Flash Fiction: Doctered Pep

When I take a break at work, I often stare at the big soda machine. It has a small silent radio that scrolls an everlasting sales pitch to me to drink its sodas. Sometimes I give in, sometimes I ignore the thing and buy chips.

Truck drivers come into the break room all the time; seeing someone I didn't recognize bang on the soda machine was no big deal.

“Eat your money, did it," I asked?

He was lost in the moment and didn't answer me at first. I was about to walk away and leave him to his business when he spoke," Money? What money?"

"You did put money in the machine, didn't you?"

He looked at me dumbfounded, "Why would I ever give this ungrateful piece of clockwork my money?"

He looked serious when he said it,"Because the sodas aren't free. You have to pay for them."

I fished in my pocket for 3 coins, dropped them in the slot, made my choice and watched the can drop. I took it, opened it and drank it, "See how easy that is."

I pulled out 3 more coins and offered them to the stranger. His reaction was almost angry, "You were cheated, sir. Intergalactic law states that any humanoid encountering a sodtoid may take one can for refreshment during cosmic travel. It’s their ministry."

I was scared but I thought maybe he was just joking. I pray he was joking, "But I'm not traveling the cosmos," I smiled a nervous smile.

He looked me up and down, "Well, thats okay then, fundraising and all." He turned around and continued slapping the machine, “I think I got it. It was just stuck."

He slapped the glass at 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock, twisted the return lever, spun around twice and kicked it square in the door drop. His foot got stuck and he hopped around on one foot until his foot came loose. He cocked his head back and looked at me and smiled, "That did it."

He then pressed the button of the soda of his choice. The can hopped down from its perch and fell down below. The stranger knelt down and claimed his refreshment and left. I was intrigued and I followed him out to his big blue rig. He started it up and turned on his runner lights. Well, they looked like runner lights. The truck and trailer began to glow from underneath. It then began to raise.  As it hovered above my head, the driver stuck his head out and nodded his head, shot a me a couple of times with a finger gun and then rocketed off into the sky.