2024 [Intentionally] Deleted Footage

HOST and YOU sit patiently on a stage. HOST checks his watch, losing his patience.

YOU: Where is she?

HOST: I don’t know! She’s like an hour late.

YOU: Seriously? Is your watch on fast-forward because it’s only two minutes?

HOST: (Checks watch again.) Shoot, I forgot to set it an hour back long ago…

ACE rushes on stage, running to her seat.

ACE: Sorry that I’m late. I had to use the restroom.

HOST: You should’ve done that before leaving.

ACE: (Glares at him.) I did. My colon doesn’t care.

YOU: At least you are here now, and that’s all that matters. (Pause.) We are here to ask you some questions for 2024.

ACE: (Sits in her seat.) That’s okay.

YOU: What are your plans for writing in 2024?

ACE: I have quite a few. I have some work underway since I write on different sites, such as Medium, Wattpad, Inkitt, and Vocal.

YOU: Can you share some insight?

ACE: I want to finish My Mate is a Goddess for Wattpad and Inkitt. I actually want to publish the first two books in a five-book series– Entropy. They are the shortest of the bunch. I’ve completed the draftiest of drafts on them, so all I need to do is rebuild the story for quality. I won’t talk about the two books until they are almost done. My mom wants me to get my work out there, so fine. I want to start a romance book on Vocal, where another spin-off story of my series. (Smirks.) I call this the romantic era of chaos.

YOU: What about Medium?

ACE: I’m still split between starting a horror series or another romantic book in that era of chaos. I tend to share things from Vocal Media on there, and I want my audience to have a variety of my works.

YOU: How was Vocal 2023?

ACE: For the past few years, when I came to Vocal, I was inactive– only publishing one story per year. I didn’t even talk to anyone. When my senior year in college was wrapping up, I decided to become active and reach out to the community, so I could grow. I met plenty of talented writers.

YOU: Can you tell us who was your favorite?

ACE: (Flustered.) Uhhhh…

HOST: Just give us a few. You may like a lot of writers, but we don’t have all day. When you mention their names, a link to their profile will appear on the screen. You can also tell us about them.

ACE: Sure. I say the first one is Mother Combs, one of the active members of the community. I read her short, beautiful poetry and fictional tales. Celia In Underland– the photos she uses are gorgeous, and I enjoy every piece she uploads. I also got to talk about Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock, a poignant poet, and I appreciate his comments on my work.

YOU: (Teasingly.) Still tell us, who’s your favorite?

ACE glares at YOU.

YOU (CONT’D): Can you tell us about your past works in 2023?

ACE: “The Girl With Wings” and The Prince’s Bellow were my major works, so I had to take my time. Both of them are revisions of their previous work. “The Girl With Wings” was published on Wattpad, and I think it was one the most wholesome stories on there. It was riddled with errors; Grammarly lit up like a Christmas Tree. The Prince Bellow used to be a very small play for an assignment, and I turned it into a movie.

HOST: What about “The Ripple Effect” and “Possession: Many Souls in One Body”?

ACE: I feel like my attachment to my fantasy stories grows because my dedication, time, and entertainment go into them a lot. I do like my poetry, but I like my fantasy more.

HOST: (Tightens up a bit.) Your fantasy can get horrifying. It seems that you hold back on here as well. Why is that?

ACE: I feel like my… details… should be more toned down compared to other sites I used. If I know it’s going to be bad, I can put it on Mature Content or 18+ to filter it and warn readers. My targeted readers are young adults. Vocal Media does have teenagers who go on and read this site. Other than the recent Trigger Warning tag, I feel it's not enough for my work to be filtered out. I don’t encourage or promote any bad actions in my stories. The benefit of writing “The Girl With Wings” again shows that I can write for a younger audience. I also implemented a Content Warning Color Scale in another file– green, yellow, and orange will be uploaded here. Red and purple-level books are a no-no.

YOU: What did you learn while writing your works?

ACE: I have a bad habit of publishing long essays and fictional pieces, leading to smaller reads. I had this since college. I felt sorry for my non-English professors. Some of my professors did say I could lower the word count. My chapters are now longer than my lifespan–

YOU: How are you still alive then?

ACE: (Eerily calm.) Easy… Everything I write warps reality and time. I can always adjust time to my own accord and survive without aging.

HOST: Sounds like Ram-

YOU: Girl, just be the main character!

ACE: (Tone doesn’t change.) I can make you the main character. Horror writers love main characters and characters with plot armor. We love keeping them alive. Do you want to know why?

A long moment of silence.

YOU: (Pales.) Finish what you are saying.

HOST: (Fake coughs.) Edddgggyyyy.

ACE: When the sequel to The Prince’s Bellow gets released, I will only publish a few scenes at a time instead of going by acts. It’ll help Vocal save my stories better. I will occasionally publish non-fictional works and poetry to add some diversity. Other than my main genres being fantasy and horror, romance, poetry, nonfiction, and suspense are also my interests.

YOU: How long have you been writing?

ACE: Almost nine years.

YOU: What made you want to become a writer?

ACE: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a volcanologist. I still write short stories here and there but not a lot. I wasn’t a great reader; I was behind on my reading level and nearly failed every reading comprehension quiz. In middle school, I started to read books because I was grounded more often. I went from kids' books and worked on my way up. My desire to write became more apparent. I found out my imagination and mind can enjoy no boundaries again, like when I was playing with my toys in my room. I started to write stories in notebooks in my classes. I moved to writing stories on my computer to have no page limit.

YOU: Do you remember those stories from your notebook?

ACE: Yes.

YOU: Will you ever write them online?

ACE: (Shrugs.) It will probably be sometime in the future. Not in 2024, though.

YOU: What will be the name of the romance story on Vocal?

ACE: Estrangement Queen… Queen Estrangement… I’m still working on the title. I’ll outline the chapters before writing them. I’m doing this after nearly completing the two books since they are more of a priority.

YOU: Understandable. (Pause.) Also, one more question.

ACE: Ask away.

YOU: (Grins.) Who’s your favorite?

ACE launches from her seat, heading towards YOU. YOU pull out a silly string spray in her face. YOU activate it too. She jumps back and shields her eyes.

ACE: (Wiping the silly string off her face.) You did that on purpose! You know that I don't like picking favorites!

HOST laughs. Confetti rains from the ceiling, along with balloons.

YOU: Happy 2024, Ace! (Hugs her.) You're lucky that we didn't choose the confetti cannon or the air horn. I know loud noises bother you more-- and the blunt-force trauma.

HOST: Bring out the cake!

ACE: (Rolls eyes, smiles, and hugs YOU back.) Very funny. Happy 2024.

HOST: (Looks at camera.) I’ll catch you all later in December 2024 to discuss Ace’s successes… and failures. (Waves to the camera.) Bye for now!

THE CAMERA CUTS BEFORE THE CAKE ENTERS.