Page 3 of Kane

Not quite yet.

Cassie sent Katie a message and quickly received a response. Great news! They were still at the park. Cage had said that because Katie had been so good an obedient all week, she was allowed to stay out late tonight. The fact that Cage’s Daddy friends were going to be coming with some of their favorite beers was only a coincidence.

Yeah, right.

Still, Cassie wasn’t going to complain. All that she cared about was that she still had time for some fun with her friends. The Daddies could drink all the beer they wanted if it meant that Cassie could hang out with Katie and Sydney.

CASSIE: That’s super-duper-epic! Let me do one more thing on my socials and I’ll be with you quicker than a shake of a neon green rabbit’s tail! C XoXo

Cassie sent the message to Katie and very quickly logged onto her comic’s social media accounts. As usual, there were lots of positive comments. Praise for the recent issues. Lots of sharing of favorite parts and illustrations. It truly warmed Cassie’s heart to see her passion being appreciated by people.

Then she saw it.

The comment. There was always one. Without fail, it seemed like someone always felt the need to write something stinky and salty.

Urgh.

Why? Why do people have to be so mean.

I feel… crappy.

Cassie read and re-read a negative comment about the comic. It wasn’t constructive criticism. It was trolling. Mean, stinky trolling.

Cassie knew that not everyone was going to love her comic. That was fine. There were plenty of things that Cassie didn’t love herself. But what Cassie couldn’t get her head around was the way that some people took pleasure from being negative online.

It was part of life, yes.

But for Cassie it always felt worse. It took her back to how she felt when she was in her last relationship. Cruel, unnecessary, and unconstructive comments hurt her feelings.

She couldn’t help feeling it.

Cassie was a sensitive soul.

‘Will you hop over to this meanie’s house and do some toxic bunny poops on his lawn?’ Cassie asked, picking Bouncer up and giving him a big squeeze for comfort. ‘After all the work I’ve done today too. Maybe I should block the account? But if I do that, I might get a reputation as a diva. I just wish people could be nice.’

Cassie logged out of her social media. She then did what she always did. She buried the pain into her work.

It didn’t take too long.

After a few adjustments on some of the comic panels, Cassie felt good again. She’d improved the overall appearance and added some nice dialogue boxes. It was a good feeling.

The troll was a distant memory.

For now, at least.

With her mind racing with possibilities as to the fun she would soon be having at the park with her friends and the bubble machine, Cassie sprung up from her chair and bounded over to the shoe rack to put on her favorite hi-tops. They were rainbow colored and a special Japanese import Cassie had spent weeks seeking out.

The trainers were far from cheap.

Still, Cassie loved them and that was in part down to the memory of buying them with her first comic book paycheck. She had been in her second year of art school, and it had signified the moment where she felt like she could actually have a career doing what she loved.

It had been a momentous occasion, that was for sure.

Cassie finished tying up the laces and grabbed Bouncer before carefully placing him in his favorite spot just at the top of her backpack so he could see out.

It was time to leave the apartment.

Time to leave the work behind for a moment and put the online trolls well and truly in the shade