Hypr had settled into his new routine very nicely. He would frequent the juice bar, order its newest menu item, blueberry juice, go to an open field down the road and have his drink there.
A lot of the drinks from the juice bar had special effects on those that drank them; mainly boosts to athletic abilities. Blueberry Juice was one of these drinks. Instead of boosting athletic abilities, it inflated Hypr into a big blueberry. It was only temporary and how long it lasted depended on how much he drank.
It wasn’t the most popular drink from the juice bar but it was Hypr’s special drink. It was nice to sit back and relax for a little while before going about the hustle and bustle of his day.
The juice bar was owned and ran by a cheetah. She was having difficulty adjusting to the new routine. Before the blueberry juice entered the picture, Hypr would sit down and have a drink in the juice bar itself. More often than not, he and the cheetah would have a nice chat.
Now, with Hypr going to the open field everyday, they only said a few nice words to each other. Maybe a quick update on the going-ons in their lives. She missed the talks they would have and started to feel forlorn.
On top of all of that, she was beginning to notice a change in Hypr. Most, if not all, other customers didn’t come in as regularly and those that did come in regularly would get different drinks. In fact, Hypr was the only customer that came in every day and ordered the same thing every time.
None of the drinks had ever shown to have lingering effects before but the cheetah couldn’t help but notice something with Hypr and the blueberry drinks.
One day, Hypr came into the juice bar as usual and went up to the counter. “Good morning, Hypr,” said the cheetah.
“Good morning!” replied Hypr chipperly.
“Same as usual?”
“Yes please!”
As the cheetah picked up the ingredients from behind the bar, she couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “Uh, Hypr,” she began.
Hypr was taken aback. She sounded more concerned than normal. “Yes?” he said cautiously.
“Have you noticed anything… different about you?”
“Different? Different how?”
“Your fur seems to be turning more and more blue ever since you started regularly drinking the blueberry juice.”
Hypr paused, then looked over himself. It was very faint but his fur did have a blue tint to it. It was most noticeable with his white fur. He had never noticed it before but now that the cheetah had pointed it out, he couldn’t help but notice it. “Huh. I suppose I have.”
“Do you think you might be overdoing it with the blueberry juice? Just a little bit?”
“You mean like how you overdo it with the exercise?”
“I don’t overdo exercise!”
“You’re jogging in place right now.”
The cheetah looked down and saw that Hypr was right. She quickly stopped herself. “Well, what does it matter? I like it.”
“And I like being a blueberry. I bet you would too.”
The cheetah blushed. “Well I bet you would like exercise if you tried it.”
“Okay then.”
“Okay then what?”
“Let’s try it. Tomorrow, I’ll go jogging with you if you promise to try an order of blueberry juice.”
The cheetah blushed even deeper. “Well, uh, maybe I could drink only half an order.”
“Then I’ll only go for half the run.”
“Okay, deal.”
“Deal.” At that moment, Hypr’s drink was done. The cheetah gave it to him.
“So, see you tomorrow morning?” asked Hypr.
“Bright and early,” agreed the cheetah. They exchanged goodbyes and Hypr left with his drink. As the dust of the conversion settled, the cheetah began to think about it. “Did I really just agree to be a blueberry?”
Hypr was thinking too. “Did I really just agree to exercise?”
Well, it was too late to back out now. Early the next morning, Hypr showed up in front of the juice bar. Instead of wearing his usual jumper, he was dressed in a hooded jacket and athletic pants. He didn’t really know what to do so he stood waiting for the cheetah to show up. It was eerie seeing the juice bar closed.
Suddenly, he was tapped on the shoulder by someone behind him. “Hey! Wah! Hoi!” exclaimed Hypr and turned to face whoever-it-was, only to find it was the cheetah jogging in place.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.
Hypr’s shock quickly turned to embarrassment. “I-I wasn’t scared,” he stammered.
“Well, you took your time getting here,” said the cheetah, changing the subject, “I’ve already done three laps around the block.”
Hypr stared. “Three?”
“Yeah. It’s okay, you can join me on the last one. I’ll start off slowly. Come on.” With that, the cheetah started ahead. Hypr shook his shock away and ran after her.
With the cheetah starting off slower, Hypr was able to keep up but it wasn’t long before he started to feel tired. “You actually do this for fun?” he wheezed.
“Yup!” replied the cheetah, “It keeps my blood flowing. Plus, it’s nice to be up early when there’s no one else around.”
Hypr had been so busy dreading the exercise that he never stopped to take in the calm serenity. He and the cheetah had the whole street to themselves. Lights shown through scattered windows as people got ready for the day. The sound of a distant radio made for nice ambience. Best of all, the smell of freshly made pastries from the bakery filled the air. It was so peaceful.
