Working through lunch, I figured that I would grab something from the vending machine.  Gathering some spare change from my car, I headed toward the vending machines with the best intentions.  I had 85 cents.  The popcorn was in my site.  I started plugging the loose change into the machine.  The total grew.  10 cents.  20 cents. 45 cents.  70 cents.  I was getting so close and then something horrible happened.  I dropped a nickel.  Where it rolled to, I had no clue.  I looked around and short of crawling around on my hands and knees to look under the machine, I knew it was lost.  Putting in my final dime, the machine stopped at 80 cents.  One blasted nickel short of the popcorn.  I would need to settle.  Settle for the peanut butter crackers.

Munching through the crackers, I thought it would be okay.  I was wrong.  Shortly thereafter, I sneezed.  A strangely deep and guttural sneeze.  So deep in fact that the chorus of “Bless you” wishes cascading over the tops of the cubicle walls was one short.  She explained, “I wasn’t sure if that was a cough or sneeze.”  Oh dear, now I know not what I have become.  One thing I know for certain, this would not have happened had my vending machine desires been fulfilled.  The lost nickel had thrown me off.  Now, my body was making strange noises unfamiliar to even my fellow humans.  Sadly, I all that I needed was for my popcorn desires to have been granted and my nickel in its proper place.