The Crunchiest Dream

Hela pressed her nose against the window of Crunch Paradise, the most amazing chip store in the entire city. Inside, towers of colorful bags reached toward the ceiling like edible skyscrapers. Rainbow-colored potato chips, chocolate-covered pretzels, and exotic flavors she'd never heard of beckoned from every shelf.

"I want it all," she whispered, her green eyes sparkling with excitement.

The store owner, Mr. Peterson, noticed her lingering outside. He stepped out with a warm smile, his gray mustache twitching as he spoke.

"You've been admiring my shop every day this week, young lady. Would you like to come in and try a sample?"

Hela's curls bounced as she nodded eagerly. "Actually, I have a better idea." She pulled out her phone and showed him her bank app. "What if I bought your entire store?"

Mr. Peterson's eyes widened as he saw the number of zeros on her screen. "Well, I suppose we could discuss terms..."

The First Customer

Two hours later, Hela stood behind the counter of her brand-new chip store, wearing Mr. Peterson's old apron. The keys felt heavy in her small hands.

"I can't believe I just bought an entire store," she giggled, tossing her brown curls over her shoulder.

A woman with short black hair walked in, carrying a clipboard. "I'm Sarah from the health department. We need to do an inspection before you can officially operate."

Hela's green eyes widened. "But I already own it!"

"Ownership and operating permits are different things," Sarah explained, pulling out a pen. "This could take weeks."

Hela's stomach growled loudly. She looked around at the towers of colorful chip bags surrounding her. Barbecue-flavored ones called to her from the left shelf. Chocolate-covered pretzels winked at her from the right.

"Well," she said with a mischievous grin, "if I can't sell them to customers yet, I guess I'll have to be my own first customer."

She grabbed a bag of rainbow chips and tore it open. The first handful tasted like heaven. Then another bag. And another.

Sarah shook her head and continued writing on her clipboard.