Christen wakes up after having a strange dream of turning blue and becoming a massive blueberry to a ruined house.  But now even stranger things are happening and hopefully Christen doesn't swell again or cause anyone else to.

A Blueberry World Part 2

              Christen awoke to the smell of blueberries as she shielded her eyes from the sunlight. “Ugh, what happened?” She shook her head, trying to remember. “All I remember is being at a party. After that, everything is a blank.”

              She looked around the room. “Why am I in my living room? And why is everything covered in blueberry juice?” She stood up. “Yuck. It is going to take me hours to clean this up.” She walked into the next room and rinsed out her clothing. “And not to mention my clothes might be permanently dyed. At least this isn’t sticking to my skin. I would hate to be stuck being blue for the day. I have to go to work later.” She ran her fingers through her dark hair.

“I can only imagine what people would think. Hello, I am here to serve you. Why am I blue? I just like painting myself this way.”

              Christen sighed. “Well, I better just take a shower and get ready for work. I don’t have time to clean this up until after I get home.” She walked back to the doorway and ran her finger along the wall. “The juice is dry anyways for the most part. My clothing is still dripping a bit, but otherwise, I am going to have to scrap this stuff off.” She turned around and headed for the stairwell. “I am not looking forward to that.”

              Christen walked into her bathroom and started her shower. “Just get in and get out.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “It is already nine a.m. I need to be at work in less than an hour.” She flung her wet clothing onto the floor and slipped into the shower, the hot water soothing on her skin. “So nice and soothing.” She could feel her insides quiver as she washed herself, almost as if she had some strange liquid pulsing through her body. It was a weird feeling, but it didn’t bother her.

              Christen finished with her shower in record time. She stepped out and reached for the towel to dry herself. “If only I could remember just what I had been doing last night. Like how did my living room become covered with blueberry juice?” She rubbed her blue eyes. “And why did I have a strange dream about swelling up like a giant blueberry?”

              She went through her drawers and pulled out her work uniform. “I always hated colors they put us in.” She quickly dressed in the ugly dark red uniform with grey slacks and a “Welcome to Diner Dash, my name is Christine,” sown into her chest. At least her greeting was written on her uniform, as she would have hated having to say that cheesy line over and over.

              She slipped on her shoes and then rushed downstairs. Christen first rushed to the kitchen to grab a leftover piece of pizza for her breakfast, not even bothering to heat it up. She then ran and grabbed her keys off the counter, and while still eating the frozen meal, she rushed into the living room, heading for the door. Christen slowed down, expecting to deal with a room covered with juice, but when she walked in, the room was spotless. She looked around as she took another bite from her pizza. That is strange. Wasn’t this room covered with juice just a few minutes ago?

 She shook her head.  I don’t have time to think about this. I need to go.  Christen ran to the door as she stuffed the rest of the pizza into her mouth. She used the key fob to unlock her car as she ran across the lawn. “I need to hurry. Paxton is unforgiving to those who arrive late.” She opened the door and sped off.

              It was only a ten-minute drive to the Diner Dash where she worked. She tapped her fingers on the wheel as she drove, wanting the day to be over. “Weird. I still can’t help but smell blueberries.” She shook her head. “I feel like I am going a bit crazy. I just hope that today’s shift goes by fast.”

              She drove into the parking lot and parked her car. “Ok, it is Friday. And that means a shorter shift. Just get in and out. You can do this.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Maybe it was a bad idea to go to a party when I had work the next morning. Ugh.”

              Christen walked into the building and was greeted by her only friend at the joint, Quinten. “Hey,” He waved to her from behind the glass counter. “Good to see you.”

              She smiled. “Yes. Glad it is Friday. I see you got a tan since last I saw you.”

              He smiled. “Ya. I am going on a date this weekend, and I wanted to look my best. I even bought a suit.”

              Christen chucked. Quinten went to such extravagant lengths to impress people he had never meet. There was a reason why he still had to work at this fast food place. “So is Paxton in yet?”

              She heard a shrill voice from the back room. “I told you to order the lettuce yesterday. What is wrong with your pea brain that you can’t listen to instruction?”

              Quinten sighed. “Take a guess.”

              A young blonde woman came to the cash register, wiping away a tear. Behind her standing in the doorway, was a scruffy-looking man with no hair and amber eyes. “Christen?

Good. The delivery fool left some boxes out back. Go carry them in.” He looked at Quinten. “Go turn the sign out front that we are open already.” He then walked into the back room. “God.”

              Christen sighed. “Well, he is in one of his moods. Today is going to be fun.” She walked through the back room and walked out the back door. There she found a silverware box baking in the sun. Christen wiped the sweat from my brow before picking the box up. “The heat is starting to pick up already. I feel like my insides are starting to churn.”

              She carried the box inside and set it next to the door. “Phew. I feel weird.” Christen put her hands on her knees. “Why do my legs feel squishy?” She shook my head. “Whatever it is, I just need to get through my shift. I can’t worry about it when Paxton is in one of his moods.”

              She walked into the front room of the store. Ugh, I just can’t get the smell of blueberries out of my head or nose. It is going to bug me all day.

 Christen went to her post. It was my job to ask the customers what they wanted and get their sandwiches started. Quinten finished the job, and the young lady trying to keep her composure, Pam, checked people out. Our boss ran the place like an assembly line to keep things flowing, and like a real assembly line, Paxton treated us like machinery. The job sucked.

              As Christen adjusted her workstation, she noticed a strange blue stain on the back of her hand. “What is that?” The front door suddenly opened, and a young lady with short dark hair walked in. “Well, I will figure it out later.”

              She put on the best smile I could. “Hello, what can I get for you today?”

              The woman looked through her purse as she talked. “Hello, I would like a sub with teriyaki beef and mustard. Extra pickle.”

