Himari's Lemonade Stand
At the Sakamoto Residence, we see 10 year old Himari Sakamoto, assisted by Nariko Watanabe and Hotaru Yajima, as she pushes a picnic table to the side of the street in front of her house. They then put two chairs behind the table and put a sign up that reads 'Lemonade - ¥80'
(Author's Note: ¥80 is about 55 US cents)
They then put a tablecloth over the table, and place stacks of cups and a pitcher full of lemonade as well as an empty jar on top of it. The last thing they get is a cooler full of ice cubes. With everything all set up, Himari and Nariko take their seats behind the table as Hotaru stands next to them.
"Himari's Lemonade Stand is now open for business," Himari said proudly.
We cut to a living room where we see Himari sitting on a lounge chair as a caption appears beneath her that reads 'Himari Sakamoto - Lemonade Stand Owner'. That caption disappears in a few seconds as Himari talks
Himari: Hi, my name's Himari Sakamoto, and I've run and owned my own lemonade stand for the last two years. What started as a small endeavor to earn some extra money to pay for an Adolescent Monster Dualist Lizard action figure I really wanted ended up becoming something that I enjoyed doing. You know, by opening up this lemonade stand I feel like I'm really giving back to the community by giving them refreshment on these hot days. Oh, and before I forget, my good friend Hotaru is filming these segments.
Hotaru (Behind the camera): (Puts his hand in front of the camera and waves) Hello. (Puts his hand back behind the camera)
Himari: Anyway, this summer I figured I'd get some extra help when selling my lemonade, so I enlisted the help of Hotaru and Nariko. They're in need of some extra money too, so I told them to come and help me and we can split the profits three ways. By the end of this, Hotaru and Nariko are going to be expert lemonade salesmen just like me.
The trio of ten year olds are scanning the street waiting for someone to walk on by so they can try and sell a cup of their lemonade. Suddenly, they hear footsteps. They look and see Ichiro Tanaka, on his morning jog, approaching them.
"Look, a customer!" Nariko exclaimed.
"Watch and learn you two," Himari smiled as she prepared a cup of lemonade with some ice. When Ichiro came closer, that was when she decided to act, "Excuse me, Uncle Ichiro."
Hearing Himari caused Ichiro to stop jogging and turn in her direction.
"Hey, kids, what have you got there?" Ichiro asked as he stepped up to the stand.
"Only the coldest, sweetest drink you'll have all day," Himari said, "And with how much you're sweating, I think you need it. So how about it, Uncle Ichiro, you have ¥80?"
"Lucky for you, I am pretty parched," Ichiro said as he reached into his pocket, "And even more lucky for you, I have ¥80 sitting around in my pocket right now. Serve me up some of that."
"You got it," Himari said as Ichiro put his money in the empty jar.
Nariko grabbed a cup and put it on the table. Next, Himari poured the lemonade from the pitcher and filled the cup until it was at a reasonable capacity. Finally, with a gloved hand, Hotaru took three ice cubes from the cooler and dropped them in the drink before handing it to Ichiro, who gulped it down in a flash.
"Thanks for the drink, kids, later," Ichiro said as he continued his jog.
"So you think you two can do that?" Himari asked as she turned to her two friends.
"It looks easy enough," Nariko said.
Now it's Nariko's turn for an interview as she's seen in the living room. Her caption reads, 'Nariko Watanabe - Local girl and Himari's Friend'
Nariko: Himari thinks that just because this is my first rodeo that I'm a complete idiot with selling lemonade. Well I'll show her that I can be just as good a salesman as her.
We then cut to Suguru Kamoshida who is walking down the street, just minding his own business, when out of nowhere, Nariko tackles him to the ground. As she pins the former Olympian to the ground, she tries to sell him a cup of lemonade.
"Hey there, mister man, you want to buy some lemonade?" Nariko said in an overly enthusiastic tone.
"Get off of me," Kamoshida said grumpily as he pushed Nariko off of him.
"I apologize for my friend," Himari said embarrassed, "She's new to the whole lemonade selling game. Would you like to buy a cup, sir?"
"Only if you promise to keep that psycho brat of yours on a leash," Kamoshida said as he walked up to the lemonade stand and put his ¥80 in the jar. In a matter of seconds, Hotaru and Himari have Kamoshida's glass ready and he gulps it down before continuing on his way.
