Smoked - Mari Mancusi Page 0,55
themselves off of one another for just one day?
“Everyone ready?” Luke’s voice broke out, amplified by a microphone. “We’re live in three, two, one…” He grinned. “Hello, Team Dragon! I’m your host, Luke Skyflyer, and you’re watching FreeEmmy.com TV. Thank you for tuning in and for all your support for your favorite dragon, Emberlyn. This is a monumental day for Team Dragon, and we’re glad that you’re here to share it with us. PernDancer, do you want to go over the rules for us?”
“Sure, Luke,” Natasha agreed, taking the mic. “As always, if you have any questions about Emmy or for Emmy, please type them into the chat window below your screen, hashtag question mark. We can’t promise we’ll get to all of them—there are four million of you, after all. But we’ll do what we can.” She paused, then added, “If for some reason you have to leave the broadcast early, you can return in twenty-four hours to watch the entire upload of the event. Lastly, if you haven’t made your contribution to Emmy’s gift, please click on the DONATE NOW button on the right-hand side of your screen. All donations go directly to our girl here and her dragon-sized appetite.”
“And now, here’s the moment you have all been waiting for,” Luke cried, taking back the microphone. “Heeeeere’s EMMY!”
Nate turned the camera toward Trinity and the dragon. Trinity gave a shy smile and wave. She still felt odd about being turned into some kind of Internet web star. Emmy, on the other hand, tossed her head with pride, prancing around, totally ready for her close-up. She loved being on TV almost as much as she loved watching it.
“And in three, two, one!” Trin’s father cried to the group.
The Potentials in the audience all burst into song, singing “Happy anniversary” at the top of their lungs. Emmy grinned, rising up onto her haunches to do a little jig. Everyone cheered. From over in the broadcast booth, Luke gave Trinity a thumbs-up. This was going better than they could have hoped for.
“That was great!” he cried when they had finished. “I hope all of you at home were singing along as well. Remember, you still have about ten minutes left to upload your own messages to Emmy on Vine or Instagram. We’ll be playing some of the videos later in the broadcast, and the most creative will win one of Emmy’s beautiful watercolor originals.”
Trin stifled a smile at this. It had been Natasha’s idea to put a paintbrush in Emmy’s mouth a few months back during one of their slower webcasts, thus producing a few masterpieces that wouldn’t exactly rival a three-year-old’s artistic prowess. And yet, the interwebs had exploded over these dragon scribbles with artists all over the world theorizing the implied meaning behind each and every brushstroke. It had gotten so crazy that Trin had finally had the idea to upload the designs to a CafePress store and sell them as prints and T-shirts.
Luke turned to Trinity. “But now, is Emmy ready for her surprise?”
“Actually,” Trinity said, walking over to Luke and taking the microphone from him as they had practiced. “I have something of my own to give her first.” She walked back over to Emmy, pulling out a small box tied with a red ribbon. She held it out to the dragon. Emmy looked at it, then turned to her, cocking her head in question.
“Go ahead,” Trin urged. “Open it.”
The dragon obliged, snuffing at the box with her enormous nose until she finally managed to nibble off the ribbon and nudge off the lid. Her eyes widened as she realized what was inside. There, nestled in a white silk handkerchief, was the necklace Trinity had bought her in Walmart before she’d been taken away by the government.
Trinity grinned, then turned back to the cameras. “Once upon a time, Emmy returned this necklace to me. We thought we were about to be separated forever.” She glanced up at the dragon, tears misting her eyes. “Emmy loved this necklace, but she gave it up, wanting me to have something to remember her by.” She smiled. “Because that’s the kind of dragon she is.”
Emmy looked down on her, and Trin realized the dragon’s own eyes were wet at the corners. She reached out and hugged Emmy before turning back to the cameras. “But now,” she added, “thanks to all of you out there on Team Dragon, I don’t need anything to remember her by. Because we’re together every day—and nothing