A Jello's Summer

Created by Serena Wang

           Perhaps you have heard about the city FruitLiddle. If you have heard of the city, then you probably also know what the city does best. Like all other places, the city of FruitLiddle is unique. But unlike other cities, which might specialize in making cars or computers, FruitLiddle is best at making jello.
    They made their jello purely by hand. In fact, it was even a law that machine-made jello would be banned and the maker of it would be fined up to a million dollars! Because the jello were made by hand, there was something quite special about them that even the people of FruitLiddle didn’t know.
    Every summer, the jello would come to life! This was because in the summer, people consumed more jello than in the other months. In the winter, the jello froze in their packages, which made them horribly hard and inedible. In the Autumn, people were too busy buying warmer clothes, having less money for other things. In the Spring, the jello had just thawed and was too moist. But in the summer, it was hot, so a nice, cool jello became much needed. 
    This was why, in the summer, jello came to life. Before the humans came to buy them, the jello would claim a spot at the very back of the shelf, where they would make themselves comfortable and pray they would go unnoticed for the year. However, most jello didn’t go unnoticed and were soon sold. But every year, newly made jello replaced the old. This summer, the jello were determined to survive again. A young jello named Jellys was especially excited. The store she was born in was a tiny shop named “Jello Hello.” It sold only jello. The shopkeeper, who was a short old man with graying hair and wrinkles, had devoted his time to trying out new recipes.
The door had a bronze bell on it and it would ring whenever a customer pulled the door open. When it sounded, the jello would scurry back to their spots on the shelf. 
The old man would stand up from his place at the cash register and say “Welcome!” before taking the customer by the arm and giving them a tour of the shop. 
Then, he would step back and say, “Ask me if you need anything.” 
The shelves that held the jello were made of oak wood. The elderly man had placed all the jello in plastic crates. He marked their flavors, brands and prices on a little tag. 
On the back of the tags, he always wrote: “Please put the jello back where you found it.” 
Jellys lived with two other jello. They were both very well made and beautifully decorated. One of them, named Juniper, had slender slices of peach and chunks of pineapple arranged in a swirly pattern in her, as well as shiny, orange-colored gelatin. The other, Jack, had melon bits inside him and paired with a minty green gelatin color, it looked fresh and clean. Jellys had a pale yellow gelatin color and only a humble slice of mandarin orange for decoration. When she woke up that summer morning, the first thing she saw were her friends, still sound asleep next to her. How they glimmered in the summer sun! Their fruit slices were carefully sliced and arranged. 
They were the living image of a person’s dream jello. Jellys saw a tall glass mirror adjacent to her shelf. She looked around cautiously. A sign hung on the door. It said: “Closed! Please come back later.” 