Now it's Kamoshida's turn for an interview. The caption that appears beneath him reads 'Suguru Kamoshida - Local Asshole'
Kamoshida: I don't know what's wrong with kids these days. Seriously, who does that little girl think she is tackling me to the ground like that. And I really hope the caption you use to describe me doesn't say 'Local Asshole'.
Hotaru (Behind the camera): (Feigning innocence) No, no, man, no. You're good.
After Kamoshida leaves, Nariko rejoins Hotaru and Himari at the stand.
"What did I do wrong?" Nariko asked.
"You don't tackle customers to the ground," Himari said, "You have to greet them with kindness and respect."
"But it looked like he was just going to walk through here without even noticing us," Nariko tried reasoning.
"Customers are a lot like trains," Himari said, "If you miss one, another will come by in just a few minutes."
"Case in point, look over there," Hotaru said as he pointed at a group of skaters approaching, "This ones on me, girls. Watch this."
As the skaters skated by the lemonade stand, Hotaru called out to them.
"Yo, what's up my peeps," Hotaru said, causing the skaters to skid to a halt.
"Uh, is that little dude talking to us?" One of the skaters asked.
"Of course I'm talking do you, my groovin', hip-hoppin' brother," Hotaru said, his attempts at sounding cool coming off as annoying, causing Himari to giggle at his silly behavior, "I can see you cats have been skating up a storm. Why not boogie down to this here lemonade stand and guzzle down some of this suh-weet nectar me and my homegirls mixed up just for you, up in this hizzy, up in the hood."
"Look man, we'll buy some of your lemonade, just please stop talking like that," Another skater said.
"Fair enough," Hotaru said as he, Himari, and Nariko got to work on making glasses for each of the skaters.
Another Himari interview
Himari: Is he a little strange, yeah. Kind of a dork, of course. But, I don't know, there's something kind of cute about Hotaru, I don't know what it is. I mean, I know we're just friends, but sometimes I play with the idea of us one day…being more than that…
After a moment of silence.
Hotaru (Behind the camera): (Intrigued) Oh really?
Himari: (Gasps) Hotaru, when did you get here?!
Hotaru (Behind the camera): I'm literally filming all of these interviews. I really can't go anywhere. (Teasingly) But more on how you feel about me. Would you say I fill your heart with the burning passion of a thousand suns?
Himari: (Blushes hard) Sh-Shut up!
We then cut to sometime later when the trio's lemonade pitcher is completely empty and their money jar is decently full.
"Business is good, girls," Hotaru said proudly.
"Couldn't have done it without you two," Himari said, "I mean, I could have, but it would be less fun without having you guys to talk to."
"Thanks, Himari," Nariko said before grabbing the empty pitcher, "But if we want to stay in the black, then we need to make some more lemonade."
"Well, what are we standing around for?" Himari asked, "The mix is in the kitchen, and we're wasting precious time and money just standing here doing nothing."
The trio went back inside Himari's house to prepare a fresh batch of lemonade.
Back to Nariko
Nariko: Yeah, life was certainly good to us at that point. But of course, life is a B-word and a half, and when all is right with the world, when you're at your happiest, that's when the most unthinkable of disasters occur. And nothing could prepare us for what was waiting for us when we went back outside.
Himari, Hotaru, and Nairko come back outside carrying a full pitcher of lemonade when they saw something across the street that made all three of them gasp in shock and horror. It was Nariko's younger brother Kaito Watanabe and his friend Kimiko Amamiya, and they had a lemonade stand of their own! Worse still, they had just finished giving a passerby a cup of freshly squeezed lemonade rather than the mixed stuff. As a result, their lemonade is slightly more expensive as the sign that reads 'Lemonade - ¥146' proves
(Author's Note - ¥146 is the equivalent to $1)
After Kaito and Kimiko's customers left, the three ten year olds came up to face their new rivals.
"Kaito, what are you doing here?" Nariko demanded.
"Isn't it obvious," Kaito answered, "Kimiko and me are trying to sell some lemonade."
"But this is my neighborhood," Himari chimed in.
"We know," Kimiko replied, "But Kaito did some research and found that more traffic, pedestrian, vehicle, or otherwise, comes through your neighborhood rather than ours, so we set up shop here."
"Location, location, location," Kaito chimed in, "That's the most important part of running a business."
"Well in case you haven't noticed we already have a lemonade stand right over there," Himari said as she pointed at her own lemonade stand, "Not to mention ours is cheaper so they'll likely go to my stand first."
