Midnight.
Soorin was in bed with her phone.
She had told herself she would check once.
That was a lie and she had known it was a lie when she told it.
The numbers were already moving when the clock hit twelve. She refreshed. Refreshed again. Set the phone down. Picked it back up. The streams were climbing fast enough that watching in real time actually meant something, each refresh showing a number that was higher than the last, which was either great or addictive or both.
She was going to sleep at two AM.
She had decided this.
She was a professional with a morning call time and she was going to make a responsible decision and go to sleep at two AM.
Two AM came.
She refreshed one more time.
Then she put the phone face down on the duvet and closed her eyes.
'Okay,' she thought. 'Okay. Sleep. You have a job tomorrow.'
She slept.
She dreamed about streaming numbers.
★☆★☆★☆
By eight AM the figures were significant enough that Mr. Hayes called a meeting.
Unscheduled.
