Mundelein High School - Voices Magazine - 2020

V o i c e s 2 0 2 0 | 8
Heirloom
Ashley Carrier
August Lasair stared at his new home and sighed. It was an ice cream parlor
crafted by his ancestor, George Lasair in 1920. The once clean stone exterior was now
worn with age, and patches of moss peaked from cracks where the cement was worn
down.
“Here,” his mother spoke. She stood in front of the doors, her usual stone cold
glare set on her face. August stepped towards the doors, and his mother handed him
neatly folded clothes with a white diner hat sitting on top. He took them reluctantly.
“Don’t embarrass the family name.” And with that, she was gone.
August looked back towards the parlor noticing the rundown sign reading ‘Lava
Cone est. 1920’ just outside the door on the right. The middle of the sign was lighter
than the rest due to passersby hitting it to watch it swing. He walked to the front doors,
unlocked them, and stepped inside. Circular metal tables were placed along the wall to
the left with metal stools surrounding them that had worn black leather cushion. In the
back left corner, there was a long booth that looked the same as the other tables and
stools. The leather cushions were clearly aged and had a few holes from where kids
enjoyed sticking the nub ends of their spoons in. The walls were a bright blue color to
make the parlor pop and add a playful vibe. To the right, there was a large counter
stretching from the back wall to a few feet away from the front of the store; the counter
had 6 stools on it. In the space between the counter and front door were more chairs
and stools. Behind the counter against the right wall were all of the ice cream flavors,
toppings, cones, and cups. 25 flavors of ice cream sat in large, circular tins that were
constantly kept frozen. Little tubs filled with warm water and ice cream scoopers hung
off the edge in front of each section. Behind the ice cream bar against the wall above
the toppings was a shelf with sugar cones, cake cones, and waffle cones in neat stacks.
Anther shelf holding waffle bowls, glass bowls, and glass sundae cups was next to it.
Under the two shelves were the toppings; clear tubs of rainbow sprinkles, chocolate
chips, candied cherries, and banana slices were placed neatly next to each other with
chalk labels on the front. Each container had its own scooper. Next to the containers
were three pumps with their appropriate chalk labels: Caramel, chocolate, and
strawberry syrups.
August dropped his belongings on the floor next to the door, and opened the
two large windows next to the front doors to get rid of the musty scent. He ran his left
index finger over one of the tables closest to him and grimaced.
“Disgusting,” he muttered. He walked back behind the corner through the back
door. To his left was a staircase leading to the basement, and to his right was another