"Hate to be this guy, but I think our lemonade stand is going to do better than yours," Kaito boasted, "Ever considered the reason that your lemonade is cheaper is because you use a mix rather than freshly squeezed lemons?"
"What's your point?" Hotaru asked.
"They use so many chemicals in those mixes," Kaito explained, "Chemicals that certainly don't do the body any favors. But since Kim and I get our lemonade right from the fruit itself, there's not a chemical to be found; it's all natural. People will pay more for our lemonade if it means it's healthier."
"Well thanks for the lesson, Kaito, but now I think it's time you two pack up and go somewhere else," Himari said.
"Here's a little song for you, Himari," Kimiko said before turning to Kaito, "Care to join me?"
"Yes," Kaito answered before the two of them cleared their throats and gave a harmonious-
"Noooo."
"Oh, so you two want a war then," Himari said, "Fine then, have it your way! But just know that you two have made three powerful enemies today!"
"Bring it on, sucker!" Kimiko said smugly as Himari, Nariko, and Hotaru went back to their stand across the street.
"I can't believe those two," Nariko pouted.
"What's the plan now?" Hotaru said nervously.
Yet another Himari interview
Himari: In the time it took for my two cohorts to get very nervous, I had already come up with a plan that'll save my lemonade stand from the brink of despair.
"Don't you two see, using actual lemons isn't the problem," Himari began, "It's that we're only offering one flavor; original. People in this day and age want a full menu. They can't be locked into just one thing, you know?"
"Ooohhhh," Nariko and Hotaru went in an intrigued tone.
"Come on, let's hurry to the store before those two run us out of business," Himari said as she lead her two friends to the nearest store to buy the ingredients needed for more flavors of lemonade.
Some time later, and the trio now has a variety of flavors for their customers to choose from. These flavors include original, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and pink. Sure enough, they started attracting a whole line of customers. Some of the faces in the line are ones that the kids recognize, such as Mana and Mitsu Kitagawa, Yuuki Mishima, Shinya Oda, Ryuji's mother Nanami, Daisuke's cousin Ryuta, Munehisa Iwai, and Takuto Maruki.
"Come on now, pick a flavor! Any flavor!" Himari said as she, Hotaru, and Nariko went to work, happily giving each and every customer their requested refreshment. Meanwhile, Kimiko and Kaito are watching the line from their own lemonade stand, and they both look very displeased.
"That should be our line," Kaito pouted.
"I knew we should've used organic lemons," Kimiko said, "How are we going to compete with them now?"
"Hmm," Kaito thought for a bit before coming up with an idea, "Selling things is all about presentation! Follow me!"
Kaito then promptly ran off with Kimiko in hot pursuit. Nariko noticed the two of them running off and smiled victoriously.
Another Nariko interview
Nariko: (Sniff, sniff) You smell that? (Sniff, sniff) That's the sweet smell of victory, my friend.
Sometime later, Himari, Nariko, and Hotaru still have a long line, a lot of lemonade to sell, and an almost full jar of money.
"I think we're going to need another jar soon, girls," Hotaru said as he eyed the money jar.
"Business is good, my friends," Himari said proudly, "And the best part is I haven't seen Kaito or Kimiko in a while. Nothing's going to stop us now."
And then, out of nowhere, the sound of speakers getting turned on filled the air followed by upbeat pop music and everyone looks over to where the sounds were coming from; the opposing lemonade stand across the street, which now had large speakers on either side of it. Then, Kimiko and Kaito appeared, arms crossed, and wearing hoodies and sunglasses before they start singing.
Kaito: Oh my God, we're back again! Brother, sister, the lemon's in!
Kimiko: It's got the flavor, make you scream 'Oh wow!' We've got a question for you, better answer now!
Kaito: Is it original?
Kaito & Kimiko: Yeah!
Kimiko: Is it the only one?
Kaito & Kimiko: Yeah!
Kaito: Is it tropical?
Kaito & Kimiko: Yeah!
Kimiko: Is it everything you want in a cold cup of lemonade?
Kaito & Kimiko: Everybody!
The line: Yeah!
Kaito & Kimiko: Buy our lemonade
The line: Yeah!
Kaito & Kimiko: Everybody! Buy our lemonade! Kaimiko's back, alright!
Kaito and Kimiko's musical performance wowed the line of people so much that they stormed their lemonade stand and left Himari and her friends in the dust. As customer's flocked to the duo's lemonade stand, they quickly got to work making glasses of lemonade for them.
