Billy Sure Kid Entrepreneur vs. Manny Reyes Kid Entrepreneur

by Luke Sharpe

  The carpet has images of all the famous products that Candy Mart sells, from gummies to candy bars to lollipops and on and on. They look so delicious that I almost want to start eating the carpet, but then I have to tell myself that the carpet won’t taste nearly as delicious as it looks.

  Jada and I step up to the front desk, which is shaped like a huge, round peanut butter cup.

  “May I help you two?” asks the woman behind the peanut butter cup.

  “Hi there. We are Billy Sure and Jada Parikh, here to see Doris Bean,” I say.

  The woman types something into her computer and smiles curtly.

  “Down the hall and to your left,” the woman mumbles.

  “You ready?” Jada asks as we walk toward the big door.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say.

  “You’ll do fine, Billy! Just be yourself. Doris Bean is no level-eighteen Sandbox XXL martian-shark.” She smiles.

  I laugh. That is true. And if I could beat that martian-shark with its radioactive teeth, then I can definitely beat this!

  We reach Doris Bean’s office and I knock on the door.

  “Please come in,” says a voice on the other side.

  I open the door. The office is HUGE. To my surprise, there isn’t any candy anywhere. There’s just a normal-looking desk, and a normal-looking meeting table, and a bunch of normal-looking chairs. With all the candy images out in the lobby, I’m totally craving a sweet right now, but I guess I’ll just have to get to business at hand.

  “Billy, it is so nice to meet you,” says the woman inside. “I’m Doris Bean. And Jada! It is so nice to see you again. We are so pleased with the success of the Funny Gummy.”

  “Thank you,” Jada says politely. “Actually, the success of that product made me want to come with Billy. I really believe in this one, Ms. Bean.”

  Huh! I wonder if that’s why Jada wanted to come with me! Of course she’d know Doris. Definite Devices’s Funny Gummy is Candy Mart’s biggest seller right now.

  Ms. Bean holds up a printed copy of the sell sheet I e-mailed her. “So tell me about the Candy Toothbrush,” she says.

  Here you go, Billy. Just do it!

  I begin:

  “As you see from the sell sheet, the Candy Toothbrush is being produced by the same company as other successful products like the SIBLING SILENCER, the ALL BALL, and the MAGICAL MICROPHONE. And while Sure Things, Inc.’s products are always fun, this time, our invention is even sweeter—we’re bringing the same innovative technology that our company is known for to a product that will help encourage even the fussiest kids to brush their teeth.”

  Wow! Listen to me. I sound legit!

  I continue: “We already have a ton of interest out there, but we are offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT to the first store that comes on board—which could very well be Candy Mart, if you act fast.”

  “Very interesting, Billy,” says Ms. Bean, leaning back in her seat. “I like your confidence, and the track record of Sure Things, Inc.”

  She takes out her glasses and spends some time going over the sell sheet. She grabs a calculator and punches a few numbers in.

  Then she turns to us.

  “Based on my projections, I’m going to go with my gut here,” she starts. My hands feel clammy. Oh no. She is going to pass. What if she passes on the product? What will I do then?!

  I start panicking, and that’s when my legs start twitching—

  “Count Candy Mart in as the first store to sign on for the Candy Toothbrush!” Doris says, clapping.

  Candy Mart is in? Did I just hear that right?!

  Stay calm, Billy. STAY CALM!!!

  But I can’t help it. I break out into a huge smile and high-five Jada! I go to high-five Doris, but instead she stands up and extends her hand.

  “Keep me posted about when this invention will be going into full-scale production,” she says as I reach out and shake her hand. “My legal department will be in touch to draw up the contracts. Thanks for coming in. It was very nice to meet you, Billy—and of course, to see you again, Jada.”

  “Thank you,” Jada and I say in unison. Then we turn and leave before I wake up from what must be a dream.

  Outside, Jada is absolutely giddy.

  “I am so proud of you!” she squeals. “You were amazing, Billy! Absolutely amazing.”

  Jada hugs me and we both jump up and down together.

  “I couldn’t have done it without your help,” I say. “Thanks, Jada.”

