Twisted Wonderland Book 5: A Beauitful Tyrant

Chapter 28: Delivery Coming Through

In the Ramshackle Dorm, everyone has just finished having dinner. After that, the group begins to walk down the hall

Ace sighs, "Whew... I finished my dinner, but I feel like I've still got room for more."

"I know what you mean. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't have the spicy punch or richness I'm used to," Kalim says.

"The dishes used vegetables, white meat chicken, and fruit. I thought the portions were reasonably sized, Jamil adds.

But Deuce says, "They described it as a 'toning' menu, not a 'slimming-down menu."

"All those veggies are barely a meal to me..." Grim says, disappointed. "The rest of us aren't competing and Briar is only performing for the opening. So how about lettin' us have some more meat? Ooh, or somethin' fried!"

"I actually liked it. It was delicious and healthy," Briar says.

"You can't be serious?!" Grim asks, shocked.

"I am. It's importanting to have a healthy meal. In your case, you can really use one, considering all the food you've been waiting for, and how much you ate," Briar says.

Suddenly, they hear a buzzing sound

"Hm? Who's showin' up this late?" Grim asks.

"I'll answer the door," Briar says.

Briar walks to the front door and opens it to reveal a ghost wearing what looks like a delivery outfit.

"Hello, is there something I can do for you?" Briar asks.

The delivery ghost happily says, "Special delivery! Is Epel Felmier of Pomefiore present?"

"Y-yes. I'm Epel," Epel says, as he walks over.

"If you could sign here?" The ghost says, holding a clipboard with the invoice, "We've got ten large boxes for you. Mind if we drop them off in the foyer?"

"Sure, that's—" Epel says, but quickly becomes surprised, "wait, did you say TEN?!

"Yes. It's from... Oh, this also says 'Felmier.' I take it that's your family? They're all heavy, so be careful carrying them," The delivery ghost says.

Then the ghosts place the boxes on the floor and stack them down so that it creates a tower to the ceiling. Epel then signs the signature and the delivery ghost takes his leave.

"The Ramshackle Dorm foyer's stacked floor to ceiling with boxes now," Deuce says.

"Ahhh! These have to be from Meemaw—" Epel says, shocked, but soon realizes, "ah, that is, from my grandmother. I've told her so many times over the phone that she doesn't have to send this stuff.

"What is it? A delivery of silks from your home?" Kalim asks.

Oh, it's nothing so fancy. Um, my hometown produces a lot of apple-based goods. So I suspect these are all, ah...apple juice," Epel says

"Dude!" Ace says, surprised, "Forget the Mostro Lounge—we could run our own drink stand with this much product!"

"Oh, there's a letter in one of the boxes. Let's see..." Epel says, and picks up the letter.

Epel reads it "We had some unsold stock near its sell-by date. You can share it with your friends at school."

Epel becomes frustrated, "Fer cryin' out loud! Don't push yer stinkin' overstock on me, Meemaw!" He then calms himself, "A-ahem. I mean, I can't believe they have so much they didn't sell."

"If they're sending you this much stuff, you must come from a real rich family," Deuce says.

"Huh?!" Epel says, confused.

"Ooh, I think I get it. Are you so dedicated to your apple juice brand that it's all you want to drink?" Ace says with a grin on his face

"N-not at all, honest! Everyone's welcome to have some," Epel says, "It's 100% apple juice, no preservatives. It's loaded with vitamins, and Vil...probably won't yell at you for drinking it. Tastes real good, too!"

"Yep. You're a total apple juice freak," Ace teases.

Epel sheepishly giggles, "Ah, aha ha..."

"Merci, Monsieur Pommette," Rook happily says, "I happily accept. Tell your family merci beaucoup on my behalf."

"We can't leave the foyer blocked off with all these boxes," Jamil says. "Let's get them to the lounge, at least."

"Good idea," Briar says.

Each student grabs a box and takes them to the lounge to place down.

Epel says, "I appreciate all of you helping with those boxes. Thanks, uh...very much. Why don't we open one up and quench our thirst? The citric acid and polyphenol in apples works wonders for fatigue. It should be the perfect drink after a hard day of dancing and singing rehearsal...I think."

With that, everyone grabs a bottle, opens it, and smells the beverage inside

"Ooh. There's a nice, tangy apple smell already, and all I did was pop the cork," Deuce says

"What a piquant aroma. I shall partake as well," Rook says, and drinks it.

Soon, Rook says in satisfaction, "Why...c'est bon! This is exquisite, Epel!"

"Let me try a sip," Kalim says, and takes a drink of it himself, "Ooh, that IS good! It's like I'm drinking an apple in liquid form!"

Soon, everyone begins to try a sip of the juice.

"It's 100% apple juice, so that's literally what you're doing. Mm... It is quite good, though," Jamil says.

"The juice tastes really good," Sereia says.

"Yeah. And it's 100% apple juice," Jasper says.

"And it seems it doesn't have any artificial flavors, so it's very healthy," Tanzantnie says.

"The juice is really delicious," Briar says.

Even Trinket likes it.

"This' the stuff right here. I could guzzle it by the liter!" Grim says, and drinks the bottle, more like chugging it.

Deuce calls out, "Hey, Grim! Don't put your mouth on the bottle!"

"I can't blame him for wanting to chug it from the source, though. It goes down great," Ace says.

"It's not too sweet and not too tart. It goes down like a pleasant breeze blowing through an orchard—refreshing to the extreme! I'd go so far as to call this beverage a masterpiece that was clearly made with love," Rook says.

Epel smiles and says, "Isn't it? It's made from a blend of several different types of apples. It's the pride of our hometown! And it's soothing for the throat when you add in a little honey. It could be great to drink after vocal practice! Ooh, and the apples themselves are delicious, even before they're turned into juice!"

Rook laughs, "Hah hah hah! How nice to hear you speak with such enthusiasm. It's clear that you carry a great deal of fondness for your hometown, Monsieur Pommette."

"Unfortunately, though... I don't know if it's because we make it in a backwater part of the Shaftlands or what, but it's just not very well-known," Epel says.

"Wow. It's so good, though. Such a shame for it to go unnoticed," Kalim says.

Epel continues, "We get fewer and fewer tourists every year, too. The direction things are going, well..."

Just then, Vil walks in and asks, "How long are you all going to congregate in the lounge?"