“Reese?”
My head shoots back up at the sound of Margie’s voice. I twist around in my chair, feeling the blood draining out of myface.
“Yes, ma’am?”
She is leaning casually against her desk with her arms crossed. “What did I say about the ma’am thing?”
I give her a sheepish smile. “Oh, uh, sorry.”
She studies me for a moment and I can’t read her expression. “Everything good?”
That, I didn’t see coming. Margie’s been a perfectly nice boss so far; she never raises her voice or snaps at anyone. The only minor “issue” she and I have had was over my calling her “ma’am” during my first couple of days. A tough habit to break for one raised to be a polite young lady. But this is the closest we’ve come yet to any kind of personal conversation.
“Yep!” I say brightly, nipping said personal conversation in the bud.
She looks skeptical, probably because she’s not an idiot. “Something wrong with the video?”
I swallow heavily and consider how to answer this.Yes, the fact that I’m in it!
“Um,” I start, ever the shining beacon of confidence and clarity. “No, it’s—I mean, I’m fine. It’s just, er, hitting me that I’m in a video. On Friends of Flavor. Like, one that people are going to see.”
There’s a tinge of sympathy in the small smile Margie gives me. “Sure. I know it isn’t what you signed on for. It turned out great, though, really. You did a wonderful job and it seems like everyone loves it so far.”
“So far” is the operative phrase. But I nod and thank her, and she encourages me to take a lap and get some water before returning to my work for the day. I do, but to little avail.
Back at my computer, I decide to largely ignore comments onPiece of Cake: Amateur Hourfor now. I don’t know how Friends of Flavor can appropriately respond to comments about their eighteen-year-old interns’ fictional relationship anyway.
There are some pictures from the Friends’ Chicago trip on the other platforms, and I spend most of the day liking and replying to responses on those photos as well as answering some of the many random questions that come at us on a daily basis. On my lunch break, I text the family group chat with my mom, dad, and little brothers to tell them about the video. I make it sound like it’s a good thing that I am totally excited about and that it isnot at all sending me into a worry spiral. I don’t know if they’ll watch the video. Then I check the group text with Natalie and Clara. My phone has continued to vibrate with their incoming thoughts since I last checked it.
Clara:wow that was seriously cute, this is so exciting
Natalie:Um YEAH don’t even get me started on the actual CONTENT too LATE you DID so here I go—you and ball cap Benny would be hot together
Clara:^agreed
Natalie:Boy is alllllll over you and I hope you’ve gotten some digits slash maybe you didn’t tell us about this ALL EFFING WEEKEND because you were too busy making out with your new boyfriend
Clara:definitely sounds like Reese yep
Natalie:The chemistry! I feel it clear across the country! It is absolutely radiating from my laptop screen!!
Natalie:This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all summer. Maybe all year. Acceptance to college? Pfft
Clara:same
That’s where they’ve left off, and I laugh in spite of my inner panic. I halfway consider waiting until I’m back at thedorm to tackle this conversation, but honestly, I might need some best-friend encouragement if I’m going to survive the rest of the day.
Reese:Hiii I’m sorry for not properly preparing you! But I’ve kind of been pretending it wasn’t happening!
Natalie:Why would you ever!!! You were amazing!!!!! I’m picking out names for you + Benny’s children!!!
Reese:Yeah that last one is why
Reese:I’m freaking out, y’all. I never thought I’d actually be in videos and it happened really suddenly and now potentially millions of people could see me and judge me and it could be like high school x 1000
Clara:deeeeep breaths, you know logically you’re jumping to the worst possible outcomes right? much more likely, people will keep thinking you’re cute and fun like they do in the comments so far and maybe it could help you get the fall internship
I run a hand over my face and follow Clara’s advice, even if she didn’t mean it literally, inhaling for a few seconds, then exhaling for a few more. Repeat. Repeat. I peek over my shoulder to check out any activity around the office. It’s quiet, with my marketing coworkers tapping away at their computers. I see some folks hustling through the hallways, but it all looks the same as usual. No one is running around with a megaphoneyelling, “ALERT! INTERNS’ VIDEO HAS GONE LIVE! TOTAL DISASTER! EVERYONE PANIC!”
