Bit by bit, the miners came out of the mine.

  They were all dirty, covered in dust and sweat, wearing hard hats and carrying shovels and pickaxes. A few of them were pushing wheelbarrows full of rocks, which they took over to the side.

  When they dumped the rocks out of the wheelbarrows, it kicked up a lot of dust!

  Oh no!

  Lily watched worriedly, but a gentle breeze blew the dust away from her cart!

  The Goddess of Winds whistled innocently up in heaven, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the other Gods and Goddesses side-eyeing her.

  Hey, sometimes the wind just did stuff like that!

  “Phew,” Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Hmm,” hummed Rich.

  “We may need to rethink the cart’s position… and order a longer power cord.”

  “Gulp,” Lily said, out loud. “Isn’t that even more money…?”

  She was already running out of money!

  “This happens sometimes, Lily,” Mac said.

  “Don’t worry about that for now, Lily. Instead, focus on selling to your customers. Give them a big smile!”

  Lily patted her hair, making sure it was smoothed down, and then tried to put on a smile for the miners even though she felt nervous.

  It was… not her best smile!

  She was too nervous!

  The miners, meanwhile, were muttering to each other about the strange cart that had opened up next to the supervisor’s shack.

  “Hey, isn’t that Bill’s kid…?”

  “Yeah, what’s that cart, though?”

  “Hey, do you guys smell something good?”

  But none of the miners approached the cart.

  Instead, they sat down at the tables, opened their lunchboxes, and started eating.

  Some of them had sandwiches of bread and meat. Others had rice and meat. A few of the, er, heavier-set men had lunchboxes full of salad, with only a tiny bit of meat inside.

  There was about a hundred miners, just like Mr. Foreman said. Since there was only the one water fountain, they got up and joined the line to get water, chugging it down in a hurry.

  For fifteen long, unbearable minutes, none of the miners came up to her cart!

  The miners with salads finished them and sadly sat there, tummies growling, as their friends finished their bigger, heartier lunches.

  As more and more of the miners finished their food, eventually, the line at the water fountain got longer and longer, and one impatient man clicked his tongue.

  Then…

  He approached!

  He walked up to Lily’s little cart!

  “W-welcome! Would you like to buy a burger and fries?” Lily asked.

  “Huh? No, that’s lemonade, right? You’re selling it?”

  “Uh, yes, Mr. Miner. I’ll fill up your cup for fifty cents.”

  “Hrmm…”

  The miner thought about it.

  That was a bit pricey.

  But when he looked at the line, and the thought of waiting the rest of his break just for some water, he decided to go for it.

  He decided to go for it!

  “Okay, fill me up.”

  He set down his cup, and Lily carefully balanced the pitcher, pouring it gently.

  “Try to fill it to the top, Lily!”

  “Yes, as best you can. Make him feel like he’s getting his money’s worth!”

  Lily poked her tongue out between her teeth.

  The pitcher was heavy!

  But!

  Lily had been working chores for an entire month!

  Lily was strong! She had cleaned until her arms ached, and pulled weeds and fallen over on her butt so many times!

  She poured…

  She poured…!

  And…

  Success!

  “Phew,” Lily said, and she set the pitcher back down.

  Even the miner was moved!

  “Good job, lassie.”

  He took a sip, and then smacked his lips!

  “Oh, that’s mighty good lemonade. Here you go.”

  He set two coins down on the table.

  “Thanks, Mr. Miner!” Lily said with a brilliant smile.

  Her first sale!

  And, while the miner had been standing there, he had seen them.

  The golden treasure under the heat lamp.

  He pointed. “What’re those, anyway?”

  Lily looked back, over her shoulder.

  “Those are french fries!”

  “‘French’ fries? What makes them French?”

  Lily could only tilt her head cutely, and look up into empty space.

  The ghosts shrugged.

  “One story is that, during the war, our patriotic servicemen learned about them from the French,” said Mac.

  “But cutting vegetables into long strips like this is called ‘frenching,’ or, at least, it was when we were alive,” Rich added.

  “Uhhh… it’s because of how they’re cut!” Lily said, deciding she didn’t want to repeat too many new words all at once.

  “Ohh, I see,” the miner said. He had had a pretty good lunch of sandwiches, but without any side dishes. “What’re they made of?”

  “Potatoes! Do you want to try one?”

