Monday
As the rays of dawn flitted through the curtains of Ichika’s dorm room, the girl found herself willingly getting up early, excitement bubbling in her chest. Today was the day of her first shift!
Unfortunately, her shift would only start at 8 P.M., and a quick glance at the wall clock across her bed showed that it was just 9:30 A.M. ‘Well… today might feel longer than usual,’ Ichika lamented with a sigh.
“I might as well get ready for my classes…” She said with dampened energy. “I should have 3 for today.”
As she got up and stretched to shake off the remaining bits of drowsiness, Ichika quietly went on with her morning routine. With a quick tap on her phone, the familiar voice of Hatsune Miku began to sing from the speakers. As the music engulfed the small room, Ichika allowed herself a moment to listen before she got moving, a smile slowly creeping up her face.
As she hummed along to the song, Ichika went about with her daily routine. Clean up, brush, shower, pack – like clockwork she moved along without much thought. Occasionally a song she particularly liked would come on and she’d sing along, her voice serenading no one else but herself. Simple things, really, but enough to get her going in the morning.
“Alright, that should be it,” Ichika said between hums. “Time to get something to eat.”
As she put on some earphones, Ichika took one more look across her room before she walked out and locked the door. Her destination: the takeout place close to the dorm.
Greeted by the chime of a bell, Ichika breathed in the familiar faint scent of coffee and frying oil, a rather busy scent, if Ichika could describe it. Much more hectic compared to the relaxed, coffee-and-pastry-scented atmosphere of Cafe 39.
After getting her usual order of a standard brew with a moderate amount of sugar and a daily pastry recommendation, Ichika made her way to the university grounds and headed straight for a study area in the library. Sure, she was caught up to her course material, but a little more reading wouldn’t hurt her.
When she arrived, Ichika quickly found an empty table in the common area, took a seat, pulled out a book, and started to read, taking a sip of coffee and a bite out of her pastry every few pages.
‘Chocolate today.’ she noted between bites.
As Ichika read through the book, she occasionally caught glimpses of other people entering the library; some alone, others in a group, to either study, look for a book, or use one of the discussion rooms. She didn’t normally spend much time in the library, so it always interested her to observe the people that would come and go.
One particular individual seemed to draw her attention though. A girl who didn’t seem to draw much attention to herself, with a book clutched close to her chest; her long white hair tied into twintails waving around as she turned her head in search of an empty table. Ichika wasn’t one to stare at strangers, honest, but she rarely saw anyone with such a unique hair color.
As she realized that it would be awkward to be caught staring at someone she didn’t know, Ichika turned back to the page she was reading, intent on getting one more chapter finished but halfway through a page, a quiet, almost emotionless, voice drew her attention with a question.
“Excuse me. Is there… anyone sitting there…?”
Ichika turned her gaze towards the voice, grey eyes meeting blue & violet. ‘Huh, she has heterochromia.’ She thought. ‘How pretty…’
‘Oh wait, she asked me something.’
Pretty eyes aside, Ichika was surprised to see that the girl she had just watched enter earlier was now standing in front of her. ‘Were all the other tables taken already?’
She quickly looked around and saw that a lot of the tables around her were already quite full. ‘Huh, they are.’
Before she could respond, however, the girl spoke first, the faintest hint of disappointment in her voice. “If someone is, then it’s okay… I’ll just look somewhere else.”
As the girl turned around to leave, Ichika blurted out the first thing she could think of to stop her. “Ah! AH…! Actually!”
That got the girl to stop, thankfully. Ichika swore she heard someone shush her, but she brushed it off and continued with what she was going to say.
“N-no one’s sitting here right now!”
The girl turned around and stared at Ichika, her multicolored eyes meeting Ichika’s greys, as if trying to ascertain the validity of Ichika’s words.
Silence soon descended between them, the two seemingly locked in an impromptu staring contest.
One that dragged on just a bit too long for Ichika’s comfort, causing her to squirm in her seat the longer they stared at each other.
‘Good job Ichika.’ she berated herself as she averted her eyes and scratched her head, a dust of pink spreading across her cheeks. ‘How can you expect to take orders for customers if you can’t even answer a simple question properly…’
While Ichika stewed in self-deprecation, the girl pulled out a chair across from her and sat down. She offered a quick “Thank you,” before she opened the book she had been carrying and started reading.
