It was another typical morning in downtown Detroit; the city awoke with the rising sun, and the streets were quickly flooded with people hurrying to make their daily dollar. The quiet chirping of birds was rapidly overwhelmed by the clamor of footsteps, car engines, and chattering of city folk rushing from one place to another. They stopped for nothing, their minds focused on one thing only: cold, hard cash.
Among these money-hungry denizens were a couple of teenagers. They quickly set up their makeshift shop on the side of a walkway. “Hurry up, Charlie,” called one out to the other, “we can’t miss the morning rush!” The teen was an interesting young man, to put it lightly. Tall, charming, and handsome- at least, that’s how he would describe himself if asked to. In reality, he was only slightly above average height, with looks that left people asking themselves several questions: ‘Why is his hair highlighter colored?’ ‘Why is he wearing those purple and yellow contact lenses?’ ‘Why is he dressed like a demon, with that tail and those horns?’ ‘Why are his teeth so sharp looking?’ If asked any of these questions, however, he would quickly chalk it up to him wearing a silly costume. An acceptable answer, but the way he’d say it would always sound slightly off…
His business partner on the other hand was on the much more normal side of things, with her black hair tied into low pigtails and dark eyes to match, and a notable lack of demonic features. “It’ll be fine, Zack, we’ve still got a few hours before things die down,” Charlie spoke softly. Her voice was barely audible over the cacophony of city noises. She worked carefully but efficiently, displaying their homemade drinks along the shelves of their little stand.
Before finishing up, Charlie hesitated a moment. She shot her partner a nervous glance. “Although, are you sure this is the best time to be doing this? I think most people will be too busy heading to work to want to buy a drink.”
“Nonsense!” Zack flashed a sly grin, eager to explain his brilliant plan. “We sell energy drinks, don’t we? What better time to offer a quick boost than in the morning when everyone’s tired?!” He chuckled, clearly believing such logic couldn’t possibly have any holes. While it made sense on paper, the fact that not a single person gave them a second look despite their flashy “BUY NOW!” signs wasn’t very promising.
Charlie sighed as she finished putting the last few drinks on display. “Alright,” she said as she pushed her glasses up her face and tidied up her outfit: a lavender sweater and long tan skirt with a purple and yellow striped bowtie around her neck. Zack adjusted the tie under his slightly unzipped jacket, striped with colors matching Charlie’s bowtie. When Charlie was ready, she nodded to him. “Ready when you are.”
After returning the nod, Zack cleared his throat and turned to the crowded street. “Come one, come all! Check out our miracle-working elixir, limited time only!” His voice boomed out. “Feeling tired? Exhausted? Groggy from a poor night’s sleep? Well fear not, because one sip of our Purple Paradise Energy Drink will boost your energy levels right up! That’s right! It’s better than coffee! And check it out--” he gestured to Charlie, who quickly grabbed one of the drinks and held it up for all to see. “- it comes in three fun flavors! Grape, passion fruit, and blueberry! Don’t wait, buy now for the low price of ten dollars a can!” He moved around animatedly as he spoke, waving his arms around in an attempt to grab people’s attention. “This offer won’t last all day, folks! Buy our Purple Paradise Energy Drink now, before it’s too late-!”
He continued rambling on about the benefits of the drink and why everyone should buy it, but not a single person stopped to purchase it. Upon realizing this, he decided to shift to a more aggressive strategy. When someone would step too close to their stand, he’d begin advertising to them directly, forcing them to at least acknowledge him. This mostly led to people hurrying away without even saying a word.
Soon, the number of rejections began to get to Zack, and he slumped down on the curb with a huff. “I just don’t get it!” He said with annoyance. “I’m a great salesman! If I were a passerby, I’d buy from me. Wouldn’t you?!”
Charlie tilted her head. “Well, maybe if we lowered the price again, people would be more interested? Ten dollars is quite a bit for one drink…”
“Again?!” Zack almost sounded offended by the offer. “We already had to lower it from thirty dollars! If we lower it any more, we won’t make any profits!” He let out a heavy sigh. “Well, the morning rush is nearly over, and we’ve got nothing to show for it. If we don’t make any sales soon, we’ll be out of business!”
With a somber expression, Charlie looked at the drink in her hand. “Mind if I drink this one? I could use a boost.” When Zack gave her a halfhearted approving nod, she opened up the can and took a sip. Her face scrunched up as she resisted the urge to gag. “Eugh, did you… Change the recipe again?”
“I just added more flavoring! It’s not that bad is it?” Zack snatched the can from her and took a swig. “Oh, it’s...” He visibly shuddered from head to toe, clearly trying very hard to hide his disgust. “...Delicious…!”
