diff --git a/public/client.js b/public/client.js
index a12fa26..86b9f58 100644
--- a/public/client.js
+++ b/public/client.js
@@ -289,14 +289,18 @@
 			.off('show.bs.dropdown.westgateUnread')
 			.on('show.bs.dropdown.westgateUnread', '.wg-topbar [component="unread"]', function () {
 				const menuEl = this.querySelector('[data-wg-unread-menu]');
-				require(['api'], function (api) {
-					api.get('/unread', {}, function (err, data) {
-						if (err) {
-							renderUnreadMenu(menuEl, []);
-							return;
-						}
-						renderUnreadMenu(menuEl, data && data.topics);
-					});
+				const relativePath = (window.config && window.config.relative_path) || '';
+				fetch(relativePath + '/api/unread', {
+					headers: { accept: 'application/json' },
+				}).then(function (res) {
+					if (!res.ok) {
+						throw new Error('unread fetch failed: ' + res.status);
+					}
+					return res.json();
+				}).then(function (data) {
+					renderUnreadMenu(menuEl, data && data.topics);
+				}).catch(function () {
+					renderUnreadMenu(menuEl, []);
 				});
 			});
 	}
diff --git a/tests/unread-drawer-client.test.js b/tests/unread-drawer-client.test.js
index 8e82d62..04aad59 100644
--- a/tests/unread-drawer-client.test.js
+++ b/tests/unread-drawer-client.test.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ assert(
 	'client.js should fetch unread topics when the unread dropdown opens'
 );
 assert(
-	client.includes("api.get('/unread'"),
+	client.includes("'/api/unread'"),
 	'client.js should load the unread list from the /unread API'
 );
 assert(