Lina stared at all the choices. She pondered about what to chose. So many choices were on display here. The brands, most of them anyway, were completely unknown to her. Were they fakes or foreign brands? In the case of the former, she feared chemical products that could be dangerous. Not that she was hit by the thought that the normal brands on sale are not the safest in terms of chemicals themselves in the department of sodas... But she saw a logo of diet soda in the long list and Lina being conscious about her weight - not that she really needed to - she pressed the button. And she felt like she was treading on familiar territory. With a clunk and several tumbling sounds, the can arrived and Lina picked it up. It was not a diet version of Pepsi, Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper. It was just called "Slender!" and it had the image of a very thin girl on it, in a toga and with flowers in her hair. It was a stylised drawing of a nymph and the can claimed the drink was filled with fruit and vegetable extracts, like apple, cucumber and celery. Lina had never seen it before but it looked healthy. Of course, that was what was simply written on the can.
"What is it?" asked Amy.
"A soda I picked. Never seen it before."
"Neither have I."
Lina opened it and gulped the strange beverage. She was surprised. It was not overly sugary. Or even chemical. On the contrary, the tastes seemed very fresh and natural.
"Wow, it's delicious! Try it! It's like a delicious light organic smoothie!" exclaimed Lina enthusiastically.
She handed the can to Amy who took a gulp and said in joyful tones that her friend was absolutely right. No wonder this drink promised to keep people slim! With those, it was no problem eating your five fruits and vegetables a day! Yet what the can did not say was the irrepressible desire to eat fruits and vegetable that would follow as the drinkers became nymphs, elves or mermaids. But all very slim and slender, just as its title claimed.