Olive said to Stella, “You really hurt Jewel’s feelings when you said that thing about the religious imagery.”

“That’s not true,” Jewel said, giving Stella a pointed look. “I don’t have feelings to hurt.”

“Sure. Well. Anyway,” Olive said with a sigh. “I really like your necklace, Stella. Where did you get it?”

Nicole registered Stella’s slight pause, quick as a flinch or an idea clicking into place. Stella asked, “You don’t know?”

Olive shook her head. “Did you have that made? It’s just that it looks a lot like the Van Hanen crest, so I was just curious.”

“I didn’t realize the Van Hanens had a monopoly on legendary creatures,” Stella said.

“Not all of them,” Ethan said. “Just that one. Where did you get it from?”

Nicole accidentally locked eyes with Luna—who had seemed to stop blinking. She gave a wide-eyed gentle head shake, gaze darting to Stella and back. Nicole frowned as a near-perfect silence descended on the party. Everyone was waiting for Stella to answer.

If the necklace was part of the game, why were they being so insistent on asking about it? Was it a test to make sure they abided by the Addendum?

Oh no. Were Ethan and Olive setting Stella up so they could give her a penalty?

Stella, for her part, seemed wholly unbothered, smiling lazily.

“Stop, oh my God,” Jewel said. “Why are you interrogating her over nothing? It’s just a stupid necklace. It’s probably not even real gold.”

“Excuse you,” Stella said. “As if Diane would let me wear fake jewelry.”

“Who’s Diane?” Olive asked.

“My mom.”

“You call your mom by her first name?”

Stella sighed. “Not to her face. Why do I have to keep explaining that to you people?”

“Oh, sorry.” Olive laughed, glancing at Jewel before shifting her attention to Nicole. “I’ve watched a lot of your videos. You’re really talented.”

Well. Jewel had certainly ended that test. “Thanks,” Nicole said.

“We’ve never seen someone get so popular so fast on the app before. We were all pretty shocked when your metrics came in.”

“Someone would have eventually,” Nicole said. She wasn’t exactly downplaying her accomplishments. More like trying to get away from admitting how calculated every move she made was. Breaking the Golden Rule algorithm had only been the first step.

The best and most viral-prone diary entries on Golden Rule? Cathartic, emotional porn.

Nicole had plenty of copycats now, but everyone knew JadeTheBabe was originator of the SkitShow style. Nowhere in the terms did it say she had to just sit and talk to the camera. Nowhere did it say she couldn’t edit her videos. Nowhere did it say she couldn’t wear costumes and do impersonations.