chapter 1 - the smoothie

Vanessa wrinkled her nose as she turned onto the street of small family homes. It’s not that she thought she was better than it, it’s just that it wasn’t the kind of place she’d typically want to park her two year old Honda Fit. Her parents would never let her hear the end of it if she let something happen to the car they bought her.

She double checked the address as she drove by the houses that could use a new paint job and a good mow.

Once she was in front of the address that Kate had texted her, she parked the car as close to the curb as possible, then folded in the mirrors and locked it twice, just in case.

She then turned to the house. She honestly was surprised to learn Kate not only lived off campus, but far off. Most students at Icarus University lived in the dorms all 4 years, but Kate had told her she still lived with her parents and that they’d have more space to work on their Product Development project at her home rather than in a dorm.

As Kate walked up to the house, she wondered if working at her room would have been easier. It was right on campus and she didn’t have a roommate. Her parents had gifted her a single after her freshman year as a reward for good grades, and it was something she reveled in. Having so much space to herself – whether to relax, have friends visit, have boys over – made college just that much more fun.

Maybe after today she’d suggest it, she thought was she avoided the cracks in the sidewalk so her kitten heels wouldn’t slip.

She felt suddenly overdressed in her sharp business pants and button down. But it was the culture of Icarus Business School to dress professionally for class and she hadn’t felt like changing before heading to Kate’s. Perhaps she should have known to slip into jeans and a t-shirt, Kate usually dressed that way after all; She was the only one who ignored the unofficial dress code.

Kate had always been a bit of an odd one out. She was sharp and hard-working, but she didn’t seem to quite click with the other business majors. If Vanessa was being honest, she had been a bit disappointed when her professor had paired them together, wishing that she had instead gotten to be with one of her friends. But she had to admit, Kate had top grades, and Vanessa could use high marks on the final project for this class.

Vanessa knocked on the door and smiled as a rather squat woman with Kate’s same full cheeks and frizzy hair answered the door.

“Hello, Ms. Carter. I’m-”

“Vanessa, Kate’s friend. Welcome, come in,” the woman said, nodding and stepping aside. “Kate! She’s here!”

“Coming!” Vanessa heard from deep inside the house. She stood awkwardly in the doorway, waiting for Kate. She watched as the woman next to her rung her hands together and looked anywhere but at Vanessa. Lifting her arm slightly to sniff underneath it, Vanessa wondered if she had somehow offended Kate’s mother.

“You have a beautiful home,” Vanessa said. “I really like the, uh, flowers out front.”

“Those are just weeds.”

“Oh.”

Kate suddenly came hurrying in the room, panting a little with her thick cheeks red. “Sorry about that. Hi, Vanessa.”

“Hi. Thanks for having me,” Vanessa put on a pleasant grin.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Might I have done anything to make your mother not like me?”

Kate closed the door behind her as Vanessa looked around the room. It still had the light pink walls and much-loved stuffed animals that betrayed it as a childhood haunt. Vanessa smiled at the height chart that was visible on the door frame, telling her Kate had been in this room from before she was knee high.

“Uh, no. She’s just… flustered today,” Kate muttered. “How about I go get us snacks before we start? We have tons of stuff; chips, cookies, cheez-its…”

Vanessa chuckled a little. “Do you have fruit maybe? Veggies?”

“Uh, sure. Give me a moment.” Kate smiled then slipped out of the room.

Vanessa put her bag on Kate’s desk chair then drummed her fingernails on the back of it. She looked around a bit, spying some pictures of what must have been a young Kate. She smiled at a cute little chubby baby then a elementary-aged kid with cheeks so big they made her eyes squint. Then she spied a little calm-shell shaped plastic container.

The door creaked open and Vanessa turned to see Kate carrying in two large glasses with something red inside.

“Polly pockets!”

“What?”

