COFFID

^{Photo by nousnou iwasaki on Unsplash}

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"Dang, Marianne we're out of coffee!" I yelled in frustration.

My roommate was barely standing up and brushing the eyewash out of his eyes. "No way!" She exclaimed. "We can't run out of coffee on a Sunday! Hadn't you gone to the store to buy more?"

"I couldn't afford it, besides, I don't like that new insect-based coffee they sell everywhere now; besides it's too expensive."

Marianne frowned as she scratched her head vigorously, stirring her matted dark hair even more, fresh out of bed.

"Damn it, David! You only had to do one thing, now what are we going to do?"

I stared at her and shrugged.

"No way...I'll go to the corner store and buy coffee," She said.

"No wait, don't, don't, don't buy that coffee!"

"Can you think of anything else?"

I pursed my lips trying to contain myself.

"You might think it's a bad idea," I said seriously.

Marianne scrunched up her face, the mole above her right eyebrow seeming to dance back and forth.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You'd better see for yourself."

We got ready and I drove Marianne in my car to the place where I have my secret. She was persistent the whole way there questioning me more than a lawyer, "Is this another experiment of yours from biology school?" "Is this something illegal?" "How long have you been at this?" "Damn it, David, why won't you tell me anything?" and she kept going.

"We're getting there just calm down," I told her in a loud tone just as we were passing the outside entrance to the nursery.

Marianne was dumbfounded, for my place; where I do my plant experiments and other studies for the university, was huge and very well kept.

"That's impressive, David! Is this place yours?" she asked.

"Yes, I rented it from a man who lives across town. Come, I'll show you what I'm working on."

Marianne looked around the nursery as if it were a futuristic capsule. Her nose was pointing everywhere and her feet weren't moving.

"Marianne, come!" I exclaimed, she reacted and followed my lead.

As we walked, I gave my friend a tour of the place. "Here I do simple things like growing vegetables and other tubers. In this part, I have my failed experiments, the ones that didn't achieve my expectations. And over here are my initial experiments; they are all with tomatoes, and I want to modify their flavor.

"And over here, there is what will be my best creation, the 'Coffid', a type of genetically modified coffee."

"Coffid? Why that name?"

"It's a combination of my name and the name of the coffee."

Marianne laughed out loud showing all her teeth. "I'm sorry, David, but you lack creativity."

"Yes, I know it's a silly name, but it will stop being silly when I'm famous and selling my creation in every store in the country."

"And why is this kind of coffee different?" Marianne asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"Because it's a type of bean that has a special function, it melts with water; as if it were instant coffee. You don't have to grind it or use a sophisticated tool to prepare it, you just put the bean in a cup with water and that's it."

Marianne was surprised at her friend's explanation. "Is that why you keep them in that capsule?"

"Yes, apparently they are very sensitive to moisture. I don't want to risk the material being lost."

"And without water, how do the plants grow?" Marianne asked.

"That's the best part, they just need sun; a few flashes a day are enough."

Marianne's eyes sparkled like a glare.

"Then you have a supply of coffee! You don't have to store at the stores anymore."

"Yes, but I still can't test it. I've used so many chemicals to make it work that I don't know what effects it might have on the body."

Marianne's face changed to a look of disappointment. "Oh, that's too bad, I really wanted a cup of coffee right now."

"Yeah, me too. Wait here, I'll get something back there."

I reached for an old grinder I had stored in a small room. I had a few beans in storage left over from my experiments; it wasn't enough to make much coffee, but enough to serve two cups.

When I returned to the nursery, I noticed that the capsule of my modified coffee beans was open, then I spotted a plastic bottle with water spilled next to them. Marianne was nowhere to be seen and I panicked. I imagined the worst so I went looking for her.

I didn't have to run far to find her, she was hugging a tree with crazy intensity. "I'm the tack queen! Adore me! Adore me!" she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What the hell, Marianne? What did you do?" She didn't answer me; apparently, she was under hallucinogenic effects. I had no choice, I didn't want to go out that far, but I had to take her to a hospital.

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THE END

^{Photo by Robert Shunev on Unsplash}