“Shall I just put on this uniform here?” Chaos looked behind Ever. An apron, shirt and cap were folded up on the bench that certainly weren’t there before.

  “Sure.” Ever said. A part of him wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into. Death’s warning last week echoed in his memory: Chaos is the first being in existence. If it’s in your life, it’s because it wants to be. You don’t get a say.

  Ever straightened his cap. “The job is easy enough. Greet customers with a smile, ask what they want, confirm if they want their ice cream in a cone or a cup, scoop it, serve it then take payment. I’ll show you proper scooping technique, for the first few customers, then you can practice. Sound good?”

  “Yes, mentor.” Chaos said, his mustache twitching again. Death snorted. Being called that sent a weird tingle through him. Was this all an elaborate hoax between his mentor and the primordial being?

  Ever thought for a moment. “One more thing: don’t hurt any humans.”

  Chaos raised a grey eyebrow. “How very noble of you. I thought you were apprenticing under Death, not Prometheus.”

  “I’ve seen what you can do, Chaos. I’ll say it again: don’t hurt any humans.”

  The primordial being masquerading as an old man raised his hands. “You’re the boss, boss.”

  Ever sighed just as the first customer came in. He shot the new recruit a look. “Good morning, what would you like to try today?”

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  —--

  The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful. Despite being a force more powerful than all of the gods combined, Chaos watched and learned patiently. He picked up his scooping technique very quickly, much faster than Ever had, which made him feel envy for the first time.

  Not only that, some regulars noticed that there was a new ‘kid’ on the block and complimented him on his spirit and the absolute joy he brought to the job. Every customer he served left with a smile on their face.

  Afternoon came. The sun was lower in the sky, it wasn’t as busy earlier. A young couple came in, hands intertwined.

  “Good afternoon, what would you like to try today?” Chaos asked, a surprising amount of warmth in his eyes.

  They whispered to each other for a while. “A scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cup, please,” the man said, his girlfriend holding his right hand in both of hers.

  Whoa, don’t go breaking the bank to impress the girl, lad. Death said dryly.

  Ever wasn’t sure if Chaos could hear his Mentor’s quip. If he could, he hid it well behind a solid customer service smile.

  The couple sat next to each other, knees close. “We were up to number 19, right?” The girl asked. “No, it was 20,” her partner replied. “No, it can’t be!” The girl wailed. “Then we only have one question left!” “We don’t have to stop at 21,” the boy laughed. He fed his sweetheart a spoonful of ice cream.

  ∞Maybe you could help me understand this, Death’s Apprentice.∞

  *What is it?*

  ∞In the beginning, there was the void. It is from the void which I came. I can tell you that in the end, everything will return to the void. Why do humans insist on petty courtship rituals like this despite this knowledge?∞

  Ever stared at the ice cream tubs in front of him, considering Chaos’ question.

  *I haven’t lived enough of this life to know the answer to that question. Maybe I’ll know later.*