The Chocolate Meltdown
Read The Chocolate Meltdown Online
Authors: Lexi Connor
The Chocolate Meltdown
By Lexi Connor
To Phil
“Pinch me, B.”
Beatrix Cicely, called B for short, looked in surprise at her best friend, George, who had pulled back his sleeve and thrust his arm out in front of her.
“Seriously. Pinch me! I must be dreaming. There’s no other possible explanation for today.”
B gave George’s arm a harmless pinch. “Don’t be silly, George! I told you that sooner or later, my dad would let you have a tour of Enchanted Chocolates. It was just a matter of time.”
B and George both knew what few others in the world did — that Enchanted Chocolates candies were made by witches. Of course, they couldn’t concoct spells and potions to make the chocolate — that
would be cheating. They measured and mixed it the old-fashioned way. But, all the same, you couldn’t have so many witches under the same roof without a little magic in the air. Maybe some of it did rub off on the chocolates — they
were
the world’s best.
George wasn’t a witch, and nonwitches were never supposed to know about magic, but he had long ago stumbled upon B’s secret. And B’s magic was unique. While most other witches formed spells with rhyming couplets, B made spells by spelling words.
George leaned back in Mr. Cicely’s office chair and spun around. He inhaled, long and deep. “Just smell that chocolate!” He sat up and pointed at B. “I’ll bet I buy more Enchanted Chocolates than anybody else in the world. I’ll bet I do. That makes me their number one customer.”
“I don’t doubt it,” B said, grinning at her friend. She tossed a dart at the dartboard on the wall. It had the logo for Pluto Candies, her father’s biggest competitor, taped right at the center of the bull’s-eye. She missed. “Thanks for keeping my dad’s job secure.”
George looked out the window onto the large
factory room where workers packed cases of candy. “There goes a truckload of Caramelicious Cremes. And that lady? She’s loading a pallet full of Mint Fizzes. That guy’s got Peanut Butter Pillows.” George slumped down in the office chair. “Oh, man. I’m in heaven.”
“No, you’re in my chair,” B’s dad said, entering at just that moment. “C’mon, George. If you think the pallet loading’s good, you haven’t seen anything yet. You, too, B. I’ve got a surprise for you both.”
They followed Mr. Cicely down the corridor onto an elevator. George tugged on his sleeve. “Wanna hear my idea for what your next new chocolate should be? You’ll love this.”
“Actually, today …”
“It’s a candy bar. You start with a simple, flat cracker base. A rectangle. Then you coat it with a layer of peanut brittle. See what I mean? A nice, crunchy, sweet layer of peanut brittle. Drizzle a little caramel over that, then dunk it in chocolate.”
“Thanks George, I …” B could tell her dad had other things on his mind. But then he paused. “Wait. Did you say, peanut brittle over a cracker?”
George nodded.
“With caramel? Then chocolate?”
“That’s right.” George’s chest was sticking out a mile.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out onto a shiny new wing of the factory that B had never seen before. Her dad was still mentally forming that new candy bar. His voice sounded far away. “The perfect combination of salty and sweet … crunchy and smooth … And nobody else has done it yet.” He whipped out his Crystal Ballphone — any nonwitch would think it was a cell phone — and started punching buttons with his thumbs.
“What’re you doing, Dad?” B asked.
“Just texting myself a note to have the kitchens try this out.” He finished and snapped the phone shut, then ruffled George’s hair. “Keep it under your hats, okay, guys? I may have to put you on the payroll, George.”
B feared her friend might faint with happiness. “Better not,” she said. “He’d eat sweets all day long. After a couple of weeks, you’d have to roll him out the door.”
They came to a door, and B’s dad swiped a
pass-card, which let them through. A second door, moments later, required a numeric code, and a third scanned his fingerprint.
“Where are you taking us, to meet the president?” George asked.
“Better than that,” Mr. Cicely said. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You will both get to see the dipping debut for our brand-new, top secret line of chocolates.” He paused for impact. George’s eyeballs looked ready to pop out of his head.
“What are they?” George begged.
“Enchanted Chocolates Fabulous Fruits!”
George’s jaw dropped. “You mean, fruit dipped in chocolate?”
“Triple-dipped,” Mr. Cicely said solemnly. “In our most deluxe, premium chocolate yet. First milk chocolate, then white chocolate, then dark.”
George shook his head in wonder. “This is a day to remember for the rest of my
life.”
“Oh, toadspawn,” B said. “I thought this was going to be something
good.
Fruit and chocolate together are gross. Blaugh.”
George looked horrified. “Are you kidding? Chocolate-covered cherries?”
“Disgusting,” B said. “They taste like cough medicine.”
Mr. Cicely and George shared a pained look. They reached a security gate in the corridor, and B and George held out their arms while a guard scanned them using a strange beeping electrical device. “What’s this for, Dad?” B asked.
“A search for contaminants,” he explained. “There are those who would like to sabotage Enchanted Chocolates’ new products. I know for a fact that Pluto Candies would pay any price for our secret recipes.”
“Pluto Candies!” George scoffed. “They’re not even in the same
universe.”
“You can say that again,” B’s dad said.
They reached a set of double doors. He pushed them open and ushered B and George inside.
“Holy cats! Look at this place!”
B gaped at the vast, modern production room, all decked out with stainless steel, glass, and tile, with funky, squiggly halogen lamps dangling from the ceiling. Spread across the production floor were large machines, draped in huge sheets of rainbow-colored cloth. A wide purple ribbon with a festive
bow in the middle hung from wall to wall across the room.
“Come on over here and suit up,” Mr. Cicely said. He led B and George to a corner where a large group of visitors stood, dressed in white suits, caps, gloves, and shoe covers.
“What’s this about?” George asked.