With a sigh, Charlie began packing up the unsold drinks. “If only we could go back in time a few months. Business was great then! Before we got run out by those First Drink from the Future guys...”
“Yeah… If only… We could go back in time…” Zack was quiet for a moment before his eyes suddenly widened. “Charlie! Brilliant idea!” He jumped up to his feet. “Whaddaya say we do a little traveling?”
“... Zack, we don’t have the money for traveling.”
“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got it covered!” He eagerly thrust out his hand to her. “All you need to do is grab hold, got it?”
Charlie furrowed her brows in confusion. What was he going on about? He didn’t normally make sense, but this was on another level of strange. Hesitantly, she took his hand. “Where are you going with this?”
“Don’t worry about it!” A wide grin spread across Zack’s face. He firmly grasped Charlie’s hand and lifted his other with his fingers in a snapping position. “You may want to brace yourself.”
“Wha-?”
When the snap came, there was a sudden flash of colors and the odd scent of smoke. The environment shifted before Charlie’s eyes. The tall buildings of Detroit disappeared in an instant and the smoggy sky was replaced with a vibrant blue. Charlie gasped as she let go of Zack and stumbled away from him.
Charlie struggled to stay on her feet as she looked around, astounded by what she was seeing. The concrete sidewalk was taken over by what sounded to be cobblestones that clacked against her shoes as she tried to regain her bearings. Instead of skyscrapers, there were humble wooden homes, with people dressed in old-fashioned tunics and dresses wandering about. A horse-drawn carriage passed by, nearly running Charlie over as she attempted to comprehend everything around her. She tightly clutched the box of drinks in her hands, staring at Zack with bewildered eyes.
“Z-ZACK?! Wha- Where are we?! What did you-?”
“Shhhhh, it’s best if you don’t ask questions.” He gave her a not-so-comforting pat on the back. “Now c’mon, get the stand set back up, these people will be a lot easier to sell to!”
Overwhelmed with confusion, Charlie remained in place for a moment, before slowly beginning to unbox the drinks. She felt as though she were acting on autopilot mode, setting up the stand as she usually did even though she was desperate to know what had just happened. She sat on the ground with her mind racing while Zack started doing his usual speech. Was this even real? Or was this some sort of strange dream?
“Hey, hey!” Zack nudged Charlie, bringing her back to reality. “Check it out, we’re finally getting some attention!” He was right, a small crowd had begun to form around their stand, their faces filled with curiosity. “That’s right, come check out our magical elixir! It’ll cure you of any ailment! For only ten, uh… gold pieces?”
“I will purchase this elixir!” A voice called out from the crowd. An old woman came to the front, offering Zack ten shiny coins. He eagerly took the money before grabbing a can and opening it for her. She examined it for a moment, then slowly took her first sip. Immediately, her face shriveled up and she gagged and grasped her chest.
“That’s a normal reaction. Just give the flavor a moment to go away. Now, how do you feel?”
“I feel…” Suddenly, she perked up, the caffeine hitting her full force. “... ALIVE!” She began chugging the drink, then ran off into the distance. Shocked, the other townsfolk immediately crowded in closer, shouting their offers for the drink. Zack happily accepted and exchanged the drinks for their money.
Soon, the herd of people began to thin out, and Zack was left with an armful of gold and a manic smile on his face. “See!” He exclaimed with his tail wagging behind him. “I told you, this was a great idea!”
“I… I guess…” Charlie still wasn’t sure how to feel about all this. She was still processing the fact that her business partner somehow transported them to another world with the snap of his fingers. She shook her head, trying not to think about that too much. To distract herself, she glanced down at the unsold drinks. “... We still have a few cans left, should we find more people to sell to?”
“Hmm… No, no I think I have a better idea. Why keep selling to these townsfolk,” He stared at something just behind Charlie. She turned to see he was looking at a large banner that donned what appeared to be a royal symbol. “... When we could sell to someone far richer?”
Charlie looked back at Zack, her eyes wide. “You’re not suggesting…”
“Oh yeah. C’mon, how could we pass up this wonderful opportunity? Hand me a bag, let’s go check out the local castle!”
Charlie hesitated a moment before sighing, giving Zack a spare bag she had stored in the box. He loaded up all his newfound riches and secured them to his back, then hurried along the cobblestone pathway. He questioned people on the streets as to where he could find this aforementioned castle. Charlie watched him, standing in place. She almost didn’t want to follow, but she knew being alone in this place would be worse than having to bear witness to his shenanigans, so she slowly began walking behind him.
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