On that afternoon, me and Kyle were as usual playing video games in front of the television of the living room: "You know what, Kyle?" I said

"What?" asked the kid, a bit disinterested

"Since I came here we played it so many times I'm starting to appreciate Fortnite" I declared "And I thought I would never have said such a blasphemy..."

"Oh, well, I'm happy..." commented Kyle, with the same tone.

After this second answer, I paused the game: "Today you're not so happy to play... Is there any problem? Are you sad because you always lose against me?"

"No, no" denied Kyle "But this console is starting to get boring..."

"Yesterday you said it was the best on the market..." I reminded

"Yeah, but..." started the kid, when some knocks interrupted his explanation "I'll go to open"

Kyle went to open the door, and Stan, Cartman and Kenny entered the house: "Hi, guys!" I greeted

"Hi, G" saluted Stan, then he placed a poster on the floor "Look at that..."

Kyle's eyes got suddenly incredibly bright: "The new Game Sphere 5!"

"Yeah" confirmed Cartman "It will be in every store in just a few days..."

"Cool" I commented "How much is it?"

"400$" said Kenny, before getting sad "But Black Friday has just passed and I have nothing..."

"You normally have nothing..." reminded Cartman

"Dude, fuck off!" exclaimed Kenny

"I have just 20 dollars" added Stan "And Cartman 30..."

"Let me check my piggy bank..." intervened Kyle, going upstairs and coming back with 40 bucks "This is all I have..."

"This isn't enough either for the joystick of the Game Sphere..." commented Cartman "We have to find a way to gain 300$ in a short time..."

"Do I have to organize another concert?" I joked

"No, this time we need something new..." declared Stan

I thought about it for some seconds, then I proposed: "What about the most American thing in the world?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kyle

"A lemonade stand!" I exclaimed "When the protagonist of a TV series need money, he always starts selling lemonade with his friends..."

"Dude, have you forgotten that now it's fucking December?" reminded Cartman

"Lemonade is like pizza, is good in all seasons..." I stated "And you can also exploit this whole week since we don't have training or matches..."

"It's not a bad idea..." admitted Stan

"Yeah, we could start preparing the banner and build the stand right now" proposed Kyle

"I'm in!" agreed Kenny

Cartman rolled his eyes, but accepted: "Only because I need that console..."

"That's the spirit!" I exclaimed

On the following morning, Monday, Mrs. Mulhouse entered the class: "Good morning guys, before starting my class I wanna remind you that today is the first day of this year's 'No Alcohol Week'"

I looked around me, trying to catch some puzzled glances like mine, but I was apparently the only one: "Sorry, the what?" I asked

"Oh, G, I thought you knew that" intervened Thomas "Alcoholic beverages become illegal in the whole town for one week per year..."

"We do that to sensitize people about the alcohol problem..." added Cody, then lowered his voice volume "But I actually think this is bullshit, seven days doesn't change the other 358..."

I laughed: "I think that if we did that in Italy, there will be terroristic attacks on every single day..."

"Why?" asked Mrs. Mulhouse, that had heard me

"See, Mrs. Mulhouse" I explained "Here in Colorado you can buy guns and marijuana freely, but alcohol is seen like a diabolical product: in my motherland it is just the opposite..."

The whole class started laughing, and Mrs. Mulhouse concluded, with an embarrassed smile: "Ok, now we can start the lesson..."

After the school day, I brought Jessie with me, to see how the lemonade stand in front of our home was going: "Hey, guys!" I greeted "I've brought you a new costumer..."

"Hello, Jessie!" saluted Kyle "Would you like some lemonade?"

"Yes, please" smiled my girlfriend

Stan took the jug and poured the lemonade in a glass, that gave to Jessie: "Here's your drink!"

"Thank you, how much is it?" asked Jessie

"1$" answered Kyle

Jessie took two banknotes and placed it on the stand: "I pay one more, because you are really cute!"

Kyle and Stan smiled, and while Jessie was drinking I asked: "How many glasses have you sold?"

"Fifteen, I think" answered Kenny, while he was squeezing the lemons

"Well, it's not too much, but it's a honest work" I commented

At that moment my phone vibrated, and I opened it: "A WhatsApp message from my cousin: that's strange, she never writes to me..."

The message consisted in a video that showed her drinking a yellow substance and showing me the middle finger: "What a biatch..." I laughed "She should have known that I'm in the 'No Alcohol Week'..."

"Can I see?" asked Kyle

I put the phone on the stand, and while watching the video Stan asked: "What is that?"

"It's an Italian alcoholic beverage" I explained "It's called Limoncello"

Cartman, that had been silent in front of the money box 'till that time, seemed interested: "Limoncello?" he repeated

"Yes, it's an Italian masterpiece " I confirmed "It's a liquor made of lemon peel, water and sugar: I really envy her, that can still drink it..."

"Interesting" commented the kid, with a strange smile

I didn't pay too much attention to it: "Well, guys, you're apparently really organized: Kyle welcomes the people, Kenny makes the lemonade, Stan gives that to the costumers and Cartman takes the money" I listed "Keep going and the Game Sphere will be yours in a short time..."

"Thank you, G!" exclaimed Kyle

"After this lemonade, the pancakes I made will be the icing on the cake" proposed Jessie "Let's go to my house, honey..."

"That's why I love you..." I smiled, following her

"Yeah! Pancakes!" exclaimed Cartman, leaving the stand

"She meant for her and G, fat ass" intervened Stan "Go back to work..."

