Post by ZACHARY QUIROA on Oct 31, 2023 21:01:09 GMT
”Hey. Hey, hey! Wash the scoops after, you’re gonna have them complainin’.” Before the guy could throw the scoops into the tub of water that already looked like it’d been there a week, Zach made a grab for it. The kid muttered something, but was already dumping the scoops down on the counter and was strolling down to the other end. Outta sight for two minutes didn’t mean outta mind, or necessarily out of Manny’s reach if he stopped by.
He belatedly dumped the scoops in and carried the whole lot out back. If another customer came in the pendejo could come get another scoop. Better he actually had to move his lazy ass than end up cross-contaminating something and getting the inspectors poking around the place. People these days were fussy ‘bout that stuff – lactose intolerant, please, they just didn’t know what good food really was, the junk was always gonna mess you up, or allergic to some fruit. Didn’t matter if you stuck all those little stickers around the tubs, someone was still gonna start yapping ‘bout how they needed to make sure, cause you know, it was deadly. Maybe one of them would come out in a little rash, but this was Mystic Falls, he could’ve been putting cyanide out in those tubs and most people wouldn’t have had a problem with it.
Zach muttered under his breath, rinsing out the tub, scrubbing it down before he filled it up again. Wasn’t like they’d bought the place to bring joy to all the little boys and girls, but there were some standards around here and most of the brats working for them weren’t exactly meeting it. Maybe if they’d had Manny and Ricky’s dad around to show them the ropes they’d have been all about the respect, the same way he’d been. Putting Manny onto someone always left him feeling a little guilty, but maybe in this case it’d smarten ‘em all up.
Keeping one ear out for noise from the shop, Zach started scrubbing the scoops too. Wasn’t like the job was difficult. Get the tubs out of the freezer – the big one, not the small one at the back – keep the cones and cups stocked up, don’t be too stingy with the toppings, nobody wanted to run out of nuts or M&Ms before they got to the bottom. Be polite. The pendejo was definitely having trouble with that last bit.
The scoops were rinsed off, then placed into the tub of clean water. If they were lucky, the pendejo wouldn’t have to do it again for a little while. He’d watch him though, make sure it was him coming back here the next time, or he’d drag him back here to get up close and personal with the dirty water. This town was full of kids looking for work, he could be replaced quickly enough.
Halfway back across the room the door tinkled its way open. At that point the assistant would usually chirp out their little greeting, already offering up a sunny smile for the customer before they asked what they wanted – definitely not rocket science. There was silence though. Already fighting back a scowl, Zach ducked out the door. The pendejo was nowhere in sight. Manny was definitely gonna hear about this.
He set the tub back in its hole in the counter, pasting on his own smile as he looked up at the customer. ”Good afternoon. What can we tempt you with today? We’ve got dolce de leche … made fresh this mornin’ with my ma’s own recipe. It’s the best you’re gonna get in town.” His ma’s dolce de leche coulda made saints weep, but he definitely hadn’t talked her into making the ice cream and shipping it over here. They had enough other shipments to worry about without adding melting ice cream to it all.
Tagged: Open * Word Count: 645