SuperStar

After making up his mind, Ethan didn't waste time. Right there in the living room, surrounded by his family, he called Bill.

"Hello, Ethan," Bill's voice came through the speaker, calm yet expectant.

"Hi, Mr. Miller. I've made up my mind," Ethan said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"And what's that?" Bill asked, though he suspected the answer.

"I want you to be my agent," Ethan said, finally taking the leap.

"That's great!" Bill replied, his excitement barely contained. He had sensed Ethan would come around, but hearing it directly was exhilarating.

"First off, I'm your agent now, so don't call me Mr. Miller anymore—just call me Bill," Bill said. Even though the paperwork hadn't been signed yet, in his mind, Ethan was already part of his roster.

"Okay, Bill," Ethan replied, feeling both relief and excitement as he took a step closer to his dream.

"Finally," his sister muttered from her spot, a grin spreading across her face.

"Alright, Ethan. Now we have a few steps to take. I'll send over the contract—sign it and send it back to me when you're ready," Bill said, his tone turning professional.

"Okay, Bill. I'll do that," Ethan said.

"Let me handle the printing," his dad offered, rising from his chair and heading toward his office.

"By the way, Ethan, I saw your second song—it's excellent, and it's doing numbers. Have you received payment from YouTube yet?" Bill asked.

"Payment? Isn't it too soon for that?" Ethan asked, genuinely confused.

"With the views and traction your songs are getting, trust me, it's going to be a nice payday," Bill said, chuckling. "Send me your YouTube account details, and I'll handle the setup."

"Will do that now," Ethan said, his mind racing.

"And Ethan?" Bill added.

"Yes?"

"It's great to have you onboard," Bill said warmly.

"It's great to be onboard, Bill," Ethan replied, feeling a surge of pride.

The call ended, and immediately his mom and sister pounced on him.

"Congrats, son!"

"My brother has an agent!"

"Thanks, everyone," Ethan said, smiling.

"Here's the contract," Adam said, returning with the printed document in hand.

Ethan took the contract, and his dad handed him a pen, pointing to where he needed to sign. Ethan paused, the weight of the decision hitting him.

"Well, here goes nothing," he murmured as he lowered the pen.

"Wait!" his mom interrupted, pulling out her phone. "I want to record this moment."

Ethan rolled his eyes but waited for her to start recording before signing.

Meanwhile, Bill sat in his home office, thrilled with how things were progressing. Ethan's verbal confirmation was all he needed to begin preparations. Soon, his laptop pinged, and there it was—the signed contract, along with Ethan's YouTube username and password.

Bill wanted to pour himself a celebratory drink but knew he needed to finish the work first. He saved the contract in three secure locations before logging into Ethan's YouTube account.

The username read EthanJones, and the password was Precious05. As Bill navigated the account, he was stunned by what he saw.

"Shape of You" had 95 million views and 72 million likes, while "Sing" already had 48 million views and 39 million likes.

Even with all his years in the industry, these numbers took his breath away. "This kid is a goldmine," he muttered, already envisioning Ethan's future.

He applied for YouTube payment on Ethan's behalf. When asked for a payment account, he messaged Ethan:

"Hey, YouTube needs an account to send the payment to. Should I use yours or mine?"

"You can use yours," Ethan replied quickly.

Bill decided to use one of his dormant accounts, intending to make the account Ethans official account later. Surprisingly, the payment came through almost instantly—a deviation from YouTube's typical payment schedule on the 21st of each month.

What Bill didn't realize was that Ethan's explosive success had flagged his account for priority handling. His record-breaking numbers and unprecedented engagement had earned him special treatment.

Bill glanced at the payout and chuckled. "Ethan's going to lose his mind when he sees this. "Bill said intending to send Ethan all the money and keeping non as he didn't feel it was right taking part of the money when he wasn't his agent when he made both videos.

Back at home, Ethan was in the living room, playing Monopoly with his family.

"Ethan, it's your turn. Better avoid Boardwalk—Dad's built a hotel there," his sister teased, grinning mischievously.

"Sorry, one second—Bill just messaged me asking for my account details," Ethan said.

"Again? Didn't you already tell him he could use his own? That was dumb, by the way," his sister commented.

"Yeah, I did, but maybe he changed his mind," Ethan replied, typing out his bank details as he rolled the dice.

"You landed on Boardwalk!" his sister shouted gleefully.

"Great. I'm bankrupt now," Ethan groaned, pushing his cash toward his dad.

His phone pinged again. He opened the notification, expecting something mundane. But what he saw made him freeze.

"What's wrong?" his dad asked, noticing Ethan's stunned expression.

"Dad… Bill just sent me my payment from YouTube."

"Congratulations, son! How much is it?" his mom asked, smiling.

Ethan stared at the screen, struggling to find his voice.

"I received…