Ichika was surprised that she still sat there despite… whatever just happened, but she didn’t question it. Best not make things more awkward than they already were. Despite that, she couldn’t help but steal a glance at the book the girl was reading, her curiosity taking over, before returning to her own book.
‘Save the Cat? Huh, that’s rather… straightforward.’
The rest of the time passed by in peaceful silence, with neither of them doing anything to disturb the atmosphere aside from the occasional turn of a page.
Eventually, a bell rang out, signalling that it was almost 12 P.M., which made Ichika begin to put her book back in her bag and clean up her trash. She briefly opened her mouth to say “Bye” to the girl across from her, but stopped herself. She looked quite relaxed while she was engrossed in her book, so, not wanting to interrupt her, Ichika settled for a smile and wave, and left.
“Alright,” she said with a stretch as she left the library. “Time to get to class.”
Unbeknownst to her, a pair of blue and violet briefly watched her walk away before returning to the book on the table.
Between the droning lecture of her professor and constant checking of her phone for the time, Ichika’s excitement in the morning had shifted into impatience, her fingers rhythmically tapping on a page of her book. She’d attempted to try and read along with the lecture, but she found herself rereading the exact same sentence over and over, the information refusing to stick. Thankfully, after a few more minutes, the professor dismissed the class for the day, and Ichika let out a sigh of relief. One class down, two more to go.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the day was doing everything in its power to diminish whatever excitement she had. Catching a glimpse of white hair, she ducked into an empty corridor to cover her face in embarrassment as she recalled what had occurred earlier in the day. ‘Get it together Ichika… You need to get better at talking to people…’
Maybe she could ask for tips later.
The rest of her classes ended up going the same as the first, seemingly never-ending lectures made worse by impatience grating her nerves. When the final lecture was dismissed, Ichika practically ran out of the room to get to the Cafe, though she made sure to avoid running into anyone — she didn’t want a repeat of Saturday.
When she finally arrived, Ichika’s breathing was slightly ragged.
‘I guess I might have been a bit too eager to get here,’ she thought to herself with a chuckle.
As she steadied her breathing, Ichika checked her phone for the time.
7:45 P.M., it read. ‘And I’m on time too.’
From a quick glance, it seemed that customer traffic this evening was slow compared to what she saw on Sunday afternoon – only two people were seated inside. Leoni was handling the register herself, occupied with another customer, though that did make sense when she considered that the peak hour had already passed.
Once she felt the pounding of her heart subside and her breathing returned to normal, Ichika entered Cafe 39, causing Leoni— who was just about to start brewing —to shoot a look at her direction, her lips curving into a smile when she saw who it was.
“Oh, good evening Miss Hoshino!” Leoni had greeted her first with a wave.
Ichika waved back with a small smile as she approached the counter. “Good evening Leoni! I’ll just get ready for my shift.”
“Mhm,” Leoni nodded back, “Luka’s just packing up her stuff in the back. You can go say ‘Hi’ before you start your shift.”
“Okay, I will. Thank you.”
Ichika headed to the back room of the cafe, where Luka was just about to clock out.
“Um, good evening Mi–Luka…” Ichika blurted out.
Luka turned around to the voice that had greeted her and, upon seeing that it was Ichika, greeted back with a smile. “Good evening, Ichika.”
“Are you heading home now?” Ichika asked her.
Luka shook her head. “Nah, I’ve got another job to get to.” She sighed. “A shorter one, thankfully.”
“Oh, then good luck!”
“Thanks. And good luck with your first shift!”
Ichika nodded. “Mhm, I’ll do my best to be useful to Leoni!”
Luka patted her on the shoulder, a small chuckle coming out of her mouth. “I’m sure Miku will appreciate any help you do for her.”
She then gave her a friendly nod before walking out. “Just do your best, okay? See you~”
With Luka clocked out for the day, Ichika clocked in, set aside her bag, and got dressed into the cafe’s uniform – which was really just a white and black apron with teal highlights. ‘Very on-brand,’ Ichika thought with a chuckle.