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There were no humans in sight. The only sound was the deep breathing coming from the jello asleep near her. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jellys climbed down to the floor. Then, she ran to the mirror. When she got there and saw herself, she stopped short. Her gelatin was shiny but not as fresh looking as Jack’s and not as slippery as Juniper’s. She only had one mandarin slice for decor and it looked small and unappealing. Jellys turned around and gazed at the other jello, who were asleep in their crates.
The jello pouches had colorful pictures on them. All Jellys had was an expiration date printed on her back. The mini jello were cute and pastel colored. Jellys was quite big and the tiny mandarin decoration in her was almost unnoticeable because of her large size. Poor Jellys was close to tears. 
“What a terrible summer this is bound to be!” she cried. “All of them will mock me for sure.” 
Suddenly, Jellys heard a rattling noise. It was coming from the doorknob! Someone was coming in. Panicked, Jellys darted behind a potted plant in the corner of the room. A moment later, the door swung open. The elderly man walked in, holding his cane. He hung up the “Open” sign for the door and then went to the broom closet behind the cash register table. He took out a dirty broom and immediately started sweeping. As he walked past the crate Jellys slept in, he paused. 
“That’s odd,” he murmured, loud enough for Jellys to hear. “Where did that jello go?” 
Behind the pot, Jellys shivered. 
“Hmmm…” the old man stroked his short, scruffy beard. “Oh well,” he said finally, “I didn’t need that jello anyway. It wasn’t my best work.”
Then, sighing, the old man opened the windows and then walked to the cash register. Too stunned to move, Jellys replayed the last few minutes in her head. The old man had walked in and noticed she had gone missing. But he didn’t care. No one would care. If she left one day, no one would notice. Nobody would miss her or mention her. Life would go on.
She heard the old man go into his jello crafting studio, which was a small room in the shop that was locked most of the time. Slowly, Jellys peeked out from behind the potted plant. Some of the other jello had begun to awaken. Even if they were half-asleep and their faces sagged with exhaustion, they still looked like perfect jello. 
Jellys’ thoughts were interrupted by a soft breeze that blew in through the open door. 
Even though the sun was hot, the wind cooled it down. But it couldn’t cool Jellys’ shame and jealousy. Looking out at the city streets, Jellys imagined escaping the old man’s store forever. 
Perhaps she would find her place in a trash can with other unwanted jello like her. If she wanted to, she could’ve. She still had a few minutes before customers would start streaming into the shop. 
“I have to go,” Jellys decided, “I am the only one who is sloppily made.” 
Even though Jellys did not want to be eaten, she sometimes wished that someone… anyone… could just pick her up and say, “Wow! This is the jello I want to eat!” 
But that was a fanciful dream. 
Just as Jellys was about to leave the shop, a voice called, “Jellys? Where are you?” Turning around, Jellys saw Juniper’s head peek out from the crate. 
“Jellys! We have to leave soon!” said Jack. 
Jellys nodded absentmindedly. She would have to find another time to escape when nobody was watching. 
“Coming!” she shouted and ran back to the crate. 
Most jello wanted a spot at the back of the shelf to avoid getting eaten but Jellys, without any hesitation, asked for a spot in the very front. 
“Jellys… are you crazy?” asked Juniper. 
Jack shrugged, “Maybe it’s the summer heat.” 
Jellys just smiled and shook her head, “Thanks. But I need to know if someone wants me.” 
Jack laughed, “Who would want you?” 
Juniper gave him a look. She turned back to Jellys, “I know it would make you happy to be noticed, Jellys, but you don’t understand the tradeoff. Being perfect doesn’t always mean being happy.”
“If I can just be noticed for once, I will feel fulfilled,” Jellys replied. 
Juniper sighed and said, “Very well,” before shuffling to her spot in the very back.
                ***
Just as the last jello found their hiding spot, a human walked into the shop. He was a boy with red hair and light freckles, and he wore a friendly smile on his face. 
“Welcome,” the elderly man said, standing up from the cash register. 
The boy nodded at the old man and immediately began to look around. 
He took a look at the pouch jello, then asked, “Sir, are these low-calorie?” 
The old man scratched his scruffy beard, “No, kid. I’m afraid they aren’t. But see those jello over there?” 
He pointed at the crate Jellys was in. “Those are low-calorie and have less sugar. Exactly the type for health-nuts like you.” 
The boy grinned. “Thank you, sir. How much are they?” 
“Two dollars per jello.”
The boy walked to Jellys’ crate. He peeked inside. He picked Juniper up and stared at her thoughtfully. As he held her, Juniper shivered uncontrollably. “I don’t like pineapple,” the boy said finally, setting Juniper down. He looked at Jellys. 
“Does this one have anything in it?” he asked, squinting. After a few awkward moments, the boy chuckled, “Yup. There’s a tiny mandarin orange. I like mandarins but there’s only one slice in there.”
As he said this, Jellys felt a wave of disappointment. Finally, when someone had finally noticed her, they didn’t want her because she hardly had any fruit. Jack smirked and Juniper gave her a gentle nudge. Finally, the boy shifted his gaze to Jack. Jellys thought she saw his eyes go wide. 
“Perfect!” the boy cried. 
Then, holding Jack in one hand, he ran to the cash register. “That will be two dollars,” the old man said. 
The boy pulled out the money and handed it to him. Jack squirmed around in the boy’s palm but couldn’t free himself. 
“Help!” he squeaked.
Juniper sobbed, “Poor Jack… I can’t believe he was the first one…” 
Jellys froze. Jack had laughed at her when she talked about her hopes and dreams. He had said it was impossible. Did a jello like that really deserve to be saved? But then she saw Juniper crying next to her. She saw the other jello cower in fear. When she turned around to look at Jack, their eyes met and she saw him pleading silently. Suddenly, she knew what to do. Quietly, she jumped down from the shelf and rolled to the boy’s foot. As the boy turned around to leave, he slipped on her!
Jellys’ big size made her very easy to slip on but her lack of shiny gelatin and beautiful fruits made her also unnoticeable. As the boy fell, his hand loosened and he let go of Jack, who quickly ran behind a potted plant. Jellys felt terribly dizzy. The spot where the boy had stepped on her was squished and a bit bruised.
 Before passing out, she heard the boy yell angrily, “I can’t believe this! Not only did I fall, I also lost the jello I just paid for! I need a refund!” 
The old man looked shocked but he reluctantly gave the boy back his two dollars. That was the last thing Jellys saw… and then everything went black.
                      ***
Jellys felt herself being dropped somewhere. She landed on a flat surface with a small “thump!” 
“Jellys?” a voice called. 
It sounded close, yet so far away. Jellys thought she heard whispers all around her. Then, she saw a small dot of light. It was blurry at first but it grew brighter and brighter, until she realized that it wasn’t just a dot. It was the light from the sun.
She was in her crate, with Juniper and Jack staring down at her. Juniper looked anxious and her eyes were red. Jack maintained an expressionless face. 
“Jack? Juniper?” Jellys asked. 
“You saved Jack’s life…” said Juniper disbelievingly, “We almost thought it was the end for you.” 
Jellys smiled weakly, “It was nothing. I just… knew it was the right thing to do. What happened? All I remember is passing out on the floor. How did I get here?”
“After the boy left, the old man saw you on the ground and he picked you up. We thought because you were a little squished he would just throw you away, but he just threw you carelessly into our crate and went back to his jello studio,” said Juniper.
“Where is he now?” Jellys asked feebly. 
“He closed early and went home,” said Juniper. “We’re safe… at least for the day, thanks to you.”
There was a moment’s pause and then Jack blurted, “Thank you!” before falling silent again. 
Jellys sat up. She smiled at Juniper and all the other jello watching from their crates. Some of the pouch jello smiled back before turning around to talk to their friends. The tiny cup jello bounced around happily as they played, free of worry. 
Jellys knew she would never forget this summer. It was the summer she had learned that not all jello are created equal, and even if that wasn’t fair, all jello were created for a reason. This was also the summer when Jellys realized that learning a valuable lesson, helping a friend and being brave were more important than having everything go as planned. After all, she had wanted to be noticed and she had, but in a different way. Life at Jello Hello would only keep improving and she was determined to live her summers happily.
THE END