“This plastic thing, it’s a Polly Pocket house! I had the same one!” Vanessa grinned. “Mind if I open it?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Vanessa opened it and smiled at the warn little plastic figures in their small plastic hair salon. “I loved this one. When I was younger, I wanted to be a hair stylist. I used to make all my other dolls go to her salon, even the ones that were too big. She’d just climb up on their shoulders and make them look beautiful.”

Kate smiled and placed the smoothies down. “What made you change your mind to go into business?”

Vanessa shrugged. “My parents. My dad said I’d be happier styling my own hair for a job that actually paid. Parents love making choices for you.”

“They sure do…” Kate said, suddenly seeming like she her mind was drifting elsewhere. “I made us fruit smoothies. Yours is the one with the blue straw, ok? Blue.”

“Um, got it. Blue,” Vanessa said, not able to stop her eyebrows from creasing a little in confusion.

“I just got over a cold so I wanted to be safe, wouldn’t want to pass germs,” Kate mumbled, taking her own smoothie with a pink straw.

“Oh, that’s so considerate! Thank you. I for sure can’t get sick, you would not believe the homework I have to get done these next few weeks. Well, maybe you would,” Vanessa laughed, taking a sip of her smoothie. “This tastes great, thank you!” If she was being honest, it was a little too sweet making her guess there was more than fruit inside. She would have just preferred to eat the fruit plain, but she didn’t want to be a rude guest so she happily sipped away.

Kate smiled at her as she gestured to her bed, taking out her school folders. “Ok, do you have and ideas yet for what product we should do?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Vanessa’s stomach churned uncomfortably. It felt like she hadn’t eaten for days.

She grabbed her smoothie glass and placed her perfect pink lips around the blue straw. But to her dismay, the only thing that happened when she took a sip was the hollow sound of an empty glass.

Vanessa pouted a little, and this time her stomach made a sound of protest.

“Everything alright?” Kate said, looking up from the notes she was taking.

“Yup, no troubles!” Vanessa’s stomach growled loudly. “Except… I guess I’m hungrier than I thought. How long have we been at this?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

Vanessa frowned. With how hungry she was, she would have thought it was nearly dinner time. But perhaps the salad she had for lunch simply wasn’t very filling.

“How about I go get us another snack?” Kate offered.

“Sure. I’ll take some more fruit.”

“Sorry, that was the last of it. We have to head to the store. We have chips, cookies, cheez-its, I think some ice cream.”

‘Oh geez.’ Vanessa thought. ‘No wonder Kate’s not thin.’

“I guess I’ll take the chips.”

“Sure, I’ll be right back.”

Vanessa looked over their notes, eyeing Kate’s half-drank smoothie as she did. If Kate hadn’t been sick, she might have taken a sip.

Kate walked in with a family sized back of ruffles. She opened them an placed them on the bed next to them.

Vanessa quickly reached inside and grabbed a few chips, eating them quickly to appease her suddenly ravenous stomach.

“Wow, I haven’t had these in so long. They’re amazing.”

Kate smiled. “Glad you like them. They’re a family favorite.”

“Lucky. My family favorites were celery with ranch dressing. My parents are pretty boring.” Vanessa laughed, taking another handful.

“I’m sure they aren’t,” Kate smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes as she watch Vanessa reach deep into the bag once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~


“See ya in class!” Vanessa waved as she walked out the door towards her car, the fading sun silhouetting her as she moved.

“See ya,” Kate said, clasping her hands behind her back and digging her nails into her skin nervously.

That had been easy. Too easy.

And she had an empty family bag of ruffles to prove it.

If in one day it could turn her from someone who only ate fruit and veggies into someone who downed a whole bag of chips in one setting, what more was the liquid she had put in Vanessa’s smoothie going to make her eat?

*****

Welcome to my next long project. I'm so excited to bring this story to life, I think you all will love it.

It's a mixture of both Dream Dungeon and Too Big to Handle in many ways, so if you already enjoyed my past projects, this one will have a lot for you.

After these two chapters, the rest of this story will be premium. The third chapter is dropping this Friday - Hope to see you then!

~LM