Page 127 - Just Deserts

Chameleon Dress Tips

McCracken sifted through some papers on his battered old desk.
“You could fool me. But here is the design for the packaging label.
Says ‘Frisko Kid’s Chameleon Dress Tips.’ Not very original. Molded
with that same thermoplastic we used for the prism thermometers
last year.”
“Oh, yeah. Goes through a range of colors depending on room
temperature.”
“They want them packaged so that there are three of them lined
up side by side in shrink-wrap with a two-color label. The labels
should be coming in from the printer in a couple of days. As far as
scheduling goes, if you get the mold ready in time you should be able
to work this in right after the Robot Cruise Missile Warrior.”
The production manager consulted a chart on the wall. “All right,
Jack. I’m pretty sure we have enough thermoplastic pellets in stock.”
He headed for the door, then stopped. “Say, let me have a look at
that label again. Maybe my kids would like one of these things; you
know, with that dinosaur craze, they’re always pestering me for things
like this.”
“Sure.” McCracken handed him the mock-up.
“‘Chameleon Dress Tips,’” Calderon mumbled. “‘See them change
their clothing with the weather! Put one in the icebox and it will don
its winter outfit! Hold one in your hand to see what it wears in
summer! Or make your own mini-climate for your cuddly pal!’ Yeah,
this might be good for fifteen minutes’ entertainment before they
throw it under the bed and go back to their video games.”
McCracken yawned and looked pointedly at the large clock on the
wall. “Okay, no problem. We have to press about fifty extra anyway
to send to the inventor, some guy in New York City named Geek or
Meek or something. So take a few for yourself. Big deal: they’ll
probably retail for $9.95. If we ever get them out the door.”
Calderon put down the label and held up his hands defensively.
“Hey, it’s a perk of the job, right? I’m going. But should I save the
mold in case the lizard is a hit?”
“Yeah, for a few weeks. Chances are the distributor will be stuck
with ten or twenty thousand, but maybe it will click. Maybe the name
is weird enough, or the timing is just right. Who knows? If we did,
we’d be millionaires.”
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