Leo
“Hurry!” Bellows my boss. “We need to get this batch of mixture out as soon as we can!”
Rolling my eyes, I get back to work, taking my time. If I accidentally combined our signature bubble mix with something else, the results could, and most likely would, be disastrous. I’m the calm, relaxed person in this workplace. I’m the tether, holding everyone else back from stressing out. I’m the -
“Hey! What are you doing?” An intern, caught in the act, was just tipping a jug of something unknown, and unlabeled, into our bulky batch of special concoction, heading right for the shops…
Jessie
“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How long until we get there?”
The repetitive cries of my annoying step-sister echo around inside my head. If only she’d shut up! It’s for her 7th birthday party that we’re driving halfway across town, all to get supplies, for her. 7 is not that big a deal.
“Sweetheart, only 5 more minutes. When we make it to the shops, I’ll buy you an ice-cream!”
Dad, sucking up to her. How come he never buys me ice-cream? I’m his actual daughter. I try to hide behind a curtain of my wavy, blonde hair, but I’m not quite swift enough. Seeing my face, Dad blushes a vivid red.
“You can have one too, Jessie.”
Susie
Grasping our ice-creams we amble into the supermarket. Rushing straight to the ‘party’ section, I gaze in awe.
“Alright, Susie.” Mum starts dragging things off the shelf.
“Honey, that’s not fair. She ought to have a say. This is all for her party.”
Smiling, I reply. “Thank-you Dave” Maybe Mum married the right man after all.
Thrusting things back on the shelf, Mum turns to Jessie, my 13 year-old step-sister. “Jessie darling, could you please take Susie to the confectionery section?”
Jessie
Heading back to Dad and Jenny, arms full of lollies, Susie spies a jumbo pack of ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’ Oh, no. Not this again.
“Please! Pleeeease! PleasePleasePlease!”
“Susie, really?’
“Please?”
Giving in, I grab a container and continue the job of trying to find Dad and Jenny.
Jessie
If you have never heard a group of 17 hyperactive screaming girls, I strongly advise against it; it damages your hearing and your sanity. Lollies cover the tables strewn along the deck, bubbles float around the back lawn. Cloud and Storm, our two cats, chase the glistening spheres, eager to pop them, but they’re not sure about the noise. Buffy, our lovable Golden Retriever, joins them after a while. He’s sure living up to his namesake, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s really slaying those bubbles! They're frisking around, popping bubbles, it makes me love them even more. After Cloud eats one, Storm and Buffy follow, swallowing down a few shining globules. Blinking in surprise, they look so comical that I have to laugh. Accidentally, I then consume one of the glittering droplets. I peer down at my beloved pets. “I see why you look so astonished!” I remark. Storm gazes at me.
“It was actually to my liking”
Susie
“Time for food, now! Go wash your hands first though.”
Everyone but me instantly rushed towards the bathroom. However, I wanted to talk to Jessie. I'd seen her talking to Storm, Cloud and Buffy. At first, she just stared, a bewildered look on her face. Only mumbling at first, soon spreading to delighted babbling. She was there now, smiling, laughing and chattering. Not your average activity to do with your cats and dog.
“Jessie!”
Blushing, she swirled around, trying to hide the fact that she had been conversing with animals!
“Hi, Susie.”
“What are you doing?” I inquire, hoping to sound innocent.
“Oh, nothing. Hey, you should try a bubble!”
“What, like, eat it?” She can't be serious!
“Yeah. Exactly”
I might as well, I’ve got nothing to lose. Taking a deep breath, I stretch up and swallow a bobbing bubble. The effect was instantaneous, spreading through me like wildfire.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
“Wait, Buffy?” This is impossible. Buffy cannot be speaking to me, yet who else could it be?.
“Cool, isn’t it” Jessie seems anxious, maybe over what I might say.
“Yeah, it is” I reply truthfully.
Jessie
“It has to be in the bubbles! I mean, how else could we talk to and with animals as soon as we have consumed them? They ate them too, right?”
She continues babbling on, questions echoing around me before drifting off. Susie has got to stop asking questions about this! I mean, it’s not like I know any more than she does!
“Susie! The effect has worn off, right?”
“Yeah… So what?”
“So… how do we know that eating a bubble causes you to be able to speak with animals?”
“Animals that have also eaten the bubbles” Susie corrects with a smirk.
“Whatever” I’m getting tired of that girl and her corrections. “Well, we don’t. Maybe we just fantasized it all. We won’t know for sure unless we get another bottle of mixture and eat the bubbles from it.”
Susie’s nodding with me now. “We also need Cloud, Storm or Buffy to eat them too.” I think she’s warming up to this idea. It’s a long shot, but I crave knowing the answer.
