Today's Reading
CHAPTER ONE
Lights? Check.
Sound? Check.
Script? Check.
Brittany Branch placed her hand on her fluttery stomach. Four hundred fifty-six videos, seven years on YouTube, almost five hundred thousand subscribers, comment sections filled with compliments and encouragement... and her nerves were still tap-dancing in her gut. She gave up hoping she wouldn't have stage fright or videophobia or whatever it was that made her anxiety reach unacceptable levels every time she filmed content for her channel. She was twenty-eight years old and an experienced vlogger. She shouldn't be fretting over her job.
She sighed and made the mistake she always made before filming her content—she glanced at her black computer screen and grimaced. No matter how she changed the lighting in her room, positioned her desk, or moved the monitor, she still caught her shadowed reflection. And even though her flaws weren't clearly visible, she knew they were there—the wiry curls she couldn't tame, one eyebrow that was clearly higher than the other, her elongated profile that had inspired her third-grade classmate Chase Anderson to call her "Horse Face," a nickname that stuck until eleventh grade when her fellow students finally decided to grow up a little. He'd even apologized—in a DM, of course, not in person—saying that she had never looked like a horse, and he'd been an idiot kid who liked to clown around in class.
She accepted his half attempt at an apology, but the damage was done. And it didn't matter how many commenters said she was "cute" and her hair was "beautiful" and claimed her squeaky voice was "adorable." She never forgot the sound of boys neighing behind her as she walked in the hallways.
Britt blinked, shoving the past aside. She took a deep breath, turned on her smile and her camera, and began filming.
"Hey, everyone! Britt here. If you're new to my channel, welcome. If you enjoy the content, hit Like and Subscribe!"
Today's video was a tutorial about perspective in anime art. Britt had recorded herself drawing a typical anime scene, so today she only had to be on camera for the intro and outro, and the rest was voice-over. Two hours later she finished and began the editing process, something that had initially been daunting when she'd started her channel, but she now did with ease.
She heard her mother's car door shut outside the window of her studio and glanced at the clock. Almost five? The video had taken longer than she thought. She would have to upload it tonight and then promote it on her social media channels, answer some comments, and take a stab at cleaning out her DMs and other private and public messages. Feeding the marketing beast was a never-ending job.
Britt went upstairs to start on supper as Mom walked through the door, her leather satchel slung over one shoulder and the other carrying her ever-present water bottle that said Teachers Rock. "Hey, hon," Mom said, setting the bag on the table and taking the water bottle to the sink. "How was your day?"
"Productive." Britt slipped the plastic spiral ponytail holder off her wrist and put up her out-of-control hair.
"That's nice. Did you go outside for a few minutes? The weather was gorgeous today."
"Um, no." She pulled out a skillet from the cabinet and set it on the stove. "I worked all day."
Mom stood beside her. "Now, Britt, we discussed how important vitamin D is, especially directly from the source. You need to sit on the patio for at least thirty minutes each morning."
"Sure." Britt walked to the fridge and took out the ground beef for Taco Tuesday.
"And wear sunscreen!" Mom grinned and went back to the sink. She washed out her bottle while Britt cooked, their typical post-work/post-school routine. As much as her mother's hovering and unwanted advice grated, Britt knew she was right. Staying cooped up in her studio wasn't healthy, as her pale skin made obvious. But she liked her studio. It was her space, and even though she was nervous before each video, that was the only negative feeling she had about her job. She loved drawing, loved coming up with content, and even enjoyed most of the marketing, except for the creepy DMs she occasionally received. A quick internet search had revealed that almost all content creators had to deal with problematic messages.
...