"Kaito you did it," Kimiko exclaimed, "You're the smartest boy ever!"
"Oh, well, I try," Kaito said with a blush.
Meanwhile, the trio of angry 10 year olds across the street just watched as the line continued to give their business to the rambunctious duo instead of them.
"The Back Alley Guys are an overrated band, anyway," Himari grumbled as she slumped back in her chair, "Now what are we going to do?"
Hotaru thought for a minute before turning to Nariko.
"Hey, Nariko, didn't you say that your mom taught you how to bake recently?" Hotaru asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Nariko asked.
"You'll see," Hotaru said as he took her elsewhere.
Some time later, Himari is still looking at Kaito and Kimiko's lemonade stand as well as the long line that came with it, wishing that they would come back to her and give her their business. As Himari continues sulking, Hotaru and Nariko return. Nariko has something in her hands concealed by a towel.
"Where have you guys been?" Himari asked glumly.
"Just watch," Hotaru said before turning to the line at the opposing lemonade stand, "Excuse me, can I have all of your attention please?"
The line turned to face Hotaru to see what he wanted.
"What is he up to now?" Kimiko asked, annoyed.
"Their lemonade might be good," Hotaru began, "But wouldn't you rather have something delicious to munch on while drinking your lemonade? Well, that's where we come in!"
And with that, Nariko removed the towel from the thing she was holding, revealing it to be a tray of deliciously baked brownies.
"Everyone gets a free brownie with the purchase of a cup of lemonade," Nariko announced, causing the line to move from Kaito and Kimiko's stand back to Himari's.
Seeing the line return to her side made Himari happier than she has been all day. She felt so blessed to have such great friends like Hotaru and Nariko on her side, and at that moment she wouldn't trade them in for anything in the world.
"I don't know what to say, you guys," Himari said on the verge of joyful tears, "Thank you both so much."
"Anything for a friend like you, Himari," Hotaru grinned as he and the two girls went back to work.
Once again, Kimiko and Kaito looked over at the line at Himari's Lemonade Stand with much envy. At this moment, neither Kaito nor Kimiko have felt more angry in their lives. It didn't matter what they did to attract customers, Himari, Hotaru, and Nariko would come up with an idea ten times better than theirs. The way these two youngsters saw it, there was only one thing left to do.
"This ends now!" Kimiko exclaimed, "Kaito, get her on the phone!"
Kaito took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number before the other end picked up.
"Yeah, it's Kaito," Kaito said, "These three punks need to learn a lesson. Can you come here…Yeah, we'll pay you…Great, thanks."
Kaito hung up and put his cell phone back in his pocket.
"And now we wait," Kaito said.
Within a matter of minutes, Kas Tanaka, A.K.A Kasumi II, came rolling up on her bicycle and armed with a baseball bat. She stops in front of Himari's Lemonade Stand, dismounts her bike, and marches up to the stand, not caring about the line in front of it. Initially, Himari, Hotaru, and Nariko were happy to see their friend, thinking that she's come to purchase some of their lemonade.
"Hey there, Kas, how can we help you today?" Himari asked.
"You can help me by taking a few steps back," Kas said, gripping her bat tight.
"Why?" Hotaru asked.
"Because of this!" Kas shouted as she smashed away at Himari's Lemonade stand. Everyone, the trio of ten year olds included, could only watch in horror as Kas smashed the table, brownies, and cups to pieces, as well as knocked over the pitchers full of the different flavors of lemonade. When all was said and done, Himari's Lemonade Stand was completely destroyed and across the street, Kaito and Kimiko smiled victoriously. But their victory is about to be short-lived.
"Kas, what the hell?!" Nariko angrily screamed.
"Sorry guys, but a little birdie told me that this lemonade stand was causing too much trouble for them," Kas explained, "I had to do it."
"This little birdie, they wouldn't happen to be named either Kaito or Kimiko, right?" Hotaru asked, annoyed.
"That information is completely confidential," Kas said.
"We know it was them," Himari said angrily, "How much did they pay you to do this?"
"¥2,950," Kas answered.
(¥2,950 is the equivalent to almost $20)
"Would you like to earn ¥7,380?" Hotaru asked, "If you do, we've got a job for you."
(¥7,380 is the equivalent to almost $50)
"I'm listening," Kas said as she leaned in close so Hotaru could whisper in her ear. When he was done, Kas got a wicked grin on her face as she marched towards Kaito and Kimiko's Lemonade Stand, baseball bat in hand. Seeing Kas approach them made the two kids nervous.
