Free The Secrets of Ice Cream Success by AD Hartley

his inspection. Norton beamed;
head of the class.
    ‘ You don’t
even know what you were looking for.’ Ben laughed.
    ‘ No, but I
have more idea of what I don’t know what I’m looking for than you.’
Newt pointed out.
    ‘ What?’ Norton
asked.
    Carlo bent down and picked up
the diary, wiping the cover before placing it back on the desk.
    ‘ Carlo, are
you sure about what you fe…’ Abi started.
    ‘ Yes… I am.’
Carlo interrupted.
    The others stood quietly as if
expecting something to happen, but nothing did. ‘I guess it is a
little cool in here?’ Abi offered, without real conviction.
    Newton decided to continue his
search whilst Ben crept up behind Norton with a book from the shelf
and slammed it shut just behind his ear, causing a scream, laughter
and the makings of another argument.
    Carlo, sighed not knowing
whether no ghosts was better than some ghosts and made for the
stairs, leaving them to it.
     
    The following day, Randy
announced that Lucy Lightfoot had agreed to come back to work for
Leodoni’s as Operation’s Manager, her previous job, and that five
more of the old staff were available and willing to return, though
to Carlo this sounded like a worrying number had decided not to
join the re-launch of the company, which caused him a certain
amount of angst. Had they retired? Started new jobs? Or did they
not want to work for him?
    This also left forty or so
positions within the factory that needed to be filled including
twelve drivers for the vans, two more than previously as Randy and
Luigi had always taken the opportunity to go out in their vans as
often as possible leaving the factory in the hands of Neil and
Lucy.
    Carlo tried to show some
excitement at this development as Randy confirmed that the first
interviews would begin the very next day, but the reality if the
situation was beginning to dawn on him with nerve shredding
clarity. The factory was without doubt going to re-open and very
soon at that. He had half hoped that the labours involved would
take so long he would have safely returned to school by the time
they were ready to start manufacturing, when his non-participation
could be easily masked by the need for study.
    But against all his hopes it
very much looked like he would be the owner of a fully functioning
ice cream factory within a week or two. He was so scared by the
thought he had started to feel queasy every time Randy mentioned
“The Big Day”. However, walking around a supplier’s factory with
Randy and Lucy that afternoon as they negotiated contracts for
ingredients and packaging, Carlo saw more than one poster for
“Hill’s Vanilla this” and “Hill’s Chocolate that” and pictured the
vile, gargling Mr Hill each time and when he did he mentally took a
deep breath and re-doubled his efforts to understand what Randy and
Lucy meant by Resource Plans, Peak Production Days, Demand
Indicators and the other foreign terms they kept using. The simple
idea of selling ice cream from a window in a van was seeming more
remote the more he learnt about his new Empire.
     
    ‘ So we have
staff?’ Abi asked excitedly that weekend.
    ‘ Some.’ Carlo
answered. ‘And enough stock to start limited production next week,
Uncle Randy says.’
    The gang took this as
legitimate grounds to dance around Norton’s front room in
celebration.
    ‘ And,’ Carlo
continued, ‘Uncle Randy says I can sit in on the last few
interviews tomorrow.’
    ‘ Firstly,’
said Norton to groans from the others, ‘he’s not your Uncle. And
secondly, can I come to the interview?’
    ‘ I don’t
know…’ Carlo said, ‘It’s very important Uncle Randy gets the right
people for the job and I’m going to be putting them off as it is
without you sat there dressed like a squat dictator.’
    ‘ I do not look
like a squat dictator!’ Norton fumed. ‘Anyway, what’s a
dictator?’
    ‘ Someone who
writes down stuff other people say.’ Ben answered
knowledgeably.
    ‘ He’s saying
you dress