Agreeing to take Mocha-san to the place I'll be applying to, we arrived at a nearby cafe not too far from our school.
Hitomi-san decided to tag along as well, and Aria-san too brought along her maid "Mei" who's watching over her master.
The cafe was nothing special. Entering the room, there's not even a single person inside except for an elderly man with a mustache tending the counter.
The elderly man was the one who owns the cafe. I handed my resume to him for reviewing, he interviewed me a little, and soon he decided to hire me on the spot.
The transaction overall was pretty casual, the owner seemed to be a really nice person. I discovered he runs this place by himself, probably explaining why he was so casual about hiring me on the spot.
For the reason I decided to apply to this place,
Scanning the room, the structure seemed old-fashioned or antique per se, the inside was quite small though there were tables outside served as an extension of the store, the place was quite dim yet natural light from outside illuminates every corner of the room. It has this sense of serenity as you drink away on your coffee. A perfect environment for a mysterious character... Plus, the pay was pretty good as well.
I nodded to myself at my inner exposition.
Of course, I didn't forget and recommended Mocha-san to the owner as well, but he apologized explaining he doesn't have enough to pay for two employees.
"Sorry, young missy. The business isn't doing that well right now, so I could only afford one helper."
"N-No need to apologize! I, I totally understand."
Mocha-san nervously replied, feeling guilty for having an elderly man bow his head to her.
The cafe owner then turned back his gaze on me.
"By the way, my name is Roji Kodokuna." He introduced himself. Then asked, "So, when can you start working?"
"I can start working right now!"
I enthusiastically replied with a thumbs up, can't wait to play the mysterious informant working at a humble cafe.
Plus, this was also my first time having a part-time job, so this was exciting to me nonetheless.
I put on the work uniform Boss Roji-san gave me, then I started serving.
I had Hitomi-san, Mocha-san, and Aria-san and her maid as my first customers, while Boss Roji-san showed me the ropes and taught me how to operate the equipment for brewing and such we offer on the menu.
A few moments later, other people started walking in the store. Some of them are highschool girls that just happen to see me working, and few old folks who are regulars of Boss Roji-san. The girls who came in lowkey admired my appearance, the older folks on the other hand were just happy to see a new face so diligently working at their regular cafe.
I say, I believe I did a superb job as a waiter/clerk.
Before I knew it, it was already dark outside. Checking the clock on the wall, it shows it was already 7:00 pm.
Mocha-san and the others waited for me so I hurriedly finished up what was left to do in the store.
Saying my parting to Boss Roji-san, the four of us left the cafe and proceeded to walk home together until separating at a certain corner.
After everyone left, Aria-san stopped walking. She turned around, going the opposite direction to what she said was her corner and went back to the cafe with Mei who was assuring her safety.
As old man Roji-san was about to close the cafe, Aria-san called out to him. They went back inside the cafe for a serious talk, then Aria-san then proceeded to make an offer.
"So, what do you think?"
Aria-san arrogantly waited for a reply, already expecting old man Roji-san to accept her proposal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[The next day.]
Shiori-senpai has returned attending classes normally, no longer limping from last week's injury.
As she passes by the students at the entrance, they secretly admired her strong and elegant appearance. They noticed something about her recently,
"I don't know what it is, but Shiori-senpai seems prettier lately."
Invisible to the eye, Shiori-senpai seemed so radiant as of late. She was giving off a different feel to her, not like this serious and intimidating atmosphere that she has usually.
Not known to her admirers, [THIS IS THE APPEARANCE OF A MAIDEN IN LOVE!]
[As for Yukiya and the others.]
We attended classes normally. And during free time, we continued venturing the other clubs to see if there was anything worth wanting to join.
We still have yet to find a club we're interested in, though Mocha-san and Aria-san were actually just waiting for me to decide which club I'll join. As for Hitomi-san, she already has her hands full from her class rep duty, so she doesn't have plans of joining a club anytime soon.
Lunch break arrived and Hitomi-san decided to have lunch with us again today as well. She placed her desk beside Mocha-san, sitting face to face with each other as they ate away on their meal.
Random conversations pop up from time to time, like about finding a club and such. Hitomi-san and I were conversing just fine, while Mocha-san only replied in a nod and head shake gesture and was happy just to be included. As for Aria-san, she silently eats away on her corner, joining in the conversation from time to time when talked to.
Though we can't really say we're close friends, to Mocha-san's pov, this was the closest thing she felt belonging to a friend group. And Aria-san as well, she didn't seem repulsed about the idea of us eating together.
After finishing our lunches, we continued venturing into the clubs in our remaining vacant time, during recess too and in-between breaks, we browsed but didn't seem to find any we were interested in.
And so, school ended just like that. Before leaving the school, I stopped by the student council room for a certain business.
"I see, so that's what you wanted to accomplish."
Shiori-senpai muttered as I presented to her my proposal.
As you can see, Shiori-senpai's sprain has completely healed over the weekend and has returned to fulfilling her student council duties.
What I requested from her was student working permits for me and another student, and talked about some other 'stuff' inside the student council room.
Students are not allowed to take on part-time jobs unless they had a valid reason. I haven't told Boss Roji-san about this, that's why I am doing this right now.
With my seemingly passionate proposal, I eventually convinced Shiori-senpai to accept my requests.
This is the least I could do for Mocha-san after getting her hopes up, thinking we'll be working together at the cafe. Though it was out of my control, I felt guilty for some reason she didn't get hired. Maybe because she was poor? Anyways,
All of a sudden, Shiori-senpai's stomach started rumbling. Her face turns red, covering her embarrassment behind the documents she was holding in her hand.
The tense atmosphere when I was convincing her lightens, and I had a chuckle being reminded of our first encounter on that staircase.
"I, I skipped recess so..." She tried explaining herself, yet can't thinks of an excuse on the spot.
"You really gotta stop skipping your meals." I jokingly told her.
'I actually wanna lose weight right now, but I didn't want him to ask why and have a slip of the tongue and reveal I wanted to seduce him.'
And then, it came to me.
"Oh yeah," I hammered my fist to my palm, and told Shiori-senpai. "I know of a really good place to eat."
Shiori-senpai covered her mouth, trying to hold back on squealing by the sudden invitation. 'Is he inviting me for a date!?'
She immediately regained her composure, returning to her serious student council president mode. She cleared her throat and replied,
"Ahem. So, where is this good place you are talking about." inquired Shiori-senpai while hiding her excitement behind a serious mask.
Bringing Shiori-senpai along to a certain cafe, located not too far from our school.
"Is this it?"
Entering the cafe, with Shiori-senpai lowkey hiding her excitement.
Shiori-senpai, thinking of heading to the table suddenly stopped walking.
"Eh. Where are you going?"
She gave me this puzzled look as I suddenly and casually went behind the counter, heading to the employees only area.
I then replied,
"Ah yeah, forgot to mention. I work here."
Shiori-senpai smiled awkwardly. "Is that so..." She forcefully smiled in disappointment, thinking 'I got my hopes up for nothing...'
When I was about to enter the employees lounge, swaying the curtain, I bumped into Mocha-san on her way out. And to my surprise, she was wearing the cafe's uniform, with Hitomi-san supporting her from behind.