Page 4 of Mated on Live

“Oh, it’s no problem. In fact, it’s even better! Our motto on this channel is, ‘treat yourself’! And we mean it literally. If something is unpleasant, but we stay strong through it, we treat ourselves to something tasty. I’m thinking ice cream with gummy worms today – definitely need more than a cupcake.”

Jeanie snickered. “Really?”

“Hey, don’t mock me. I’ve built a whole brand on sweets.” Sophie laughed, unconcerned, as she tossed her hair with a sassy bit of flair. “Trick or Treat is my longest running series, and I get tons of views on each video.”

“Oh, I’m not hating. I’m jealous,” she laughed, as Sophie stood. “If I could get paid to eat sweets online, I’d be there.”

Sophie smiled, knowing that Jeanie didn’t mean anything bad by the comment. It was something a lot of people said, and she could understand, from the outside looking in, that it looked that way. But there was a lot of work that went into her videos. Even the ones where, yes, she was ‘just’ eating a different dessert on camera.

Having people be so flippant and dismissive about her job stung, even when she knew that they didn’t mean it that way. Sophie would never say that filming herself eating tasty things, or doing silly things, or cooking something was as important as, say, a surgeon or a police officer. She knew that, on the list of vital things, her job was far down the list.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t work. That didn’t mean she didn’t put her heart and soul into every video. To have that effort dismissed as her just eating on camera was frustrating. Even more so since she couldn’t exactly argue without sounding petty and offended.

“Let me get a shot of the uploading process,” she said instead, walking to her camera.

She came back around, behind it this time, focusing on Jeanie as she pressed buttons on the screen built into the wall.

“Alright. Scan is done,” she said, back in her camera voice. “Is that my info there?”

“This is your datafile, yes.” Jeanie gave the camera a quick smile. “So, after your scan, we package all your data into this file. It includes your personal data and your scan data. This is then uploaded to our database back on Kree, routed through the border ships that protect Earth. Just… like… this.”

She hit the last button with a flourish. Sophie got a close up of the spinning heart as it uploaded. The data transfer was fast, only a few seconds, then it flashed the confirmation notification.

“Done!” Jeanie put up her hands as if in demonstration. “Now, if you follow me. I’m logged into the computer in the office. I can show you a look at the scanning process in progress.”

“O-o-h, behind the scenes. I love it. Lead the way!” Sophie smiled from behind the camera. She kept it on Jeanie as, this time, Jeanie led the way down the hall.

They walked further into the building. The office in the back, where the workers would do their paperwork, was comfortable and bright. Three computers on a long bench took up one wall, but there was also a little kitchen nook and comfortable seating for lunch. A little radio in the corner was off but ready for duty. Only one of the computers was on, the logo screen saver twirling in place.

Sophie kept Jeanie in frame as she sat down and moved the mouse, bringing it back to life. She moved the camera in past her as the computer lit up, focusing on that instead.

“This is our tracking board,” Jeanie explained, twisting her mouse on the screen. “You see your name here? You’re the only appointment today. But this will have everyone’s information when we’re properly open. At any time, if the worker here has clearance, we can open your file by clicking here, like this, and bring it up. And see this status here? Matching. That means that your scan has been uploaded and is currently running through the list of other scans in our database. When you’re matched, it will change to reflect that. So, if you like, at any time, you can call the office to ask about the status of your scan.”

“Nice,” Sophie beamed, focusing in on the word ‘matching’. “There I am! Hang on, Mr. Right. Your girl is coming for you!”

Laughing, she pulled the camera back.

“How was that?” Jeanie asked, sitting back in the seat.

“You did great. I could barely tell you were nervous at all. So, I’m going to go in the scanner room, do like a little private monologue, you know? Tell everyone how it went. Then, I’ll go through to get the B-roll, and then we’ll do one more interview back in the front for wrap up and goodbye. That work for you?”

Jeanie nodded. “Perfect.”

“Great. I’ll start the B-roll in here and…” Sophie’s voice trailed off as she looked away from her camera, over it, to the computer screen, frowning.

“What?” Jeanie looked as well.

“Er, is that…”

“Oh, my god,” Jeanie breathed, a wide smile stretching across her face.

Right there, plain on screen, in bright purple letters, her status had been changed.

MATCHED.

“No way,” Sophie breathed, shocked.

“Sophie!” Jeanie whipped her head around, beaming. “You were matched.”

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