  “Just you wait until you get to level thirty-one of Sandbox XXL,” Jada says. “Then you’ll really be asking for my help. The monster in that level is really hard.”

  I laugh, and we part ways. I take the bus back to the office feeling pretty good. As I walk in, Manny turns around. He’s got a humongous smile on his face.

  “I have great news!” we both say at the same time. Then we both laugh.

  “YOU GO FIRST,” I say.

  “I’m ready for the test run of my Candy Toothbrush prototype,” Manny announces.

  “That’s perfect, because I just sold the Candy Toothbrush to Candy Mart!” I say proudly.

  “Way to go, Billy!” Manny says, coming over to me to share a high five.

  “So, let’s get testing, shall we?”

  “First, I should get my teeth nice and messy,” Manny says. He looks around the room. “I know! I’ll eat a supermessy slice of pizza from our pizza-dispensing machine.”

  When Manny and I set up World Headquarters, the first thing we did was install some fancy perks. One of those perks was a pizza-dispensing machine. Another of those perks is a foosball table.

  The pizza machine is by far my favorite thing, ever. All you do is enter the toppings you want, press a button, and a perfectly-cooked slice of hot pizza comes sliding out! If only I could get one of those for my house . . . Maybe we could even program it to make soggy slices for Emily!

  “Let’s see,” Manny says, staring at the choices listed on the front of the machine. “I have to make my teeth messy and my breath smelly. . . . How about EXTRA CRUNCHY, EXTRA SAUCE, EXTRA GARLIC, and EXTRA ONION?”

  “Might as well add some EXTRA ANCHOVIES too!” I say.

  Manny nods and presses the buttons. BEEP! A steaming, gooey slice of really stinky pizza with tons of toppings comes sliding out.

  Manny takes a few bites, then smiles broadly at me, revealing his gunky teeth, covered with bits of onion and sauce.

  Hey, maybe I should have worked on the Candy Toothbrush a long time ago. This trial-and-error part looks like fun.

  “Okay, now for the first test of the Candy Toothbrush,” Manny says between bites.

  He walks over to the sink and pulls out the prototype. It looks just like a regular toothbrush, but I know how incredibly detailed it is. He puts regular old toothpaste on the bristles and starts brushing. I notice a lot of fun-looking bubbles come from the brush!

  “It’s working!” he says through a foamy mouth. “Sour apple! Man, is it sour!”

  A few seconds later Manny rinses his mouth out with water. He breathes into his hand and smells it.

  “Tasted like sour apple, but my breath is minty fresh!” he says as I look at my spreadsheet. “Billy, I think the Candy Toothbrush is going to be a BIG SUCCESS!”

  “Yay us!” I cheer. I’m thrilled for Manny, but to be honest, I kinda feel a little jealous. I mean, the first prototype of the very first invention he ever built works perfectly, the first time he tries it. I’d never tell him this, of course, but I wish I could do that when we switch back!

  If we ever switch back, I think now. Oh no. What if Manny decides he wants to invent full-time?

  I can’t let that get to me. I have to be positive.

  Yeah, but you did make your first sale, I remind myself. Then I smile. I had a pretty great day too! But I can’t rely on just one store—even if it is a place as great as Candy Mart—to carry the invention. So I get back to work, building my list of stores to contact.

 
“I think Philo is still a bit confused by us working at each other’s desks,” I tell Manny as I look across at Philo, who has his paws draped off the doggy bed.

  “Mmm,” Manny mumbles.

  “Hey, did you catch the Hyenas game the other day?” I ask. It may seem like we don’t talk a lot at the office, but Manny and I are best friends, and we talk about everything. “Carl Bourette hit three homeruns!”

  “Mhm,” Manny mutters.

  “Oh, and I’m not really that upset anymore about Petula’s pool party,” I say. “It would have been nice to go, but I just need to accept no one is inviting me. But you must be excited about going. Petula is really nice.”

  “Mhm,” Manny grunts again.

  What’s going on with Manny? All he’s doing is grunting and mumbling. Oh no. Has he joined Emily in the “I’m not talking anymore” club? Did he get braces in the past hour?

  I decide I have got to make Manny talk! And since Manny is a scaredy cat, I know exactly the way to do it!