After that, she left the back room and approached the register, where Leoni was just standing around, waiting for a customer to enter. As she approached her, she spoke. “Um, I’m ready to get started.”
Leoni perked up at her voice and turned to her with a smile. “Go ahead. I’ll be nearby if you need my help, so don’t be afraid to call me over, alright?”
Ichika nodded back. “I will.”
“Good luck!”
With that, the girl moved over, which allowed Ichika to take charge of the register. The excitement that had been bubbling within her since she woke up intensified as she stood and waited. Her nerves were on overdrive as well, as she began to imagine different scenarios of customers coming in with different orders.
She was so busy with her thoughts that she didn’t notice the light tap on her shoulder.
“Hey!” Leoni’s voice finally cut through Ichika’s cluttered mind. “Don’t forget to breathe, alright?”
“Huh?” Ichika blurted out.
“You were holding your breath for a while,” Leoni explained, a concerned look on her face. “Your face was kind of getting blue.”
“Ah… I…”
A gentle squeeze on her shoulder. “Hey, take a slow breath, okay?”
Ichika slowly nodded and did as she was told. She breathed in—
“Then let it out slowly.”
—and let it out. It came out shakier than she was expecting. Was she that nervous?
“A-ah… I’m sorry.” Ichika looked down, her trembling hand tightly gripping her arm. “My shift’s barely even started and I’m already troubling you…”
Before her thoughts could spiral further, Leoni gave her shoulder a gentle pat. “Hey, it’s okay to be nervous. I was nervous too when I first opened up this place.”
Ichika turned her head up slightly to face her. “R-really?”
A nod. “Mhm. And I even screwed up my first order.”
“Y-you did?!”
“Yep. My hands were shaking like crazy and I dropped it right as I handed over the mug.” she replied back with a laugh. “I had to remake the order as fast as I could, but now I can look back at it as a fond memory.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at Ichika. “It taught me to bounce back no matter what happens.”
She patted Ichika on the back. “If I could go from an inexperienced girl opening a brand-new cafe on a whim to a competent barista, then I know you can get better too. The nerves are normal, it’s just up to you to power through it, okay?”
Ichika smiled back at her, happy that she was taking the time to give her a pep talk. “Mhm.” She nodded. “I’ll… do my best.”
“Attagirl.”
The sound of the door opening drew both of the girls’ attention. “And now it’s your time to shine, Miss Hoshino.”
Ichika nodded back, determination clear in her eyes. Her nerves were still acting up, but she just needed to push through, like Leoni.
When the customer arrived at the register, Ichika began her greeting. “H-hello…” and it came out much weaker than she expected.
The customer didn’t seem to hear her as they looked around the cafe then suddenly to their phone— likely to reply to a message. She needed to be louder, to make her presence obvious.
“Ahem. Excuse me…!” That seemed to do the trick as the customer looked up. “Um, w-welcome to Cafe 39! What can I get you?”
That was better than the earlier attempt, but she could do better.
After briefly scanning the drink list, the customer replied. “Oh, right, um, can I get a Vanilla Latte?”
“Alright, and what, what size would you like it to be?”
“Just a regular one.”
“Okay. Um… Uh, is there, um, a-anything else…?” ‘Breathe Ichika. Don’t be afraid. Just speak normally.’
“Hm…” the customer turned towards the pastry display. “How about… a slice of that cake?”
“O-of course!” She gulped. “W-will that be all?”
The customer nodded back.
“Okay, that will be… Um, this much.” Ichika said. “W-will you pay with cash or card?”
“Card,” they replied as they handed Ichika a credit card.
“Okay,” Ichika said as she finalized the transaction.
She then turned to Leoni and said: “One Vanilla Latte — Regular!” and received a nod in response.
She turned back to the customer and asked: “Would you like your order f-for here or to go?”
“To go.”
She turned back. “A-and it’s to go!”
After receiving an affirmative hum, Ichika then handed the customer their order number. “Your number will be called when your order is ready,” she said with a smile – at least she thought she was smiling.
“Thank you, miss,” they replied, before going to an empty table and taking a seat.
Ichika took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she began to move.
