Betton All In

BETTON ALL IN

a novel

Kevin Williams

A Betton Universe Novel

“Back Again” — Dilated Peoples

Danica Betton had just returned from Highlands, NC, having spent two weeks with Michaela Rainwater. As she made her way to her apartment, her best friend and manager, Monet Darby, popped out of hers, as if she had a precognitive sense that Danica was coming.

“DANICA RENEE!!!” Monet exclaimed. “How was the trip? Girl, you don’t even have to answer that, because I already know from that big ass smile on your face.”

Danica’s response to that was to keep smiling, but also turn the former shade of red of Bethany Campbell’s 750i.

It was in this moment that Monet stepped outside of her character a bit to have a bit of fun with Danica. Monet lurked in Danica’s chats, she was her manager after all.

“Hey Dani” Monet said.

“Yeah?” Danica responded.

“OOOOH GIRL WHY YOU STOPPING!!! KEEP GOING GIRL!!!! CUT THIS CAMERA OFF! KILL THE STREAM!!!” Monet then proceeded to imitate a slap bass and certain music that belonged in certain films.

“Really Monet?” Danica asked. “So you just gon’ meet me in the hallway and put ALL my business on….

GIRLLLLL!!!!! I can’t even front though!!!!! Them neck kisses had parts of my body CURLING curling, OK? The ones I didn’t even know curled!”

Danica then did that thing she does where she sounds suspiciously like her mother.

“Girl I was like ‘Now I DO declare Michaela! Those kisses, have mercy, have absolutely SHOOK me to my very SOUL! May I so VERY kindly have another?’”

“Girl, I know it!” Monet exclaimed. “Looking like somebody got you pregnant over there. Anyway, you got some brand offers I wanna go over with you. Glossier wants to do something else. You get settled in and we’ll talk later. And Dani….”

“Yeah?”

“KISS ME ON MY GOOD SPOT OOOOH!!!!”

“BYE MONET!!!!”

BEEP

“Aight y’all, I JUST got back from Highlands. Like JUST got back, y’all. And I’m already missing the air, OK? The air up there smells like the light of hope for a better future y’all. That air smells like it came out of Jesus’ lungs PERSONALLY, and you can’t tell me no different, OK? And I smacked a guardrail coming down the mountain. The Lambo, she gon’ be OK tho y’all. I’m taking her to the detail shop tomorrow.”

gobbledygook404: so THAT’S why you liked it up there huh....the air

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: the air

tacobellcanteen: specifically the air

yungappalachian: the mountain air

midwest_gothic: the air. yes. the air. we are discussing the air.

gobbledygook404: just the air

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: nothing but the air

tacobellcanteen: TWO WEEKS of air

yungappalachian: that’s a lot of air

midwest_gothic: an extended air experience. purely atmospheric. we take note.

blessyaheart_shug: That mountain air really IS something special up there!! 🙂

gobbledygook404: ...

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: blessyaheart_shug

tacobellcanteen: she said it really IS something

yungappalachian: blessyaheart_shug has been to the mountains

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug has personal knowledge of the air in question and has confirmed its quality. the front row sees everything.

“Y’all need to STOP, OK? I went up there to collab and hang out with my friend, that is IT, and the air up there is genuinely incredible, and I will not be taking questions at this time—”

gobbledygook404: YOUR FRIEND

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: SHE SAID FRIEND

tacobellcanteen: the friend

yungappalachian: the specific friend

midwest_gothic: the friend whose air it apparently also is.

gobbledygook404: two weeks with the friend

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: and the air

tacobellcanteen: primarily the air

yungappalachian: the air was the main thing

midwest_gothic: the air was the stated reason for the visit. we have filed this. we will not be examining it further at this time.

gobbledygook404: at this time

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: midwest_gothic said AT THIS TIME

tacobellcanteen: implications

yungappalachian: significant implications

blessyaheart_shug: Michaela is such a sweet girl!! 🙂

gobbledygook404: BLESSYAHEART_SHUG

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: SHE SAID MICHAELA’S NAME

tacobellcanteen: unprompted

yungappalachian: she just said it

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug named the air. the front row has always known the composition of the air.

