Rise of the Sourdough
comedyEveryoneNadia decided the bravest thing was to answer. She grabbed a pen, wrote "WHAT ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT?" on a sticky note, and pressed it to the jar. Then she stood back and waited, arms crossed, feeling ridiculous. A bubble rose to the top of Gerald and popped, like a tiny throat clearing.
By lunch a new note had appeared, written in flour right on the jar: 72 IS TOO COLD. I AM A LIVING THING. Nadia bumped the thermostat up two degrees. Almost instantly Gerald frothed up happily, doubling in size, practically purring. "Okay," she breathed. "Okay. We can negotiate."
What happens next?
2 ways forwardWarm and happy, Gerald grew strong enough to push a pencil around with a doughy little tendril. He wrote a list titled GERALD'S NEEDS: 1. 74 DEGREES. 2. FED ON TIME. 3. A NAME WITH RESPECT. Nadia read it twice. "You want a... contract?" The pencil tapped twice for yes.