The day Aria unwittingly revealed the name of the place she worked to the trio, she instantly regretted it. The slip of her tongue couldn't be retracted. Initially fearing they might stalk her, she was relieved to find no such incidents in the last few days. With her newfound busy life, she gradually forgot about them.
However, on a quiet evening when the restaurant was unusually empty, Aria and Cherry found themselves chatting in the kitchen. Even Sasha, who usually managed the order counter, had stepped outside for a smoke. Just then, the calling bell at the counter rang. "Let me check," Aria said to Cherry.
In a few seconds, Aria emerged from the kitchen door. As her eyes fell on the counter, they widened in shock, and she paused for a moment. It was DJ, Holo, and Joe. Quickly regaining her composure, she greeted them, "Heyyyy," with a friendly smile as she made her way to the order counter. All three of them responded in unison with a warm "Hey!" but DJ's voice stood out, drowning out Joe's greeting.
"So, how's everything going?" inquired Holo.
"Great. What about you guys?" Aria replied.
"Nothing much. We were just passing by, so we thought of having some burgers," mentioned Holo.
"Cool," said Aria, exhaling as she looked at the billing machine. "So, what would you like to have?"
"Two large chicken burgers, one large vegan burger, and 3 cokes," replied Holo.
Aria began to input the order, repeating, "Two large chicken burgers, one large vegan burger, and 3 cokes. Is that correct?"
"Yes," answered Holo.
She pressed the enter button on the keyboard, and a receipt emerged from the billing machine. Aria tore it in half, giving one portion to Holo, and passed the other half through a small window to the kitchen staff.
Meanwhile, Joe's attention was drawn to the restaurant's interior, unlike DJ and Holo, who were engrossed in their conversation with Aria. His eyes wandered to the wall of fame near the kitchen door. There, he noticed a framed photo of Aria, accompanied by her name, "Aria Waverly," and the title "Employee of the Month" at the top.
"It seems like you're doing an excellent job here," Joe remarked, his gaze fixed on the employee of the month section.
Aria glanced over at Joe, who was studying the employee of the month display. Amused, she responded, "It's just for this month. Cherry had it last month."
"Cherry?" Holo inquired, intrigued.
"She's my friend," Aria explained.
"Does she also go to Papoli University?" Holo asked.
"Yes," Aria confirmed.
Hearing this, DJ recalled a brief lesson he had received from his gym trainer a few days earlier. "Remember, to tame the Lion, I need to tame the Dog first," he mumbled to himself.
In the meantime, Cherry emerged from the kitchen. As she approached Aria, she inquired, "Are you still taking orders?"
"No, just chatting with them," Aria replied.
Cherry looked at the trio and instantly recognized Holo. Her eyes widened in excitement as she said, "You're Holo, the soccer captain."
Holo smirked. "Guess I can't hide," he said.
"My name is Cherry. I don't know if Aria told you or not, but she and I recently got admission to Papoli University," Cherry shared.
"Nice to meet you, Cherry," greeted Holo with a friendly smile. "Let me introduce ourselves as well. You might already know about me."
"Yeah. Who doesn't know you? You were the hero of the finals," Cherry said, returning the smile.
"Alright. In case you don't know, I'm in my last year of college. Next year I'll be searching for a job," informed Holo. He then gestured towards his friends and continued, "And these are my lifelong buddies." He motioned for Joe and DJ to introduce themselves.
"I am Joe," said Joe.
"I'm DJ. Nice to meet you, miss," DJ said, extending his hand in an old-fashioned gesture, expecting Cherry to place the front of her hand on his palm.
His actions left everyone momentarily stunned. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?" Holo shouted in his mind.
"I knew you wanted to do something, but man, that's cringe," thought Joe.
However, no one was prepared for what happened next. Cherry reciprocated. She gently placed her hand on DJ's palm as if in a royal greeting. In response, DJ lightly kissed the back of her fingers.
Watching this, Aria thought, "Did she really do that?" complete shock evident on her face, mirroring Holo and Joe's astonishment.
After the unexpected event, both Cherry and DJ glanced back at their friend, acting as if it was perfectly normal. Observing their shocked expressions, DJ calmly stated, "What's the matter, guys? You know a gentleman must greet a lady properly when meeting for the first time."
Meanwhile, Cherry asked, "By the way, did Aria mention that she's a professional trekker?"
"Not here, but we found out when we met her at the college gym," informed Holo.
"Gym?" said Cherry, looking confused and intrigued at the same time.
"Yeah. I went there to post the flyers," clarified Aria.
"And I have already enrolled myself for the trek," added Holo with a smile.
"Do you like trekking?" asked Cherry.
"No," replied Holo with a subtle smug face. "I love trekking."
Holo thought he had successfully impressed the girls with his response, but instead, Cherry grew a little serious. "How many treks have you been on?" she inquired.
Holo, who hadn't been on any trek in his life, gulped nervously. "I've been on about 10, I guess," he said hesitantly.
However, Cherry didn't let up. She fired another question at Holo, "Where?"
Droplets of sweat started appearing on Holo's forehead as he answered, "Mostly around the Igoo regions."
Cherry continued her questioning. "Where in the Igoo?"
Holo was deep in his web of lies, and DJ was hiding his laughter, knowing Holo was in a tricky situation and risking his chance to impress Aria. On the other side, Holo was not ready to give up. He continued crafting his lies, "You know…"
But right at that moment, a family of six with three children entered the restaurant. Simultaneously, Harry came out of the kitchen with the trio's order. The children hurried to the counter, their parents following suit. Aria, noticing the commotion, looked at Cherry and asked, "Has Sasha returned?"
"Hope so," replied Cherry.
Holo, DJ, and Joe picked up their order, and Holo said, "I guess I'll tell you all about the treks I've been on some other time," and gave a friendly smile.
"Sure, we'll be waiting," responded Cherry, returning the smile. "Bye," said both the girls as they headed to the kitchen.
"Bye," responded the trio.
When the girls had left and Holo turned around, he let out a huge sigh of relief. As they walked towards the exit, DJ chuckled, "That was quite entertaining. You barely survived that. Your luck must be at its peak today."
"If you don't act, you'll eventually be caught," chimed in Joe.
Holo munched on his burger without replying, trying to calm himself down. However, DJ continued to laugh, "I think these girls are immune to the great Holo's magic."
"Are you going to shove that burger in your mouth, or shall I shove it somewhere else?" replied Holo with a hint of aggression as they reached the main door.
Holo realized how close he had come to being caught, and if he didn't act soon, he might miss the chance with the girl he had fallen for.