Sarah jogged back to her apartment, stopping by the staircase and bending down to catch her breath. "Alright...ha...another five miles run today. Good job, Sarah!" She stood back up, taking in more deep breaths before going up the steps. Five miles, every day. That had been Sarah's routine for the last month. Before that, it was seven miles, but she was tapering to she could regrow some muscle. All in preparation for the show of fitness her job was putting on next week - nine days away, to be exact.
Sarah slowly walked up the stairs, wiping sweat from her brow and taking down the headband she had on to keep her long blonde hair in check while she ran. Reaching for the door, Sarah turned the handle. Or, she tried to. It wouldn't move. "Hmm," Sarah mused, trying the handle again and again.
"Sarah?" a voice said behind her. Sarah turned around to see her roommate Britney walking up, a box in her arms.
"Britney, I'm so glad you got here," Sarah sighed with a smile. "There's something wrong with the door. It won't move for some reason."
"Is it...locked?" Britney said, reaching into her pockets for her keys. Sarah paused and thought over her roommate's words.
"Oh."
You see, Sarah was a bit spacey. She wasn't stupid, just spacey, sometimes gullible and absent-minded. Still, Sarah managed to stumble her way through life and even get a good job at the local gym, where she was pretty well-liked by the other regulars and employees. Well, maybe not all of them, but their time will come later in our story.
Britney opened the door and walked inside, putting the box down on the kitchen table as Sarah stretched out her arms and legs just outside.
"What's that?" Sarah asked.
"Actually, it says it's for you," Britney said, pointing to the label. "I just picked up all our mail downstairs and this was there."
"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly, rushing forward and opening the box. "I remember now, I did order this. It's a new energy health protein drink with anti-oxidants and pomegranates and kale and-"
"Are you sure about this?" Britney said skeptically as Sarah opened the box all the way up. "That sounds like a lot of crap."
"No, it was on the commercial online. All of those things are good for you," Sarah said, shaking her head at Britney's disapproval. "I mean, aren't energy and protein and kale all good for you?"
"Well...yeah, sort of," Britney said, looking at the dozens of packs of canned energy drink Sarah was unloading. "How many of these things are there?"
"Dunno, this was the smallest order they had," Sarah said, staking the cans on the table. "We'll probably have to hold this somewhere else in the apartment..."
"Sarah, this is already nearly a dozen packs of drinks," Britney said. "This must have cost hundreds of dollars. Do you really think that's a good idea?"
"No, that's the best part!" Sarah said gleefully. "The website only charged five bucks for the whole thing! It's from some new company, Yaral Industries."
"Yaral Industries, huh?" Britney said, taking one can. "Well, I've never heard of them, that's for sure. Is this even safe to drink?"
"Absolutely!" Sarah said, rushing into her room and bringing out her laptop. "Here, I'll show you the information on their website." Sarah went to the site for Xpect, clicking on a YouTube video embedded on the page.
"This is a commercial, Sarah," Britney tried to say.
"Shh! It's starting!"
A blue screen appeared with pleasant music. A young, attractive woman appeared, smiling in athletic gear. "Xpect Energy Drink! Product of Yaral Industries! Just one can and you'll feel like a whole new person."
The woman took a can and chugged it in one smooth motion.
"Xpect Energy Drink. Fills you full of life! No consumption under the age of 18."
"Under 18? Geez, is there alcohol in this thing?"
"Oh, hush Britney," Sarah said. "Want to join me in drinking one?"
Britney sighed and looked over the can. It looked like it was packaged legitimately. It had a cool black case with a big white X for the logo. "I don't know about this, Sarah."
"No, c'mon! I need energy and protein for the fitness competition at work next week. It's a gym! A good performance could mean more clients for personal training, maybe even a higher position. Now let's drink!"
Britney shrugged and both pulled back the tabs and took long drinks, just like in the commercial. Upon finishing, both felt a sudden twinge in their stomachs. "Ugh, I feel nauseous after drinking that thing. Sarah, that was terrible."
"No, things that are good for you are supposed to taste bad!" Sarah said, holding her hand over her stomach. "That's why you shouldn't eat apples!"
"What are you talking about?" Britney said, bending over in agony. "Urp...I can't argue with you...I'm going to be sick." Britney ran off to her own room. Sarah could hear her barfing across the way.
"That's you throwing up your toxins!" Sarah said, holding her hand over her mouth. "Ooh, that is bad." Sarah bolted for her own bathroom and eagerly threw up in her toilet.
After a few minutes of vomiting, the two went back into the main room, Britney looking at Sarah with an exhausted expression. "So...believe me now?"
Sarah shrugged. "Maybe. I'll have to try it again tomorrow."
Britney rolled her eyes. "Well, let me know how that goes."
Sarah nodded, wondering how her day would go with this nausea hanging over her.
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