Lemonade
A fictional short-short story
I ride the school bus and every day pass Six Flags and its huge roller coaster. The other kids said they loved their trip to Six Flags. I had never been there because my mother said we couldn’t afford it — She looked it up and it cost $45 per adult, $30 per child, not counting $20 for parking, and more for food, which is expensive there. So, she’d need more than $100.
So I decided to make the money by having a lemonade stand in front of the apartment building where we live. It wasn’t easy. Yes, we had a little table, a pitcher, sugar, and paper cups but no lemons, and to buy them in the store would be too expensive. But I remembered that a block away, there’s a house with a big lemon tree in front. I went over and asked the owner if I could buy lemons. He said, “I have more than I know what to do with. Take all you want.”
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My mother said, “This is a dangerous neighborhood. Every hour, bring the money inside, so if someone tries to steal it, they won’t get much. But I said it feels more grown-up to keep all the money with me in the little box I’d use to hold the money.
Sales were slow to start. I made only $8 the first day. I guess that people had to get to know that the lemonade stand would be there after school every day and every Saturday afternoon. After six weeks, I had made $88. I wanted to pay my mother back for the sugar and paper cups but she refused.
I figured that in one, maybe two more weekends, I’d have enough money for Six Flags plus maybe a few dollars to buy a souvenir. But my mom was right, a teenager came up and threatened to kill me if I didn’t give him the money box. I had no choice.
She told my dad whom I rarely had seen. He said that he’d pay and come with us to Six Flags. I loved the roller coaster, I loved all of it. But most of all, looking at my mom and dad makes me think that just maybe they’ll get back together.
I read this aloud on YouTube.
Marty Nemko is a career and personal coach, and author of 35 books including Starting-Out Stories. You can reach him at mnemko@gmail.com
