Chapter Text
Sunlight sparkled on the waves as they crashed ashore. Seagulls danced and plunged lazily above the waves, their screeches harmonising with children’s laughter. Working at an ice cream right on the beach during summer break seemed like the perfect summer job to waste time and make quick money. But rude costumers and snotty children soon broke that idyllic delusion in Riz’s mind.
“Hi, welcome to Scoops of Creaming Delightfulness, I’m your creamy little helper, Riz. How can I help you today?” He droned for the 1000th time that day. His gaze drifted to the two lifeguards on duty, laughing and smiling as if they’d invented comedy. He felt a pang of jealously as he observed them. They had it easy, sitting in the shade watching the waves, listening to music, laughing and talking with one another. Of course they had to save drowning people, but do people actually drown? Riz had never seen anyone drown and therefore deemed it as an impossibility. On top of that, lifeguards were always hot, it’s like you have to be drop dead gorgeous to even be considered for the position.
Riz snapped back to reality as the costumer pointedly cleared her throat.
“My apologies ma’am, the sea air must be getting to me!” He flashed a classic costumer service smiled and internally counted down the hours till the end of his shift.
He got off at 5:00, just as the lifeguards started to pack away for the night. Riz sighed as he walked out of Scoops of Creaming Delightfulness and politely waved goodbye to his manger.
“Bitch” he muttered under his breath and pulled his headphones from his bag. He aimlessly scrolled through his Spotify playlists. All the songs that used to bring him such joy and comfort, felt hollow and emotionless now. He felt like all the colour had been sucked from his life this summer. Which was ironic, since his work shirt had every colour of the fucking rainbow on it. He sighed again and put and pressed play on Last Christmas by Wham! Just to feel something. It didn’t work. Not even Christmas music could elicit any emotion other than annoyance in him. Defeated, Riz sighed and put his headphones back into his bag. He walked home in silence. Again.
He kicked off his shoes in the dark hallway, the only light was a flickering lightbulb at the end of the hallway, omitting a faint, ominous light. The shadows grew and stretched with each flicker. A slither of fear worked its way up in the pit of Riz’s stomach. He shook it off quickly, annoyed and embraced with himself that after all these years he still held onto such childish fears. He huffed into the kitchen and found cold spaghetti in a pot, presumably left there by his mother, who had the night shift again, still trying desperately to catch that killer who hadn’t been active in 6 months. He sighed as he saw the sticky note on the side of the pot, an identifiable scrawl graffitied the centre of it. His mother had the worst handwriting of anyone Riz had ever meet. Sometimes he wondered how she got through school when her writing looked like a toddler was told to write up the entirety of William Shakespeares plays while skydiving into a volcano 1000mph.
Riz sighed once again and sat down with his spaghetti to watch the rest of Secrets of Inner Earth. He drifted off the sleep shortly after. His dreams were plagued of images of exploding worlds and grotesque zombie creatures with piercing black eyes the seem to transfix into his soul.
Riz shot up from the couch the next morning, startled awake by the aggressive knocking on the front door. He stumbled towards the door, still half asleep and a creeping feeling of who awoke him in such an aggressive manner. The knocking became more hectic and a series and swears and shouts now accompanied the ever increasing knocking. Riz opened the door and Fig Faeth fell through the doorway, she quickly gathered herself upright and stormed towards the kitchen.
“Wha-“ Riz managed to squeeze out before being rudely interrupted.
“Sugar.” Fig abruptly retorted.
“What?” He finally finished.
“I need sugar, what’s not clicking” Fig sharply snapped her fingers in front of Riz’s face to extenuate her point.
“Yeah, yeah, I got that.” He said, brushing away Figs still snapping fingers away from his face.
“I’m having a competition with Beelzebub to see who can snort the most sugar out of their arsehole.”
“Okay… sure.”Riz replied, handing a container of sugar to his rude neighbour. She thanked him and ran out of the room as fast as she came.
“Fuck my green ballsack.” Riz sighed to himself. What a fucking morning and it wasn’t even 9 o’clock yet. I pulled himself together and dragged his tired body upstairs to change into a fresh pair of clothes and then go and clock into work. Everyday was like the last, expect from occasional vista from his eccentric neighbour, his life was starting to feel like those time loop movies.
Riz clocked late into work on an empty stomach and a hollow smile. Ready to face all the dangers and foes of a costumer service job during peak season. He liked to keep a tally of how many upset mothers asked to see the manger for a refund because their child choose the wrong flavour and now regrets it. He was up to 6 when his manger, Greg, asked to talk to him in the back.
“Hi Riz,” He started politely “I’ve noticed you’ve been coming in late recently…”
I’ve noticed you’ve been a little bitch recently. Thought Riz lamely
“It’s not a huge problem, but it reflects really badly on me and the entire company of Scoops of Creaming Delightfulness. Now, I’m not trying to be mean, I know what’s it like being a crazy teenager. I’m just trying to do my job and I’d appreciate it if you’d make that easier for me. Alright buddy?”
Alright deez nutz
“Yes, of course. This won’t happen again. Promise.” Riz replied
“Good man” Greg said and slapped Riz so hard on the back that he toppled over into a carton of newly milked goats cheese.
Great. Just what I needed.
Riz thought. He attempted to brush off the milky chunks off of his work uniform, but it was futile. Riz returned to the front counter with chunks of goat cheese spattered throughout his hair and face.
Oh well, he thought. Gives a new meaning too ‘creamy little helper’.
He got weird looks from costumers and employees alike, but he was used to it. He didn’t ‘fit in’ and he want to. Thank fuck the lifeguards weren’t working yet he thought to himself while scooping mint berry mint snickerdoodle creamy deluxe into a large cone. But, in an ironic twist of the universes vile humour, a buff, young, devastatingly handsome lifeguard rushed towards the ice cream shop. He was hectically looking back and forth between the ice cream shop and something else in the distance. The lifeguard stoped in front of the counter, Stared Riz in the eyes, grabbed the front of his milk stained shirt and kissed him, rushed and without warning. The lifeguards other hand dug itself into Riz’s hair as he contuined to kiss him. Riz was shocked and upset at the lack of introduction, but he didn’t object to what was happening. The lifeguard broke away, gazed into Riz’s eyes and smiled.
“Thanks, I really needed to avoid someone.” And sauntered away, leaving Ritz cracker speechless and without even a name to call after him.