CHAPTER SIX
Wesley woke before his alarm, the way he usually did.
This morning, his phone was already vibrating against the wooden nightstand beside his bed.
He reached for it with sleepy eyes and expected a message from one of his cousins or a reminder from work.
Instead, the screen was filled with notifications.
New followers, comments, tags, and messages stacked one after another. Wes had to scroll just to see what had arrived during the last few minutes. He opened TikTok and stared at the numbers on his account.
The grocery-store video had kept spreading overnight.
His response video was drawing even more attention.
Wes still could not understand why strangers cared about him simply talking into his phone.
He had only meant to stop people from calling his mother.
One accidental appearance in Bee’s vlog had somehow left thousands of strangers waiting to see what he did next.
Wes scrolled through the comments and stopped whenever one made him laugh.
People still called him Hoodie Guy, even though plenty of them knew his real name by now.
One person wanted to know what cereal he ate.
Someone else asked what he did for work.
Several others wanted him to film a normal day in his life.
One person suggested he review grocery stores. Another claimed they would happily watch him do laundry if that was all he wanted to film. Wes shook his head and smiled despite himself. He could not imagine why anyone wanted to watch him fold clothes.
His mother was already awake when he walked into the kitchen. She stood at the stove with a mug of coffee beside her. Her attention moved to the phone still in his hand as soon as he entered.
“You’ve been staring at that thing since you woke up,” his mother said.
Wes slipped the phone into his pocket and reached for the coffee she had poured for him. “I know.”
“You’re going to make yourself late,” his mother warned.
“I won’t,” Wes replied.
His mother gave him a look that made it clear she did not believe him. Wes smiled and sat at the table. He had barely taken his first drink of coffee when his phone vibrated again in his pocket.
He ignored it this time. Whatever was happening online could wait until after work. The notifications had been arriving without a break since he woke up.
His mother watched him for a moment before leaning against the counter. “Are people still talking about you?”
Wes looked down at his coffee. “Apparently.”
“Do you like it?” she asked.
He thought about the question before answering. “I don’t know yet.”
His mother nodded as though that were a perfectly reasonable answer and turned back toward the stove. Wes appreciated that she did not push him for something more definite because he was not sure he could have given her one.
The attention was not exactly exciting. Every so often, a stranger’s comment still made him smile.
It was not frightening either. Still, knowing thousands of people were suddenly watching him made his stomach tighten.
More than anything, it felt like someone had dragged his quiet life into a spotlight without asking.
Wes finished his coffee, grabbed his jacket, and headed to work. By the time he arrived, his coworkers already knew his numbers had climbed again overnight. The teasing started before he made it across the yard.
“Hoodie Guy,” one of the men called.
Wes shook his head. “I have a name.”
“We know,” the man replied. “Hoodie Guy is better.”
Another coworker laughed nearby as Wes gathered the materials waiting for him.
The familiar teasing made the attention online feel less strange.
Nobody here treated him like someone important.
He still showed up early, did his job, and kept to himself.
The only difference was the thousands of strangers who suddenly thought his ordinary life was worth watching.
The jokes continued through the morning before everyone settled into work. Wes welcomed the routine. Measuring, lifting, carrying, and fixing gave his hands something familiar to do while his mind caught up with everything else.
His phone buzzed in his pocket several times throughout the morning. Wes ignored it until lunch. Once inside his truck, he shut the door and pulled out his phone. The numbers had climbed again while he worked.
Wes stared at them for a moment before opening the creator tools section he had noticed earlier.
Until now, he had never cared how people made money online because it had nothing to do with him.
He assumed creators spent years deliberately building accounts and learning how everything worked.
They made videos because they wanted an audience.
Wes had done none of that. It felt strange to read about something he had never expected to need. The more he read, the more he understood that creators could earn money once their accounts and videos met certain requirements.
