06/11/2022 - Sugar
Reading time: 3 min
Photo by Fredrik Ivansson on Unsplash
“What would they do with it, rub it on their gums?”
Jerry scoffed at Mr Malloy, who looked frustrated, but also used to this frustration.
“You’re a long way from home, Mr Smith,” Malloy said in a heavily accented voice. “Feel free to tell your jokes, but I’ve been here for twenty-five years. Trust me when I say your assumptions need re-evaluating.”
“I thought this was an Earth colony,” Jerry said, and waited for a reply that never arrived. “Built for humans,” he added after a pause.
“Don’t they seem human to you?”
Malloy gestured towards the kids, fifteen in total, playing with a couple of giant hens, a bizarre variety of chicken which grew as big as men on TRAPPIST-1f. They looked like Earth kids playing in an Earth courtyard—if it weren’t for the chicken.
“Exactly my point. Human kids should follow a human diet. I won’t let you give those poor children diabetes.”
“They are not Earthlings, Mr Smith. They are second-generation Trappists. The radiation here changes the metabolism of living beings. Can you get that size of a chicken on your home planet? Can you get that colour of a plant?”
“Details,” Jerry said. “I know for a fact that sugar is bad.”
“I am consuming two pounds of sugar a day myself, and I was born on Earth. Those kids need it. You should abandon your convictions and follow my lead.”
“How dare you,” Jerry spat. “You, living like a savage in your hatch, raising children like animals only because the Far-Right Fathers and Mothers Association is in another solar system. I won’t let you.”
“Mr Smith, please.”
“Enough,” Jerry said. “I’ll go and make myself a Long Island Iced Tea, and when I’m back, I want you to show me the dietary plan for these children so that I can rectify it. Did I make myself clear?”
Malloy pressed his lips together, then twitched, as if trying to conceal a smile. “Sure,” he finally said.
Jerry burst into the supply room and found everything he needed. Vodka, Gin, Syrup, Tequila, Rum, cola—God knows what they were doing with all that alcohol. Only lemon juice was missing.
“Where’s the lemon juice?” he shouted. “I need lemons!”
A woman hurried in with a big fruit, purple and heavier than a helmet, but when she saw what he was preparing she stepped away.
“Sir,” she said. “You shouldn’t.”
“I had a long trip followed by a horrible landing, I’ll have my drink.”
“No, sir. I mean, you can’t put lemon in there.”
“Let him,” Malloy said from the courtyard. “He’s from the Association.”
The woman eyed Malloy flatly, then nodded, letting go of the strange lemon and running away.
Jerry mumbled something offensive, these savages getting onto his nerves, found a knife, cut the weird lemon in half and squeezed it into the glass.
The cocktail turned purple itself, and thickened, to the point of becoming jelly. He widened his eyes, watching closely, but before he could ask for an explanation, the cocktail exploded.
He came out of the supply room crawling; blood dripping from one ear, a tooth missing, and purple slime all over his body. Malloy helped him to his feet.
“Did you enjoy your cocktail in our chemically-altered atmosphere?”
Jerry seemed to wake up after a long sleep.
“How much sugar do these kids need?”
“Five pounds, Mr Smith. Five pounds per child, per day.”
About this story
Prompt:
ELEMENT ONE: With A Twist
Your opening sentence must be the last sentence from a flash fiction story written by someone else this month. Just make sure to give credit where credit is due.
ELEMENT TWO: On The Rocks
Include at least one dynamic character within your story. In other words a character who undergoes an important inner change within the narrative, such a change in personality or attitude. The change can be for the better, or worse, can take place during one impactful event, or span a number of years. Due to the limited word-count this one might prove trickier than it initially appears. But whatever final form the change takes, it should be both clear, and significant.
ELEMENT THREE: Shaken, Not Stirred.
In addition you must incorporate no less than 10 x cocktail names from this list into your story somehow (but no more than one per sentence). Have them appear in their original liquid form, be the name of some seedy establishment, or integrate them into the text somehow as part of a sentence. Whatever works best!
ELEMENT FOUR: A Double
Your story must also prominently feature no less than TWO things that do not ordinarily go together. Whether it's fire and ice, opposing personality types, or something entirely more outlandish. What the things are is entirely up to you so don't stress the details too much, but it should be an integral part of the story (and preferably not food based, because you're better than that).
First sentence borrowed from this story.
From the official page of FFM 2018.
Notes on the challenge
Each and every story published here has been written, reviewed, polished and published in less than 90 minutes. Which means you’re going to find spelling mistakes, ugly sentences and weird structures. I still hope you’ll enjoy them!