  This was Lily’s own idea!

  Each serving of fries was, like, a whole bunch of fries all together!

  If one was missing, no one would notice.

  “Good idea, Lily!”

  The ghostly brothers praised her.

  And the miner took the bait!

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Sure, I’ll try one.”

  Lily handed him a french fry, nice and hot from the heat lamp, and the miner popped it in his mouth.

  “Ooohhh!” he exclaimed. It was delicious!

  The outside was nice and crispy, and the inside was pillow soft! The salt and oil exploded in his mouth with a rush of flavor, just what he needed after his sweaty work in the mines.

  He had to have more!

  “I’ll take some french fries, too. How much?”

  “Fifty cents.”

  “Deal.” He put two more coins on the counter, and Lily passed him a metal plate with the fries on it.

  “When you’re done, you can leave the plate on the table, and I’ll pick it up later!”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ll bring it back when I’m done.”

  Whereas fifty cents for lemonade had felt like a bit much, he’d decided it was worth it because he didn’t want to wait in line at the water fountain, and he wanted a little pick-me-up anyway. A little boost of energy. And it wasn’t like anyone else was selling lemonade, or any drinks, around here during his lunch break.

  So it was worth it for the convenience.

  At least while the water line was long.

  But french fries…

  These were a delicacy!

  He’d never had anything like them before!

  His wife and his mother had never cooked anything like this.

  And there was a whole pile, as big as his fist, on the plate.

  He took them back to the table, and instantly he was the most popular man among the miners.

  “Hey, what’re those?”

  “Are they good?”

  “Bill’s daughter is selling food? That’s pretty smart. Bill’s wife is a great cook…”

  “Oi, better not let Martha hear you saying that!”

  “Haha, it’s true though! She must have taught their daughter her tricks!”

  “Hey, Frankie, lemme try one of those…”

  In the end, Frankie shared a few of his french fries, and that was it.

  Everyone was hooked.

  And once the other miners had a taste of something salty, obviously they’d want something sweet to go with it.

  And Frankie had brought back some good looking lemonade, too.

  Rumble growl grumble…

  The biggest man, straining his overalls with his bulk, gave in.

  He had always been big, even when he was a kid.

  His wife wanted him to lose weight, which was fine…

  But at work?

  He was starving!

  And worse, he didn’t have all the energy he needed to do his best work in the mines.

  He was slowing down, and he felt bad that he wasn’t pulling his own weight.

  Figuratively speaking.

  Salad just wasn’t going to do it!

  He stood up, and he walked over to Bill’s kid’s cart.

  “Welcome, Mr. Miner!” she said with a smile.

  It was so bright, it almost hurt his eyes.

  The big man looked over the tiny girl and saw the burgers stacked up next to the fries.

  He pointed, “What’re those there, next to the french fries?”

  “Those are burgers!” Lily declared proudly. “They’re really yummy!”

  She remembered her parents’ smiles as they ate them yesterday, so she was really confident.

  “How much are those?”

  “A regular burger is ninety cents, and I can add cheese for another ten cents if you want. That makes them even yummier!”

  Grumble rumble…

  The man’s mouth started watering from the delicious smells, and he couldn’t resist.

  He had just been going to get some french fries, like Frankie, but if there was other stuff, too…

  He was really hungry!

  “I’ll take a burger with cheese, and french fries… and lemonade,” he said.

  “One cheeseburger set, coming right up!” Lily said happily, and she carefully sliced some cheese and added it to a burger, then put the burger on a metal plate with a serving of fries, and put it on the counter. Then she filled his cup to the brim with lemonade. “That’ll be two dollars.”

  “Thanks!” The man put two dollar bills on the counter, and Lily put them in her money box.

  “Get ready, Lily…”

  “Yeah, any minute now…”

  It was getting towards the end of the miners’ lunch break.

  The line to get water was long. Sure, miners could get water any time they wanted. But taking breaks during work time meant they weren’t doing as much work, so it affected their pay.

  And now almost all the miners were eyeing the cart.

  Lily and the ghostly brothers could even see some of them counting up spare change in their pockets, as word of her prices was spreading.

  And then, the dam broke.

  Five of the miners got up at once!

  “I’ll take a burger with cheese, fries, and a lemonade,” the first man said.

