Winnie, who was standing bone-dry behind them in the dressing room, laughed delightfully. “I’m really sorry. I’m rather weak, and I can’t balance very well. I hope you’re OK, Skylar. The audience seemed to have really enjoyed themselves because of you, though. We can credit today’s success entirely to you.”
Skylar was in the midst of removing her mascara when she looked coolly at Winnie, who was stifling a giggle behind her manicured hands. “It’s fine. It’s just a show.”
Winnie patted Skylar’s shoulder encouragingly. “That’s the right attitude! I was worried that you might take offense. You look just like a panda with your smudged eyeshadow and mascara. You’d better remind your makeup artist to use waterproof makeup next time.”
Skylar refused to dignify the woman’s condescending remarks with a reply, and merely gazed at her steadfastly until Winnie turned away uneasily.
By the time Winnie and her assistant had exited the dressing room, Skylar had finished changing.
When that episode finally aired the same week, Winnie emerged on social media sites as a trending topic. Skylar persuaded Kate to buy over multiple verified accounts, who whipped netizens up into a frenzy with a few notable hashtags: #SoreLoserWinnie #IStandWithSkylar
Winnie was right. The episode was a success, but not in the way she had hoped. It went viral for the purported story of Winnie deliberately sabotaging Skylar. Netizens filled in the rest of the blanks with their own gossip.
Skylar’s refusal to retaliate was heralded as a commendable display of sportsmanship. Her public image instantly did a 180-degree about-turn when netizens fussed over her graciousness in the face of defeat even though they hotly demanded why she had allowed Winnie to bully her.
The entire debacle resulted in propelling Skylar’s Instagram followers to nearly one million.
Kate was over the moon. She continually praised Skylar for her self-restraint when Winnie had been stomping all over her.
Skylar lowered her gaze modestly. Scrolling through her phone, she smiled, saying, “Social media sites love siding the victim.”
On the other hand, Winnie was the recipient of the torrent of abuse that poured in from all over the Internet.
What a b*tch! How could she treat Skylar that way?
She’s a terrible person. Winnie obviously planned the whole thing.
Disgusting. She’s evil.
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