hooked - flamingo (albert aretz)

7

Blair had barely slept. The excitement from the previous day had kept her up, her mind spinning with thoughts of what was to come. She'd just gotten a job working for Albert Aretz—Flamingo—one of the biggest YouTubers out there. Not only that, but her first conversation with him had gone surprisingly well despite the awkward moments. They had bonded over their shared sense of humor, and she felt an odd sense of comfort knowing that Albert wasn't much different from how he appeared in his videos—funny, sweet, and endearingly awkward.

The next morning, Blair found herself still riding that high as she joined Lucas at the breakfast table. He was halfway through his cereal, eyes glued to a video on his tablet.

"Lucas, guess what?" Blair said, sitting down with her cup of coffee.

Lucas looked up, the spoon halfway to his mouth. "What?"

Blair grinned, leaning forward a little. "I got a new job. And it's with someone you'll definitely know."

Lucas narrowed his eyes suspiciously, clearly intrigued. "Who?"

"Flamingo," Blair replied, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Lucas dropped his spoon, his jaw hanging open. "No way! The Flamingo? You're working for Flamingo?"

Blair nodded, feeling a little proud. "Yup. I'm going to be doing his thumbnails for his videos. We had a Zoom call yesterday, and we're meeting again today."

Lucas was silent for a moment, his eyes wide with disbelief. Then, in true Lucas fashion, he exploded into excitement.

"OH MY GOSH! That's insane! Are you gonna meet him in real life? What did he say? Is he funny in real life too?" Lucas's questions came out rapid-fire, his face lit up with excitement.

Blair laughed. "Slow down! We're doing everything online, but yeah, he's exactly like he is in his videos. Super funny, and really awkward, actually."

"That's so cool!" Lucas said, practically bouncing in his chair. "Can I meet him? Can I say hi when you're on Zoom?"

Blair hesitated. "I don't know, Lucas. It's a work thing, you know?"

"But just for a second!" Lucas pleaded, putting on his best puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"

Blair sighed, knowing how hard it was to say no to him. "Okay, but only for a second. I'll let you know when it's a good time."

Lucas pumped his fist in victory. "Yes!"

Blair smiled and shook her head, amused by how excited Lucas was. She finished her coffee and headed back to her room to prepare for the call, spending the next few hours polishing the thumbnails she had worked on the day before.

When 3 PM rolled around, Blair settled at her desk and logged into Zoom. Sure enough, right on time, the notification popped up on her screen.

Albert A. is inviting you to a meeting.

She clicked "Join," and after a few seconds of buffering, Albert's face appeared on the screen, slightly out of focus. As usual, he was adjusting his camera and muttering something under his breath.

"Oh, wait—there we go. Hey, Blair!" Albert greeted her with a lopsided smile, finally getting his camera in place. "I think I finally figured out how to use this thing properly. Only took me a hundred tries."

Blair chuckled. "Hey, Albert. Looks like you're making progress."

"Yeah, I'm basically a Zoom pro at this point," Albert joked, running a hand through his messy hair. He seemed a little less nervous today, but the awkward energy was still there in a way that made Blair feel at ease. "So, uh, how's everything going? Did you get my video ideas?"