Day seventeen. Bernie, the gum-chewing web developer, is still at it. But today, there’s a shift in his demeanor. He’s chewing slower, his eyes darting around like a man with a guilty conscience. The gum—the same piece he’s been working on for over two weeks—is showing signs of collapse. The texture is failing. The elasticity is questionable. He’s beginning to wonder… what if he just added a new piece? Just a little reinforcement. No one would have to know. Why upset all his fans?
As Bernie contemplates this moral dilemma, suddenly, the ship’s loudspeaker crackles to life.
“Everyone stay calm, there is a minor problem with the ship. Please stand by.”
Silence falls over the coffee shop. Lauren, clutching her Liquid Death, whispers, “Oh my godduh.” Rosie’s ears perk up. Susan immediately shifts into crisis mode, while Leslie and Aly exchange the kind of look that makes everyone even more suspicious. Was this part of their plan? Was the gum sabotage escalating to ship wide chaos?
Bernie, distracted from his gum crisis, looks around. “Did… did the ship just lurch?”
Lauren takes a dramatic sip of her drink. “If I die here, just know that I always suspected Aly.”
What exactly is going on with the ship? Is this an actual emergency, or is this part of a sinister plot to finally take Bernie’s gum down for good? And more importantly—will Bernie cheat, or will he stay true to his chewy commitment?
Stay tuned. Things are getting sticky in more ways than one.
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