Some opportunities depended on views and eligibility. Others involved brands or different kinds of content. There were rules, details, and enough information to make his head hurt after only a few minutes. The basic idea was simple enough.
People could actually make money from this.
The possibility made Wes lean back against the seat.
He still did not see himself as a content creator, and he had no idea whether he wanted that kind of life.
For the first time, the attention felt like it might become more than an embarrassing story about accidentally appearing in Bee’s video.
He picked up his phone again and looked at the follower count. The number had climbed while he was reading. This time, he looked at it without feeling the urge to close the app.
He could keep his regular job and make videos whenever he had something to say. He did not need to become loud or polished because strangers had found him interesting. He could show people small parts of the life he already had and keep the rest for himself.
The idea made everything feel less overwhelming. Wes put his phone away, finished his lunch, and headed back to work.
When Wes got home that afternoon, his mother was sitting at the kitchen table sorting through a pile of mail. She looked up as he came through the door and studied his expression while he set his keys on the counter.
“You look like something happened,” his mother said.
Wes shrugged out of his jacket. “I was reading about how people make money from TikTok.”
His mother stopped sorting the envelopes and looked at him. “Are you making money?”
“Not yet,” Wes replied.
“Then what are you reading about?” she asked.
“I’m trying to figure out how it works,” Wes explained.
His mother nodded and returned to the envelopes. “Figure it out before you spend anything.”
Wes laughed softly. “I wasn’t planning to spend anything.”
She glanced at him over the top of an envelope. “You were thinking about it.”
“Maybe,” Wes admitted.
His mother set the envelope down and looked at him more carefully. “What would you even buy?”
Wes considered the question far more seriously than necessary. The first thing that came to mind made him smile.
“Cereal,” Wes replied.
His mother stared at him. “Cereal?”
“The name-brand kind,” Wes clarified.
“You already have cereal,” she reminded him.
“I know,” Wes said.
“The kind we buy is perfectly good,” his mother added.
Wes leaned against the counter and tried not to laugh. “I know.”
His mother narrowed her eyes. “Then why would you spend extra money on the expensive kind?”
Wes shrugged. “Because I can.”
The look she gave him immediately made him feel twelve years old again. He could already tell she was preparing an entire speech over a box of cereal he had not even bought yet.
“That’s exactly how people waste money,” his mother said.
Wes laughed and pushed away from the counter. “I’m not buying it yet.”
“Good,” she replied.
He made it halfway toward the hallway before his mother spoke again. Wes stopped and looked back at her, already knowing she had not finished.
“If you buy expensive cereal, don’t expect me to pretend it tastes better,” his mother said.
Wes smiled. “You’re going to eat it too.”
“I didn’t say that,” she replied.
“You will,” Wes insisted.
His mother picked up another envelope. “Go make your internet videos.”
Wes shook his head as he headed toward his room, but he was still smiling. Somehow, the idea of making another video sounded less ridiculous when his mother dismissed it as something he apparently did now.
Later that evening, Wes sat on the edge of his bed with his phone in his hand. He had been thinking about making another video all afternoon. The comments kept asking when he would post again, although he still had no idea what people expected from him.
Recording himself did not feel quite as uncomfortable as it had the first time. People did not seem interested in him because he knew how to perform for a camera. If anything, they liked that he clearly did not. Knowing that took some of the pressure away.
Wes opened the camera and looked at himself on the screen. His hair had fallen forward again, and he pushed it away from his face. Closing the app still seemed tempting.
Then he remembered the conversation with his mother and smiled. If people wanted another video, he at least had something ridiculous to talk about.
Wes pressed the record button. “Apparently, people want me to make another video.”
He paused, already feeling slightly embarrassed by the sentence. After a second, he decided there was no point pretending he knew what he was doing.
“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to talk about, so I guess I’ll tell you what happened today,” Wes continued. “I went to work. Everyone made fun of me for being on the internet. Now my mother thinks I’m going to waste all my money on cereal.”