Leo
Great. I’m fired, and just because of that stupid intern! At least my last task on the job wasn’t that bad - pulling back the majority of the mixture from reaching the shops. Only 15 jumbo packs made it to the shelves. Those are sold now, I hope that nothing extreme happened to the consumers. We’ve put out new packs, and fired that troublesome intern. Unfortunately, that means I’m leaving too.
Susie
“Mum!”
“What is it Susie?”
Our plan is working so far. Jessie and I have been working sooo hard around the house, earning cash. Our aim is simple - buy another pack of the ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’ and test it out with Buffy.
“I want to get more of that bubble mix, the stuff that we got for my birthday.”
Mum’s face falls. “Sweetie, we spent so much money on your birthday, we just can’t afford it!”
“It’s okay Mum, I have my own money.” That was part of the plan all along. Get our own money so Mum can’t deny us!
“Sure thing. Dave! Come down here please!” Mum twists her neck towards the stairs and screeches. Looking back she informs me, “If he can, Dave will drive you down. He has to get some things, anyway.”
Dave appears. “Yeah?” He looks flustered, anxious.
“Can you drive the girls to the shops? They would appreciate getting some more bubble mix.”
“Sure thing, I guess.”
Jessie and I share a look, a look of anticipation and excitement.
Jessie
Driving to and from the mall in town, Susie and I cannot wait, hoping the shops are stacked with bubble mix! Reaching the correct aisle, we find there’s one bottle left! Stifling a scream, we grab it. Riding home, we can’t wait! Dad told us that we couldn’t open it in the car, so we have to sit in suspense. We struggle to convince Buffy to eat one, though. Maybe this won’t be as easy as we thought…
Susie
At last! We finally get Buffy to eat a bubble! He didn’t want to, but Jessie coaxed him to open his mouth and I blew a bubble straight down his gob! Following that, we take a deep breath in, and each gulp down a shining globule.
“Buffy?”
Nothing. The silence is deafening.
Jessie has a go. “Buffy? Do you like the bubbles?”
Nope, nothing still! This is beginning to get rather exasperating.
“May-maybe it only worked from the one bottle?” Jessie suggests.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
10 years later
Jessie
“So, Sabrina? How was school today?” My 14 year-old daughter just shrugs and returns to her cellphone. After persuading me to get her a smartphone for her 13th birthday, she’s only ever on that device! Texting, playing games, I really don’t know what she does.
“Mummy!” My youngest, Amethyst, comes capering in. “For my 9th birthday, can we please get a bubble machine?” smile as memories come flooding back, memories of Susie’s exceptional 7th birthday bubbles.
“Sure you can. In fact, let's go shopping now!” I was planning to go get some groceries anyway, but Amethyst doesn't need to know that. Used to being the youngest, she enjoys feeling special.
“I want to stay home.” Sabrina informs me, her eyes never leaving the screen.
“No, you’re coming too.”
“But-”
“No buts, just get in the car.” Wondering if I’m being too harsh, my eyes soften and I say, “You can, however, bring your phone.”
"She mumbles something incomprehensible, but still obediently follows Amethyst out to our charcoal-gray Mitsubishi Outlander. Sabrina settles in the front, Amethyst plonks down in the back.
“Ready to go?”
"Ready!”
The second we walk through the doors of the convenience store, Amethyst and Sabrina zoom off, leaving me to grab the bubble mixture. “Oh. gosh!” Perched in front of me was none other than a big, jumbo pack of ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’! This year is the company’s 25th anniversary, so for this month only, the jumbo packs are created using 1 special ingredient. Of course I can’t resist, and I thrust the bottle into my basket.
Lolling back on the recliner on the deck, I watch Amethyst and her friends caper wildly around the lawn. Even Sabrina joined in, teaching the girls ‘party’ truth and dare. Snippets of the game float back to me, accompanied with bursts of laughter. Glancing over, I watch as both Sabrina and Amethyst are dared to eat some bubbles. Bringing back more memories for me, of course! A movement catches my eye, it’s Misty, our Mini Lop Rabbit, poking her nose through her hutch at some bubbles. She swallows some or them down. My first thought is if she’s okay, but then curiosity takes over me, so I stretch up and gulp down a bubble also.
"Oh! Good bubbles!” I can’t tell where it comes from, but then I turn around and stare at Misty.
“Misty?”
“Are you talking to me?”
Sabrina and Amethyst seem to have heard something, they both come racing over.
“Girls? Please don’t give me lettuce anymore. It gives me digestion problems.”
They stare in awe at Misty, then at me.
I sigh. Here we go again...
