Rainbow Sherbet (BEN CARSON FANFIC) WARNING: STEAMY CONTENT

01: Rocky Road Beginnings

[for Ruth who edited this first chapter]

Alison

"Welcome to Rainbow Sherbet. How may I help you?" I ask as a family of five walk into the store, and the cry of a baby echoes around the room. A tired-looking mother carries an infant no older than six months in her arms and starts walking towards the women's restroom. Holding the hands of a father are a girl about five and a boy about eight years old. Both are bouncing up and down with excitement.

The father drops their hands and murmurs, "Uh, yes, hello. We'll take four small cups-"

"But Dad!" exclaims the boy. "You promised us mediums if we were good on the car ride here. We didn't fight, not even once!"

The father looks around the parlor, and after probably realizing his children would cause a scene if he doesn't comply, he sighs in defeat. "Yes, well, make that two small cups and two medium cups."

Under the father, the daughter tugs on his pants while sucking on her thumb. "Daddy-"

The father sighs again and mutters something under his breath. "Add toppings to the two mediums."

"That will be eleven dollars and sixty-six cents," I state with a wide smile on my face.

Looking rather peeved about the price, the father shuffles through the things in his pant pockets, searching for what I can only presume is his wallet. Pulling out the worn piece of leather, he fishes out a crisp twenty-dollar bill and hands it to me. I punch a few buttons on the cash register and am rewarded with a 'ding'. Licking my fingers to separate the bills, I collect the change from the cash register.

"Your change is eight dollars and thirty-four cents. The frozen yogurt dispensers are located to your left, and the toppings are to your right. Thank you for choosing Rainbow Sherbet," I state, having memorized the speech years ago when I was first hired. The family thanks me and wanders off to fill up their cups with frozen yogurt.

When I first searched and applied for a job I was merely looking for a way to pass time. Earning money for working had just been an extra perk back then, but when I soon discovered later on that my mother had lost her job, I knew that I would have to work in as many extra shifts as possible to try and help my mother as best I could. From the get-go I knew I didn't want to work at any normal teenager job; I had no interest in bagging groceries at the local convenience store, and I'd sooner die of boredom than spend long hours restocking books at a library.

Don't get me wrong - there were definitely negatives when it came to working at Rainbow Sherbert, like having to switch out the empty ice cream cartons in the back room by myself when I could barely carry a ten pound box, or how I was forced to be all happy and smiley on the outside when I felt like anything but that on the inside. Then there was the fact that some customers were just straight out rude, and no matter how badly I wanted to cuss them out, I had to remain calm and collected when serving them.

Most days I work by myself, which I barely mind. Occasionally my boss stops by and sees how things are going but he doesn't stay long; I guess since I've been working here for so long he's decided I'm responsible enough to handle the store on my own. Even if right now is summer season and we get a lot of business, it's not more than I can handle.

The store is a modest little place - a few chairs and tables, two bars with toppings and frozen yogurt, and then enough space for a counter and a back room. We don't get a lot of business since we tend to be a little pricey, but the shop makes enough to stay in business.

Rainbow Sherbet has been open for nearly sixty years. It was started by a man who always had a dream to own an ice cream shop. Fast forward to many years later, and he had finally saved up enough money to own his own parlor. After the man eventually became too old to run the business, he passed it onto his son, who then passed it onto his, and here we are today.