It was another sunny day in the middle of June. Haris and Anaya were sprawled on the living room sofas and scrolling on their mobile phone. Their exams had just finished and now all they did the whole day was to mindlessly scroll on their digital devices.

Fed up of her monotonous routine, Anaya threw her mobile near her bed and sat up.

“It’s so hot,” she whined.

“It’s hot for everyone, just relax!” Haris replied.

“I cannot spend my summer break like this. We should do something productive. How about we start a small business maybe?” Anaya said.

Haris snorted, “I can see how social media is getting in your head. It ain’t that easy.”

“You don’t even want to try, so how will anything even work?” Anaya said angrily.

And the fight was about to escalate when their mother entered the room carrying a tray with her.

“Look, what I brought. Come on, drink up. It’s very refreshing.”

And both of them squealed in excitement on seeing the cold mango shake glasses on the tray.

“This is so amazing mama!” Anaya said. While saying this, an idea clicked in her head.

“Oh yes, we should start a milkshake stand!” Anaya almost shouted.

“Mum, look at her. She isn’t able to endure the heat inside the house and now she wants to stand out giving milkshakes,” Haris said smirking.

Their mother, enthusiastic about the suggestion, expanded the idea, “It’s a good idea, Haris. You guys should hand out milkshakes, lemonade and water, all free, to those out there working in the heat all day.”

“Wait, I will not make any shakes or drinks. I’ll only hand them to everyone,” Haris replied.

“Yeah, so that everyone can praise you and I make the milkshake and drinks all by myself,” Anaya responded angrily.

“Don’t start a fight again. We should all work together instead of putting a single task on one person,” their mother concluded the debate.

That night, at the dinner table, the idea was shared with their father, who also agreed to help the kids set up the stand. And then, early Saturday morning, soon after breakfast, they all started building a small stand in the shadow of a big neem tree in front of their house.

By early noon, their father went and bought things such as disposable glasses, mangoes, water bottles, while the kids and their mother got the milkshakes and drinks ready to be given out. Soon after, Haris and Anaya both were standing by their milkshake stand.

“Look nobody is coming. It’s more than 15 minutes,” Haris complained.

“Be patient! Stop being so negative…” and that’s when a black car came near their stand.

The window rolled down and a young man asked them, “How much are you guys selling these for?”

Haris and Anaya looked at each other. The problem was that they weren’t sure if they were selling or giving out, and they haven’t even discussed the prices with their parents.

A few awkward moments later, Anaya cleared her throat and smiled,

“Actually we weren’t selling these. Just giving them out to anyone who needs a little refreshment in this heat. You know it’s a good deed, so maybe our exam results would turn out better because of this,” Anaya only stopped rambling after Haris elbowed her. He smiled sheepishly at the man.

The young man chuckled, “That’s a good idea. But I want to buy it, so can you guys pack four milkshakes for me?”

“Yeah sure.”

The kids hurried to complete their first order. Soon the man left, leaving them a good tip.

Anaya and Haris were so happy to be part of something that they never thought of before. This first order boosted their spirits and they found that they had a knack for customer service. With friendly smiles and helpful suggestions, they made sure everyone who stopped by felt taken care of and refreshed in the heat.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 13th, 2024