  When Manny isn’t looking, I grab an old sheet and throw it over Philo. Philo, who wants to shake it off but isn’t exactly coordinated, starts walking toward Manny like a short, dog-shaped ghost.

  I also happen to know that Manny is really afraid of ghosts.

  “YAAAA!” I yell, pointing at Philo. “What is that thing? Is that a GHOST?”

  Manny turns around and sees Ghost Philo scuffling across the floor. He leaps out of his chair and yells, “AAAAAAH!”

  Aha!

  That’s when I see what Manny was mumbling about—his teeth are green! Not the kind of light green like candy sometimes makes teeth. No, these are full-on green, like a lawn in spring!

  Switching the Switcheroo

  MANNY SHUTS HIS MOUTH QUICKLY, but it’s too late. I’ve seen it all.

  “I think I just discovered a side effect of the Candy Toothbrush,” Manny admits.

  Okay, so I feel really bad that Manny’s teeth are green, but I can’t help but feel a teeny-tiny bit better about my own inventing abilities, knowing that Manny has run into the same problems with early prototypes as I do.

  “How long is this going to last?” Manny groans. “I can’t go to Petula’s party tomorrow with green teeth!”

  I find myself giggling, even though I do feel bad for Manny. Then I get an idea.

  I hurry to my workbench and quickly tweak the formula for the INVISIBILITY SPRAY, reworking it so that it is both safe to eat and will make teeth normal color again by making the green invisible until it wears off.

  Manny rubs some on his teeth. A few seconds later they are back to normal.

  “Thanks, Billy,” he says. “I guess it’s back to the drawing board for me!”

  • • •

  On my way home I think about how quickly I was able to retool the Invisibility Spray formula to help Manny. It makes me happy to think that my inventing skills are still pretty sharp, even if I haven’t been inventing much lately.

  That evening after my shower I notice the bathroom counter is covered with all kinds of weird tooth and braces stuff—Emily’s equipment, I guess. I see special floss, tiny rubber bands, and some goopy stuff in a container that is labeled “mouth wax.” The entire counter is filled with this stuff. How many products do you need for braces?!

  Then I feel kinda bad. I didn’t realize Emily had to change her entire toothbrush routine. If only the Candy Toothbrush . . .

  I pause. The lightbulb in my head goes off.

  Lots of kids have braces. What if we made the Candy Toothbrush easy to use for kids with braces? Like, make it so you wouldn’t need special picks for the brackets? I bet it would be an even bigger seller! We could make it have a switch with options—one for kids with braces and one for kids without.

  I’ll have to talk with Manny about this tomorrow and see what he thinks.

  • • •

  When I wake up the next morning, I’m surprisingly sleepy. I thought I’d rested a lot. . . . What happened? As I walk past my desk I see something stretched out across the top. Leaning in for a closer look, I see that it’s blueprints.

  I must have invented in my sleep, like I usually do when I’m working on a new product for Sure Things, Inc. But I’m not working on a new product. So what did I sleep invent?

  I scan the blueprints and discover that I have sleep-invented plans for the perfect Candy Toothbrush!

  Looking at the blueprints more closely, I see that I have come up with a design for a Candy Toothbrush that works for kids with or without braces. And it works better than a regular toothbrush—getting all those hard-to-reach places!

  Not only that, but I can see where Manny went wrong and why his teeth turned green. My blueprints bypass that problem completely.

  This is perfect! This is fantastic! I should text Manny right away!

  Or should I?

  Normally, I would want to him to know about sleep-invented blueprints as soon as possible. But this invention is his, not mine. I don’t want to step on Manny’s toes. He’s been so careful about not interfering with my marketing and sales plans. I’m not sure what to do.

  I roll up the blueprints, slip them into my backpack, and head out to the office. I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to tell Manny. Maybe I should wait it out, and tell him only if he asks for help?

  I arrive at World Headquarters to find Manny hard at work on tweaking his Candy Toothbrush prototype. I sit at his desk and start entering numbers into a spreadsheet, following my whole “wait it out” plan.

  I feel like I’m on the edge of my seat!