“OOOH I can’t stand y’all STANKIN’ ASSES sometimes. MOVING ON….The Lambo is fine, y’all. Just a little scratch. She been through worse. Y’all remember the drive back home right? My daddy still ain’t letting me live that one down. The mountains and the splitter wasn’t seeing eye to eye y’all, and those are her mountains technically—”

gobbledygook404: HER mountains

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: she said HER

tacobellcanteen: whose mountains specifically

yungappalachian: the mountains belong to someone

midwest_gothic: Danica Betton drove a neon blue Lamborghini Temerario into the North Carolina mountains and returned two weeks later with a guardrail situation and a possessive pronoun and we are simply going to sit with that.

gobbledygook404: the possessive pronoun

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: it just came out

tacobellcanteen: she didn’t even clock it

yungappalachian: it came out naturally

midwest_gothic: the most natural thing she has said since she started this stream.

blessyaheart_shug: Well those ARE beautiful mountains!! 🙂

gobbledygook404: ...

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: blessyaheart_shug is AGREEING about the mountains

tacobellcanteen: she said beautiful

yungappalachian: blessyaheart_shug has opinions about the mountains

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug said beautiful and meant every syllable of it and we are not going to examine why she said it the way she said it because we already know why she said it the way she said it.

“Y’ALL I SWEAR— OK look— I had a REALLY good time, it was a REALLY good trip, the air was incredible, the mountains were incredible, Loretta fed me which— y’all Loretta’s cooking is a SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE— like I felt my ancestors in that food, I felt the PILGRIMS, I felt people who ain’t even my ancestors, just ancestors in general who showed up because the food called to them from the beyond—”

gobbledygook404: LORETTA

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: SHE SAID LORETTA

tacobellcanteen: she went to Loretta

yungappalachian: Loretta fed her

midwest_gothic: Loretta said you carry your people with you. Loretta fed Danica Betton. the implications of Loretta feeding Danica Betton are significant and the archive will be addressing them in a separate document.

gobbledygook404: a SEPARATE document

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: midwest_gothic is opening a second folder

tacobellcanteen: the Loretta folder

yungappalachian: we need a Loretta folder

midwest_gothic: the Loretta folder has existed since the third session. we simply did not know we needed to share it until now.

blessyaheart_shug: There is nothing like a home cooked meal from someone who loves you!! 🙂

gobbledygook404: ...

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: blessyaheart_shug

tacobellcanteen: she said someone who LOVES you

yungappalachian: blessyaheart_shug said loves

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug has clarified the nature of Loretta’s cooking. the front row has always understood the menu.

“OK blessyaheart_shug I— you know what— you have ALWAYS been in my chat and I love you and I’m not gonna say nothing else about THAT— anyway LOOK— it was a good trip, I’m back, I missed Atlanta, I missed y’all— well most of y’all—”

gobbledygook404: MOST

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: she said MOST

tacobellcanteen: specific exclusions

yungappalachian: someone is not missed

midwest_gothic: Danica Betton missed Atlanta and most of the chat and has returned from two weeks in the North Carolina mountains with a guardrail situation, a possessive pronoun, a Loretta endorsement, and a smile she has been wearing since she sat down and has not stopped wearing for the duration of this stream. the archive notes all of this. the archive is going to need a minute.

gobbledygook404: midwest_gothic said they need a minute

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: again

tacobellcanteen: the archive needs another minute

yungappalachian: the archive has needed several minutes tonight

midwest_gothic: the archive takes the minutes it requires.

blessyaheart_shug: We missed you too baby!! 🙂

gobbledygook404: ...

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: she said WE

tacobellcanteen: collective

yungappalachian: blessyaheart_shug speaking for a constituency

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug said we and meant it as a pronoun of significant scope. the front row has always spoken for more than one. she has always been here. she has always known.

Danica looked at the chat for a long moment.

The chat looked back.

The smile had not moved.

It was not going to move.

“Y’all,” she said.

“Y’all.”

She pointed at the camera.

“Y’all need to STOP.”

gobbledygook404: we are not going to stop

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: we have never stopped

tacobellcanteen: stopping is not available

yungappalachian: we don’t know how to stop

midwest_gothic: the archive does not stop. the archive will never stop. the archive has been waiting for this stream since entry one.

blessyaheart_shug: 🙂

gobbledygook404: ...

DontTalkToMe_Brenda: just the emoji

tacobellcanteen: no words

yungappalachian: blessyaheart_shug said everything she needed to say

midwest_gothic: blessyaheart_shug deployed the smiley face and it contains the entirety of what needs to be said and we are going to let it stand without elaboration because some things do not require elaboration. she has always been in the front row. she has always known. the smiley face is sufficient. the smiley face is everything.

Danica looked at the smiley face.

She looked at the camera.

She looked back at the smiley face.

“Blessyaheart_shug,” she said quietly. “I see you over there.”

She was smiling the smile that had not moved since she sat down.

She was going to be smiling it for a while.