Class: Creative Writing

Requirements:

Word limit: 1,000 words

Prompt: Comedy, Blood drive, Hot chocolate

Untitled

Word Count: 811

"Okay guys, today is the last day to get it. If we don't find it today, I will lose my mind." Alexander paced the floor, his attention on his phone screen.

"Maybe no one has found her yet today," Michael said. "It is kinda early."

Judy shook her head and looked up from her phone, "I've got nothing on Facebook."

Evelyn, Michael, and Judy sat at Christopher's dining room table, hunched over their cell phones. The daily hunt for Helga's Hot Chocolate had begun. The pop-up shop moved each day making it hard to find the coveted drink.

"Perhaps we should venture out into the city to look for it ourselves," Christopher locked his cell phone and grabbed his scarf. "It wouldn't do us much good sitting here waiting for someone to find it for us."

The gang reluctantly agreed with him and collectively got up to walk the streets in search of the smell of chocolate and warm milk. As they stepped onto the pavement outside of Christopher's apartment building, a cold breeze hit them.

After an hour of walking, Michael made the executive decision to stop in the community room at the rec center to warm up. They entered the community room and were met with tables, needles, and bags of blood on a metal rack. The room that normally smelled like cinnamon now smelled very sterile. A nurse tended to the only patient in the room.

"Hi, I'm Ann, are you five here to donate?" A cheery nurse held up a clipboard. The names of patients were scrawled across it.

Alexander stepped forward to answer for the group. "No ma'am, we're actually just looking for Helga's Hot Chocolate. We stopped in here hoping to just warm up for a bit."

Ann gave them a look that none of them could quite place. "Well you're here now, you might as well donate. It'll help out a lot. Just a pint of blood is enough for up to five people. As long as you're all healthy and over 16 years old. We'll be here until three, and if we get you all started now we'll have you out of here right before we close up," she said with a smile.

"We're really just looking for hot chocolate. It's kinda a big deal," Alexander argued.

"If you insist, but I will say that we are offering free snacks after donation," She said.

Alexander opened his mouth to refuse again, but Michael stepped forward and grasped his shoulder. "Actually, I'd like to donate," He said.

Alexander looked at Michael in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You can't be serious. We have no time to waste. This is like the only day we can all get hot chocolate. Christopher leaves for France tomorrow and I go back to DC in three days."

"Alex chill out," Michael said, laughing lightly, "we can still get hot chocolate. It'll be fine." He turned his attention back to the nurse, "I'd love to donate."

Ann's face lit up, "Awesome, just sign your name here and well get you started with the medical questionnaire to make sure you're eligible to donate," She showed him to a table and handed him a sheet of paper to fill out.

Judy and Evelyn were the next ones to offer their blood. As they signed the clipboard, Alexander stood in shock.

"You guys, c'mon we have to go find Helga. We can't waste time having blood drawn. This is gonna take like an hour," He whined. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot against the floor. He raised his eyebrows at Christopher, "Let me guess, you want to donate too?"

"Calm down, we can help out here and then afterward we will go find Helga, It'll only be three when we're done. We'll have plenty of time," Christopher assured the fuming redhead. He signed the clipboard and sat down to fill out the questionnaire.

Alexander fell into a raging fit. "Seriously?" He let out an aggressive huff, "Fine I will go look for Helga myself. You four can stay here and 'help up to five people' while I enjoy the best hot chocolate in the city. I don't need you four. You'll all be sorry when I find Helga and you're stuck here with needles in your arms," He finished his rant with a huff, turned on his heel and stormed out. The remaining four exchanged a glance, the room silent.

Ann piped up to break the silence, "He is quite the hothead, isn't he?"

She received nodding heads in response.

"I will say he might not find Helga today," She chuckled to herself.

Michael furrowed his brows, glanced over at Christopher, and drew his eyes back to Maria. "What do you mean? Do you know where she is?"

"Helga's Hot Chocolate is here for the donors," She laughed.