“The chocolate cannot be compromised,” Mr. Cicely said. “Stay here a minute, will you? I have a few last-minute things to take care of.”
B and George helped each other put on their scratchy protective suits.
“You look like a spaceman, George,” B said.
“Yeah? You look like a space alien.”
B laughed aloud, then stopped.
“What’s the matter?” George asked.
“It can’t be,” B whispered, staring at a white-suited form, partly obscured by a taller man. “It’s bad enough having to put up with him at school. What would he be doing
here
?”
“Who? What?” George tried to get a better look.
B leaned closer to whisper in her best friend’s ear. “It’s Jason Jameson!”
“Jason
Jameson,”
George’s whisper was a little too loud. “And they thought
we
might contaminate the chocolate? Who’d invite a stinker like him?”
“Ssh! He’s coming this way!”
B’s policy was to avoid her sixth-grade nemesis as much as possible. He never let slip an opportunity to annoy B or her friends. Whenever there was something shady, mean, or dishonest going on at school, chances were good that Jason Jameson was behind it.
Jason reached the spot where B and George were standing. “What are you two doing here?” he said. “They don’t let just anyone show up to an Enchanted Chocolates launch.”
“I agree,” B said. “How did
you
get through security?”
Jason smiled smugly. “My dad’s company supplied all the fruit for the new line of chocolates,” he said. “Premiere Produce Incorporated. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
“Nope,” George said. “Can’t say that I have.”
Jason ignored him. “My dad consults with me on all his biggest accounts. He listens to my advice more than anyone else’s.”
“Oh, really?” B said, her blood boiling. “Well, my dad is the one in charge of the entire Enchanted Chocolates product line. He thought up Fabulous Fruits. And George and I have been consulting with my dad on an even more top secret line of chocolates,” she added. “One that doesn’t need any crummy fruit.”
“Jason! C’mon over here a second. I want to introduce you to someone.” The man in the white suit beckoning Jason had to be his father. They had the same plastering of freckles over their faces.
“Later, Fruitfly,” Jason said. “Got to meet the VIP guests. Life of the party!” And laughing, he headed back to his dad.
“Ooh, he makes me so mad!” B muttered under
her breath. “Why does he have to be here today, and ruin the excitement?”
“Never mind him,” George said. “But, er, how come you made up that stuff about us consulting on the new line of chocolates?”
“Well, it’s sort of true, isn’t it? I mean, you told Dad an idea just today, and he got excited about it.” She sighed. “I
hate
how Jason acts like he’s such a big deal, and everyone else is chopped liver.”
“B, George,” B’s dad called. “Got some folks for you to meet. And someone you already know.”
They hurried over to where he stood. B didn’t at first glance recognize Mr. Bishop behind his white suit and hat. He was her English teacher and, secretly, her witching tutor. B didn’t know the other gentleman, a thin bald man not yet in his protective gear, wearing an expensive-looking suit.
“Kids, meet Mayor Cumberland,” B’s dad said, indicating the man in the suit. “He’s here to cut the ribbon for the launch ceremony. Mr. Bishop is my daughter’s teacher, Mayor — did I ever mention that? He teaches school but does some advertising work for us on the side. We’ve asked him to write a song for the occasion. Want to hear it?”
They all nodded. B’s dad drew Mayor Cumberland, B, and George a little distance away from the crowd. They gathered around Mr. Bishop to hear his song.
He coughed and smiled nervously, then sang in a pleasant but soft voice,
“Fabulous Fruits! Freshness with a triple dip.
Choco-fruity taste to make your taste buds flip!
Fruit has never been so exciting.
Chocolate layers, how inviting!
Enchanted Chocolates Fruit. That’s Fabulicious!”
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Mr. Cicely said, clapping Mr. Bishop on the back.
“Hmm, wonderful,” the mayor told B’s teacher, but he seemed impatient to get on with the ceremony.
“Oh, no,” B whispered to George. “I am never going to get that song out of my head.”
“It’s fabulicious,” George teased.
“Stop!” B groaned.
Mayor Cumberland finished getting his protective gear on and then B’s father summoned every one’s attention again.
“Welcome, and thanks for joining us today for
the launch of Fabulous Fruits! And now it’s time for our esteemed mayor, Wallace Cumberland, to make things official.” He handed the mayor an enormous pair of scissors. “Ready to do the honors, Mayor?”
A newspaper photographer went down on one knee to snap a shot of the ribbon cutting. Mayor Cumberland got into position and took the scissors gingerly. He smiled confidently as the photographer aimed his huge camera at him.
“A few words to mark this occasion,” he said, with the scissor blades paused over the ribbon. “On behalf of the citizens of this community, who count on Enchanted Chocolates to make all our lives so much … sweeter” — he paused for people to laugh — “this new concoction is almost ready to take on the world!” And he snipped the ribbon.
Everyone applauded. B’s dad smiled and said, “I have to respectfully disagree, Mayor. Here at Enchanted Chocolates, we think it is
completely
ready to take on the world!”
Everyone laughed. Then he nodded to the workers stationed by each of the machines. They pulled off the brightly colored drapes with a dramatic swish. Then, together, B’s dad and Mr. Jameson
each flipped a large switch. All around the room, machines hummed to life. Workers tumbled tubs of strawberries, apricots, cherries, blueberries, pineapple pieces, and peach slices into hoppers that routed fruit on conveyor belts. Large-paddled stirrers began mixing vats of creamy chocolate, sending waves of heavenly chocolate vapor wafting into the air.
Along with all the other visitors, B and George pressed closer, eager for a glimpse of the first candies to come out. No one spoke. Everyone seemed paused, poised on tiptoe for the unveiling of the first Fabulous Fruit.
There was a loud bang.
Like popping corn, one by one, the lights went out. The room was plunged into total darkness.