Who knew fruit cake could be so good? A local bakery claims to have perfected their recipe and is giving away free samples. The good news? It’s delicious. The bad news? A few hours after ingestion, something strange kicks in. Suddenly, everything seems so colorful and bright. The music sounds so much better, everything tastes so much better—and then, it stops, and everything is an awful blend of everything. Lights are too bright, smells and tastes are overwhelming, music sounds like noise. You’re sick enough to throw up everything in your stomach—which is good, because within a few hours of that you finally start to feel normal again.
Drew had been sent by his mother to the local bakery to pick up a few baked goods for Christmas dinner. He felt good about being trusted again. On the other hand, his mother had asked him to try a sample of the bakery’s new ‘perfected’ recipe fruit cake. He didn’t know how he felt about that. He took that back; he resented being treated like a guinea pig. He sighed, he’d soon be in Meadowview, a Co-Ed School for regular kids, and out of Hillworth for good. Was this how normal families acted? He was certainly taking one for his mother whom he loved dearly.
When he got to the counter, the lady behind the counter smiled at him and his intestines twisted. He didn’t know why. He calmly bought the goods, and then, tentatively asked for a sample of the ‘perfected’ fruit cake. The lady nodded and prepared a piece, grinning broadly. “I promise you, you’ll love it!” You’ll love it! Those words would haunt Drew for a long time to come. He took the sample and slowly took a bite. It was… stupendous, absolutely amazing! “W...Wwow!” Drew yelled in shock and gobbled the rest down. The lady covered her mouth as she giggled and said, “Sorry, only one per customer.” Drew realized, embarrassed that people were staring, and quickly left the building.
Drew handed the baked goods to his mother when he got home a few hours later. Christmas music was playing. Seeing her face, he answered her unspoken question with a sigh, “It was awesome...” His intestines churned again, and suddenly… everything was different. Everything was awesome! “Mom, this mu-usic is so bootiful!” And it was, but his language was not, and he did not realize it. Oh, those baked good smelled wonderful… Mmm. They tasted good too. Mom asked him something, sounding furious, but it was… unimportant. Everything was so bootiful. The Christmas tree especially.
Then his intestines churned again. Oh, his Space Cauldron. The colors rushed back and forth around his head like water. The music that had been so beautiful just a moment before, was just a horrific of noise. And now, he was so sick, sick from whatever he had eaten, that had been so good. He heard his mother ask something angrily from somewhere, something like, “Are you –--?” He started throwing up like no tomorrow. The next hour was just a mix of confusion – red flashing lights, throwing up and vertigo.
He finally woke up in the emergency room with the doctor and his family around him. “What happened?” He asked, now feeling fine. “Food poisoning. Let me guess, you had a sample of that ‘Perfect’ fruit cake, from the bakery on the corner?” Drew nodded sheepishly. “Well, that bakery put something in they shouldn’t have, and now I have an emergency room full of patients from eating one sample. Good news is you are perfectly fine now and can go home any time.” The doctor walked away, mumbling about bad bakeries.
Mom looked at Drew carefully, “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, Drew.” Drew nodded that it was alright.