[ IP ] Snack Drake

Every town out here has it ’ s share of urban legends and oddities. Well, every town but mine, Buckhill Crossing. When I was younger, my older sister told me that in Jonestown just south of here, the ghost of Old Man Enrond haunts the cornfields. 
 My dad used to joke about how he got his collection of ancient coins out of the coin return slot of a rusted old newspaper stand in front of the Eavensburg post office. When I was younger I believed every word. My friends and I used to conduct ghost hunts, stakeouts, and fortune telling sessions, hoping to catch a faint whiff of the supernatural. But as the years dragged on, I was only able to confirm one theory: Nothing interesting happens in the Crossing. 
 
 So when my little brother came home holding a white rabbit and claimed he got it from a vending machine, I couldn ’ t help but laugh. 
 
 “ The creature vending machines of Buckhill Crossing? ” 
 
 “ It ’ s true! I saw him the a vending machine outside of the gas station! ” 
 
 “ Jim, let the poor rabbit go. ” 
 
 “ No, he ’ s mine! I paid for him! I paid for him with two of my dollars! ” 
 
 Well, I won ’ t deny that Jim probably helped his new pet out of a hairy situation. 
 
 To make a long story short, “ Mentos ” became the first of several new additions to the Buckhill Crossing pet population. Two weeks later, Jim ’ s friend Susie claimed to receive a corn snake instead of her intended purchase. Her name is ‘ Gummi Worms ’. In Ms. Katherine ’ s show and tell, A second grader named Bruce brought in his new pet lizard, Gogurt. 
 
 The rumors of the Coin Creatures of Crossing spread like wildfire. The local police helped it along by reporting the newest addition to the force, a miniature black and white piglet, ‘ Oreo ’. As the months went on, the legends got more and more ridiculous. A set of kittens ( Mike and Ike ). A snapping turtle ( Jawbreaker ), and my personal favorite, an actual goldfish. Nevertheless, I brushed off the rumors as hoaxes. 
 
 I ’ ll never forget the day Mom brought home “ Diet Cola ”, a labrador puppy that she swore she rescued from a vending machine. Jim ran straight to my room, and delivered the loudest “ I told you so ” in the history of mankind. 
 
 I ’ m a bit ashamed to admit it, I got a bit heated the night Mom brought home Cola. Jim and I got in an argument that ended with him crying in his room, and my Mom ’ s disapproving glare. I took it an an invitation to leave the house for a bit to cool down. 
 
 As much as hate to admit it, I had let the stories of the Creatures of Crossing get to me. I had spent my whole childhood hunting the supernatural to no avail. I had spent years believing in every small town rumor, every strange coincidence. Now, every Tom, Dick, and Jerry Smith in Buckhill was getting their magical moment straight out of a machine. How unfair was that! 
 
 I looked up from my slouching stroll, only to find myself in the fluorescent light of the Buckhill Crossing's only gas station. I let out a small gasp as my eyes met another pair staring back at me from behind the plexiglass of a vending machine. His horns, wings, scales, and sly smile mocking my disbelief in the Creatures of the Crossing. I couldn ’ t help but let out a laugh as I fed the machine the spare change I had been carrying around since the day Jim brought Mentos home. I knew I'd be in for another `` I told you so'' when I got home, but as far as I was concerned, Jim had earned it. 
 
 “ Hey there, Big Red. ” 
 
 ______ 
 ( small edits: Word choice and grammar ) 
 This is my first time participating in a WP activity! Thanks to OP for the adorable picture, and wonderful prompt! 

