bright yellow coupons.
âWe came for the free sodas,â a boy about Violetâs age said when he came over to the table. âAnd pizza, of course. Weâve got our own money for that!â
The Piccolos, the Aldens, and Laurie had no idea what this boy was talking about.
Henry took the boyâs coupon and read it out loud: â BUY A SLICE OF PIZZA, GET A SODA FREE. THIS COUPON GOOD BETWEEN 5:00 AND 7:00 ONLY. FOR CHILDREN, AGES TWELVE AND UNDER .â
Mr. Piccolo looked over Henryâs shoulder then took the coupon. âIs this one of the coupons you handed out today?â he asked the Aldens in an alarmed voice. âI can make pizza, but free sodas would cost us all the profit we made at lunch. And to give away something during the dinner hourâthere wonât be room for our regular customers who pay for a whole meal.â
Jessie studied the yellow coupon too. âThis isnât the coupon we handed out. Ours was for a ten percent discount on lunch pizza.â
The boy looked upset. âSomebody left a stack of these on a table in the gym lobby. Thatâs where I got it.â The boy held up some coins. âSee, I do have money for the pizza.â
By this time, a man in a sweatsuit had come over to find out what was going on. âIs there a problem here? Iâm the director of the day program at the Silver Falls middle school. We have a sports program there during the winter vacation. These kids here have been playing hard all day, so your coupons seemed like a great idea.â
The man had barely finished talking when another crowd of children came into the restaurant. Each of them had a free soda coupon, too!
âIâll seat them,â Laurie said, âthen weâll figure out what to do.â
âThereâs nothing to do but feed these hungry children,â Mrs. Piccolo said.
In the kitchen, the Piccolos pulled out more sauce from the deep freezer. Benny got busy grating more cheese. Henry and Jessie headed down to the cellar to bring up cases of soda.
âThis is going to cost the Piccolos a fortune, Henry,â Jessie said.
Henry looked upset. âI canât believe someone would go to all this trouble to make up coupons. They look like the ones we gave out, but they say something totally different. If a lot of kids keep coming in with these coupons, the Piccolos could lose their business.â
Henryâs worse fears came true when he and Jessie came upstairs and checked the dining room. âOh, no! Every table is filled with kids. Do they all have coupons?â
Mr. Piccolo sighed. âEvery one, Iâm afraid. Another bunch came in and said there was a stack of coupons at the ice-skating rink too. Every child in Silver Falls who wasnât at the gym was at the skating rink!â
Violet went over to some regular customers who were talking to Mrs. Piccolo.
âSorry, Mrs. Piccolo,â one woman was saying. âThanks for the offer of take-out pizza. But my husband and I were planning on eating out. Weâll come back another night when itâs not so busy.â
âWait, wait!â Mrs. Piccolo said. âHere. Take one of our discount coupons. Iâll cross out âlunchâ and write in âdinnerâ on it. You get a discount on any pizza you order the next time you come in for dinner. Okay?â
Violet couldnât even hear what the couple answered. The restaurant was noisy with the laughter and shouts of children. During the next two hours, the Piccolos turned away dozens of customers while Silver Falls kids of all ages enjoyed pizza slices and free sodas during the busiest night of the week.
As Violet headed into the kitchen with some orders, she saw a familiar face in the front window of the restaurant. It was Nick, peeking in. Violet waved for him to come in. She went to the door. If Nick was feeling better, Piccolosâ Pizza could sure use him right then. But by the time Violet
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