First, she placed the order ticket on Leoni’s station; then she turned around to prepare the cake. Her hands trembled slightly throughout the process, but she kept her bearings despite it, being careful not to drop anything.
After a few minutes, Leoni placed the finished drink at the pick-up counter. “The drink’s ready!”
Ichika nodded and brought the packaged cake over. She then called out the ticket number, making sure that her voice was loud enough to be heard. “Order No. 171!”
Upon hearing their number called out, the customer walked over to the counter and claimed their order. Ichika gave a quick “Thank you, please come again!” as she handed the order over with a smile.
The customer nodded back and left the cafe, disappearing off into wherever their destination was, likely back to their home.
With that, Ichika returned to the register and let out a big sigh. For just one person, that was extremely stressful. But, she did it. It was a bit rocky, at the start but she managed to handle the whole process without looking like a complete fool, and she was happy about it.
Leoni walked up to her and smiled. “Congrats! You’ve officially served your first customer!”
Ichika smiled, a small blush on her face as she looked away.
Leoni let out a small laugh. “I see someone’s feeling happy!”
“W-well…” Ichika relented. “I mean, why wouldn’t I? They seemed satisfied with their order…”
“The first one does have its own special quality, doesn’t it?” Leoni agreed, a hand placed on Ichika’s shoulder. “And since you’ve served one, now you can serve them all!”
Ichika playfully brushed off her hand. “You’re exaggerating.”
“I am not!” Ichika shot her a questioning look. “Okay, maybe just a bit, but once you get the hang of one, you can usually apply that to most people!”
“Alright then, I’ll keep that in mind,” Ichika replied with a small chuckle. “One down, who knows how many more to go for the rest of the night.
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Definitely.”
The rest of the night went a lot more smoothly for Ichika. Leoni was actually right about the “Serve One, Serve All” mentality, because she found it easier to serve the next couple of customers that came in.
“I’m surprised that a lot of people actually come in this late,” Ichika remarked, in between orders.
“Yeah, well, night shift workers tend to pass by here a lot, especially from the apartment complex across the bridge.”
Ichika nodded. “That does make sense.” She then went back to the register to service another pair of customers that had entered.
This was how time would pass in the cafe, with Ichika dutifully taking orders, Leoni whipping up drinks, and idle conversation settling between the duo while waiting for the next customer to come in. By 12:00 A.M., Leoni took over the counter to give Ichika a short break before she returned to manning the register.
Despite the time now reading 12:45 A.M., Ichika was surprised to find that she still had enough energy to spare.
“I’m surprised I don’t feel sleepy yet.”
Leoni chuckled as she leaned against the counter. “Probably just your excitement over working here for the first time.”
“Maybe.” Ichika paused for a moment, then wondered aloud: “... How come you still look so full of energy?”
“Me?” Leoni grinned. “I’m just used to it. Plus, the drinks keep me busy.”
A thought came to Ichika that she couldn’t help but vocalize. “You’re not secretly taking sips from them, are you?”
“What? No!” Leoni shook her head vigorously at the jab. “I am an upstanding barista who would never do such a thing.”
Ichika chuckled at her boss’s response. “Alright, sure, I believe you.”
“Hey! I’m being 100 percent truthful, I swear on my bracelet!”
Before the two could get swept up in more friendly banter, the door opened again, signalling a new customer.
“Oh, I’m up again,” Ichika said absentmindedly.
As she laid her eyes on the customer, the sight of long white hair triggered her urge to hide away, her legs ready to spring her to the closest hiding spot. ‘Oh no,’ She thought. ‘Please don’t be…’
Thankfully, a pair of blue eyes met her greys, causing Ichika to relax and let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
When the girl in front of her tilted her head in confusion at her, Ichika was made aware of the fact that she did that right in front of a customer, and her face flushed – her ears turning slightly red.
She faintly heard Leoni struggling to hold in her laughter. No, focus, there was a customer that was more important.
Mustering up whatever confidence still remained in her system, Ichika greeted the girl with the standard pleasantries of the Cafe 39 staff, her voice pitched noticeably higher than before.
Ichika really wished she could disappear into the floor right now but, as they say, the show must go on— embarrassment be damned.