  “Right, that’ll be two dollars!” Lily scurried to fix his order and handed it to him in a flash!

  “Thanks!”

  And two more dollars went into her money box.

  “I’ll take a regular burger, and one with cheese, and a lemonade.”

  “Psst, Lily, say the line!” Rich whispered despite nobody else being able to hear him anyway.

  “Would you like fries with that?” Lily asked.

  And…

  The man hesitated!

  He hadn’t planned to get fries.

  They were okay, when he’d tried one of Frankie’s, but he was more interested in the burgers.

  “Uhhh, you know what, why not? I’ll take some french fries, too.”

  “Thanks! So a burger, a burger with cheese, french fries, and a lemonade comes out to two dollars and ninety cents.”

  Lily passed him the plate with his food, and filled his cup, and he gave her three dollar bills, and she gave him a coin for his change.

  “Thanks!” The man walked away, but not before popping a french fry into his mouth. He was happy he’d decided to add fries to his order!

  “Atta girl, Lily! Upselling is a great way to sell more product!”

  And while Lily was serving one customer, more got in line!

  “I’ll take a burger and fries, no cheese for me.”

  “That’ll be a dollar and forty cents.” Lily was going to ask him about lemonade, but she saw he already had a cup full of water.

  Lily was an observant girl!

  Mac and Rich nodded approvingly.

  This girl…

  She had what it takes!

  Fast service and a pleasant demeanor and a cute smile!

  The burgers and fries started flying across the counter!

  The lemonade pitcher emptied entirely!

  At last, with men still in line, Lily sold the last burger with cheese!

  “Sorry everybody, I ran out of food!” she said.

  “Aww…” the miners groaned. It was their own fault, though, for not making up their minds fast enough.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make more tomorrow!” she declared with a smile.

  “Ooohh, we’ll look forward to it!”

  There was a fire in their eyes.

  They hadn’t gotten to buy any of Lily’s food today, but tomorrow, they were going to be first in line!

  There were over a hundred miners working there, and only ten of them had gotten to buy anything today.

  It was a competition!

  “Hey, what’s your cart called, anyway?”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah, it should have a name.”

  “Hrmm…” Mac hummed.

  “We named it after ourselves, back in our day,” Rich said.

  Lily tilted her head, but the miners were waiting for her answer.

  “Uh, Lilyburgers!” Lily said.

  “Oohh, Lilyburgers, huh? That’s a good name. You tell Bill and your Ma we said hi, okay?”

  “Yeah, tell ‘em we’re hoping he gets better soon.”

  “We’ll be back for Lilyburgers tomorrow!”

  The miners left, and Lily turned to the ghosts.

  “What did you name your restaurant?”

  Rich and Mac smiled. “We named it WcDonalds, after ourselves!”

  “We’re the WcDonald brothers!”

  Up in heaven, the God of Literature smiled and nodded sagely.

  His words of power were working just fine!

  Mr. Foreman came out a few minutes later and blew a whistle, telling the miners that lunchtime was over. The men brought their plates back to Lily’s cart and returned to the mine, and Lily leaned against the cart.

  “Phew…”

  She had been worried nobody would buy her food, but the brothers were right.

  Maybe…

  Maybe this would work!

  “Good job, Lily,” the supervisor said.

  “Thanks, Mr. Foreman.”

  After checking to make sure she was alright, and didn’t need help with anything—Bill’s daughter was only eight years old, after all—he returned to his office to do grownup stuff.

  And so Lily cleaned the plates, and her cart, and put away her stuff, and finally she swung the cover over the cart.

  The supervisor, upon learning that she had a refrigerator in her cart for her cheese and ketchup and pickles, had said she could just leave it plugged in. It was easier for him, too, than unplugging it every afternoon and plugging it in every morning.

  It hardly used any power compared to the mine lights and equipment, anyway.

  Rumble growl…

  Lily’s own tummy started rumbling!

  It was past her lunchtime, since she’d been working!

  The ghostly brothers chuckled as she looked down and put her hands on her tummy.

  “Go on home and have lunch, Lily,” Mac said.

  “But hurry, because you still need to order the ingredients for tomorrow!”

  “And, there’s more hard work to come…” Mac said ominously.

  Lily gulped. “W-what’s that?”

  “Accounting!” Rich and Mac said spookily, leaning into their ghostly personas!

  accounting?