Lila stared at her phone, fingers twitching like she’d just been handed a live wire. The app’s algorithm had gifted her a TikTok dance challenge called #RenegadeRumble, which apparently required ‘synchronizing with a 90s rap track while pretending you’re a confused penguin.’ She’d already spent three hours practicing, but her moves looked like a toddler’s tantrum mixed with a malfunctioning robot.
‘You’re doing it wrong,’ said Marcus, her neighbor, who’d somehow become an expert in viral dances after watching a single video. He leaned against her doorframe, chewing gum like it was a sacred ritual. ‘It’s not about the penguin. It’s about the *vibe*.’
Lila froze mid-‘wobble,’ her leg bent at a 45-degree angle. ‘The vibe is a 90s rap track! I’m vibing!’
Marcus snorted. ‘You’re vibing like a deflating balloon. Watch.’ He launched into the dance, his body a series of limp-wristed jabs and hip sways so smooth, it looked like he’d been paid by the beat.
Lila’s phone beeped. A notification: ‘You’ve been tagged in a duet!’ Suddenly, her living room was a TikTok studio. Strangers in sweatpants and bathrobes began streaming in, each attempting the dance with varying levels of success—like a circus of confused clowns.
Then came the climax: a 70-year-old man in a Hawaiian shirt who did the dance so flawlessly, it felt like he’d been born in the ’90s. Lila’s face fell. ‘I’m never gonna be *that* good.’
Marcus grinned. ‘Nah, but you’re gonna be *famous*.’ He pointed at the screen. Lila’s clumsy, penguin-adjacent dance had gone viral, tagged #DancingWithDisaster. Comments flooded in: ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen,’ ‘My dog is now a TikTok star,’ and ‘Is this a new sport?’
By midnight, Lila was a minor internet sensation. Her mom texted: ‘Why is your face on a cereal box?’ Lila stared at the screen, still mid-‘wobble.’ ‘I don’t know, Mom. But I think I’m gonna keep dancing.’