The girl, at least, didn’t seem to be offended by Ichika’s flub and just listed off her order without any fuss. A mocha latte, with an obscene amount of sugar, extra vanilla syrup, and five orders of premade instant noodles…? Okay, Ichika now understood why they kept that in stock.
“Will that be for here, or to go, miss?”
“Ah, for here.”
“Alright, here’s your order number. We’ll call it out when it’s ready.”
The girl nodded. “Thanks…”
As Ichika left the ticket by Leoni’s station and went to prepare the noodles, she couldn’t help but think about how… interesting some customers could be based on their orders.
Some liked it simple, others complex, and some had the most… unique ideas for a mix.
‘I didn’t think anyone would ask for boiling hot water mixed with a pump of every syrup…’
Ichika shrugged off her thoughts. It wasn’t really her place to judge them – she was just there to serve, after all.
Once the order had been prepared, Ichika went over to the pick-up station and called out the order number. The girl with white hair soon walked over to claim it and returned to her seat.
With no other customer coming in, Ichika let herself relax a bit as she leaned against the counter.
It was quiet now, the cafe only occupied by three people, the sound of copyright-free music pouring out of the speakers. It was all oddly… serene.
She did occasionally hear the sound of noodles being slurped in between quiet mutters from their lone customer. Was she on a call or something? She sounded like she was replying to someone.
Well, Ichika wouldn’t pry, despite her curiosity. She wouldn’t want to come off as intrusive to a customer.
She did steal a glance, however, and the pair of headphones she saw confirmed her suspicions.
The door then opened with a chime, jolting Ichika back into action. The customer service smile immediately returned to her face. “Welcome to Cafe 39! What can I get you?”
Once she had taken the order and placed the ticket at Leoni’s station, Ichika returned to waiting. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was already 1:30 A.M.
‘Huh’, she thought, ‘Just an hour and a half left ‘til clean-up.’
The sound of Leoni’s footsteps getting closer signalled Ichika to move over to the pick-up station. “Alright, I have the order for ticket number… 189!”
Once the customer had received their order and left, Ichika covered her mouth in an attempt to conceal the yawn she’d been holding in. The sound of her yawning, however, was not particularly well hidden to her boss, who asked: “Tired?”
‘Well… no shame in admitting it now I guess…’ Ichika thought, returning her boss’s question with a sluggish nod. “Yeah…”
“Need a pick-me-up?”
Ichika shook her head at the offer. “There’s no need for that…” She glanced over to the front door. “A customer could come in at any time.”
“It’s fine,” Leoni chuckled as she began to whip something up. “The customer traffic’s slow enough at this time.”
Ichika opened her mouth to tell her to stop, but held back. Her boss had already started, so she might as well indulge her. “…Thank you.”
“No problem!”
As Ichika watched her boss work her magic, she caught sight of the white-haired girl from earlier as she got up from her seat and left the cafe. Since her boss was still occupied, Ichika took the empty bowl of noodles and mug on the table and brought it to the wash area. She then returned to the table and cleaned up any leftover mess with a towel and some disinfectant. Once she was satisfied, she returned to the register and leaned against the counter while waiting and occasionally watching her boss work with her drink. After a couple of minutes, Ichika heard a gentle ‘thump’ beside her, a tall drink glass filled with what looked like chocolate, ice cream, a smattering of whipped cream, and a cherry to top it all off.
“Try it!” Leoni encouraged her, a spoon already held out for her.
Ichika took one more glance at the door, before she grabbed the offered spoon and had a taste of the dessert her boss had whipped up. Plunging her spoon into the mixture, she was surprised to find that the part that looked like a chocolate drink was actually pretty solid. With a bit of force, she broke the chocolate shell and scooped up some of the chocolate mixture and a bit of the ice cream and put it in her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up. “Whoa…!”
Leoni giggled at her reaction. “I guess you like it?”
Ichika vigorously shook her head in response. “It… It’s amazing! What kind of chocolate did you use?”
“Oh, it’s just a little experiment I’ve been working on for a while.” she said. “Something involving coating a semi-liquid dark chocolate ganache with tempered chocolate.”
“You’re really amazing…!”
“Oh please,” Leoni waved off her praise. “It’s nothing special. Just experiments. I’m pretty sure bakers could do this in their sleep.”