Wes smiled when he remembered the look she had given him. “I’m not going to waste all of it. If I make enough, I might buy the expensive kind just once.”
His mother’s voice carried down the hallway before Wes could continue. “We don’t need the expensive cereal.”
Wes closed his eyes and tried not to laugh. The camera was still recording, which made her interruption even funnier.
“I didn’t ask you,” Wes called back.
“You were talking about me,” his mother replied.
Wes looked directly into the camera. “She can hear everything.”
“I can still hear you,” his mother called.
Wes laughed quietly and shook his head before continuing. The interruption had taken away most of the nervousness he felt when he first pressed record.
“I’m still figuring out how all of this works,” Wes said. “I didn’t expect any of it to happen, so thank you for being patient with me.”
He stopped recording and watched the video once. There was no music, editing, or carefully planned introduction. It was just Wes sitting on his bed and talking about his day while his mother called to him from another room. Somehow, that felt more natural than anything rehearsed he could have made.
Wes posted it before he could change his mind. The response came quickly, and people immediately latched onto the cereal joke.
Within an hour, the comments had turned the cereal into a running joke.
Some people demanded a full review if he ever bought the expensive box.
Others wanted his mother to rate it with him.
One person declared that his first influencer purchase had to be something ridiculous.
Another insisted name-brand cereal was exactly the kind of reckless spending they supported.
Wes read through the comments with a quiet smile.
Making a second video felt easier because this time he had not been reacting to strangers calling his mother.
He had decided what he wanted to say and what he was willing to show.
Choosing to post felt different from accidentally appearing in someone else’s video.
The next morning, Wes stopped at the store before work. He needed a few things anyway, which gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to stand in front of the cereal aisle longer than any grown man should.
He picked up the usual box his mother bought and checked the price before returning it to the shelf. Then he reached for the name-brand version beside it and studied the difference.
It was not outrageously expensive, but it cost enough that Wes normally would have put it back without thinking. He stood there for another moment before placing the box in his cart. He felt stupidly pleased with himself over something as ordinary as cereal.
When Wes got home that evening, his mother noticed the box almost immediately. He had barely made it into the kitchen before she pointed toward the grocery bag.
“You actually bought it,” his mother said.
Wes nodded and tried not to smile. “I did.”
She took the box from the bag and looked at the price. Her expression changed immediately. “You spent that much on cereal?”
“It’s my money,” Wes replied.
His mother looked at him. “Oh, so we have money now, Hoodie Guy?”
Wes started laughing. “Not you too. That’s not the point.”
“What’s the point?” she asked.
“I wanted it,” Wes explained.
“You’ve wanted things before,” his mother replied.
Wes took the cereal from her before she could inspect it any longer. “Why are you making this complicated?”
“Because you paid too much for cereal,” she said.
“It’s one box,” Wes reminded her.
“That’s how it starts,” his mother warned.
Wes shook his head as he carried it toward the pantry. “I knew you were going to do this.”
His mother followed him with her eyes. “I hope it tastes different.”
“It probably doesn’t,” Wes admitted.
“Then you wasted money,” she replied.
Wes looked back at her. “I haven’t even opened it yet.”
His mother smiled. “I’m just preparing you for disappointment.”
Wes set the box in the pantry beside the cereal they usually bought. The expensive box looked absurd next to it, which made him laugh all over again.
His phone buzzed in his pocket before he could close the pantry door. Wes pulled it out and saw that the cereal video had started climbing again. New comments asked whether he had finally made the purchase.
Wes glanced toward his mother. She had already returned to sorting the mail as though the entire conversation had been completely ordinary. He slipped the phone into his pocket and closed the pantry.
Wes still had his regular job, coworkers who called him Hoodie Guy, and a mother who judged his grocery choices.
The overpriced cereal sat in the pantry while his phone kept buzzing.
Somehow, the ordinary life he had never thought twice about was exactly what people wanted to watch.
Being Wes seemed to be working just fine.