              “Ok.” I pulled out a bun and got to work.

 That is strange.  I noticed a blue substance dripping onto the bun.  Where is that coming from? I don’t’ have time to figure it out, or Paxton will blow his top. I am sure it’s nothing.

 Christen finished my part of the sandwich and passed the job onto Quinten.

As he worked, she took a quick look at the back of her hands. “The blue spot is still there, but it isn’t spreading.” She shook her hand. “But I do appear to be dripping something. Juice, maybe?”

 Christen looked up and saw the customer already had the sandwich in her hand as she finished paying for her meal. Pam handed the woman the sandwich. “I hope you have a nice day.”

              “Thanks.” She unwrapped it and took a bite. “Mhmm. It is excellent. Though why did you put blueberries son this when I didn’t ask for them.”

              Pam shook her head. “We don’t even sell blueberries here.”

              The woman looked a bit flustered. “I feel a bit weird all of a sudden. I need to sit down.” They watched as her skin slowly started to turn blue. “What is happening to me?”

              Paxton came out of the backroom. “What is going on?”

              Quinten walked up to him. “Umm, a customer is just umm, enjoying their meal is all.”

              He crossed his arms. “That isn’t what it sounded like to me.”

              Quinten took him into the back room. “Look, let me help you with whatever job you want me to back here.”

 Good job. Paxton would have flipped his top if he saw this and might have called the cops.

 “Hey, can someone do something? I am completely blue.”

              Pam walked over. “I don’t know what to do. I have never seen this before.”

              Christen walked out from behind the counter. She had seen it; this had happened to her last night right before she had swelled into a massive blueberry. It was all coming back to her now.  Oh great. Christen looked at her own hand, but the strange color didn’t seem to be spreading. That was good news for her, not so much for the customer.

              Christen slowly walked over as the woman clutched her stomach. “Ugh, I can feel my insides churning.” She squinted. “No, that isn’t right. More like I am filling up with something.” She looked down her chest as it slowly expanded. “No, I have an interview today. I can’t be bloated.”

              Christen put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Hey, umm, what is your name?”

              She looked up. “Ellen.”

              “Hey, Ellen. It is going to be alright.”

              “Alright? I am completely blue and. . . .”

She squinted. “I am swelling all over. I think my butt is getting bigger; how is that possible. Anyways how is this going to be alright?”

              Christen lied. “Don’t worry, you will be fine.” She turned to Pam. “Help me get her outside.”

              “Why?”

              “She is turning into a massive blueberry.” Pam’s eyes went wide. “The last thing I want is Paxton turning this from something we can handle into a massive scene.”

              “Ok, ok.” She turned to Ellen. “Take my hand. We are going outside.”

              Ellen slowly stood up, her chest looking like she had eaten an inner tube. “I just keep getting bigger and bigger. What is going on?”

              Christen and Pam slowly walked Ellen to the door; each step took Ellen tremendous effort. Christen could see blueberry juice in the form of sweat drip down Ellen’s neck. “My legs, they feel so full. I am not sure how I am going to squeeze through the door.”

              Christen patted Ellen on the back, feeling how squishy her body was. “We can make it. Once outside, we will figure out what to do.”

              Now at the door, they tried to push Ellen through, but her hips were too big. “Pam, stay here. I am going to climb over and pull from the other end.”

              Ellen shook her head. “Get me out of here. I don’t want to swell into a doorway like this. I can feel the juices being forced into other parts of my body. My arms and legs are swelling.”

              Christen crawled over Ellen, who now felt more like a massive bean bag chair than a human, and landed on the other side. She then grabbed onto Ellen’s shirt and pulled. “Let’s get you out of here.”

              After a few tries, they freed Ellen, who popped out of the doorway, pushing Christen to the ground. Ellen rolled for a bit before coming to a stop. “I am becoming more and more spherical. What is happening to me?”

              Christen made her way to her feet and walked over to Ellen. “You are becoming a blueberry.”

              “What.” Ellen’s feet merged together, and she fought to keep her massive chest down. “I can’t be a blueberry.”

              Christen put her hand on Ellen’s growing body. “I am sorry, but it is true. But good news is you will return to normal. Not sure how but you will.”

              Christen backed away as Ellen began to turn round. “But I had an interview today. I can’t be a blueberry today.”

              Pam looked at Christen. “We can’t just leave her out in front of the store like this.”

              Christen sighed. “You are right. Paxton sees her he will still flip out. Help me roll her behind the store.” She looked up as Ellen’s arms slowly vanished into her swelling body. “It should be easy now.”

              They began to roll towards the back of the store. “You can’t just roll me. I need help. I can still feel myself getting bigger.”

              “What do you want us to do?” Pam asked.

              “I don’t know. Ugh. I can feel the blueberries in my mouth.”

              They rolled her into the employee parking lot. Christen leaned up against Ellen’s massive body; she was twice her original height and almost four times her original size.

“There, you should be safe here.”

              Pam sighed. “I am going back in before Paxton wonders where I am.” She looked at Christen. “You should too.”

              Ellen cried out. “What about me.”

              “We did all we could for you.” Pam walked away.

              Christen waited until Pam was out of sight. She then turned towards Ellen, who had finally stopped swelling. “I am sorry for this. Don’t worry, though; you will change back in a bit. I am not sure how but you will. I went through what you did last night.”

              “What?”

              Christen patted Ellen on her round body. “I have to go. Good luck.”

              “Hey.”

              Christen ran back into the store.  Did I do that to her? I think the juice came off of my body and into the sandwich we gave her.  She looked at the back of her hand, which was now completely blue. “That isn’t good. But at least it isn’t as bad as Ellen back there. Hopefully, I can get home before I swell up like she did.”