Chapter 7

The Lemonade Stand

I went into the bathroom, taking my cat, Snowball with me. I sat in the bathtub with her, petting and holding her.

"I guess you're the only one left to talk to." I said softly. "I know you're old, so I'm going to say this gently. We're in a lot of trouble Snowball. We need money or we might lose our house for good." Snowball gave a purr and she leaned a bit closer.

"Aw, don't worry. I'm going to help. Nobody thinks I can, but I can. I can be extraordinary." Then she meowed quietly and she nodded her head. "I'm glad you and I agree." I gave Snowball a kiss on her head.

The next day, I was carrying a desk and I set it down on the sidewalk. I made it into a lemonade stand. I used the lemons to make lemonade and I set the lemonades on the desk. I also made a sign that says "Delicious lemonade for $1".

Lisa Simpson, I thought happily. You're going to be the best lemonade seller ever. I also got a chair so I can watch people come by to see if they want any lemonade. Suddenly, I saw Bart running out of the house towards me. He looked angry.

"Lisa, what the hell do you think you're doing and why is my desk on the sidewalk?" said Bart angrily.

"First of all, it's our desk and second of all, I'm using it to make a lemonade stand." I explained.

"I don't know if you should be doing that. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"It's just a lemonade stand and last time we had it, some of the lawyers quickly closed it due to not having a vending permit. This time, it won't happen again and we're going to make a lot of money. Trust me."

Before Bart could say something, a police car came by. It was Chief Wiggum and his friend Eddie.

"Hi guys, having a nice day?" said Bart, trying not to look all worried.

"Anything bad going on around Springfield lately?" I asked, also trying not to look all worried.

"Actually, no. It's been quiet around Springfield right now." said Chief Wiggum. "So, what are you kids doing?"

"We're having a lemonade stand and nobody came by to buy some lemonade yet." I explained.

"Hey, um, I'm kind of thirsty and I haven't had a drink since last night." said Eddie.

"Really?" I said, looking all surprised.

"Yep. I could use a glass of lemonade. Would you like one, Clancy?"

"No thanks. I'm good." said Chief Wiggum.

"Okey dokey, that'll be one dollar please." I said. Eddie took out a $1 and he gave it to me and I gave him the lemonade. "Thank you and enjoy your lemonade."

"Will do. You've made my day, by the way." Said Eddie happily. And he took a sip of his lemonade.

"So, why are you having a lemonade stand?" asked Chief Wiggum.

"Because my Dad lost his job, so I'm going to make money and it's for the house." I explained. Bart jumped into my conversation.

"No, no, no, no. Lisa meant on the house." said Bart.

"Oh, so it's on the house, eh? I get it now." Eddie replied, still drinking his lemonade.

"Well, Eddie and I really loved to stay and chat, but we gotta go back to the police station. We have some more crimes to solve." said Chief Wiggum.

"Okay, thanks for stopping by. And say hi to Ralph for me." said Bart, as he was waving good-bye.

"Will do."

"Thanks for the lemonade!" said Eddie. They went back in the police car and drove away. I looked at the $1 that Eddie gave me and I did a little dance.

"Lisa, what are you doing now?" asked Bart, looking all agitated.

"I'm doing a little bit of a dance because I got a $1 from Eddie. This means we're going to have a lot of customers and we're going to make a lot of money! Our house will be saved and our nightmare will be over!" I said happily.

"Nightmare?" said Bart curiously. I stopped dancing and I looked at Bart.

"Yeah, Dad got fired. If we don't make any money, we would have to lose our home and live on the street." I said as my voice was breaking. My eyes started filling with tears. Bart hugged me tight.

"Lisa, don't worry. Dad said he's going to find a job and he'll be able to make money again. We'll still have our house." said Bart quietly.

A tear rolled down my cheek and it fell on the back of Bart's shirt, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Okay, I won't think about losing our home again." I said, trying to blink back the tears. I went back to the lemonade stand, looking for more customers when suddenly, I saw Milhouse!

"Hey, Milhouse! You look thirsty!" I called, waving my arms. Milhouse came over to the lemonade stand.

"Lisa, what are you doing?" asked Milhouse.

"I'm having a lemonade stand and I'm going to make a lot of money." I explained.

"Really? What are you going to do with all that money?"

"I'm saving it for my house." Bart jumped into my conversation again.

"No, no, no, no. She meant on the house." said Bart.

"Oh, ok. I'll have a lemonade. I could use a break from all of this hard work from painting the fences." said Milhouse.

"Okey, dokey. That'll be one dollar please." I replied.

"Oh, Lisa, Milhouse doesn't have to pay. It's free samples for special guests." Bart answered.

"Come on, Bart. I need the money for the house." I protested. But Bart ignored me and gave the lemonade to Milhouse. He got another glass of lemonade for himself. Suddenly, a fly landed in his cup!

"But, Bart!" I said, getting all anxious.

"Shut up, Lisa." said Bart seriously. He and Milhouse clinked the cups and started to drink it.

"Bart!"

"I said shut up, Lisa."

"But, Bart!" I yelled. Bart drank the cup and didn't notice that the fly was in it.

"Bart! Don't drink that! That won't taste…" But it was too late. Bart noticed that he had a fly in his mouth. He spit the lemonade and the fly out at Milhouse! Milhouse groaned in disgust.

"…good." I finished quickly. Bart's face was turning red and he had his mouth open and starred at Milhouse.

"He's right. No charge for that." I said.

Bart was in the bedroom and he had his face buried in a pillow. "I want to die! Just let me die!" he sobbed. "I hate my life!" I peeked through the door to check on Bart.

"Bart?" I said. Bart lifted his face from the pillow with tears streaming down his face.

"No. Go away." said Bart angrily as he pointed at the door. "Get out. Milhouse will never speak to me again and it's all your fault! You've done enough!"

"Done enough of what?" I asked curiously.

"You know, trouble! You've done enough trouble for one day!" I went over to Bart's bed and I sat down next to him.

"But what did I do that causes trouble?" I said.

"You embarrassed me in front of Milhouse! If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were actually trying to ruin my life." explained Bart.

"Ruin your life?" I snorted as I was starting to laugh.

"It's not funny, Lis." growled Bart. But I couldn't help it and I roared into laughter.

"It is funny. I could laugh about it all day!" I laughed. Suddenly, I fell off the bed, still laughing hysterically.

"Look, you run around like a dork and you even stuck me with my stupid nickname." Bart said as he buried his face back in the pillow. I stopped laughing and I looked at Bart.

"But I was just a baby then, and I meant to call you Bartholomew. It just came out wrong, that's all."

"Yeah, tell me about. Who could ever like a nickname for a boy whose name is Bart?" he asked.

"Fart?" I asked. Then Bart got angry and he grabbed a pillow and threw it at me.

"Get out! And take your stupid cat with you!" snarled Bart. He found Snowball under his bed and gave her to me.

"But, Bart…" I tried to explain.

"Go! Get out you little dork!" he shouted. I quickly ran out of the bedroom, taking Snowball with me.

"Well, I guess this means we're on our own now, Snowball." I said looking all gloomy.