 In my first year of college, my former roommate Carlos, who is now in jail, gave me a pirated episode of SpongeBob as a gift for my birthday. I had told him it was a childhood favorite of mine. Of course, I didn't know it was pirated, until I watched it since the DVD was designed to look genuine. He didn't get away with it, he got caught and arrested for it. While I somewhat miss him, he wasn't a very good person. He was kind of shady, and a bit of a creep. He would watch true crime shows and documentaries all the time, before work, after work, all night, etc. with a huge smile on his face and always seemed to be up to no good. That night, since Carlos was on a date with his girlfriend, I had the night to myself and I decided to watch the DVD. I put the DVD in, turned the TV and DVD player on, got comfortable in my bed and began to watch the DVD. When the episode selection screen came up, I just get play all. The first episode was, Gary takes a bath. The episode was normal, until it got to the scene, where SpongeBob tried to throw Barry in the bath. On the DVD, he successfully threw Barry in the bath leading Gary to let out a loud meow and then fell silent. SpongeBob then started frantically fishing through the bathtub, yelling out nothing but an incoherent rabble. SpongeBob, freaking out, panics and calls the ambulance. When they arrived, one of the paramedics were let into the house, and they go to the bathtub to try and find Gary. I found him. Pollard the paramedic. He then shows SpongeBob a replica of Gary Jerry rigged out of soap scum, algae, and mold. Let's not Gary! SpongeBob shouted. The screen then cuts to a timecard that would normally be seen throughout the show with the text saying, Piracy Detective. The narrator read the text in a very loud and alerting voice. The screen then cuts back to SpongeBob in the bathroom with the paramedic. SpongeBob is on the floor wailing, while cradling the Barry-shaped pile of gunk in his arms. Questions were racing around in my head. This DVD is pirated. How did Carlos get this? Did he know? What's going on? What happened to Barry? The paramedic then looked at me and said, Piracy is a serious crime, and we know what you did. Turn the DVD player off and report the stolen property. This way maybe the court will go easy on you. Then SpongeBob cried out. Gary! Before the screen went black. It then cut to a screen with SpongeBob, alone in the bathroom. It was dark, and he was still wailing on the floor holding the pile of gunk. The text above him read, Nickelodeon does not entertain criminals. This DVD contains pirated episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants. Piracy is against the law. Turn off the DVD player and report the stolen property right now. I turned off the DVD player, took out the DVD, and took a good look at it. I could not find anything wrong with it. It looked like a genuine copy of SpongeBob. I waited until Carlos got home and then I asked him about it. Pirated? He asked. What makes you think it's pirated? I showed him the DVD's contents and he looked pretty frightened. He took the DVD out of my hand and said, Okay, I'm sorry you out that. I'll take care of it tomorrow. He looked pretty nervous. That night, I overheard him on the phone with someone who has a rather raspy voice. But she knows the DVD's pirated. Did you not check the contents of the DVD? The person on the other side of the phone replied in a pretty angry tone, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. At this point I almost knew Carlos had intentionally got me a pirated copy of SpongeBob. I was contemplating whether or not I should call Carlos out, but it was 4.30 in the morning and I was so tired that I fell asleep before I made up my mind. The next day, Carlos told me he was going to go out and that he would fix the problem with the DVD. I had then remembered the phone conversation from last night, so I asked him. I overheard your conversation on the phone last night. Did you intentionally get me a pirated DVD? Carlos then stuttered and looked around for a minute. Uh... No. I didn't know it was pirated. He then asked me if he could borrow some money before I could say anything else, to which I declined. He then left, again, before I was able to say anything. I went on a walk after Carlos left. When I came back, I just hung out around the dorm, chilled out, and waited for Carlos to come back. I then checked the clock, it was 10 p.m. Carlos still hadn't come home. I got a knock on my door, and it was bail. The girl who stayed in the dorm not too far from mine and Carlos's. Reggie, I hate to tell you this, but Carlos recently got arrested and sent to jail. I gasped at what I was told. Arrested. Then Gail responded to me with... Remember that DVD he gave you for your birthday? It was pirated. He got a pirated copy of SpongeBob from one of his friends. He got busted for it and sent to jail. I couldn't help but feel a little shook. Oh, yeah, I found out that it was pirated when I watched it. Gail then gave me a wrapped up gift. I'm sorry about what happened, I wanted to give you this. I smiled and said, oh, thanks. I unwrapped it and found a legitimate box set of SpongeBob DVDs and a black sherpa hoodie. I was always a huge fan of sherpa. Oh, Gail, you shouldn't have. Thank you. Would you like to come in? Then Gail smiled a bit. I'd love to, but I can't, my roommate and I have plans. Sorry. It's okay. I replied, have a nice night. Gail then waved goodbye and left. She was always really sweet. Since I knew Carlos wasn't coming home, I decided to watch the actual copies of SpongeBob Gail gave me and order Burger King for myself. I had a pretty relaxing night to myself, even though Carlos had gotten arrested. I thought about him from time to time, wondering if he was okay. A few weeks have passed since the incident. Carlos is going to be in jail for the next few months, and I have a new roommate now, Tyrone. He's a really good person, and we quickly became best friends over the week, since he's moved in. Needless to say, he's a much better roommate than Carlos. I'm still just a tad bit worried about Carlos, but I'm still doing a lot better. If you're reading this, just buy a DVD. Don't go through the hassle and trouble of piracy.