FADE IN:

MIKE'S CUBICLE - DAY

Mike sits at his desk behind four-foot-tall felt-and
particle-board walls. Papers are stacked on his desk in a
manner comprehensible to none of the office staffers who
pass by. His hands are on the keyboard. As we ZOOM IN on
the screen, we see that the letter K has been typed for
six solid lines.

Mike is asleep.

JUST OUTSIDE MIKE'S CUBICLE - CONTINUOUS

We see Mike just out of sight of his file cabinet.
Coworker #1 walks by, pauses briefly, shakes head, moves
on.

Time passes. The camera remains fixed.

Coworker #2 walks by, pauses briefly, shakes head, moves
on.

Coworker #3 walks by, pauses briefly, shakes head, then
strides into the cubicle. This is ELIZABETH, MIKE's wife.

ELIZABETH:
Wake up, oh husband of mine.

MIKE:
Mmmmffph.

ELIZABETH grabs a sheaf of papers from the desk and
whacks it across his head.

ELIZABETH:
It's clear you need some herbal tea with
gingko biloba. It will make you more
alert.

MIKE:
Okay.

Mike's head falls on his keyboard.

That story is true, more or less. Every day at work, now, my spouse brings me a heaping Starbucks promotional cup full of herbal lemon ginger tea. I drink it dutifully, and it isn't bad tasting. I may actually be receiving benefits from it.

But imagine, if you will, the dutiful spouse who starts feeding a new substance to her husband. Is it really lemon ginger tea... or is it something more sinister?

Yes.

Perhaps... Mountain Dew?

Anything but that!