June 1996 - Monday morning 4 a.m.
"Ice Mountain two cases- forty eight…"
"Check."
"Orange juice- two cases- twenty-four…"
"Check…"
"Apple juice- one case- twelve…"
"Check…"
"Arizona Tea- one case… twelve…"
"Check…"
"Cinnamon rolls- three cases- thirty-six… Honey buns - two cases - twelve… Muffins- one case -twelve…"
"Check- check and check…"
"One bunch of bananas-twelve…"
"Check…"
"Oranges twenty…"
"Check…"
"And the coolers are cleaned… check. Ice?" His best friend Avery asked after they had finished with inventory.
"Hmm…" Jayden hurriedly ran over to the freezer opening up. "Ah damn…"
"No ice?" Avery asked warily.
"Mom! Mom!" Jayden didn't bother with answering the obvious. Instead he ran towards the back to the bathroom where his mom Marla was getting ready for work. It was the summer of Jayden's 14th birthday; he and Avery had decided that they would spend their summer making some extra money to supplement their allowance in order to buy themselves at least a new pair of Jordan's, some name clothes for their Freshman year in high school and maybe if they had a good summer; a couple of new games to go with their Sony Play-station.
"What? Don't you see me getting ready for work?" Mom hollered back slightly irritated. She was already in her nurse's uniform and was putting the finishing touches on her hair.
"We don't have any ice…" Jayden responded as if all was well.
"And? Is it my job to make sure you take care of your inventory?" She questioned her thirteen year old son. "Remember this was yours and Avery's bright idea. I only agreed to drop you guys off at the Transit center before the rush-hour commute got started."
"Mom could you please just drive us over to the gas station to pick up a couple of bags of ice? We need our water to be cold." He pleaded. He wasn't worried. He knew that no matter how much his mom protested and fussed at him she would do it. She always supported him when he wanted to do stuff like this. Who knows, maybe he would be able to buy her that soundtrack to that movie she loved so much - Waiting To Exhale.
"Look don't make this a habit; got it? If you're going to run a juice stand…"