"Kas, think about what you're doing now," Kaito said.
"I am," Kas answered, "And I like to go where the money is."
"No, stop, you can't do this!" Kimiko shouted, "No, no, noooooooo!"
And so Kas began smashing Kaito and Kimiko's lemonade stand, demolishing both it and its speakers as well as spilling their lemonade too. When all was said and done, both lemonade stands were now completely demolished. Immediately, Kaito and Kimiko marched up to the 10 year old trio to chew them out for having Kas destroy their lemonade stand.
"How could you," Kimiko exclaimed.
"You had our lemonade stand demolished first," Himari retorted.
"Well congratulations, now none of us can sell lemonade!" Kaito shouted, "And did you ever wonder why Kimiko and I decided to start selling lemonade like you guys?"
"Why?" Himari asked.
"Because we looked up to you," Kimiko answered, causing Himari, Nariko, and Hotaru to fall silent, "For the last two years you've been selling lemonade to everyone who came by just to make some extra money. We thought it was so cool seeing you take the initiative to make your own money so you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, without having to ask Uncle Ryuji or Auntie Makoto for their money. You inspired Kaito and me to build your own lemonade stand so we could make our own money too. Not only that, but you inspired us to give back to our community by giving them cool refreshment. You might think our worst crime here today is stealing your customers, who I'm sure at this point are looking at us like a bunch of savages, but really our worst crime is being inspired by you guys. Yeah, how do you feel about that?"
Hearing Kimiko pour her, and by extension, Kaito's soul out to her made Himari, and by extension, Nariko and Hotaru feel awful. They were so busy worrying about their own lemonade stand that they didn't think about Kaito and Kimiko's reason for opening their own lemonade stand, and now both stands were completely ruined.
"Man, I don't know what to say," Hotaru said, "We messed up big time."
"You can say that again," Nariko chimed in before looking at Kaito, "Kaito, I'm sorry we ruined you and Kimiko's lemonade stand. We were so clouded by our own success that we ignored your feelings."
"Yeah, and like you said, now neither of us can sell lemonade," Himari frowned, "I hope you two can forgive us for everything we've done."
Kaito and Kimiko think for a few seconds before going up to the trio and hugging them, causing the customer's watching all of this to applaud, knowing that this conflict had a happy ending.
"You know, all things considered, having a selection of flavors was a pretty good idea," Kimiko admitted.
"Well your idea on pumping up lemonade as this hip and awesome drink by singing 'Back Alley Guys' was a great example of marketing," Hotaru said, "I could learn a thing or two from you guys."
"You know this just came to me, but given that we all have good ideas, instead of having two separate lemonade stands why don't we combine into one big stand and work together to sell lemonade?" Nariko suggested.
"That's actually not a bad idea, sis," Kaito concurred.
"I think some of this stuff can be salvaged so we can build a new stand," Hotaru said looking through the debris of Himari's lemonade stand.
"And we can use whatever money we have left after paying Kas to buy more lemonade ingredients," Kimiko chimed in.
"Good idea, guys," Kas said, "Especially the part where I get paid."
"On that note, there might be some rebel rousers if our line gets too long," Himari said, "Hey Kas, do you and your baseball bat want to be our head of security?"
"I can get behind that," Kas said.
"Sweet," Kimiko happily exclaimed.
"My friends, this is the start of a beautiful partnership," Himari said.
"Yeah!" Hotaru, Nariko, Kaito, Kimiko, and Kas cheered and gave a fist bump.
One last interview from Himari
Himari: That's the thing about friendship. Sure there are going to be moments when you want to rip the other person's spine out through their ear and show it to them, but then there are moments like this where you can come together and show the world all the things that your friendship can accomplish. And moments where I can collaborate with my friends to get a job done, or moments where I can just hang out and play a game or watch T.V with them, are the moments that I feel like I can cherish the most.
Hotaru (Behind the camera): I couldn't have said it better myself, Himari…now about this supposed crush on me…
Himari: (Blushes) Drop it!
Hotaru (Behind the camera): Okay.
The final image before the story's end is Himari, Nariko, Hotaru, Kaito, and Kimiko standing behind their newly built lemonade stand, with Kas standing next to hit holding her baseball bat as she wears a stoic expression on her face. The five kids work with smiles on their faces as they provide a long line of customers with their delicious lemonade.
THE END