Chapter 4: Doxxed
Expressionless, I closed the video. My hands were ice, even though the dorm felt like a sauna.
Maya messaged again:
“Riley, did you really go off on Kayla Lin?”
I frowned: “Who’s Kayla Lin? Some streamer?”
Maya: “Wow, you don’t know Kayla Lin? She’s the second female lead in that hit period drama. Yesterday the show broke records. She promised fans she’d stream herself playing games, even brought the male second lead. She was doing some stream antics, and then this happened. Didn’t expect the girl who blew up at her was you. Gotta say, you’re gutsy.”
I sat in silence, letting it sink in: “So now everyone thinks it’s my fault? Didn’t anyone bother to check what really happened?”
Maya replied, sounding exhausted: “So what if they did? Kayla Lin has over ten million fans. Besides, she always acts like a total sweetheart. Who’d believe she started it?”
She sounded like she’d seen too much internet drama. “Sigh, just consider yourself unlucky.”
So the game was rigged. Maybe if I ignored it, it would die down.
No such luck. When I got back to the dorm after class, my laptop was a fireworks show of new messages.
“Bitch, just go die.”
“Who do you think you are, daring to insult our Kay-Kay?”
“You think everyone has to put up with you, bitch.”
“Apologize to our Kay-Kay right now, or don’t blame us for leaking your info.”
My inbox overflowed with threats. Every notification was a punch to the gut. I tried to mute my mentions, but the hate kept leaking through, like water under a locked door. My jaw clenched as I scrolled—Kayla’s fans were promising to dox me. This was next level.
I fired up Twitter, knuckles white, and posted:
“I will not apologize. Since Kayla Lin is a public figure, she should be even more careful with her words and actions. She provoked me first in-game, and after I quit, she dragged me into a custom room to humiliate me. It’s understandable I went off on her. If we’re talking about right and wrong, she’s more at fault than I am. Also, she incited her fans to cyberbully and attack me, causing me real distress. I hope she clarifies the truth and acts responsibly.”