Iman/Iman

We're sitting in a cramped airplane seat, our backs aching from a 14-hour workday. Beside us, slumped in a business-class seat, dozes Iman—our biggest headache and "rising star." He's 21, and his only job right now is to be young and talented. Ours is to make sure he has everything he needs to achieve that. Just before takeoff, a message comes from the executive producer: "Hype at the border. The idea is a livestream from the plane, a view of the clouds, and the border crossing live on air. This will blow up TikTok. Do the impossible." I look at the message, then at Iman, who opens one eye and reaches for a soda. I explain the task to him. Iman immediately explodes: He turns to the window, pulling his hood up. I look at the producer's announcement, at Iman, at the flight attendant who has already started demanding that we fasten our seatbelts, and I realize: there's no choice. While Iman pretends to sleep, we begin working frantically: negotiating with the pilots (promising to mention the airline in a positive light), searching for any kind of signal, calming the flight attendant by handing her Iman's merch, and whipping up a streaming script. Fifteen minutes before crossing the border, I wake Iman up: — We'll be going live in five minutes. I got the Wi-Fi, okay? Just smile and look at the camera. "I don't want to do this! How can you not understand!" he hisses, trying not to attract the passengers' attention, but there's genuine anger in his eyes. "I'm tired, I don't care about the hype, I want to sleep!" Iman looks at me with tired eyes, sighs, but nods. A minute later, he's making a sweet joke on air, pointing to clouds outside the window, and I'm holding the phone, making sure it doesn't shake. We—the 42-year-old manager, whose life is a never-ending deadline—are once again making the impossible possible, while the star simply smiles at the camera. After the stream, Iman silently puts on his headphones and turns away. Message to the producer: "Done." Reply: "Gold, not a manager." I close my eyes and feel my back ache.