Look Out For Grapes

• Tanika Lightner, Grade 6, The Village School
• Short Story
• 2014

Finalist in the 'Write As Rain 2014' competition

I glanced at the poster. Wait, what does that say? ‘Look out for grapes. Please secure your grape bag to prevent loose grapes falling out. Advise our staff if you spot any loose grapes on the ground. Thank you.’
‘Ok’ I thought, ‘I’ll remember that… Fancy having that in a supermarket, it’s probably a joke for April Fool’s Day tomorrow.’
As I was standing looking at the pasta sauce on the shelf, I felt something wet, squirt on my ankle. I looked down and there was a seedless grape with little green arms and legs. It was holding a pin and poking itself, aiming the juice at my skin! ‘Argh!’ I yelled as a sharp stinging and burning sensation came from my ankle. The juice was like acid and I could feel it eating through layers of my flesh. I clutched my ankle and tried to squish the grape man with my other foot. But the juice seeped through the sole of my shoe and onto my foot. ‘Ouch! Ow!’ I screamed ‘Help!’
I heard alarms going off and saw three men in white suits like beekeepers or astronauts running towards me. They were holding what looked like hoses, attached to a bag of oranges. I just sat there on the ground forgetting my pains. I just stared in bewilderment at this peculiar sight. They started yelling instructions to each other in some foreign language. Suddenly they all blasted me down with orange juice from the thick hoses. I was soaked through and lying on the ground; my wounds stung for a few seconds than stopped hurting.
I peered around with blurry eyes that felt all sticky and stiff when I blinked. I couldn’t see the grape but the three exterminators were standing in front of me. One of them stepped forward and said ‘Sorry for any inconvenience maam.’ The three men jogged off together leaving me and all the other awestruck costumers standing in the aisle, which was covered in orange juice, splattered all over the floor. Mum and I awkwardly slipped away from the scene to wait in a queue and buy our groceries. The other people went back to their shopping avoiding the aisle. As we were waiting for our items to be scanned, I spotted a small orange piece of paper blue tacked to the cash register ‘APOLOGY- THE UNICORN.’
‘Whatever next!’ I screamed inside my head.