4:00 PM (木)
"And that is how we find the integral by using integration by parts. Make sure to do your homework as we have a test in only one week!"
Class was finally over! Learning about calculus is not what I would consider fun...
"Haru-chan want to come to カラオケ(Karaoke) with us? We're going with Kanami-chan and Hanako-chan."
Takayuki and Co. seemed liked they really wanted to go.
"Didn't you just hear the professor? We have a test in a week..."
"Ahh but the boys and I aren't going to karaoke for a while after tonight. So will you come?"
("The boys"... ugh)
"Fine, but only today."
7:00 PM (木)
Karaoke was fun because Hana-chan and Kana-chan were there, but I don't know if I can say the same for Takayuki and co. It seems they were a bit more interested on the fact that we were girls than the karaoke itself.
The boys drank a little and I could tell they were a bit tipsy from their actions. Luckily they were a good bunch of guys, and when we all said bye to each other, we parted ways.
Hehe... now was my time to indulge in my weird hobby... EATING AT RAMEN SHOPS AND RATING THE FOOD. My grandpa cooked the best miso ramen and I would have a blast every time I visited him in Hokkaido. I lived in Tokyo, so there were many places to get delicious Japanese food. But when it came to Ramen, I was a food snob. There was a ramen place nearby the karaoke bar we were at that I haven't been to yet. I decided that would be my target for the night hehehe...
When I entered I saw that it was a ticket based ramen restaurant. The system they use is you pay a machine before sitting down, get a coupon with your order, and give the coupon to the staff. In this case there was only one guy serving the food at the restaurant. He was a handsome fellow who seemed to be around my age. I guess there really are people that go straight into the workforce out of high school..
I was going to go with their number one recommended item, Miso ramen for ¥800. I opened my purse and grabbed my wallet and to my despair I only had a ¥5000 bill! Oh well... this is for my hobby! I put in the bill into the machine and all of the options lit up. I pressed the miso ramen button and a ticket slid out. Now all I had to do was wait for the change!
...
Now all I had to do was wait for the change!
...
Wait for the change?
...
Change...
Where is my ¥4200 in change... (For reference ¥1000 is about 10.00 USD)
"Umm. Excuse me! I think your machine is broken! I'm not getting any change back!"
I called out to the young chef that was on duty.
"Yeah.. it says in the front that it will get fixed and that no change will be given by the machine in the mean time."
(You have got to be kidding me!) I was about to die of embarrassment...
"How much change do you need. I can probably cover for the machine right now."
"I put in ¥5000 for one miso ramen."
He gave me one of those looks.. the ones that say "this is a joke, right?"
"I can't cover the change for you on that amount..."
I really am in a bad spot right now...
"Well for now just sit down and I'll make you your order. We can decide on what to do with the money afterwards."
He gave off an aggressive vibe so I thought he would have been more hot headed for something like this. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover..
After I gave him the ticket, he went straight to cooking. Is what I would want to say... but what I saw was more of a performance than simply cooking. From the look in his eyes I could tell he was cooking from the bottom of my heart. I caught a big one today!
7:15 PM (木)
"Here is your miso ramen... so how do you want to deal with this?"
He placed the ramen in front of me and placed his elbows on the bar platform in front of me and crossed his arms. To my amazement, it looked just as it had on the menu. Most of these places put nice looking pictures to lure people in, but the final product is a sham in comparison... but this was a perfect replica!
"One second.."
What matters about ramen is the taste, not the looks.
"We will discuss after I eat."
The boy went to the back and started washing the dishes. After I made sure he wasn't looking, I took my first bite.
Amazing... this is arguably the best Ramen I have ever had!
...
7:16 PM (木)
The boy came back, but he has a look of disgust on his face this time.
"I gave you the ramen only a minute ago... what did you do with it.."
"I ate it."
[Silence...]
He sighed and then took my finished bowl back to the sink, then came back to face me.
"Before you say anything. I have a proposition"
(Proposition!? What am I saying ugh..)
"Instead of giving me my change, give me ¥4200 yen worth of free food until it reaches ¥0 when I come here."
I saw a slight smile form on his face. He was a lot better looking than I gave him credit for...
"Hahaha this actually makes my life a lot easier. My dad actually owns this place and I wouldn't have been able to give you your money until he came back in a couple weeks."
Not only his smile, but his eyes lit up too. I could start to feel myself blush a little.. oh no...
7:20 PM (木)
Chapter One: End