Uni hopped out of the car, her steps filled with excited energy. Trixie followed suit, and the sounds of congested traffic filled their ears, the sun beaming on their skin. They opened the door and were hit with the cool air-conditioning and the chatter of the locals. The shelves were chock-full of snacks and various wares, but the two women came for one thing and one thing only.

"Welp," Trixie said with an accomplished grin. "We can now say we've been in a Yushalian gas station."

Uni nodded, her eyes scanning the wide array of snacks and treats. "Yep, we can cross that one off the bucket list." She chuckled as she walked down one of the aisles.

"Now the real decision comes, which tasty treats to pick. There's too many options.”

Trixie let out a little laugh, amused. "Oh, you're preaching to the choir, Uni. I mean, just look at this place. It's a snack-filled paradise. But we gotta be strategic here. We want the best of the best, the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and downright unhealthy.”

Uni chuckled, nodding in agreement. "You're absolutely right. We need a carefully planned assortment of goodies. Let's get a mix of salty and sweet, maybe some cookies, chips, and candies. And don't forget the soda, gotta keep that sugar high going.”

Trixie grinned, loving this plan. "Oh yeah, soda is a must. We need something to wash down all that sugar. Plus, it's tradition, right? Road trip snacks are just not complete without fizzy drinks.”

Uni grabbed a few bags of chips and a box of cookies. "Right? It ain't a real road trip without a cold soda. Maybe we should even get different flavors, y'know, mix it up a bit.”

"Oh, good call!" Trixie exclaimed, holding a bag of candy. "That's exactly what we need, a variety of flavors to keep things exciting. Let's grab some different sodas and mix it up. Maybe we should get some energy drinks too, just to keep the buzz going.”

Uni smirked, impressed with their strategic snack-picking skills. "You are absolutely right, energy drinks are perfect. We need something to keep us awake, especially if we want this road trip celebration to go late. And hey, they'll add an extra burst of caffeine to our sugar high.”

Trixie laughed, adding energy drinks to their now impressively large pile. "Exactly! We're going big now. We're gonna have so many snacks and drinks, we won't even know what to do with ourselves. This road trip celebration is gonna be off the charts.”

Uni giggled, her arms full of an assortment of snacks and drinks. "Damn right, it is. We're gonna have the best snack stash this gas station has ever seen. Let's check-out so we can head back and load up the trunk with our loot.”

Trixie chuckled, following Uni to the check-out counter. "I can't wait to see the look on the clerk's face when we dump all these snacks on the counter. They might think we're hosting a party.”

Uni joined in the laughter. "Oh man, I can just imagine their reaction. They're gonna think we're crazy, buying all this stuff for just two people. They might even wonder what kind of wild celebration we're up to.”

Trixie smirked, imagining their surprise. "Yeah, they probably won't know what to make of us. Two women coming in here, buying all the snacks and drinks like we're preparing for a month-long party or something. They'll probably remember us as the craziest snacking duo they've ever seen.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Can you two hurry up and get in line?" a customer said behind them, his accent thick.

Uni and Trixie snapped out of their snack-buying fantasy and laughed. "Right, right." Uni said as she stepped forward in the line.

"Sorry, got carried away with our imaginary gas station fame," Trixie added as she followed suit, still grinning.

The checkout clerk gave them a curious look as they began scanning their items. "Quite the haul you ladies got here. What's the occasion?"

Uni chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, just a little road trip celebration. We're treating ourselves to a sugar-filled extravaganza.”

The clerk raised an eyebrow. "Sugar-caffeine equilibrium, huh? Sounds scientific."

Uni chuckled, enjoying the conversation. "Yeah, it's a delicate balancing act. But we've got it down to a science. The perfect combination of sugar for energy and caffeine to maintain focus and alertness. Nothing but the best snack fueling for our road trip.”

The clerk chuckled, bagging up their last few items. "Well, I must say, your dedication to snack selection and energy balance is commendable. You ladies are clearly experts at road trip preparation. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. And enjoy your sugar-caffeine equilibrium journey.”

