Two Weeks Earlier709Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm8GSLq4dR
Amina Faroq’s dark brown eyes were trained on the screen in front of her taking in all the information. Anyone watching her would have correctly guessed that see liked the things she saw on that screen; the upward curving corners of her full mouth said it all. Secluded in her cramped bedroom, Amina sat at her mac book like the Wizard of Oz behind his curtain. Her multitasking skills were impressive: swift and efficient. She was DMing her long-distance acquaintances on twitter, checking her bank account, updating her dating profile, and scrolling through pinterest.
She felt the dopamine rush through her bloodstream as she processed the number in her bank account. Now she would finally have enough money to buy that Michael Kors handbag she had been saving up for and the thought had her reeling. She switched over to the pinterest tab to examine the picture of the gleaming patent leather bag one more time and she couldn’t help but to laugh at the improbability of it all. She copied a link to the bag and sent it to one of her legion of twitter followers. “You like? I enjoy the finer things in life.” She searched for another person whom she hadn’t contacted for a few weeks. “How have you been, sweetness? I missed you.” Then she saw that one of her other followers posted a picture of herself on a beach in Spain. She commented, “Hawt! Give me more.”
Once she got that out of her system she switched over to her profile on datehookup.com. A few days ago she decided to message someone new and she had narrowed her choices down to a personal trainer from in Long Island, an aspiring chef from Peachtree, Georgia, and a dentist divorcé from somewhere in Colorado. Who to choose... Amina had to think to herself for a moment: “Who would Willa want to date?” In the past, Willa had dated all sorts of men and even a handful of women online. More people than she would ever be able to meet in real life-professionals, artists, students, felons, retirees, single fathers, globe trotters- each one more interesting and fun than the last. They would tell her crazy and/or shameful stories about their lives and they would flirt with her, buy her things, and make all sorts of pie-in-the-sky future plans. In short, they were begging Willa for recognition and when she was online she had a seemingly infinite amount of attention to spare. Willa would always know the right thing to do in a situation. She could flirt and tease with the best of them. She could also praise, support, and scold when the situation called for it. The back and forth of human interaction was intoxicating to Amina and being Willa online meant that she could exercise control over her conversations. People listened to Willa, sought her out even, because she was attractive, engaging, mysterious, and fearless in a way that Amina could never be which meant that, given the choice, Amina would always choose to be Willa.
She immediately ruled out the physical trainer. Willa had dated many men who were into physical fitness and while she admired their dedication, Amina ultimately couldn't relate to that obsession. Then she saw that the dentist had a weird thing going on with his two cats. The incessant pictures and constant references to his furry friends was too much for her. Amina was not a cat person and really wasn't interested in pretending to be either. So that left the aspiring chef. A southern gentleman, by the looks of it. Willa had never dated one of those before, but Amina had seen Sweet Home Alabama an embarrassing number of times and Reese Witherspoon made it all look so fun. This was going to be interesting, indeed. So she took the first step and sent a friend invite to Mr. Cassidy.
When she went down to join her family for dinner, Amina was quiet, subdued even. Being Willa, even for a short time, was exhausting in the same way that most addictions can be. But inwardly, away from the gaze of her parents and siblings, she was elated. A fake boyfriend and a real handbag would soon be hers and it was all because of the possibilities offered by the internet. But make no mistake, Amina was not delusional, rather she was a big picture kind of girl and within the frame of her big picture, she could see herself living on her own one day. She wouldn’t have to live a fictitious life online then, she could be the woman she always wanted to be without having to apologize to anyone. But until then she would enjoy being Willa for as long as it lasted.709Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK2I0rKW2M
