The Monster Diner

On a breezy Saturday evening, just as the streetlights began to flicker on, Dad took his twelve-year-old daughter, Luna, and his ten-year-old son, Cosmo, for a walk to find a place for dinner.

While strolling down a rarely used side street, they spotted a brand-new, incredibly bizarre restaurant. The building's walls were made of dark purple stone, and the front doors were shaped exactly like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast. The most eye-catching feature, however, was the flashing neon-green sign that read: MONSTER DINER. An eerie, purplish-blue light spilled from the windows. The whole place looked undeniably creepy—yet absolutely awesome.

"Whoa! Dad, can we eat there?" Cosmo jumped up and down, pointing excitedly at the sign.

Dad wrinkled his nose, eyeing the strange building. "It's called the Monster Diner, buddy. I don't think that food is meant for us, and I definitely don't want you guys getting upset stomachs. Let's just go to our usual pizza place."

Luna, who always loved trying new things, tugged on Dad's sleeve. "But it looks so fun! Come on, Dad. Let's just try it, please?"

The siblings deployed their best tactics: Cosmo broke out his ultimate puppy-dog eyes, while Luna promised up and down that she would eat every single bite of her meal. They stood outside the looming doors, pleading and whining to go inside.

Finally, Dad couldn't take the noise anymore. He let out a long, defeated sigh and agreed to take them in, just to check it out.

As they pushed open the heavy front doors, a bell rang out with a low, spooky clonk. The moment they stepped inside, they froze in their tracks.

The restaurant was packed with real, live monsters!

At the very next booth sat a towering beast covered in shaggy blue fur, slurping a bowl of bubbling red soup. Not far away, a creature that looked like a massive blob of green Jell-O was holding a knife and fork in its slippery tentacles. Dad, Luna, and Cosmo were the only humans in the entire diner.

A waiter in a crisp, tailored suit, sporting a single giant eyeball in the center of his face, walked over to greet them. Seeing the three humans, his massive eye blinked. Though he clearly found their presence unusual, he maintained a perfectly professional demeanor, leading them to a quiet booth in the corner and handing them three heavy, black menus.

When they opened the menus, the family was stumped. The pages were filled with squiggly, scratchy monster handwriting they couldn't read at all. Thankfully, there were vividly colored pictures next to the words.

Cosmo flipped to the first page and was instantly drawn to an illustration of glowing green gelatin served in a tall, clear glass. Deep inside, the jelly seemed to shimmer with shifting colors. He pointed at the picture and yelled, "I want this one!"

The one-eyed waiter leaned in to look, speaking in a deep, gravelly voice. "Ah, excellent choice. That is the Chameleon Jell-O."

Luna pointed to a picture on another page. It looked like a faintly glowing, golden cloud—absolutely magical.

The waiter nodded. "That is our signature dessert, the Firefly Cotton Candy."

Dad studied the bizarre food pictures, still feeling incredibly nervous. Just to be safe, he pointed to an item that looked mostly like normal noodles, figuring plain old spaghetti wouldn't cause too much trouble.

The waiter jotted it down on his notepad. "Not a problem at all. One order of Unicorn Spaghetti, coming right up."

Before long, the food arrived. Cosmo couldn't wait; he scooped up a large spoonful of the Chameleon Jell-O and popped it into his mouth. It was ice-cold, tasting like sweet-and-sour green apples, and it popped and fizzed on his tongue just like Pop Rocks.

The instant he swallowed the Jell-O, something magical happened! Cosmo's arms turned vibrant neon green, perfectly matching the dessert he had just eaten.

He stared at his hands in shock. Panicking, he brushed his fingers against the red pepper shaker on the table. In a blink, the green faded away like watercolor paint, and his skin turned cherry-red to match the shaker!

Curious, he placed his hand flat on the dark-brown wooden table. Sure enough, his skin slowly morphed into the exact shade and pattern of the wood grain. Next, he squeezed his eyes shut and pictured a clear blue sky as hard as he could. When he opened them, his skin was a brilliant, beautiful blue.

He laughed out loud, feeling as cool as a comic-book superhero.

Across the table, Luna pinched off a piece of her faintly glowing Firefly Cotton Candy and placed it on her tongue. It melted into a sweet, warm feeling.

Suddenly, Luna felt incredibly light. Her feet actually lifted off the floor! She floated right up into the air like a balloon, nearly bumping her head on the diner's giant chandelier.

While the two kids were enjoying their magical treats, Dad twirled a large forkful of spaghetti and took a bite. He had barely swallowed the noodles when he looked up to see Cosmo turning blue and Luna floating near the ceiling.

