3D: Press Conference

Skyla’s advice lingered in Maya’s head all morning. It wasn’t new information, but hearing it from a wise third party made it more palatable. But, it did not satisfy her completely. Ranveer said he knew her and accepted the less flattering parts of her personality, but he didn’t have to live with it. All her flaws would be on display like a celebrity on Starlight Blvd. Moving in together was a huge, game changing step in their relationship, and Maya didn’t doubt it would be tested like Penny said.

To her surprise, she arrived in Uptown before the camera crew; That almost never happened. To pass the time, she sat and scrolled through Simstagram to keep her mind off her troubles.

Eden Sweeney was a fashion icon with a terrible temper and an even worse reputation, and Maya could not stand her. She was a beautiful woman, and her style was undeniably unique—Maya gave her that. But, watching her behave like a baby, having tantrums and embodying the diva stereotype with a capital D was so unnerving. Why did she even follow her? Just to throw shade? She was someone Maya loved to hate, but was it worth getting upset every time she looked at her phone?

Her parents were the cutest couple around and relationship goals. But, gazing upon them and eating up the cuteness caused her dilemma to pop back up. Swipe…

Octavia Moon: Maya’s idol. Women of color at that level of stardom were rare, but luckily for Maya, “Tay Tay” was the total package. She had beauty, charisma, respect, dignity, intellect, and all kinds of talent. While the rest of the world knew her as one of the greatest authors of their time, Maya and all true Octavia Moon fans knew she was the secret sauce in Thorne Bailey’s rise to fame. She wrote every single one of his greatest hits, and he never recognized her. Maya’s feelings about the power couple were conflicted. On one hand, she loved how Octavia stood by her man even through all his scandals. But, how could she stand in the shadows for so long? She deserved all the recognition and praise for her songwriting skills were unmatched. How could she watch him at every award show thank everyone except her? What a selfish low-life! Maya wasn’t in the habit of wishing ill on people’s relationships, but if the Bailey-Moon ship ever sunk, she would not be the slightest bit sad.

“Hey, Maya,” the cameraman said. “Sorry we’re late.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, but what could she do?

The journalist trickled in, and the protesters were already gathering to crucify her for the news. Maya didn’t think it was that serious, but it was impossible for the network to please everyone. Haters would always hate.

“Are you guys ready?” she asked.

“Yep. In 5, 4, 3, 2, …”

“Good morning,” she said in her best fake chipper voice. “Sim.tv is a network that cares about its viewers. We want our programming to be safe for the entire family and not offensive to any group of people. Your feedback is invaluable to us. In light of recent events, your feedback, and much deliberation, we have removed two movies from our lineup. Moonlight Massacre and The Khlumzee Sisters will no longer be aired on Sim.tv.”

“To the children who were traumatized by the violence, and to the women who were offended by stereotypes, Sim.tv offers our sincerest apologies. We strive to be the best at what we do, and part of that goal is providing wholesome content for everyone. Thank you.”

“Ms. Pruett! Maya, over here,” the journalists yelled.

Their questions were valid; She had them herself. Was this the beginning of a domino effect? People were experts at finding things to be offended about in those days. Would Sim.tv cave into every complaint? How long before the network ran out of content? It wasn’t Maya’s concern. She was only the messenger and gave the canned responses passed to her from the best wordsmith on her team.

“That was pretty bad, huh?” her favorite journalist said.

Maya never remembered her name. “Meh. It is what it is.”

Maya liked her because she wrote objective and sometimes flattering articles about her work. Everyone said she was probably in love with her, but Maya didn’t care as long as she took good pictures. And, she did.