“Hurry!” Bellows my boss. “We need to get this batch of mixture out as soon as we can!”
Rolling my eyes, I get back to work, taking my time. If I accidentally combined our signature bubble mix with something else, the results could, and most likely would, be disastrous. I’m the calm, relaxed person in this workplace. I’m the tether, holding everyone else back from stressing out. I’m the -
“Hey! What are you doing?” An intern, caught in the act, was just tipping a jug of something unknown, and unlabeled, into our bulky batch of special concoction, heading right for the shops…
Jessie
“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How long until we get there?”
The repetitive cries of my annoying step-sister echo around inside my head. If only she’d shut up! It’s for her 7th birthday party that we’re driving halfway across town, all to get supplies, for her. 7 is not that big a deal.
“Sweetheart, only 5 more minutes. When we make it to the shops, I’ll buy you an ice-cream!”
Dad, sucking up to her. How come he never buys me ice-cream? I’m his actual daughter. I try to hide behind a curtain of my wavy, blonde hair, but I’m not quite swift enough. Seeing my face, Dad blushes a vivid red.
“You can have one too, Jessie.”
Susie
Grasping our ice-creams we amble into the supermarket. Rushing straight to the ‘party’ section, I gaze in awe.
“Alright, Susie.” Mum starts dragging things off the shelf.
“Honey, that’s not fair. She ought to have a say. This is all for her party.”
Smiling, I reply. “Thank-you Dave” Maybe Mum married the right man after all.
Thrusting things back on the shelf, Mum turns to Jessie, my 13 year-old step-sister. “Jessie darling, could you please take Susie to the confectionery section?”
Jessie
Heading back to Dad and Jenny, arms full of lollies, Susie spies a jumbo pack of ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’ Oh, no. Not this again.
“Please! Pleeeease! PleasePleasePlease!”
“Susie, really?’
“Please?”
Giving in, I grab a container and continue the job of trying to find Dad and Jenny.
Jessie
If you have never heard a group of 17 hyperactive screaming girls, I strongly advise against it; it damages your hearing and your sanity. Lollies cover the tables strewn along the deck, bubbles float around the back lawn. Cloud and Storm, our two cats, chase the glistening spheres, eager to pop them, but they’re not sure about the noise. Buffy, our lovable Golden Retriever, joins them after a while. He’s sure living up to his namesake, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s really slaying those bubbles! They're frisking around, popping bubbles, it makes me love them even more. After Cloud eats one, Storm and Buffy follow, swallowing down a few shining globules. Blinking in surprise, they look so comical that I have to laugh. Accidentally, I then consume one of the glittering droplets. I peer down at my beloved pets. “I see why you look so astonished!” I remark. Storm gazes at me.
“It was actually to my liking”
Susie
“Time for food, now! Go wash your hands first though.”
Everyone but me instantly rushed towards the bathroom. However, I wanted to talk to Jessie. I'd seen her talking to Storm, Cloud and Buffy. At first, she just stared, a bewildered look on her face. Only mumbling at first, soon spreading to delighted babbling. She was there now, smiling, laughing and chattering. Not your average activity to do with your cats and dog.
“Jessie!”
Blushing, she swirled around, trying to hide the fact that she had been conversing with animals!
“Hi, Susie.”
“What are you doing?” I inquire, hoping to sound innocent.
“Oh, nothing. Hey, you should try a bubble!”
“What, like, eat it?” She can't be serious!
“Yeah. Exactly”
I might as well, I’ve got nothing to lose. Taking a deep breath, I stretch up and swallow a bobbing bubble. The effect was instantaneous, spreading through me like wildfire.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
“Wait, Buffy?” This is impossible. Buffy cannot be speaking to me, yet who else could it be?.
“Cool, isn’t it” Jessie seems anxious, maybe over what I might say.
“Yeah, it is” I reply truthfully.
Jessie
“It has to be in the bubbles! I mean, how else could we talk to and with animals as soon as we have consumed them? They ate them too, right?”
She continues babbling on, questions echoing around me before drifting off. Susie has got to stop asking questions about this! I mean, it’s not like I know any more than she does!
“Susie! The effect has worn off, right?”
“Yeah… So what?”
“So… how do we know that eating a bubble causes you to be able to speak with animals?”
“Animals that have also eaten the bubbles” Susie corrects with a smirk.
“Whatever” I’m getting tired of that girl and her corrections. “Well, we don’t. Maybe we just fantasized it all. We won’t know for sure unless we get another bottle of mixture and eat the bubbles from it.”
Susie’s nodding with me now. “We also need Cloud, Storm or Buffy to eat them too.” I think she’s warming up to this idea. It’s a long shot, but I crave knowing the answer.
