Tales From Beyond the Brain by Jeff Szpirglas

Tales From Beyond the Brain by Jeff Szpirglas

Author:Jeff Szpirglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459820814
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2019-06-30T16:00:00+00:00


CHEWY ONES

“Do I have to?” Alain whined, like he did every Halloween.

The response was swift and firm. “Now, please.”

Alain rolled his eyes and slung the bag onto the kitchen table. A sea of colorful, cellophane-wrapped gems spilled out. Alain had filled a garbage bag with candy this year. The thing weighed a ton. He felt like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, only this bag was full of candy, and it was all his.

At least, it had been before Mom and Dad started picking through it.

His mom dumped the bag on the table, the contents tumbling out and filling every bit of free space. Every Halloween, his parents became obsessed with checking each treat to make sure the candies, chocolates, chips and whatever else he’d gathered were not poisoned, tainted or concealing bits of razor blades.

Alain was no dummy. He knew good candy from bad candy. But all he could do was stand and tap his foot impatiently as Mom and Dad sorted his loot into the Good and Bad piles.

It was like watching one of those TV documentaries about quality control in a factory, his parents stooped over the table, plucking out suspicious tidbits and eyeing them under the kitchen light above. “Nope,” Dad said, tossing a loosely wrapped chocolate into the Bad pile.

“Not this one either,” Mom echoed a second later, flinging a toffee with a slight bend in it.

“Those will stick to your molars. I bet a dentist handed it out.”

“I read a study saying this brand of potato chip causes brain damage.”

“And the preservative coating on this candy wrapper has been shown to cause disobedience in laboratory mice.”

This went on for nearly half an hour. Mom and Dad had already gone through Jacqueline’s treats. His kid sister had lost a third of her haul. All Alain could do was look on as his haul was whittled away piece by piece.

“What’s this?” Mom asked, picking out a tightly wrapped object. It was round, maybe a chocolate or a gumball. The packaging was some sort of bright foil, a mixture of every color you could think of. As Mom rolled it in her open palm, the wrapper caught the kitchen light and reflected it into Alain’s eyes. It was mesmerizing to stare at. It made the kitchen start to spin so delightfully.

Alain reached out, not to eat it, but to touch it.

Mom snatched it away. “Not this one either, I’m afraid.” She closed her palm.

Alain blinked once. Twice. His head cleared. “Why not?”

“I don’t like the look of it.”

Alain jabbed a finger at her. “You don’t like the look of anything!” he snapped. “You ruin Halloween, that’s what you do!”

“Alain,” his dad said sternly, “we’re only doing this to keep you safe. Haven’t you heard what happens if you don’t check your candy?”

“Yeah, you enjoy it!”

“That’s it. Go to your room.”

But Alain was already thumping up the stairs. He slammed the door and sat down on his bed, fuming.



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