Taking Action a ThreeWay Interaction
The internet never sleeps, so it was no surprise that Avery Hayes's X account was blowing up in the middle of the night.
Even her old classmates from medical school were sliding into her DMs, all asking the same thing: since when was she an actress?
Avery, of course, was dead asleep and had no idea any of this was happening. The dam finally broke when one of her former colleagues from the hospital, hounded into a corner by online sleuths, gave up a sliver of information.
"Dr. Hayes resigned a while back for personal reasons," he wrote. "I guess she started filming after she left."
That post just opened the floodgates. "Personal reasons? The country poured money into her education, and she ditches being a perfectly good doctor to film some web series?"
For every curious supporter, there was someone else ready to call her out for "wasting her potential." The battle lines were drawn in the comments.
"What's with the attitude? If you're so smart, why don't you go take the bar exam yourself?"
"Who cares why she left? Talented people can do whatever they want."
"Dr. Hayes is so pretty."
Avery's page was mostly positive, a chaotic mix of support and confusion. The real dumpster fire was raging over on Felicia Moss's account.
Felicia's vague post had dragged the entire film crew into the mess.
The show hadn't even been released yet, so the director of the period drama didn't dare say a word, terrified of her fans jeopardizing the launch.
There was just one problem for Felicia: the show's main investor happened to be Caleb Sterling.
One phone call from Caleb was all it took. A few minutes later, the director posted the raw, unedited footage from Avery and Felicia's scene directly to his X account.
He didn't add a single word of commentary. He just tagged Felicia Moss.
And with that one tag, her account imploded.
Anyone with eyes could see there was no "unforgettable coincidence" like she'd hinted at in her post.
The video showed Avery completely in character, absolutely nailing the scene.
Even without editing or special effects, the tension in her performance was electric.
On top of that, she was stunning. With no filters, her face was captivating.
The second Felicia appeared on screen next to her, the actress who was usually considered pretty just looked... plain.
The clip ended right after the director yelled "cut," with Felicia limping out of the room. The footage made it brutally clear: she'd gotten hurt *after* Avery had already closed the door and left the shot.
The whole thing was a joke.
She injures herself, posts a sad selfie, vaguely implies she was bullied, and then sics her followers on the other actress. It didn't take a genius to see how she'd twisted the truth.
"You bumped into a door by yourself, but you post about some 'unforgettable coincidence' and tell people to be 'smarter'? Looks like your best acting is happening off-screen."
"I can't believe I fell for this. I actually thought someone beat you up."
"What is wrong with you? You didn't used to be like this. You were so sweet when you played the Serpent Maiden. What happened?"
"Don't go around claiming you were bullied. The crew already posted the video. The other person is a featured actress, to be blunt, she's basically an extra. Are you seriously trying to tell us an extra has the guts to physically assault you on set?"
"To the person above, let's not even use the word 'assault.' This is obviously because the other actress is gorgeous, and Felicia felt upstaged, so she tried to sabotage her."
"Felicia didn't even say anything! Why are you all acting like she's the bully?"
"You don't call this bullying? With one post, she sent over a hundred thousand people to dig up dirt on some newcomer. You think her goal wasn't to get the girl's scenes cut?"
"Exactly. Just look at the video. The new girl completely stole the show."
"Oh my god, stop fighting! I found the featured actress's X account. She's a rookie, she was in that new web series with Maya Laurent that just dropped. It's @Surgeon_Avery, go check her out!"
Everything was unfolding just as Avery had predicted.
Hordes of Felicia's followers found their way to Avery's page.
They landed in her comments section, which was already a weirdly supportive mix of people fawning over her looks, debating why she'd quit medicine to act and study for the bar, and a handful of med students geeking out over her old posts about clinical cases. It was chaotic.
The new arrivals, primed for a fight, were a little confused by the positive vibe. Something felt off.
But right or wrong, they'd come to say their piece. They immediately started spamming Avery's page with reposts of Felicia's cryptic message and the director's video.
At that point, Avery's new fans weren't having it. They swarmed over to Felicia's account and tore her to shreds.
Thanks to the drama ping-ponging between the three accounts, plus the timely release of her new web series, Avery's follower count had skyrocketed.
Overnight, she'd gone from a few tens of thousands to over four hundred thousand, blowing past Felicia's numbers.
And they were all real, active followers. Her growth was like a rocket launch.
But through it all, no one had managed to figure out the real reason she'd resigned from the hospital. The staff at Westlake General were tight-lipped, only vaguely saying she'd been sick.
Avery's official reason for leaving had been a "crisis of faith" in her profession. It was a vague statement that could mean anything, and everyone who knew her worried that pressing the issue would only upset her more, so by unspoken agreement, they let it lie.
And Avery wasn't about to tell the world she'd been the victim of a workplace assault. The time wasn't right.
The next day, a cold drizzle fell outside.
Avery had nothing on her schedule, so she pulled out the stack of scripts Leo Foster had brought her from New York, planning to pick out a few small roles.
They were all minor parts designed to help her practice, but they came with close-ups, so she had to choose carefully.
Before diving in, she checked X.
When she saw she'd gained over four hundred thousand followers, a slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. You had to hand it to Felicia, her little stunt had played right into Avery's hands. She hadn't had to spend a dime on promotion to get this kind of attention.
Four hundred thousand followers might be a drop in the bucket for an established star, but for a newcomer, it was unheard of. And that was with Felicia being a minor celebrity at best. If she'd been a bigger star, the numbers would have been even higher.
After scrolling through her notifications, Avery ignored the comments about her looks and the drama.
Instead, she found a few posts from medical students and replied, engaging them in a technical discussion.
Though she hadn't studied medicine herself, she had all of the original Avery's memories.
Her hands might not be steady enough for surgery anymore, but the theory was all locked in her head.
She only picked one other comment to respond to, one asking how she'd gotten into acting, and gave a straight answer.
She explained that she'd just resigned and was feeling lost when she stopped for ramen. There, she ran into the family member of a former patient, who just so happened to be the producer of the web series. He scouted her on the spot and took her to the set.
When she mentioned the producer, she tagged the official X account for Stellar Media Group, giving them a little free, positive PR. After all, wasn't that why they'd signed her? The company had been nothing but supportive; it was only right to return the favor.
Phone down, Avery turned her attention back to the scripts.
Over the next hour, both Dexter Reed and Caleb Sterling called. Dexter wanted to know if she wanted the company to launch a marketing campaign. This kind of organic buzz was a golden opportunity.
Avery told him it was unnecessary. The drama had gotten her trending, but by the time she woke up, her rank was already dropping. Less is more. This level of attention was just right. Dexter thought about it for a second and had to admit she was right. The girl was sharp.
Caleb's call was different. He was calling in a favor, reminding her that he was the one who'd told the director to post the video in the first place. He said he'd gotten her number from the film crew.
"So," he started, his voice slick with amusement, "I pretty much saved your career last night. Don't you think that earns me a thank-you dinner?"
Avery didn't miss a beat. "Are you sure you want to be seen eating with me?" she replied coolly. "I'm game if you are. I'm just not sure how you'll explain it to the person holding your leash."