“Dude! This stupid fridge won’t open. Come here, Tim,” Dan yelled as he struggled to keep his grip on the handle. Timothy walked over to the fridge, curious as to what Dan was talking about.

“Okay, obviously you’re not doing it right. Here, let me try,” Timothy said with arrogance. He grunted, attempting to open the stubborn fridge. “Ugh, this thing is so stupid!”  

The fridge sprouted long metal arms and grew wide-open eyes the size of two moons.

 “Hey! Don’t call me stupid! I am very intelligent, thank you very much!” the fridge spoke out, pointing at them. Dan and Timothy sprang back, frightened.

Four hours earlier…

“Hey, Dan!” Timothy yelled as he grabbed his keys. “I’m getting ready to head to the store. Do you want anything?” 

The bedroom door swung open, and Dan poked his head out. “Dr. Pepper, and chocolate ice cream, please!” Dan yelled. “Oh! Also Jell-O. Thank you!”  Dan went back into his room, and Timothy headed to the store. 

“Dang, this stuff is really making me look fat. Well, I’ll go on a diet next year,” he said, tossing the ice cream into the cart like a basketball. After checking out, Timothy headed out to his car, sweating while trying to carry everything. “Phew! That was a workout if I ever did one!” Timothy said, wiping his forehead. He turned up the AC to full blast and sat there cooling off. About 20 minutes later, Timothy walked into his house, his hands overflowing with groceries. “Hey, Dan! Help me put these up, please!” Dan came walking out of his room, excited for all of his food. 

Back in the present…

 “Hey! Don’t call me stupid! I am very intelligent, thank you very much,” the fridge said, pointing at them. Dan and Timothy sprang back, frightened. 

“AAAGHHH!” the guys both screamed. “WHAT THE HECK?!” Dan added as he clutched onto Timothy.

“W–w–what are you? And h–h–how did you even–”  Timothy frantically waved his arms at the fridge.

“It’s okay, I understand this is crazy. But I have come alive for one reason, and one reason only. You are both very fat. Like 500 pounds fat, and I’m sick of it,” the fridge said, moving its ginormous eyes up and down. “You guys continue to put filth in me, and I will not have it! So I am going on a diet, and so will you guys.” The fridge crossed its metal arms and sighed. Dan and Timothy, still shocked from what had happened, contemplated a response. 

Then Dan, thinking he was clever, said, “I am not going on a diet, and you’re, like, 500 pounds, so what does it matter if we are?” 

“I am made of metal, you idiot! And you’re made of blubber and Oreo crumbs. So if you wouldn’t interrupt me again, that would be great, thanks. As I was saying–” 

“Dang, someone has an attitude,” Timothy said as he looked at Dan.

“Shut up!” the fridge yelled. “Let me talk or you won’t see the inside of me for the rest of your lives. Last time I checked, you wouldn’t be able to afford another one, because you eat all of your money, so listen up! I will make a deal with you. One that will be difficult for both of you, but it will pay off.” The fridge paused for them to speak.

“Okay, okay, we won’t keep interrupting you, but you can’t expect us to listen to you. I mean, look at you, you’re a fridge,” Timothy said, looking the fridge up and down.

“Yeah, and I need my Dr. Pepper, so tough luck, fridge,” Dan said as he began to walk away.

“Okay, then all of your food can rot. Goodbye!” The fridge began to curl its arms back.

“No! Don’t! Just let us hear your deal, please,” Timothy said with a desperate voice.

“Ahhh, wise decision. Okay, here it is: As I said before, I am going on a diet, and because of that, so will you guys. Now, before you ask, the reason I am going on a diet is that I don’t want to look like you. And yes, I am a fridge, but fridges can get fat as well. Because I am going on a diet, I will only let you guys put healthy, nutritious food in me. That means no Dr. Pepper! Or any ice cream of any sort!” the fridge said, darting his eyes at Dan. 

“Wait, no Jell-O?” Timothy said as the pitch in his voice rose.

‘No Jell-O, got it?” The fridge demanded they clean out all of the food within it, and so that’s what they did. They emptied out the entire fridge, except for the one piece of rotted lettuce.

“Hey, look! We are healthy after all,” Dan said, dangling the lettuce in the air. 

“Okay, you guys need to go shopping and get real food. I’ll give you a list, and get only what’s on it and nothing else. Okay?” the fridge said as he grabbed a pen and paper. He handed them the list with only five things on it. Eggs, spinach, sweet potatoes, bananas, and broccoli. 

“Dude, what even is this trash?” Dan said as he scrunched his eyebrows at the new ingredients.

“It’s not even close to trash. If you look at your diet, Dan, then you’ll see real trash. Now get skidaddling,” the fridge said, shooing Tim and Dan away. After going to the store, the boys were exhausted from their trip, so they laid on the couch. The fridge, pleased with what was inside of him, rewarded them with the rest of the night to themselves. But that would soon change.

Two months later…

Tim stepped on the scale, weighing himself for the third time that day. The fridge had stayed consistent with the rules, forcing them to stay healthy. He would threaten death if they didn’t go to the gym and work their butts off. He woke them up at 5:00 AM every morning for their run. Now, Tim and Dan struggled a lot. They also cheated here and there. But eventually, they got the hang of it. Instead of a fridge full of greasy pizza boxes, it was filled with delicious fruit and vegetables. They looked better, moved better, and, most of all, felt better. And since they weren’t spending all of their money on food, they technically did have enough to buy another fridge. But instead, they decided not to mention it. They felt the change was good in a way; they did lose 200 pounds, after all. 

“Hey, guys?” the fridge yelled from the kitchen. “Will you come here? I have something for you.” Timothy and Dan walked into the kitchen expecting a whole list of workouts and healthy foods, but instead they were met with something else.

“I feel that our time has come to an end. You worked hard, and it paid off. I’m proud of y’all. Goodbye.”

 The fridge’s eyes closed, and its arms curled up. Then the fridge door opened slowly, revealing a plate with a cold red slice of Jell-O.