Uni and Trixie laughed, appreciating the clerk's concern. "Thanks for the advice. We'll be sure to stay focused and safe. And yes, we'll definitely enjoy every bit of our sugar-caffeine equilibrium journey. It's going to be a sweet and energized voyage."

Trixie pulled out her wallet and pulled out some banknotes. The clerk, noticing the foreign currency, raised a brow.

"Ah, foreign money, huh?" the clerk noted, accepting the money and starting to count it. "You ladies travel far?”

Trixie nodded, "Yeah, we've traveled quite a distance. We're road tripping it."

Uni added, "From Elbrastion to over here. A bit of a culture shock, but the snack selection is top-notch, as you can see.”

The clerk chuckled, clearly intrigued. "Oh, an international snack-buying spree, huh? That's quite the journey. And you're right, the snack selection in this petrol station is pretty diverse. You've got the local favorites and a few international goodies. It's a treat, isn't it?”

"Absolutely," Trixie agreed, her eyes scanning the shelves behind the clerk. "It's like a whole new world of snacks. We're discovering some flavors we've never seen back home."

Uni chimed in, "Yeah, and the best part is, we're celebrating my existence with snacks. It's a double win.”

The clerk laughed heartily at Uni's comment. "Celebrating your existence with snacks? Well, that's a new one. Now then, I assume you're familiar with the exchange rate between these two currencies, eh?"

Trixie remembered Piper's calculations. 1 into 17. She grinned and nodded. "Oh yeah, we're up to date. One of our friends back home did the conversion math for us. One of ours to 17 of yours, right?"

Uni smiled, adding, "Yeah, we've got the snack-to-money conversion down to a science.”

The clerk looked impressed. "Ah, a friend who's a currency mathematician, eh? Very handy. And yes, you're right, one of your dollars to 17 of mine. Good to know you ladies are well-prepared. You really are taking this snack-buying road trip seriously. That in mind, your total would be...1,106 and 50 cents."

Trixie gasped before the clerk guffawed. "Remember, that's in our money, not yours.”

Uni and Trixie let out a collective sigh of relief. "Oh man, you had us scared for a second," Uni laughed. "Almost had a heart attack there."

"But sheesh," Trixie sighed with an ashamed smile. "How in the world do we figure out how much we need in OUR money to have enough? Where's Piper when we need her?!”

The clerk chuckled, clearly amused by their reaction. "Don't worry, ladies. Just a little harmless fun. But as for your conversion question, perhaps your mathematician friend can provide some guidance? Or you could use a currency converter on your phones, of course.”

Uni smiled. "A currency converter, of course! Why didn't we think of that?"

Trixie nodded, "Yeah, we can use my phone to calculate it quickly." She pulled out her phone, opened a conversion app, and plugged in the numbers.

She thought: Hmm...1 to 17...1,106.50...stuff and stuff…let's see…

After a few moments of tapping on her phone, calculating, Trixie's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...1,106.50 in their money converts to...$64.91 in ours. That's quite a difference.”

Uni nodded, her eyes also widening in surprise. "Whoa, that's a pretty significant difference. We're getting a much better deal here, it seems."

The clerk chuckled, overhearing their conversation. "Oh yeah, you ladies are getting your chips, candy, and drinks for quite a bargain here. You could say you're winning the snack exchange race.”

Uni laughed. "Well, in that case, we're more than happy to win this snack exchange race. It's a win-win situation. We get loads of snacks, and our money goes farther here. Can't beat that.”

Trixie chuckled, agreeing with Uni. "Exactly. And speaking of snacks, I think we've got everything we need now. Ready to hit the road with our celebration stash, Uni?”

Uni grinned, her eyes sparkling. "Absolutely! I can't wait to tuck into all these treats. And the energy drinks will keep us caffeinated for our celebration. Let's roll, Trixie. We still have over three hours worth of road left to go."

Trixie took one last look at their huge snack pile and smiled. "You got it, Uni. Let's load up these treats, grab the energy drinks, and hit the road. Three hours is nothing with this stash. It's time for our candy-fueled celebration to truly begin!”