The wheel that broke the silence

There was that familiar lull in the conversation, the kind where everyone starts looking at their phones. I’d seen the link for a ‘livestream wheel’ earlier, and on a whim, I just shared my screen. No big announcement, just a colorful circle with a bunch of nonsense on it.

That first spin

I think I mumbled something like, ‘Alright, let’s see what we get.’ The cursor clicked, and the wheel started whirring. It was a ridiculous sound effect, way too loud. We all just watched it spin, a little unsure.When it landed on ‘Air Guitar Solo,’ there was a beat of quiet. Then someone snorted. It wasn’t even a proper laugh at first, just a release of air. But it was enough.

When it stopped being about the game

Nobody was keeping score. The point wasn’t to win or even to do the thing well. It was just an excuse. An excuse to be silly together, to have a shared thing to react to.One spin had us all trying to name three breeds of dog in ten seconds. Another was just ‘make a weird noise.’ The challenge wasn’t the activity; it was letting yourself look a bit foolish in front of friends.And everyone did. That was the magic of it. We were all in the same slightly embarrassing boat, and that made it okay. The wheel became this neutral third party, deciding our fate for the next two minutes.

The shared relief

You could feel the tension evaporate. It wasn’t about finding the perfect topic anymore.

A rhythm of its own

The pauses between spins weren’t awkward. They were just us catching our breath from laughing.