It was starting to get a little darker out, and all the street lamps were lit up. It was indeed quite a beautiful city when nightfall came.

Hideki sighed, as he sat down to take off his shoes in his apartment.

"That was a long day. My feet are killing me," he said to himself, as he rubbed the arch of his foot.

When Hideki realized he had gotten sweaty from working in the patisserie, he went into the bathroom to take a shower. He turned on the water, let it run for a minute, and undressed. Although Hideki didn't particularly enjoy looking at himself in the mirror, he did it anyways. There wasn't much that came to his mind. All that mattered to him was looking somewhat physically fit.

As steam began rising over the shower curtain, Hideki got in, feeling his muscles begin to relax, as the hot water hit his nicely toned body. He let his thoughts freely wander; eventually settling on the topic of going back to work at Chiroru.

As the boy closed his eyes, he pictured the bakery, the delicious pastries, the friendly customers, and of course, Ueda-san. Hideki felt comfortable working there, and he knew he would always be in good company.

Reaching for a lightly colored bottle, Hideki remembered his, rather secretive, favorite almond scented shampoo. Whenever he was in the store buying it, he went right through the cosmetics section, where lots of women trying out different products shopped. Hideki always made it a point to move swiftly through there; simply to grab his favorite shampoo, and then get out as quickly as possible. For him, it was really embarrassing to be seen shopping in the women's health and beauty section.

However, the slight embarrassment in the store became well worth it when opening that bottle. Hideki popped the lid off, and let the heavenly amaretto essence fill the steamy air. He poured some into his hands and ran it through his hair, causing it to foam up. Everything smelled so wonderful after that, as Hideki watched the rest of the soap run down his legs. If it weren't for the water bill, he would have stayed in the shower for hours. After he dried himself off, Hideki softly drifted off to sleep in his comfortable, cloud-like bed.

Awakening bright and early the next morning, Hideki had to get ready for cram school. His aim was to buckle down and get through the last stretch of days of class he had left before taking the entrance exams, so he had to maintain a good sense of self-discipline.

When he arrived at school, there was a notice taped to the inside of the door. It read: "All scheduled classes are canceled today due to an urgent faculty budget meeting."

Since Hideki was the only one in the class without a computer, he hadn't been able to recieve the email notification that informed everyone about the cancellation of class on short notice.

"Well, I guess I'm off the hook, at least for the day. It'll be nice having a day off," said Hideki, starting back in the direction towards his apartment building.

"I wonder if Ueda-san is open this early," he said, as he was passing by Chiroru.

Hideki looked in the window. The door was locked, but Ueda-san was inside baking. When he heard Hideki knock, he looked out from the kitchen doors and saw the boy standing there.

"Hey, Hideki! What brings you here this morning?" Ueda-san said, letting the boy in.

"School was canceled for some reason, and I walked all the way there without even knowing! So I figured I'd stop by again if you were here. I didn't mean to interrupt your work; I know you've got a lot to do," said Hideki, politely.

"Actually, I'm nearly finished baking this morning. I've been here for two hours already. There's just one more batch of sponge cake in the oven that I'm waiting for. It's for a tiramisu that a customer ordered for pick-up this afternoon," said Ueda-san.

"How do you make all these delicious creations?" Asked Hideki. "It's a really amazing talent."

"I went to culinary school years ago, before I opened the patisserie, and I ended up focusing my training on baking towards the end. For some reason, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I treat baking as though it's an art form. The presentation is always equally important to the taste; otherwise, it doesn't appeal to the eye as much," said Ueda-san. "I'm glad you have an appreciation for my passion. When others eat together, it feels good to know that there is still some time that people a lot for face-to-face conversation. You know? At least, that's what I get out of it. You'll have to excuse me for giving you that sudden mouthful."

"Wow. I've never really thought of it in that way before, but you're right. Sharing quality time with friends and family in this day and age is becoming less and less frequent, due to all the other quick and easy methods of communicating with one another. I can't afford a computer or a cell phone, so I can't relate to the rest of the students my age," said Hideki. "In that respect, I suppose it's a good thing; at least I haven't lost the ability to hold a conversation. Otherwise, the two of us wouldn't be having this talk right now," he continued. "I meant to ask… How long have you owned Chiroru?"

R & R! ;D