Terrified, Dad jumped out of his booth, reaching up to try and pull Luna back down to safety. But before he could even grab her ankle, the center of his forehead started to itch wildly.

Then—POP!—a sparkling, colorful, spiraled unicorn horn grew right out of his head!

Dad gasped, dropping his fork to the floor with a loud clatter. He grabbed the horn and yelled, "I told you monster food wasn't for humans!"

"Excuse me!" Dad shouted, waving the one-eyed waiter over. "How do we fix this?"

Entirely unfazed, the waiter pulled a small wooden box from his suit pocket. Inside sat three plain, boring white mints.

"These are Antidote Mints," the waiter said calmly. "Humans usually experience side effects from our menu. Just eat one of these, and you'll go back to normal."

Hearing this, Dad snatched a mint and swallowed it. In less than three seconds, the sparkly horn on his forehead vanished into thin air.

Next, he reached up and handed a mint to Luna. As soon as she ate it, her weight returned, and she floated gently and safely back down to her chair.

Finally, Dad held the third mint out to Cosmo. But Cosmo clamped his mouth shut and shook his head vigorously. He thought his new color-changing powers were awesome! It was the superpower he'd always dreamed of having, and he definitely didn't want to be a boring, normal boy again.

Dad pleaded with him, "Cosmo, listen to me! You're going to scare people. Just eat the candy, right now."

But Cosmo was stubborn. No matter what Dad said, he refused to open his mouth.

Accepting defeat, Dad let out a sigh, paid the bill, and took his bizarre, colorful son home.

On Monday morning, Cosmo caused a massive commotion the moment he arrived at school. He pressed his hand against a rough brick wall, turning his skin a deep brick-red. Then he touched his purple backpack and shifted to a vibrant violet. He even grabbed his lunchbox and turned a dazzling banana-yellow.

His classmates crowded around him, watching him change colors on command like a magical street performer. Soaking up their cheers and gasps of amazement, Cosmo held his head high, feeling like the coolest kid in the entire school.

But the excitement didn't last long. Three days later, Cosmo noticed something was very, very wrong.

While taking a shower, he noticed rough, bumpy green scales sprouting on his arms. Even creepier, his eyes rolled in different directions, completely out of his control. Later, as he walked down the hallway, he could feel a long, heavy tail slowly growing from the base of his spine.

He wasn't just keeping his color-changing powers—he was slowly turning into an actual chameleon!

Panicking, Cosmo bolted out of his house and ran as fast as he could toward the Monster Diner, desperate to get his hands on an Antidote Mint.

But when he finally reached the side street, out of breath, the spot was empty. The purple stone walls were gone. The glowing neon sign was gone. There was nothing left but a dirt lot covered in weeds, as if the restaurant had never existed in the first place.

Cosmo ran home in total despair, rushing straight into his bedroom. He stared into his mirror at the scaly, weird-eyed creature looking back at him, not knowing what to do. Filled with fear and crushing regret, he threw himself onto his bed and sobbed into his pillow.

Just then, his bedroom door creaked open. Dad walked in. Seeing Cosmo crying so hard, he sat gently on the edge of the bed. "What happened, buddy? Why are you crying like this?"

Between heavy sobs, Cosmo told his dad all about the terrifying, scaly changes happening to his body. He looked up, tears streaming down his bumpy face. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have been so stubborn, and I shouldn't have refused the candy. I don't want to be a monster chameleon... I just want to be your Cosmo again."

Dad listened quietly. Seeing the true, honest regret in Cosmo's wildly spinning eyes, he gently patted his son on the head.

Then, Dad stood up, walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room, and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a small wooden box.

He opened the lid, and inside lay a single, plain white mint. Back at the diner, when Cosmo had refused to eat it, Dad hadn't thrown the candy away. He had secretly pocketed it and brought it home for safekeeping.

Dad smiled warmly and handed the mint to Cosmo. "Here. Eat up."

Cosmo tossed the candy into his mouth and swallowed, a warm, tingling feeling rushing through his entire body. The rough scales on his arms vanished, his eyes locked back into place, and the weird, heavy feeling at the base of his spine disappeared. His skin returned to its normal, healthy tone.

Staring at his perfectly human hands, Cosmo burst into happy tears, threw his arms around his dad, and hugged him tight.

From that day forward, Cosmo never dared to ignore his dad's advice again. And as for that mysterious Monster Diner? The family never saw it on that—or any other—street ever again.