Leo
Great. I’m fired, and just because of that stupid intern! At least my last task on the job wasn’t that bad - pulling back the majority of the mixture from reaching the shops. Only 15 jumbo packs made it to the shelves. Those are sold now, I hope that nothing extreme happened to the consumers. We’ve put out new packs, and fired that troublesome intern. Unfortunately, that means I’m leaving too.
Susie
“Mum!”
“What is it Susie?”
Our plan is working so far. Jessie and I have been working sooo hard around the house, earning cash. Our aim is simple - buy another pack of the ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’ and test it out with Buffy.
“I want to get more of that bubble mix, the stuff that we got for my birthday.”
Mum’s face falls. “Sweetie, we spent so much money on your birthday, we just can’t afford it!”
“It’s okay Mum, I have my own money.” That was part of the plan all along. Get our own money so Mum can’t deny us!
“Sure thing. Dave! Come down here please!” Mum twists her neck towards the stairs and screeches. Looking back she informs me, “If he can, Dave will drive you down. He has to get some things, anyway.”
Dave appears. “Yeah?” He looks flustered, anxious.
“Can you drive the girls to the shops? They would appreciate getting some more bubble mix.”
“Sure thing, I guess.”
Jessie and I share a look, a look of anticipation and excitement.
Jessie
Driving to and from the mall in town, Susie and I cannot wait, hoping the shops are stacked with bubble mix! Reaching the correct aisle, we find there’s one bottle left! Stifling a scream, we grab it. Riding home, we can’t wait! Dad told us that we couldn’t open it in the car, so we have to sit in suspense. We struggle to convince Buffy to eat one, though. Maybe this won’t be as easy as we thought…
Susie
At last! We finally get Buffy to eat a bubble! He didn’t want to, but Jessie coaxed him to open his mouth and I blew a bubble straight down his gob! Following that, we take a deep breath in, and each gulp down a shining globule.
“Buffy?”
Nothing. The silence is deafening.
Jessie has a go. “Buffy? Do you like the bubbles?”
Nope, nothing still! This is beginning to get rather exasperating.
“May-maybe it only worked from the one bottle?” Jessie suggests.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
10 years later
Jessie
“So, Sabrina? How was school today?” My 14 year-old daughter just shrugs and returns to her cellphone. After persuading me to get her a smartphone for her 13th birthday, she’s only ever on that device! Texting, playing games, I really don’t know what she does.
“Mummy!” My youngest, Amethyst, comes capering in. “For my 9th birthday, can we please get a bubble machine?” smile as memories come flooding back, memories of Susie’s exceptional 7th birthday bubbles.
“Sure you can. In fact, let's go shopping now!” I was planning to go get some groceries anyway, but Amethyst doesn't need to know that. Used to being the youngest, she enjoys feeling special.
“I want to stay home.” Sabrina informs me, her eyes never leaving the screen.
“No, you’re coming too.”
“But-”
“No buts, just get in the car.” Wondering if I’m being too harsh, my eyes soften and I say, “You can, however, bring your phone.”
"She mumbles something incomprehensible, but still obediently follows Amethyst out to our charcoal-gray Mitsubishi Outlander. Sabrina settles in the front, Amethyst plonks down in the back.
“Ready to go?”
"Ready!”
The second we walk through the doors of the convenience store, Amethyst and Sabrina zoom off, leaving me to grab the bubble mixture. “Oh. gosh!” Perched in front of me was none other than a big, jumbo pack of ‘PoP uP Bubble Mix’! This year is the company’s 25th anniversary, so for this month only, the jumbo packs are created using 1 special ingredient. Of course I can’t resist, and I thrust the bottle into my basket.
Lolling back on the recliner on the deck, I watch Amethyst and her friends caper wildly around the lawn. Even Sabrina joined in, teaching the girls ‘party’ truth and dare. Snippets of the game float back to me, accompanied with bursts of laughter. Glancing over, I watch as both Sabrina and Amethyst are dared to eat some bubbles. Bringing back more memories for me, of course! A movement catches my eye, it’s Misty, our Mini Lop Rabbit, poking her nose through her hutch at some bubbles. She swallows some or them down. My first thought is if she’s okay, but then curiosity takes over me, so I stretch up and gulp down a bubble also.
"Oh! Good bubbles!” I can’t tell where it comes from, but then I turn around and stare at Misty.
“Misty?”
“Are you talking to me?”
Sabrina and Amethyst seem to have heard something, they both come racing over.
“Girls? Please don’t give me lettuce anymore. It gives me digestion problems.”
They stare in awe at Misty, then at me.
I sigh. Here we go again...