“But–”
“Now, now, what about the ice cream?”
“Oh… well, it was really good too!”
“Nothing else to say about it?”
“Um…”, Ichika took another spoonful of it, “Oh! It tastes really familiar!”
Then she realized where she’d tasted it before. “Did you…”
Ichika was met with a knowing smile. “Mhm. I’ve been trying to see if I could get my experimental flavors to work as ice cream. Most usually end up too sweet, too bitter, or have a muddled flavor.”
She turned to Ichika, relief painted in her expression. “But, it’s nice to see that this one worked out well.”
Ichika smiled back at her. “Well, I definitely approve of this dessert.”
Leoni nodded. “I guess I can use it for next month’s special then.” she smiled. “Especially since it’s been approved by you and Luka.”
“Really?” Ichika turned her head to the girl. “Did she say the same thing?”
“She said she really liked the flavor combination of the chocolate and ice cream. Said it was “refreshingly indulgent.””
“I definitely agree with her on the refreshingly indulgent comment.”
“Alright, then my mind’s made up for next month’s special.”
“Oh, speaking of your special, I’m curious…” Ichika began. “Why don’t you try to advertise the specials much?”
“Oh, about that…” The girl scratched her head, her eyes seeming to look off into the distance. “The last time I went out of my way to market them, I raised too many expectations and ended up disappointing people when another one replaced it…”
Ichika visibly saw the girl shudder, her teal twintails looking like they were drooping from her sudden bad mood. “I still get sent demands to this day about offering that particular special again.”
“I see.” Ichika nodded. “So that’s why it’s treated as a secret menu?”
“Yeah… I don’t want to risk going through that again…”
Okay, maybe Ichika shouldn’t have asked that question. Intent on cheering up her boss, Ichika took a spoon and slid the desert over to her, spoon outstretched. “Um… here. You should also enjoy it.”
That seemed to work as Leoni snapped out of her trance and blinked at the offered spoon. She smiled at Ichika’s attempt to cheer her up (not that she was actually that upset).
She took the spoon, gave Ichika a “Thank you” and tried out her creation. She nodded as she indulged in the flavors she created. “Yeah, this is good!”
Ichika let out a small chuckle at her boss praising her own work, but nodded in agreement.
At that moment, the door to the cafe opened. Ichika immediately stood to attention, ready to greet the new customer.
A girl with purple hair tied into a ponytail, and oddly empty-looking eyes. It unnerved Ichika for a moment, but she pushed through it, offering her the usual greeting.
“Welcome to Cafe 39! What can I get you?”
“7 shots of espresso. For here. And a large black to go.”
Ichika held back her jaw from opening in shock. She never thought she’d encounter anyone who would actually order that many in one go. ‘Is… is she okay?!’
“Um… my order…?”
“O-oh! Right, right, seven shots of espresso for dine-in and a large black to go?”
The girl just nodded.
“Would you like a pastry to accompany it?”
“No.”
“Okay. Cash or card?”
“Cash.”
Ichika quickly processed the order. “Alright, that’ll be this much.”
The girl nodded and handed over the payment. Ichika promptly counted up the change and gave it to the girl, along with her order number.
She then brought the order ticket to Leoni’s station, her eyes scanning its contents over and over.
Her shock must have been very obvious as a question was shot her way. “Is everything okay?”
Ichika slowly nodded. “I think…?” And she showed the ticket. “I didn’t think I’d see someone order this much…”
“Oh, it’s her.” Leoni said once she read the ticket. “Yeah, this is normal for her.”
“Normal?!”
“Yeah, at least 3 times a week.”
“How is she still alive?!”
Leoni shrugged. “She’s just built different, I guess. Now, come on, help me make those orders.”
Ichika just could not get over the fact that this was a normal occurrence in this cafe. Even while preparing the espresso shots, she still tried to understand how one person could handle that much caffeine.
Once the shots were ready, she brought them over to the pick-up station and called the girl’s order number out. She walked up, gave a curt thanks, and brought it back to her table, where she proceeded to down all seven in rapid succession.
She then pulled out what seemed to be a medical textbook, and suddenly Ichika felt like she understood this girl.
‘So that’s how it is. Good luck to you, miss.’
