One of the stands at the Emporium's carnival seems to be constantly swarmed by people. Taking a closer look, you see that they're selling... hot buttered rum? There seems to be a butterscotch flavoring for those not old enough to drink, as well. What could be the big deal about it? You take a break from your busy life (or shopping or whatever it is that you’re doing) and decide to give the drink a try - and find that the secret recipe has the most curious of side effects! For whatever reason, the buttered rum has brought out a childlike side of you that you haven’t seen since… well, since you were a child! For the next twenty-four hours, your mood has lightened up tremendously and you’ve suddenly got the inquisitive, playful and energetic nature of someone half (or more!) of your age. What in the heck was in that drink?

Dria was walking past the stands, when she noticed that one of them was surrounded again and again and again by people (sometimes the same people going back for more). Curious, she got in line to figure this out, only to find that they were selling hot buttered rum. Oops, wrong line. She would be 18 next month, not 21, still too young to drink. She started to get out of line, when the attendant spoke directly to her, “Miss, if you’re getting out of line, because of the alcohol – we do have a separate similar drink without it with a butterscotch flavoring, if you’re interested. Just for those too young to drink the alcoholic version.” Dria was partial to butterscotch, so she nodded and waited on.
It finally came to her turn; she paid and got an extra-large size of the butterscotch flavoring of the drink, taking a break from her small Christmas list shopping. Stepping off to the side, she took a sip and tasted the best butterscotch that she had ever had. There was a lot of butter, and some butterscotch and o my goodness, a hint of – oh was that a pigeon? There seemed to be a lot of them flocking around. Hmm, thought Dria with a mischievous look on her face. She suddenly shot into them, frightening them into flying suddenly off. “Boom Baby, YEAH!” She yelled. Other adults and teenagers were doing similar things around her so, she did not really notice anything wrong with her behavior.
When Drew and Dani found her later, she was playing capture the flag with people that were complete strangers, notably about five or six men or women who were in their fifties or sixties. A lot of the people had gray hair, but the woman showed lower necklines and rolled up their pant-legs and skirts. The men flexed their muscles, even the flabby, wrinkly ones, but no one noticed the flabby, wrinkly parts except those who had not drank the drink. However, anyone eight to twelve, played hopscotch, marbles and jump rope. Anyone younger than that simply laid on the ground and cried, laughed, watched, or slept.
Drew and Dani pulled her away from the game finally and marched her home, treating her like a child; it was the only way she would listen. She threw a tantrum when she got home, and Drew put her in timeout. Weird, putting your twin sister in timeout. Fortunately, the adults were away for a couple of days, so hopefully they would never have to know. At dinner that night, Dani, a ten-year-old was more mature and ate her vegetables – at least most of them – while Dria pitched yet another fit and had to be put in timeout yet again and went to bed without dinner, because she refused to eat anything. Whatever it was, wore off at midnight that night, leaving Dria to wonder the next, what exactly the heck was in that drink she bought and drank. Weird.

Word Count 500