I Want Candy

It was the 16th of August, and their first day as fifteen year olds. “Do you feel different?” It was the same question the girls asked each other on every birthday. Fifteen felt different. Maybe because of this year's birthday raise - between the two of them, they were a hundred dollars richer than yesterday. The twins rushed to get into their parents' Boston Whaler and headed to the general store on the island a few miles off from their family’s summer home, fifty-dollar bills clutched tightly in hand.

They pulled up, secured the boat to the dock, and flip-flopped their way inside the store, prepared to purchase as much candy as a hundred dollars could fetch. But no-one was there.

Without a word, and a single glance, they knew exactly what to do. Frenzied, they seized tennis balls, key chains, ‘Rosseau General Store’ branded t-shirts, pens and trinkets. They slipped on bracelets, rings, and hats like the ones their dad golfed in. They looted the place. Exhilarated, they ran back to the boat to deposit the goods. Everything but the candy. “Shit!” they yelled, as they sped off with their beating hearts, sending electric currents across the sleepy lake.