“Come on, Hypr!” called the cheetah, “This is where we pick up speed.”
Hypr broke from his trance-like state. “Huh? Oh right.” If only he wasn’t stuck jogging. Hypr made an effort but he was so focused on the smell from the bakery. It was the familiar smell of a blueberry pie. The more he focused on the smell, the slower he seemed to go. Not only that, his belly was getting bigger too. So big, in fact, that his whole body was becoming round again. “Um, hey!” he called to the cheetah.
“What is Hypr? Keep up.”
“That’s just it, I don’t think I can.”
The cheetah looked back when she heard that and her jaw dropped. Hypr had once again been blueberrified. He wasn’t as blue as normal nor was he as big as before. He was still bigger but he wasn’t so big that he lost his arms and legs. He could still move on his own but jogging was out of the question. “How did this happen?!” asked the cheetah.
“I don’t know. One minute I was jogging and smelled the freshly baked blueberry pie. Next thing I know… this.”
Once the words sunk in, the cheetah facepalmed. “I think you should lay off the blueberry juice.”
“Why?” asked Hypr.
“Of course, what was I thinking?” said the cheetah sarcastically. “Well, I guess this run is cut short.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” said Hypr, “I bet I can still be rolled.”
And so it was arranged. For the rest of the lap, the cheetah rolled Hypr along. “You know, I’m more of a runner than a weightlifter,” she said.
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re pushing then,” joked Hypr.
The cheetah rolled her eyes. Truth be told, she didn’t mind the different workout, now and again. Besides, it gave her and Hypr time to chat, like before
The blueberry effects didn’t last too long. By the time they reached the juice bar, Hypr had shrunk down to the point where he could no longer be rolled. “Well, that wasn’t so bad,” said Hypr.
“Yeah, considering you were rolled for most of it,” said the cheetah, “But yeah, I’d say it was a good time.”
“Alright, well, I’ll leave you to open the store,” said Hypr, “Don’t forget to meet me in the park. You need to be a blueberry with me too.”
“I didn’t forget… unfortunately.” The pair bid farewell to each other and the cheetah started opening the store. For the rest of the morning, she braced herself for the blueberrification. If hypr tried to jog, then she could try being a blueberry.
At least, that was the plan. Hypr sat on a bench in the field, waiting for the blueberry juice. The first time it would be delivered since the first time he had it. It wasn’t long before the cheetah showed up.
“Uh, hi, Hypr,” she said, “I got your drink.”
“Hi! Thank you very much!” Hypr took the drink and gulped it down as he went to the middle of the field where his size wouldn’t be an issue. It wasn’t long before he was a great big blueberry again. He looked down at the cheetah. “Well,” he said, “aren’t you going to drink yours?”
“Ah, right. About that…” said the cheetah hesitantly, “That was the last of it we had prepared.”
“What?”
“Yeah, there won’t be any more until tomorrow. I’m sorry, Hypr.” The cheetah expected Hypr to be upset. She was most surprised when he started chuckling.
“Heh, heh. That’s okay. I’m just glad we had a chance to see each other again.”
“What?” The cheetah was trying to play it cool. “But we see each other everyday.”
“Yeah but it’s been a while since we’ve been able to have a nice talk. I missed that.”
“Yeah… Yeah, I missed it too.” There was a brief silence before Hypr spoke up.
“Well, you don’t have to go back to the juice bar right now, do you? Maybe you could squeeze in another jog. Just a quick one.”
“Gee, I don’t know. I mean, you’re much bigger now and I really should be…” But before the cheetah could run off, she slowed down and looked up to Hypr’s face. He really wanted her to stay for a bit. “Well, I guess I could take my break now.” Hypr was happy to hear that. “Hm… I have an idea.” She climbed to the top of Hypr and started to jog in place to roll the blueberry cat.
“You still have to be blueberried yourself, you know,” said Hypr.
“I know,” said the cheetah, “I’m sure it’ll happen… at some point.” And the friends continued to talk until it was time for the cheetah to go back to work. The cheetah rolled Hypr back to the juice bar. By the time they reached it, Hypr had shrunk significantly enough to fit inside.
“So.. should we do it again tomorrow?” asked Hypr.
“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” said the cheetah with a smile.
Hypr was just about to leave when he caught the scent of a pie. The same pie he smelled that morning. “Mmm. Blueberry…” Realization struck him like a shovel to the head. “Uh oh.” As if on cue, he started to swell again.
“Hit the deck!” called the cheetah and everyone in the store ducked to the floor. Like before, Hypr didn’t grow too big but he was now wedged in the front door. No one else could come in or out of the juice bar.
When it was clear the building wasn’t going to collapse, the cheetah walked up to Hypr. “Still don’t think you’re overdoing it with the blueberry juice?”
Hypr blushed. “Maybe just a bit.”