“Here’s the black to go— Miss Hoshino? Why are you staring at her?”
“Ah! Um, well, I was just… you know… paying my respects to her…”
Leoni could only tilt her head at the girl, confused by her logic. “Paying your… respects…?”
“Well, I mean, she’s, um, probably a medical student, so I just, um, just… You know…”
While Ichika tried her best to explain why she would pay respects to a medical student, Leoni did not even try to hold back her amusement, her smile growing larger at each of the girl’s awkward attempts to provide a reasonable explanation.
Eventually, Leoni broke down into a fit of laughter – ‘A surprisingly melodious one.’ Ichika thought for just a split second – before she too was swept up in the moment, the two girls laughing together at Ichika’s antics, her prior shame washed away by this simple moment of lighthearted fun.
The lone customer ignored the (admittedly) loud laughter, her gaze remaining trained on the textbook in her hands.
As the laughter died down and both girls regained their composure, Leoni spoke first, wiping a tear, “Miss Hoshino I didn’t think you’d be such a comedian!”
Ichika rubbed the back of her neck, a bout of redness slowly taking over her face. “I, um, well…”
“Next time, try not to ogle our customers during work hours, okay?” She replied, a cheeky wink accompanying it.
That caused Ichika’s face to perform its best imitation of a tomato. If anyone looked closely, one would almost think that steam was leaving her head.
“Leoni! I-I would never…!”
“Mhm. It’s okay Miss Hoshino, I don’t judge.”
Ichika gave up at that point, her hands covering her face, shame permeating every cell of her body. Was it too late to be struck by a meteor?
Another chuckle from her boss. “Alright, that’s enough teasing for now~”
Ichika peeked through her hands to glare at her boss. “Y-you…”
Leoni stuck her tongue out at the girl. “Consider it payback for earlier’s question!”
Ichika could only nod in acceptance.
When the clock in the store read 2:45 A.M., Ichika turned to Leoni and asked her: “Is it fine if I start with clean-up?”
“Of course, go ahead. I’ll stay by the register for any last-second runners.”
Having obtained her boss’s approval, Ichika made her way to the empty tables outside the cafe, cleaning supplies in hand, and began to wipe them of any stains they had gained from the day. Once she was satisfied with their sparkle, she made her way back inside and started working on the tables there.
The medical student from earlier was still sitting over by the far end of the store, clearly engrossed with her reading, so Ichika decided she’d do that one last.
When it was finally time to deal with the last table to be cleaned, Ichika checked the time once more. 2:59 A.M. Almost closing time.
After a quick breath to steady herself for social interaction, Ichika walked over to the girl. “Um, excuse me miss.”
The girl looked up at Ichika. “Yes?”
“Apologies for interrupting you.” Ichika said with a bow. “But I would just like to remind you that it’s almost closing time for the cafe.”
“Oh.”
The girl checked the clock to make sure, nodded, then packed up her things and left, her takeout coffee in hand.
“Thank you, and please come again!” Ichika said as she watched the girl depart.
She barely managed to hear a curt “Ok” from the girl before she left eyeshot.
“And now to finish cleaning.”
The rest of the clean up commenced in full after Leoni turned the cafe sign to “Closed.”
Machines were cleaned, countertops wiped and polished, dishes washed and sorted, and garbage brought out. Thanks to a few tips from Luka, Ichika managed to go through the whole clean-up process without much mistakes (she almost fell over when getting the broom, but caught herself just in time).
By the time they finished, it was already 3:30 A.M.
Ichika let out a yawn, exhaustion from pulling an all-nighter catching up to her. She needed some sleep. With her bag in hand, Ichika went over to Leoni, who was busy logging stuff into a journal, and said: “I’ll be going now Leoni!”
“Oh! Take care then, Miss Hoshino. Good night! Or should I say Good morning?”
Ichika chuckled. “Well, either works I guess. Good night!”
With a wave, Ichika left the cafe and headed back to her dorm, where she collapsed onto her bed, her eyes heavy from staying up so late, and almost immediately fell asleep.
As her final remnants of consciousness left her, one single thought remained before the sweet embrace of sleep welcomed her.
‘Today was a fun day.’