Image credit: Twitter Twemoji Image credit: Twitter Twemoji
“Welcome to Cobra’s Pit,” said the narrator, looking straight at the iPhone his sister was holding up. The narrator was wearing his dad’s tie on backwards and seemed to have a blue watch on his wrist, depicting Donald Duck.
“The rules are simple: an entrepreneur has to pitch their business to our five high-schooler Cobras. Either the entrepreneur gets the money they asked for, or they have to walk away with nothing. First in the pit today is 10 year old Oliver Stephans who plans to disrupt the local beverage industry. Will he get the juice he needs to take his company to the next level, or will he get bit in the Cobra’s Pit?”
“Do we have to explain that the Cobras aren’t actual cobras?” Asked the narrator’s sister behind the camera. “Like they’re still humans?”
The narrator shook his head wordlessly, and in that moment, realized his mom was right about him needing a haircut.
Oliver Stephans, the star of today’s show, carried a pitcher of ice and mildly yellow liquid into the living room, and placed it on the coffee table. The narrator’s sister, who was still recording, lingered on the pitcher a few seconds longer than she wanted to, then twisted her wrist to focus on Stephans' face. His freckles and red hair could make a good YouTube thumbnail, she thought. Unfortunately, his Boston Red Sox T-shirt doesn’t fit the theme.
Five teenagers with moderate to intense levels of boredom were lounging on the couches and chairs of the living room, with Oliver standing in front of the television, the narrator and his sister in two corners of the room, and the pitcher on the central coffee table.
“Hello Cobras,” said Oliver Stephans. “I’m Oliver Stephans and I’m here to present my business, Thirsty Lemon. I’m seeking 40 dollars in investment for 5 percent of the company.”
“Have you ever walked down the street and thought, ‘Hey, I’m thirsty.‘ But you left your water bottle at home and the convenience store is too far away. Well imagine this: what if there was a place right on the side of the street where you could get an ice-cold glass of lemonade? My company, Thirsty Lemon, intends to be that place.”
“A straightforward pitch from the entrepreneur,” said the narrator’s voice in the editing room. The narrator’s voice followed up by saying, “As Oliver passes around samples of his cool beverage, the Cobras start to wonder about the commercial viability of Oliver’s business plan.”
The narrator’s voice, with the hindsight of working from the editing room, said “First to question the entrepreneur is Vivian Mortimerson.”
Vivian Mortimerson peered at Oliver’s elixir through her thick-rimmed glasses. Unlike