I and Jessie laughed, then we went away and when I returned home for dinner, and the first thing I saw was an irritated Kyle: "The fat ass has left us..."

"Ah" I commented, looking at my watch "Four hours, he has stayed more than I thought..."

"Thanks for the credit..." muttered Kyle, ironically

"I'm not saying that you're not good, but that I know him" I declared "Why did he quit?"

"He thought that our strategy was wrong" explained Kyle "And has decided to create a personal activity..."

"Have you sold a few lemonades?" I asked

"We've gained forty dollars..." answered the kid

"Not bad, it's basically a third of the population..." I smiled "I can't understand the reason why he thought that..."

"Maybe because he's a stupid asshole..." proposed Kyle

But the cause of the division was actually pretty different, and was discovered only two days later...

On Wednesday morning, the school day started with a surprise: when I entered the classroom, I only found Jessie, Thomas, Cody and a few others: "Why a half of the class is missing?" I asked

"I see that you haven't opened WhatsApp yet..." commented Cody "They are all at home: bowel problems"

"Everybody with the same problem?" I was pretty surprised

"Apparently" answered Jessie "A lot of other classes have the same deficiency: I don't know what they have done..."

At that moment, the principal entered the room and we went back to our desks: "Good morning, guys..."

"Good morning, principal" we answered

"As you should know, a lot of students are at home right now" explained the headteacher "They don't remember anything and are vomiting like fountains..."

"Thank you for the image..." I murmured

"Every single person presented an elevated alcoholic concentration in his blood and stomach, and we also found some big carboys in the school gym..." continued the principal "So I can say with absolute certainty that last night someone has illegally sold alcoholic products here..."

"And who could be?" asked Karen, one of my classmates

"We still don't know that..." answered the headteacher "But let me say that everybody that has went to school today is suspected..."

"And if the responsible doesn't show himself?" asked Thomas

"Every student will have his grade lowered" answered the principal "Now I'll leave you to Mr. Jones, have a nice day..."

Although I knew that I didn't do nothing, I lived that day in the absolute anxiety: a lower grade would have been really bad for me...

After the last bell rang, I left the classroom with Jessie, that tried to reassure me: "Keep calm, honey: I'm sure that the guilt will be punished..."

"I don't think so" I admitted "Nobody wants to be arrested..."

"You'll see..." said Jessie "By the way, I called Simone: she says that feels better, but still has a strong flavor of lemon in her mouth..."

I suddenly understood everything, and I greeted Jessie with a fast kiss: "I have to help Kyle with his homework, see you honey..."

Then I took my car and went to Cartman's house: when I knocked the door, his mum opened: "Hello, coach, what a pleasure!"

"Good afternoon, mrs. Cartman" I greeted "Is Eric at home?"

"Yes, he's in his bedroom" she answered

"Can I talk to him for a few minutes?" I asked

"Obviously!" accepted Liane, guiding me to his room

I entered it and found Cartman playing with a large number of banknotes: "Gotcha!" I exclaimed

"Aaah!" shouted the kid, making his banknotes fly

"I know that you're selling Limoncello to my schoolmates" I said

"Yes, and I also made 300$ dollars with it" confirmed the kid "It has been a great idea, I'm a genius..."

"You're a douchebag" I corrected "Now a lot of people are intoxicated..."

"Why? It's not my fault" answered Cartman

"It is, because you made Limoncello with your fat asshole!" I exclaimed "It requires a month to be prepared, you can't barely mix the ingredients..."

"It doesn't matter: give me one night, and I'll have enough money for the Game Sphere..." smirked the kid

"If you don't admit what you've done, I'll have all my grades lowered" I started

"So?" interrupted Cartman

"And the police could see your fingerprint of the carboys you left in the school gym" I completed "You're going to jail..."

For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes, and Cartman kept silence for some seconds: "Listen, I can solve this situation, but you have to do something for me..." I proposed

Cartman looked at me and listened to my plan, then he murmured in anger: "Ok..."

"That's the Cartman I like" I commented "See you, and you're welcome..."

I finally returned home, with a big smile on my face: "Kyle, we have to make some calls..." I said

"But what..." started the kid

"Don't make any question, you'll be happy of the result" I declared, pulling out my phone

Thursday morning, 11 a.m.

I was taking notes during Maths class when I looked out of the window: a large crowd was heading to the town hall...

They held a lot of panels, and I could read some of them: "No Alcohol, no Party", "Let's stop this week of suffering...", "#Thursdaysforpubs"...

We had won: our anonymous phone calls had worked pretty well...

The ordinance that ended the "No Alcohol Week" was signed on that same afternoon, almost at the same time as I entered my house: "So, guys, how's Game Sphere 5?"

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Stan "The best console I've ever tried"

"Come and see" invited Kyle

I looked at the television and made an unconvinced expression: "It actually seems the same as the old one..."

"You're too old to understand these things..." commented Kenny

"Hey!" I laughed "I've ended the middle school just 48 months ago..."

The kids laughed, but Cartman seemed still angry: "No jokes about Kenny's poverty?" I asked "Where's the Cartman I know?"

"Don't. Talk. To. Me" syllabled the kid

"Your money have been really useful to the cause..." I pointed out

"Shut up!" shouted Cartman, exasperated

"Sorry for freeing your from prison" I commented "I promise you that I'll pay you back with at least three complete soccer matches..."