Chapter 6
SIX
Sipping a caramel latte at a Starbucks in the airport, I feel a tinge of excitement at the thought of soon being on the most photographed island in Greece. I can hardly wait to share it all with my followers.
Lulu is joining me tomorrow, so I’m travelling alone, although I am so looking forward to seeing her when she arrives and we can stretch out on a sunbed and really catch up before the wedding.
Checking through my socials, I see a guy has told me to ‘sort my eyebrows out’ which is unusual for a bloke to make such a comment.
Not that any of that bothers me. I learned early on that if you want to make a career out of social media, then you must learn to ignore such remarks and grow a thick skin.
If you can’t, then as unfair as it is, you are maybe not cut out for it.
We seem to live in a world where some people like to drag others down. At least from behind a keyboard.
Interestingly, there is no photo of the guy, who I politely thank for his comment and tell him I hope his inner trauma heals. (BTW my eyebrows are just fine. Not too thick and perfectly tinted. At least I think so. My gran would certainly have told me otherwise.)
‘If you put yourself out there, then you are going to attract the opinions of a lot of people, some good some bad,’ my gran told me the first time someone made a nasty comment.
‘But as they are not the ones living your life or paying your bills, well stuff them,’ she said, or maybe something a little less polite.
Sage advice indeed.
Checking my flight, I can see that it is on time, and soon enough I am climbing the stairs of the plane, before taking a selfie, wearing a straw fedora and sunglasses, even though it’s cloudy and overcast.
I find myself seated next to a couple around my age, who smile, the woman engaging me in chit-chat for a few minutes before we take off. The bloke seems to be staring at me and I smile politely. After a few minutes, he asks me a question.
‘Excuse me, but are you Mia from TikTok?’
OMG, am I being recognised?
‘Yes.’ I smile. Hardly able to believe that someone actually knows who I am.
‘I thought it was, I love your travel videos.’ He beams. ‘Montenegro looks cool, I like the look of that climb up the Ladder of Kotor.’
‘Thanks, oh that was fun, but maybe not in the height of summer. The scenery was stunning at the top though,’ I tell him, recalling the beautiful forest all around.
His partner is glancing at us both, with what seems to be a forced smile.
‘Oh, and the one in Dublin in that club.’ He grins. ‘You looked like you were having a ball.’
I remember that one too. I was wearing the skimpiest dress ever and was slightly the worse for wear after unlimited free Prosecco. There may even have been a glimpse of underwear when I slid off a bar stool. Definitely not my proudest moment.
That particular video was posted by a so-called friend at the time, and has since been deleted, along with the friendship.
The bloke is given a filthy look by his partner, before she plugs some earbuds in. He gives a little shrug before pulling a book from his bag, and that is the end of the conversation.
I was recognised though, with almost fifty thousand followers. Imagine what it would be like if I had a million followers. Maybe I would have to fight off paparazzi!
Later in the flight, the woman next to me seems to have softened, and offers me a boiled sweet that I politely decline.
We chat for a little while then, and she tells me she isn’t really one for the internet and prefers to read books.
‘He’s always online though.’ She nods to her partner, who is now the one wearing earbuds. ‘I don’t really know what he looks at half the time. Sorry if I was a bit off earlier,’ she says sheepishly.
‘It’s fine, really.’ I smile.
‘It’s just that, well, we have had a couple of trust issues in the past,’ she reveals. ‘I found out he was messaging someone online. Gosh, sorry you don’t want to be hearing this.’ She rolls her eyes.
‘Honestly, it’s fine. And I’m glad you came through it,’ I say.
‘We did thankfully and we’re now coming up to our third anniversary,’ she tells me.
Maybe him saying he recognised me from the internet dredged up bad memories for her.
‘I think the fact that he recognised you just triggered something in me,’ she says, confirming my suspicions.
‘But if you can’t trust each other, then what’s the point?
It was only an old school friend he was messaging anyway, and he swears that they were just catching up, and that nothing happened. ’
And that is why I am happily single, I think to myself as I take a mirror from my bag and apply a little lipstick, even though my ex never cheated. Or maybe he did. He very quickly hooked up with someone else after things ended between us, as I recall.
Anyway, for now, I am quite happy working on my Insta and TikTok accounts, and maybe reprising my singing career sometime in the future.
Unless, of course, I just happen to meet someone who is meant to be in my life. I truly believe that everything that is meant to be will come along at just the right time. Until then, I am ready to just enjoy the ride and see what life throws at me!