VIDALIA, La.&045; It’s a mini science experiment in a Styrofoam cup.

The snow cone juice first has to go straight down the middle of the finely shaved ice where it forms a tiny sugar-filled pool. Then osmosis takes care of the rest.

A little more ice, and a little more juice and you’ve got the perfect afternoon distraction from work.

And Shaver’s Sno-Cones only employee Laura Huffines has it down to a science.

&uot;You’ve got to kind of know how much is enough and not enough, so they won’t hand it back and complain,&uot; she said from inside the tiny snow hut.

When the 18-year-old Co-Lin student from Natchez started her summer job inside the Vidalia snow village she thought the training would be a no-brainer, but it proved a little more challenging.

Huffines opens the trailer window at 2 p.m. Sunday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturdays. She spends some time checking the sugar water and ice to make sure there’s enough and fills the cream bottles for interested customers.

&uot;Then I just wait for y’all to come,&uot; she said.

Shaver’s closes at 7 p.m., and Huffines does some other routine checks. The job can sometimes be a messy one, including dyed hands.

&uot;I still have some yellow on me from when I got in a fight with a banana snow cone,&uot; she said. &uot;It won.&uot;

Monday was the busiest day of the year for the second Miss-Lou Shaver’s. The original is on U.S. 61 in Natchez. A busy day sees about 50 customers who choose from 37 flavors, endless combinations and sizes ranging from pee-wee ($1) to the big daddy ($3).

The biggest sellers are SpongeBob and Shrek for the kids, both mixes of flavors. Huffine’ favorite, Funkalicious, also gets quite a few customers, she said. But don’t ask what’s in it, it’s a secret.

Shaver’s owner Sean Waggoner said he’s been in the snow cone industry for two years, including this year’s expansion.

&uot;We just decided to expand the business,&uot; he said. &uot;We thought there was a need (in Vidalia).&uot;

Though business is better in Natchez, something Waggoner attributes to traffic, he’s hopeful it will continue to pick up in Vidalia.

When she’s not cleaning or serving customers, Huffines either sits under the air conditioner or in the sun, depending on the time of day, and reads.