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A new candy store is giving free promotional candy to try and attract new customers. At first, it’s delicious; it’s easily one of the best candies you’ve ever had. Only, within twenty four hours of eating your first piece, you begin to have extreme tooth pain that can last for up to a whole day. It feels like a cavity, but a trip to the dentist reveals nothing strange. It just hurts. While the pain eventually fades, you’ll remember how much it hurt. Is your drive for Halloween Candy dented or are you still gearing up for more?
Izobel had seen advertisements for the new candy store in Destiny City while out shopping and decided to check the place out. It never hurt to have a stash of sweets hiding in her room when she felt the craving for it. It wasn't that she had to hide the fact that she had candy from her parents; no it was more the fact that she couldn't trust that her dad wouldn't try to sneak some of her candy out for himself if it was lying around in the open. It had only taken Izzy a short time to realize what happened to her Halloween stashes in those earlier years and now the ginger had decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.
Finding the store wasn't hard. Izobel's gaze goggled at the amount of people that were lined up to get into the store. Velvet red ropes and line standards were in place and the whole place seemed overly-glamorous. A bit extreme to Izobel's liking but it was the sign at the entrance to the waiting line that caught her attention. All candy was being given away for free. There was small print on the sign explaining the catch though. Apparently a person only had three minutes to grab what they could before having to check out with their purchase. People were expected to be civil and not run amok. Glancing at the sign and then back to the store Izzy wondered just how much candy one could possibly amass in three minutes. Shrugging her shoulders Izobel joined the queue waiting outside and tapped her foot gently against the sidewalk. Minutes passed by and the line outside dwindled in the front and grew in the back. Customers exited the store with their treasure. Finally Izobel was allowed to enter the interior. Being mindful of what she had read the girl looked left and right before grabbing a basket from a store attendant and heading down the store's right side. Into her basket went some of her usual favorite candies but also some strange new ones that she had never seen before. It was all too soon when an attendant told her that her three minutes were up. Considering he was holding a stopwatch Izobel could not argue. Taking her basket to the counter she watched as the selection was rung through and bagged up before the cashier gave her a cheery grin and wished her a pleasant evening.
Exiting the store Izzy opened her bag up and scanned the selection that she had chosen. Tucked at the bottom where at least stable favorites but it was a new candy she'd never even heard of. 'Guess it is unique to this place,' Izobel thought as she glanced behind her at the building. Opening up the new candy Izobel went for broke and took a sizeable bite out of the bar before failing to hold back a sound of pure pleasure. Glancing at the wrapper she memorized the name of the candy and swore she was going to go back for just this one specific bar. Finishing the candy in no time at all Izobel found herself waiting for her bus and continued to examine the newest pieces of candy with the same result. All the new candy was totally irresistible. The teen thought that maybe she had wasted precious time going after her usual favorite brands. It was a lesson learned that next time she went to the shop that she'd be buying all the new candy that was the store's speciality. Getting home found Izobel with only her original selection of candy left and as soon as she walked through the front door she dropped the bag out in the open. After tasting such exquisite flavors why would she want to keep regular, boring chocolate bars like Coffee Crisp and Aero bars. No, even as she trudged up the stairs to her room she was now dreaming about the next time she could sink her teeth into some really fine candy. Nothing could change her mind on going back. Nothing.
Brushing her teeth later on that night Izobel noticed a throbbing sensation in one of her back molars and groaned. Damn it. Just what she didn't need. The tooth looked fine but the pain that radiated from it suggested that she had developed a cavity. Opening her small medicine cabinet Izobel located some Advil and downed two of the pills before knowing that she'd have to make an unexpected call to the dentist's office tomorrow. Sitting on her bed the red-headed teen tried to hold back the groan of frustration that an impromptu dental visit would cause. First she would need to miss some classes at school and if the cavity was as bad as it felt than it was possible that the whole morning period would be a waste. That would mean needing a note for when she returned to class and making sure that she didn't miss any assignments. Flopping back on her bed Izobel's head hit her pillow and she knew that it was going to be a rough night. The only hope was that the Advil would tamp down on the pain she was feeling. As her eyes closed Izzy could only just remember the taste of those new candies.
Later the next morning saw Izobel patiently explaining to her family dentist what had caused the dental emergency. The teen fidgeted in the dental chair and couldn't help but wince as the pain was still very much present. She had not slept well all night and even now she was feeling rotten. As she was instructed too Izobel lay back in the chair and allowed the dentist to examine the area of concern. From her position Izobel could read the woman's puzzled expression as she continued to poke and prod. At one point Izobel's leg jerked as the pain became so intense it was unbearable, "right there, that tooth. It's that one right there!"
The dentist glanced down at Izobel and sighed. Something was fishy. Removing her mask and righting the chair to its normal position she placed her tools down on the tray and regarded the teen. "Izobel, I am not sure I understand. You say that you know you have a cavity and yet after examination I can see nothing wrong. I see no signs that you have a cavity or even the beginning signs that point to one. Are you sure you didn't just dream that you had one?"
Disbelief followed by confusion battled in Izobel's mind. Of course she was sure that she hadn't dreamed this pain. It was still present at this very moment. Her gaze narrowed at her clenched hands that were gripping the hand rests. No, she was not imagining the pain, nor was it a dream. At her dentist's insistence Izobel got out of the chair and winced. Her grimace was not missed by the dentist and in a moment of sympathy she walked the teen out to the main reception area and rummaged around in a cabinet before pulling out a tube of Sensodyne toothpaste.
"Just because I don't see anything right now, it doesn't mean that something isn't going on. Take this home with you and see if it helps with the pain," she was skeptical that anything was truly wrong but it was better to humor her patients than outright disagree. Izobel gave a begrudged thank you to her dentist and allowed her mother to pay the emergency visit fee. All the way to her school Izobel argued with her mother about telling tall tales and skipping classes. The teen sulked in the passenger seat until her mother dropped her off at school with an note explaining her absence for her teachers. All the rest of the day Izobel fought through the extreme distress she was feeling with her mother's argument being replayed in her head and the fact that even her dentist didn't even believe her claims of a possible cavity. Feeling like something was burrowing into her tooth was not something she ever wanted to experience again. Thinking back to the night before Izobel wondered if the new candy she had picked up at that new candy store. Was that what was causing her all this misery? But it just couldn't be true. The candy had been so delicious. Slipping out of her last class in which a pop quiz had probably been an epic fail on her end Izobel was feeling about as low as she could. Walking home the teen passed the new candy store that was oddly quiet and couldn't help but grimace. She was still experiencing agony but it was slowly starting to fade. Ducking her head and moving on the teen was thinking that maybe, if the bag of remaining candy was still around, that she was going to toss it out. No way was she going to risk getting another intense session of pain. Although the chocolate remaining was her normal favorites who was to say that it wouldn't affect her the same way the new candy had. Tossing the bag into the garbage Izobel sighed. At least it wasn't money she was throwing out as all the candy had been free.
