Welcome to Gaia! ::

“You should try it.” She trotted back with the blender, replacing it to its spot on the table. There were already a supply of freshly squeezed lemon juice and PL added it to the blender, along with some crushed ice. “I think the green apples will go nicer. Let’s try that first.”

“I also have a juicer.” Pink Lemonade explained as she added a few scoops of sugar. “But I decided I’d only do things in the blender today.” She turned on the blender, keeping it going until it was a chunky liquid. Pouring a small amount into a cup, she offered it first to Barley. “What does it need?”

“Of course. My Mama Lemon always tells me ‘don’t do things by half’ so I started a lemonade stall. The business experience is great and I use the money I make to buy everything I need.” She added a pinch of salt to the main batch and gave it a quick extra blitz. “I want to do my best, you see? So I have to work hard.” She poured another cup. “How about now?” Taking a sip herself, she frowned. “Too tart, but refreshing.”

“Well, thanks! I’ll be sure to offer you a free drink if you come around.” PL smiled. “See, that’s the trick! Everyone has different tastes. I have to make sure I have something right for everyone.” She finished off her little cup, wrinkling her nose slightly at how sour it was. Being used to sweets as a major food in her diet made it hard to handle anything that wasn’t completely full of sugar. “What should we make now?”

“Hey, that’s a really good idea!” PL looked absolutely delighted and scribbled a quick note in her notebook. “That sounds interesting. I’ve seen a few recipes mentioning carrots, but I haven’t tried it yet.” She looked towards her parents stable. “I’m not sure if we have any carrots though…” She lowered her voice slightly. “My parents don’t like vegetables very much. Well, Mama Candy doesn’t. That’s for sure. I’ve only ever seen her eat candy…”

“Yep.” PL answered with a smile, eating a nearby strawberry that had been looking far too yummy for its own good. “Well, you can if you want to, or we can just use what we’ve got here. I don’t mind. If there are any tomatoes at your house, you should grab them too… oh, and some celery.”

While Barley was off getting the vegetables, PL cleaned up their work space, grabbed a few more supplies from inside and carted the awkwardly big juicer from inside. She placed it next to the blender and then sat back to admire her most expensive piece of equipment.

When Barley returned, she welcomed her new friend with a big smile. “Oh, you brought heaps! Well done! Whatever arugula is I’m sure it will work nicely with the rest. Let’s empty them onto the table and we can prepare them.”