diff --git a/server/routes/sessions.js b/server/routes/sessions.js
index 7d17f68d..0993c3c1 100644
--- a/server/routes/sessions.js
+++ b/server/routes/sessions.js
@@ -1235,7 +1235,8 @@ router.get("/:id/transcript", async (req, res) => {
         messages.push(message);
         // Sliding window: only keep the last `limit` messages
         if (messages.length > limit) {
-          carry?.drop(messages.shift());
+          const dropped = messages.shift();
+          carry?.drop(dropped);
         }
       }
       if (total > limit) hasMore = true;
@@ -1286,7 +1287,8 @@ router.get("/:id/transcript", async (req, res) => {
         messages.push(message);
         // Sliding window: only keep the last `limit` messages in memory
         if (messages.length > limit) {
-          carry?.drop(messages.shift());
+          const dropped = messages.shift();
+          carry?.drop(dropped);
         }
       }
       // If we shifted any messages out, there are more