Lemonade Sky Read Online Free

lived.
    “Her and that stupid Zak.” Tizz said it vengefully. “They’re the ones that made Mum spend all her money!”
    They certainly hadn’t done anything to stop her. But then neither had I. On the other hand, even if I’d tried I doubt Mum would have taken any notice. She’d just have laughed and cried, “Oh, darling, don’t be such a bore! You take life far too seriously. Try to have a bit of fun, for once.”
    I had had fun! It had been the best day I could remember for a long time. And now I was feeling guilty.
    I thrust my hair back, behind my ears.
    “We’ll manage,” I said. “Don’t worry!” I leaned over and gave Sammy a hug. She had been listening, solemnly, darting anxious glances from one to the other of us. “What we have to do,” I said, “is decide what’s most important. Stuff we need to keep us going. Like bread, and milk, and stuff.”
    Sammy brightened. “Fishy fingers!”
    “Chips,” said Tizz.
    I said, “Chips aren’t good for you. We’ve got to have stuff that’s healthy. Like pasta,” I said. “That’s supposed to be good for you.”
    Tizz pulled a face. “ Bo-ring !”
    “Doesn’t matter if it’s boring. You don’t think when people go to the North Pole they worry about stuff being boring? They worry about what’s good for them, like – I don’t know! Dried fish, and stuff.”
    “You gotta be joking,” said Tizz, “if you think we’re going to eat dried fish!”
    I could see that my task was not going to be easy. Tizz is just so difficult at times.
    “Wait there,” I said. I went back to the bedroom and dug a notebook out of my school bag. “Right!” I slapped it down on the table. Tizz eyed it suspiciously.
    “What’s that for?”
    “We need to work things out,” I said.
    “You mean, you’re going to get all bossy?”
    I said, “Well, someone has to. Would you rather it was you?”
    Tizz hunched a shoulder.
    “You want to take over?” I pushed the pad towards her, but she shoved it back at me.
    “I don’t want it!”
    I knew she wouldn’t. The thing about Tizz, she may be sharp as needles and full of mouth, but she is far too impatient to ever sit down and actually plan anything. She also hates being told what to do. It is a constant battle! I know that I am not as bright as she is, but I do usually get things done in the end. Slow but sure, is what Mum says.
    “OK!” I reached out for a pen. “We’re going to sit here,” I said, “and make a shopping list.”

In the end, we made two lists. The first was things we had to have:
    Bread
    Milk
    Marge
    Cheese
    Eggs
    Cereal
    Mostly chosen by me.
    The second was things we’d like to have:
    Pizza
    Fish Fingers
    Chocolate Biscuits
    Orange Squash
    Sugar
    Jam
    Meatballs
    All of them chosen by Tizz and Sammy.
    “We’ll have to go to Tesco,” I said. “You can get stuff cheaper there.”
    Tizz didn’t like that idea. She complained that it was a long way to walk and we’d have to carry heavy bags back with us. I told her that couldn’t be helped.
    “We’ve got to go where it’s cheapest.”
    Tizz said, “That’s not fair on Mr Petrides. He’s a small shopkeeper. He has to be saved! It’s people like you,” said Tizz, “that put people like him out of business.”
    I did feel a slight twinge of guilt, cos in the past Mr and Mrs Petrides had been really good to us. Sometimes when Mum ran out of money they’d actually let us take stuff and pay for it later. You couldn’t do that at Tesco. But I hardened my heart. I had to! It was a question of survival.
    “I bet if we asked him,” said Tizz, “he’d let us have things on tick.”
    On tick was what Mum called it when she couldn’t afford to pay. I think maybe it meant that Mr Petrides put a tick by the side of her name in his account book.
    “We’ll only do that if we get desperate,” I said. “Otherwise he might ask questions, like where’s your mum or why hasn’t she been in? ”
    “Mm… I s’ppose.” Tizz said it