischief and raised an eyebrow. “Well, I didn’t see you there.”