Four

Kadence

Found Video Footage

Kadence Mulligan’s Laptop

Date Unknown

Image opens.

Kadence Mulligan’s face appears on-screen. Though she is obviously sitting on a bed, she is in full show regalia: tight purple dress with blue rhinestones lining the bodice, thick false eyelashes, bright pink lips. A glittery purple pashmina scarf is wrapped around her neck.

“Is this thing working?” Kadence smiles and waves. “Hello, my beautiful Kady-Dids! I’m trying vlogging for the first time! I know, I know, it took me forever to get with the program and try this. It’s funny, as comfortable as I am on stage, I still feel shy on camera.”

She ducks her head and runs a hand through her hair, then laughs nervously. “Wow, if Lauren heard me say that, she wouldn’t believe it. Anyway.” She sits up straighter and grins again. “Here we are. You, me, and only the tiny world of cyberspace between us. So, how are you, my lovelies?

“It’s a cold January day up here in Minnesota.” Little cartoon penguins dance across the bottom of the screen.

“Which is why I’ve got my super sparkly scarf on today. My boyfriend, Mason, gave this to me. I know”—she leans in as if conspiratorially—“don’t you all wish you had boyfriends who had good taste like mine does? The secret is to find guys who love their sisters. Or at least are forced to go shopping with them all the time.” She laughs.

“But seriously, guys.” She holds up the end of her scarf. “To all my fellow songbirds out there, you’ve got to take care of your throats in winter. If Lauren’s health issues have taught us anything, it’s to be vigilant about taking care of ourselves.” She shakes her head and looks off camera to the left as if lost in thought.

“Performing without her still doesn’t feel right. It’s only been a couple months, but…we’ve been singing together since we were twelve, you know.” She closes her eyes and breathes out before focusing back on the camera. “But we’ve gotta keep thinking positive. She’s still resting up and the doctors say that’s all she can do right now. And I can’t say enough how much we appreciate all your prayers and good wishes. Seriously.”

“Okay.” She breathes in, sitting back and slapping her hands on her thighs. “Now I’m going to answer some questions from our Facebook page. I figure it’s so much more fun to answer this way than in short updates, right?

“First question.” She looks at her laptop. “When did you and Lauren start singing together?” A small frown tugs at her mouth, but she covers it quickly with a smile. “I was an army brat, so I’d moved five times by seventh grade when we landed in Pine Grove, Minnesota. But this time was different. Dad was retiring and we were finally going to stay in one place. I was so excited. Nervous too.”

Kadence leans back, careful to keep her legs crossed as she gets into the retelling.

“With each new school, I had this process. A plan for infiltrating so I didn’t turn out to be a friendless loser. The key was confidence. You had to walk into each new place like you owned it. That and finding a best friend as soon as possible.

“But I was having a harder time than normal at this school. That is, until I finally got my schedule fixed so I could be in choir. I was a soprano but was sitting at the dividing line by the altos right by this girl. She was good. Like, really, really good. Our voices sounded amazing in harmony together. We were both grinning by the end of class, even though we hadn’t said a single word to each other yet.” Kadence sighs happily and leans back on her bed.

“It was one of those destiny moments, you know? We became best friends. Perfect timing too. She had this guy hanging around kind of stalking her when we walked out of the choir room together. A total Creepy McCreepster. I guess he’d been hanging around her for a while. She was too nice to tell him to get lost, so he’d been keeping at it. With me around though, he backed off. She had protection and we both had a new best friend. And the start of not only a life-long friendship, but this awesome music thing too.”

Kadence grins. “Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Kady-Did Show and for all your questions. Continue sending your support for Lauren via our Facebook page or through hashtag #feelbetterLauren. I know she’s moved by all of your love and support. Life is short, my darlings. Reach for the stars before they burn out!”

Kadence flashes double peace signs and the video cuts off.