  Every few seconds I glance over to Manny and stare longingly at my workbench. That’s where I want to be. That’s where I should be. Especially now that I have the solution to all the problems with this invention. I wish I was sitting there, tinkering and tweaking the Candy Toothbrush, based on my blueprints!

  I go back to my spreadsheet, typing in notes about the e-mails I’ve exchanged with the buyers at Taco! Taco! Taco! (they think the Candy Toothbrush might be a great addition to their kids meals—I ate at Taco! Taco! Taco! once, and I can guarantee that it’s a good idea). A few minutes later I look up and see Manny staring at me . . . or rather, at his own desk.

  “So you’ve only sold the Candy Toothbrush to one place at this time, right, partner?” Manny asks, COOL AS A CUCUMBER.

  “Yup, but it is Candy Mart,” I point out. “But, yeah, I haven’t gotten any more bites. Potentially Taco! Taco! Taco!, and I’m meeting later with a dentist to see if he wants to stock the Candy Toothbrush in his office. Jada’s coming with me.”

  Manny scratches his head and stares at me. An uncomfortable look comes across his face, like he’s got some bad news he doesn’t want to tell me.

  Uh-oh. My hands feel sweaty. Manny never looks this stressed. Is something wrong? Does he know I sleep-invented? Is he mad at me?

  Manny finally speaks.

  “So, after yesterday’s . . . er, incident . . . with the Candy Toothbrush, I actually tried to sleep-invent,” he admits.

  Wow! Manny sleep-inventing. Who knows, maybe I’m not the only one who can do it?

  “How’d it go?” I ask.

  “Not so great,” Manny says. “I’m not really good at it like you are, Billy. Here, I’ll show you.”

  Manny opens up his briefcase and pulls out a rolled-up blueprint. I walk over to the workbench just as he unrolls it.

  It’s on blueprint paper, but it doesn’t look like a blueprint. It’s just a bunch of squiggles!

  I look at the paper a little more carefully. Hmm, is it just a bunch of squiggles? There is something vaguely familiar about it. I tilt my head from one side to the other. Then I reach down and turn the paper on its side.

  BINGO!

  There it is! I see it!

  “Manny, this isn’t an invention blueprint,” I say. “It’s not a bunch of squiggles, either.” I pause, waiting for this to sink in.

  “It’s a MARKETING PLAN for the Candy Toothbrush! Look at these lines.
It’s a graph, with projected sales numbers, a geographic marketing strategy . . . do you realize what you’ve done?”

  Manny stares at the plan and scratches his head.

  “You’ve sleep-invented a marketing plan!” I say. “Your real talent came out when you slept, just like mine does.”

  I think the time is right to show Manny what I came up with last night. I pull the blueprints out of my backpack and roll them out on top of Manny’s.

  “I wasn’t going to show you these . . . at least not right away, because I didn’t want you to feel bad,” I explain. “But I accidentally sleep-invented last night too.”

  Manny looks at my plan and smiles.

  “This is perfect,” he says. “It not only solves the green teeth problem, but it looks like you have a special setting that will work for people with braces!”

  “Yup, that’s all part of it.”

  “It’s fantastic. What made you think about kids with braces?”

  “Long story,” I say. “I’ll fill you in later.”

  “So it looks like we both had the same idea,” Manny says. “Subconsciously, anyway. We each did the thing that we’re best at.”

  “I had no idea that SLEEP-MARKETING was even possible,” I say.

  “Me neither,” says Manny, laughing. “And I’m the guy who did it!”

  Manny looks over my blueprints as I review his marketing plan.

  “Do you think maybe this SWITCHEROO we’ve been doing isn’t as good an idea as we first thought?” he asks. “I mean, I hate admitting defeat as much as you do, but maybe we’re just not cut out for the switch. Do you think it’s time to go back to each doing what we are good at?”

  I want to cheer. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking! I’m glad Manny was the one to suggest it, though.

  “Yes!” I say, almost too excitedly.

  “Then I think we can say that the time for our Sure Things switcheroo is officially over!” says Manny, clapping his hands.

  A great feeling of relief washes over me. And I think about how this is reason #990 why Manny is my best friend and CFO. He’s honest, he knows what he can and can’t do, and he knows how to end things gracefully.