The Poison of Penny’s Playpen

This story was written as an entry in the 2020 NYCMidnight Flash Fiction Contest. I had one weekend to write a <1,000 word story with the following prompts:

Genre = Suspense // Location = Daycare Facility // Item = Blueberry Muffin

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It was the tallest tower Eli ever made.

He stepped back and placed his hands on his hips with a smile.

“You’re missing one.”

Eli turned to Mia who stood beside him, precisely counting the blocks in his tower.

“Nuh-uh!” he squealed.

“There are three red, blue, and green, but only two yellow.”

He looked up at his masterpiece and his heart sank. She was right. 

“I bet Billy stole it,” she whispered, her eyes darting around the room nervously.

Billy. He was the oldest kid at Penny’s Playpen. The Ant Killer, the Toy Thief, the ‘Demon Child who must have problems at home’—according to Eli’s mom.

Eli walked with heavy feet towards where Billy sat in the corner, arms crossed and scowling. Eli tried to wipe the clamminess off his hands, but it wouldn’t go away. No one dared talk to Billy without an invitation, but he needed that last block.

This was the only way.

Then the door to The Outside opened and a strange man walked between them, delaying what might have led to Eli’s death. The man maneuvered around the scattered toys carrying a plate and knelt down besides Miss Veronica. He whispered something in her ear.

“Sure, whatever,” she said without looking up from her phone.

The man put the plate on a nearby table and left as mysteriously as he had entered.

Eli and the other kids rushed over to the table. What could it be?

“I can’t see all the way up there,” Mia said. “Eli, climb on the chair!”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“You’re the bravest one.”

The other kids murmured in agreement. Eli’s chest swelled with pride.

He put a hand on the seat of the chair and pulled himself up. The other kids cheered.

“Get down from there,” Miss Veronica said, waving a hand blindly towards them without taking her eyes off her phone.

Eli put a finger to his mouth and everyone hushed. He continued his climb, heart racing. If Miss Veronica noticed, they’d never know what the man had brought.

Once up on the chair, he peered over the edge of the table. On a plate in the center was a giant blueberry muffin. The scent of sweet pastry filled his nostrils.

“It’s a muffin,” he announced to the crowd below.

“I bet it’s poisoned,” a voice said from the back. 

The other’s gasped.

Billy.

“I double-doggie dare you to take a bite!” he added.

There was a silence over the crowd.

Sweat dripped down Eli’s arms. He had been dared. If he backed down, his life would be over. But if he ate a poisoned muffin he’d be dead too.

“It’s not poisoned,” Mia said. “Billy’s a liar.”

“You know Miss Veronica hates us,” Billy sneered. “She would totally let a stranger poison us all.”

Mia’s eyes widened, accepting Billy’s logic, and she looked away, defeated.

“Well?” Billy demanded. “Are you too chicken?”

Eli turned back to the menacing muffin. Life as he knew it was over either way. But if he ate it and survived… He’d be a hero.

He reached a trembling hand towards the muffin, but it was too far away. He stretched farther, practically laying on the table. His fingers grazed the edge of the muffin. He was so close.

Then the door to The Lobby opened and Miss Penny stormed through.

“Elijah Johnson! Get down from there this instant!”

She plucked him off the table and placed him gently on the floor next to Mia.

Miss Penny took the plate and turned to leave.

Mia tugged at Eli’s arm. “She’s gonna eat the poisoned muffin.”

“We have to save her.”

Eli and the others scrambled after Miss Penny, shouting.

“It’s poison!”

“Come back!”

But she was gone back through The Lobby door.

There was a loud crash and something rolled under the door with pieces of a shattered plate.

.

Five minutes earlier…

Penny had been feeling off all day. She filled out paperwork at the front desk, rubbing her throbbing temples.

The sound of the squeaky hinges of the outside door in the play area tickled her ears. She considered checking what was happening, but her annoying teenage helper Veronica had complained about her micromanaging yesterday. She could handle it. It was probably nothing.

But it was silent. Too silent.

Penny peeked through the door into the play area. Eli was laying on a table trying to steal some food. She rushed over and scolded him. He was usually such a well-behaved kid.

She took the plate and headed back towards the lobby, ignoring the kids’ gibberish yelling. She scowled at Veronica on her way out, but she simply waved a hand without looking.

Penny rolled her eyes and turned as she entered the lobby.

A man was standing by the entrance.

“Tom?”

“Penelope Price,” he said as he knelt down on one knee.

Penny’s heart flew. She dropped the plate and ran to him, practically sliding to the floor as she grabbed his scruffy cheeks in her hands.

“Yes! I’ll marry you!” She said, kissing him repeatedly. They probably looked ridiculous on the floor in the lobby of a daycare, but she didn’t mind.

Tom laughed. “I take it you found the ring?”

Penny stopped. “The ring?”

“Yeah, I stuck it in the top of the muffin… From the cafe where we met.”

They both glanced at the shattered ceramic on the floor behind them.

.

Three minutes later…

Billy sat in his corner. The stupid younger kids were still huddled around the door trying to figure out if Miss Penny was alive.

He smirked as he twirled a diamond ring around his finger.

If the movies and TV shows were right, this ring would fix everything. He slid it into his pocket for safe keeping. 

When he got home he would give it to mommy. 

Then daddy would come home. 

Then they could all be happy again.

He smiled. That would be nice.

(c) Kade Kessler 2020

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If you enjoyed this story (or hated it) or have any feedback at all let me know in the comments below! If you want to read more by me head over to my Short Stories page or check out my ongoing serial fantasy novel The Last Sentinel!