Marla stared at her phone, fingers trembling. The Renegade dance challenge had gone global, but her 12 followers couldn’t tell a grapevine from a grasshopper. ‘I need virality,’ she whispered, eyeing her cat, Mr. Whiskers. ‘You’re my last chance.’
She tied a neon fanny pack around Mr. Whiskers’ waist, duct-taped a banana to his head, and queued up the song. The camera rolled. Marla mouthed the lyrics, sweat dripping into her eye, while Mr. Whiskers swatted at the banana like it owed him money.
The video blew up. Not because of the dance—because of the banana. Comment sections exploded. ‘IS THAT A BANANA OR A BURRITO?’ one person asked. ‘WHO IS THIS CAT?’ another screamed. Marla’s inbox flooded. A TikTok exec offered her a deal: ‘We’ll make you a star… if you let us turn Mr. Whiskers into a brand.’
She said yes. Then she fed him a vegan kale smoothie and watched him stare at her like she’d committed treason. The next morning, Mr. Whiskers vanished. All that remained was a trail of kibble leading to the neighbor’s house, where a man in a banana costume was doing the Renegade.
