The entrance was hidden behind a waterfall. A boy with a tablet scanned their wrists — not for IDs, but for influence scores . Mira’s was low, but Lina’s golden status let her slip through. Inside, the grotto had been transformed into a dream: floating LED orbs, a DJ booth shaped like a crashed UFO, and a pool that shimmered with bioluminescent algae. Kids in designer thrift and augmented-reality masks lounged on inflatable thrones.
That was the catch. Every dance, every laugh, every stumble was being indexed for the “legacy feed” — a permanent digital museum of teen royalty. Mira saw a boy she recognized from a hacked TikTok live: Kai, the creator of the Volume series. He stood on a platform, surrounded by screens showing real-time emotional heatmaps of the crowd. vip teen party vol 203
Outside, the sky was just beginning to bruise with dawn. Mira checked her wrist. The influence score had already dipped. For the first time all night, she felt completely awake. The entrance was hidden behind a waterfall
“I think I’m done,” Mira said.