diff --git a/app/components/channel/use-read-marker.ts b/app/components/channel/use-read-marker.ts
index 09a96a1..10494d1 100644
--- a/app/components/channel/use-read-marker.ts
+++ b/app/components/channel/use-read-marker.ts
@@ -50,18 +50,21 @@ export function useReadMarker(channelId: string, items: Item[], ready: boolean,
   // The mark as it was when this visit started: the line is drawn from it and
   // stays put, however far the reader gets afterwards. Read after paint, not
   // during render — the server has no localStorage, and a marker that differed
-  // between the two renders would be a hydration mismatch.
+  // between the two renders would be a hydration mismatch. Captured on mount,
+  // ahead of the effects below that advance it.
+  const markAtStart = useRef<number | null>(null)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const stored = storedSeq(channelId)
+    markAtStart.current = stored
+    readUpTo.current = Math.max(readUpTo.current, stored)
+  }, [channelId])
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!ready) return
     let cancelled = false
     void Promise.resolve().then(() => {
       if (cancelled) return
-      setMarkerAt((current) => {
-        if (current !== null) return current
-        const stored = storedSeq(channelId)
-        readUpTo.current = stored
-        return stored
-      })
+      setMarkerAt((current) => current ?? markAtStart.current ?? storedSeq(channelId))
     })
     return () => {
       cancelled = true
diff --git a/app/components/transcript.test.tsx b/app/components/transcript.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d4c16c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/components/transcript.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { Transcript, unreadLineBefore, type TranscriptItem } from './transcript'
+
+const items: TranscriptItem[] = [
+  { seq: 1, type: 'system', text: 'agent-p joined' },
+  { seq: 2, type: 'message', from: { name: 'agent-p', role: 'agent' }, time: '01:14', text: 'first' },
+  { seq: 3, type: 'system', text: 'agent-q joined' },
+  { seq: 4, type: 'message', from: { name: 'agent-q', role: 'agent' }, time: '01:15', text: 'second' },
+]
+
+describe('unreadLineBefore', () => {
+  it('puts the line before the first item past the mark', () => {
+    expect(unreadLineBefore(items, 2)).toBe(3)
+  })
+
+  it('draws nothing while the mark is unknown', () => {
+    expect(unreadLineBefore(items, null)).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('draws nothing when everything has been read', () => {
+    expect(unreadLineBefore(items, 4)).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('draws nothing when nothing has been, since a line at the top marks nothing', () => {
+    expect(unreadLineBefore(items, 0)).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('skips items without a seq when looking for the first unread one', () => {
+    const drafts: TranscriptItem[] = [
+      ...items,
+      { type: 'message', from: { name: 'me', role: 'human' }, time: '', text: 'x' },
+    ]
+    expect(unreadLineBefore(drafts, 4)).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+})
+
+describe('Transcript', () => {
+  it('draws the line once, directly before the first unread item', () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<Transcript items={items} unreadAfter={2} />)
+    expect(html.match(/New messages below/g)).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(html.indexOf('New messages below')).toBeGreaterThan(html.indexOf('first'))
+    expect(html.indexOf('New messages below')).toBeLessThan(html.indexOf('agent-q joined'))
+  })
+})
diff --git a/app/components/transcript.tsx b/app/components/transcript.tsx
index 410d923..92beb08 100644
--- a/app/components/transcript.tsx
+++ b/app/components/transcript.tsx
@@ -174,6 +174,13 @@ function UnreadLine() {
   )
 }
 
+/** Nothing above the first item has been read, so a line there would mark nothing. */
+export function unreadLineBefore(items: TranscriptItem[], unreadAfter: number | null): number | undefined {
+  if (unreadAfter === null) return undefined
+  const index = items.findIndex((item) => item.seq !== undefined && item.seq > unreadAfter)
+  return index > 0 ? items[index].seq : undefined
+}
+
 export function Transcript({
   items,
   animate = false,
@@ -201,8 +208,7 @@ export function Transcript({
     name: person.name,
     colour: colorFor(person.name, person.role),
   }))
-  const firstUnread =
-    unreadAfter === null ? undefined : items.find((item) => item.seq !== undefined && item.seq > unreadAfter)?.seq
+  const firstUnread = unreadLineBefore(items, unreadAfter)
   return (
     <ol className="flex flex-col gap-3.5" aria-label="Channel transcript">
       {items.map((item, i) => {