Gumball
Little Trixie had just placed her last quarter in the gumball machine at Miranda’s Souvenir Shop. The many colors of the gumballs amazed her as she stood there biting her lower lip. The green one was her favorite and she could only hope that would be the one to pop out. She rotated the handle all the way around which caused a ker-plunking sound from within the machine. The sweet yet sour taste danced around in her head as she waited for her ball to drop.
CLINK
And then she lifted the small metal lid ready to catch her gumball. Clasping it in her hand she ran out of the store and into the alley.
Oh I bet this is going to taste super! She thought to herself.
She held her hand close to her body as she slowly opened her grip. In her hand wasn’t a gumball at all, it was a tooth which looked to be human; a molar that still had blood caped on the bottom of it, and what looked to be a chunk of nerve ending. She would gasp at the sight of blood on the TV but seeing this small blotch of red didn’t seem to bother her. She held it up to her eyes and examined the yellow tooth. A small inscription was etched on it that read, “JT Holbert,” the name didn’t ring any bells so she wondered if anyone in the store knew who it was.
Asking around in the store she found out that the guy, JT Holbert, lived over a couple of streets. She decided to pay Mr. Holbert a visit in order to give him back his missing tooth. She was also very curious and wanted to find out how this molar ended up in the gumball machine in the first place. Skipping her way over to his address she made it there in about ten minutes.
Knock—knock, on the door she did. And who was going to answer it? The house itself looked pretty beat down and the porch seemed to be tilting sideways. It didn’t resemble a livable place at all. Knock-knock, all day long until you answer… the door swung open, and there was nobody in there. The darkness inside gave her an uneasy feeling and a chilly wind exited through the entrance. The smell of mildew and rust came rushing out, flooding her nostrils.
“Hello?” she asked. Nobody answered, and a low creaking sound could be heard. “I found your tooth at the store. It was in the gumball machine. I thought you might have wanted it back, so I brought it.”
Quietness hovered in the dark house as once again, nobody answered. The young girl leaned in to see if she could see anything, her eyes adjusted quickly to the blackness engulfing the interior. The boarded windows gave room for almost no light, but she could still see a desk over across the room from the entrance. It seemed like a good place to leave the small tooth. This Holbert guy would come back and find it later on.
She crept across the floor and placed the bloody tooth on the dusty stand. The door slammed shut behind her in a violent thud. She screamed in terror as footfalls could be heard running toward her. Outside the house her screams could be heard up and down the street, but there was no one there to hear her. They stopped abruptly about twenty seconds later, and a loud crunching sound could be heard. Poor little Trixie, she should have never gone into that house.
Back at the souvenir shop another child tossed a quarter into the gumball machine. With a ker-plunk, out came another bloody tooth. Holding it up and examining an etching on the side, the young boy saw the words, “Trixie Matthews,” written on the side. After showing the store owner what he had found he was pointed toward the same house not too far from the shop.
“Just down the road sir?” he asked.
“You go right ahead and take it back to Trixie, I’m sure she would be quite grateful.” And the store owner gave an evil grin.
