"Maybe try a thumbs up at the end?" Derek offers.
"No."
"Just a small one. Casual thumbs up. Like you're saying, hey, fire safety, we're in this together."
"I'm not doing a thumbs up."
"Beck." Aiden walks over and, without any warning, picks up my arm by the wrist and repositions it into a thumbs-up. "There. That's it. That's the shot."
I stare at my own hand, now making a gesture that I have not made since my tenth birthday. "Put my arm down."
"Just leave it there for the last second of take four. That's all I'm asking."
"Aiden."
"For the community," Derek says solemnly.
Take four happens. I stand in full turnout gear, expressionless, recite twenty seconds of fire safety information in a tone that conveys zero warmth or joy, and at the very end raise one thumb in a gesture so reluctant it looks like I'm asking permission from someone off-camera.
Derek reviews it. His face goes through several expressions.
"This is going to do incredible numbers," he says.
"Burn it," I say, and walk away.
The video goes up while I'm in my office running through maintenance reports. I know this because Aiden texts me a link with no accompanying message, which is somehow more ominous than any amount of words.
Leaving my phone face-down on my desk is not a long-term plan. It gets me through half a gear inspection and a conversation with Webb about the new ventilation protocols before the buzzing starts.
The group chat. It takes four seconds to understand what's happening.
The first message is from Aiden: a fire emoji.
Then Derek: three fire emojis.
Then Johnson, who barely speaks during actual shift: five fire emojis, no words.
Martinez: a string of fire emojis that takes up most of the screen, followed by a screenshot of the comments section, followed byCap im dying.
I look at the screenshot against my better judgment.
The view count is a number I'm not going to read twice.
The comments are not about fire safety.
Who is the grumpy one
I need him to explain fire extinguishers to me specifically
The other two are so funny but I cannot stop looking at the grumpy one
He looks like he was summoned here against his will and I respect it deeply
I am going to need the grumpy one's name and general location please and thank you
He gave the most reluctant thumbs up in human history and I've never felt more seen
I set my phone face-down on the desk and go back to the maintenance reports.
