Jake stared at his phone, fingers trembling. The TikTok dance challenge was clear: mimic the robot, add a ‘mysterious twist,’ and hashtag #DanceOrDie. His 12 followers depended on him. He squared his shoulders, popped his collar, and began.
The first move was easy—arms jerking like a malfunctioning toaster. Then came the ‘twist.’ Jake had no idea what that meant, but he remembered Lena’s advice: ‘Do something so weird, it becomes cool.’ He spun 360 degrees, tripped over his own feet, and face-planted into a puddle of nacho cheese.
The video went viral. Not for the dance, but for the cheese. Commenters screamed, ‘IS THAT A CHEESE FIRE?!!’ and ‘WHO IS THIS MAN? HE IS A GOD.’ Jake’s phone exploded with notifications. His mom texted, ‘YOUR DAD SAID YOU’RE A GENIUS.’
By morning, #DanceOrDie had 10 million views. Brands sent him free sneakers. Lena, now his manager, whispered, ‘We’re gonna need a bigger puddle.’ Jake grinned, licking cheese off his elbow. ‘Let’s dance again,’ he said. ‘But maybe… no cheese this time.’
The next video? A strict robot routine. It got 200 likes. Jake sighed. Some trends, he learned, were best left buried.
