“Six hundred and fifty dollars?!” Piper shrieked so loud that Mom came running from the kitchen to make sure nobody was hurt.
“What’s all the screaming about?” Mom asked, finding the three of us sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by carefully organized stacks of money.
“Kiora did it!” Reese announced, bouncing up and down. “She actually did it! She made enough money for Florida!”
Mom’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene. Bills sorted by denomination, coins counted into neat piles, and me sitting in the middle of it all with the biggest grin I’d ever worn.
“Six hundred and fifty dollars and seven cents,” I said proudly. “I counted it three times.”
“Oh my goodness,” Mom said, sinking down onto my bed. “Kiora, this is… this is incredible. I mean, I knew you were doing well with your business, but this…” She gestured at all the money. “I guess we’re going to Florida!”
That set off another round of squealing from Piper and Reese.
“We have to plan everything!” Piper said, grabbing my notebook from my desk. “What hotel are you staying at? Are you going to an amusement park? The beach?”
“Ooh, and you have to try key lime pie!” Reese added. “My aunt lives in Miami and she says it’s amazing there.”
For the next hour, my friends peppered me with questions and suggestions. They looked up hotels online, made lists of attractions, and even started planning what I should pack. Their excitement was contagious. I found myself getting caught up in their enthusiasm, imagining myself on roller coasters and swimming in the ocean.
“You’re going to have the best time ever,” Piper said as she and Reese finally got ready to leave. “I can’t believe you actually pulled this off. You’re like, a real startup kid now.”
“The snack girl who conquered summer,” Reese added with a laugh.
After they left, I sat back down on my floor and looked at all the money again. Six hundred and fifty dollars and seven cents. More than enough for the Florida trip that had started this whole adventure.
But something felt different now. When I’d first set this goal at the beginning of June, Florida had seemed like the most amazing thing in the world. The ultimate reward for all my hard work. Now, sitting here with the money in my hands, I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe there was something even better I could do with it.
I thought about the movie nights, how proud I’d felt watching families enjoy something I’d created. I thought about Mrs. Patterson saying I’d brought the community together. I thought about the line of kids at my snack table, and how good it felt to solve their problems and make them happy.
What if instead of spending all this money on one week of fun, I could use it to build something even bigger? Something that could make me more money, help more people, create more of those proud moments?
I picked up a stack of twenties and held them up to the light. Six hundred dollars would buy me an amazing vacation. But it would also buy me a chance to dream bigger than I’d ever dreamed before.
The house was quiet now, everyone asleep except me. I should have been exhausted. It had been the most exciting day of my entire summer. Instead, I felt wide awake, my mind racing with possibilities I’d never considered before.
I walked over to my window and looked out at the dark street. Somewhere out there were other kids with big dreams and no idea how to make them happen. Somewhere out there were families who would love more community events like my movie nights. Somewhere out there were problems I could solve and people I could help.
But first, I needed to figure out what I really wanted to do with all this money.
I had a feeling it was going to be a very long night.