"Annie?!" Armin quietly shouted, "What are you doing here?"
Annie looked up from what she was doing, stopped mid-way mixing flour into some kind of pastry. She didn't recognize the blonde standing next to her.
"Do I know you?" she questioned.
Armin was stunned.
S-She doesn't remember me?!
"B-But Annie, don't you remember? It's me! Armin! We went to class together!"
Armin? Annie thought. He's…dressed like a girl?
Annie stood for a moment in complete silence. No wonder she didn't recognize him. The Armin she knew was male.
"Armin?" she said.
"You do remember!" Armin cheered.
Annie scanned the small boy up and down, "Armin, why are you dressed like that?"
Suddenly, Armin felt embarrassed. He didn't expect to be seen by someone he knew. If that were the case he might have turned down Eren's suggestion.
"I-I couldn't find a job…!" Armin suddenly realized how stupid he sounded.
To change the subject, he resurfaced his question, "Annie, why are you here?"
Annie lowered her stare. She wished she could say something like, "I've always loved working in maid cafes", but that was polar opposite to the real situation. She hated this. It was even more dreadful now that she knew Armin was here and watching her.
"I couldn't find a job either." she confessed.
"Really?" Armin felt sympathetic. Knowing Annie, it might have been hard for her too. "I-I don't think less of you, Annie," said Armin, "For doing this."
Annie, the tough blond, had always given off a cold, hard exterior and even dressed the part. In school, nobody wanted to talk to her because they were too afraid. However, Armin sometimes caught her staring at him for whatever reason. Seeing her in a maid's uniform seemed very off-key to what he was used to seeing.
"We should get back to work before we get yelled at. You've probably met our beast of a manager already." Annie began on her project again,
Armin nodded, "He wasn't very nice."
Annie scoffed, "He's just an ass. You'll get over it soon."
"But, Annie," Armin poured the beans into the coffee maker to be ground, "You're nice to me, right?"
Annie paused. She was quiet for a while, "Yeah. Just do your job." she whispered.
Armin smiled and began making the coffee. Maybe working with Annie wouldn't be so bad. Armin could hardly say that in school they were 'friends.' They were more like distant acquaintances. Now that they had the same job, maybe they could really be friends.
Armin carried the tray of coffee out to the customers. Annie had generously placed cream and sugar on the tray before Armin walked out of the kitchen in case he 'needed' it. He wasn't sure what that meant. The man had said he didn't want his coffee too sweet.
Armin placed the tray on the table.
"Took you long enough." one of them complained.
"Sorry!" Armin apologized.
"Hey, it's alright, Sweetie," One of the men slung his arm around Armin's waist, "We all make mistakes sometimes."
Armin screamed as the man pulled him closer onto his lap.
"Let go of me!" Armin shouted.
"Hey! You're here to do your job. Now do it!" the man yelled.
"I would let him go if I were you…"
Armin heard Annie's voice from across the room. The three men looked up, startled. Annie leaned against the wall with her classic cold glare. It frightened the pants off of the three men sitting at the table.
"D-Did you say…him?" one of the men questioned.
"You know it's against the rules to place your hands on any of the maids." Annie said, coldly.
Before anyone could respond, Annie was already at the table. She slapped the man's hand away from Armin's waist. Armin tumbled down onto the floor next to Annie's feet with the tray. The mugs of coffee, the cream and sugar, were all over Armin.
"Ouch!" he squealed in pain when the hot liquid touched his skin.
"Hey!" one of the men shouted, "You can't do that!"
"But I just did." Annie responded, mockingly.
The three men, frightened, quickly hauled themselves out of the cafe.
"Crazy chick!" one of them shouted as he bounded through the sliding doors.
Suddenly, the manager realized that three of his customers had left without paying.
"Hey!" he shouted, running into the front lobby, "Who's responsible for this?" He glared at his two workers, one on the floor covered in coffee and one standing up.
"I am, Sir." Annie spoke up.
Armin was flustered, "No! I am, Sir! Please don't punish her! It's all my fault!"
"Oh," the man said, "In that case you'll BOTH be working overtime tonight! That bill is coming out of your paychecks!"
With that, the manager stomped back to his quarters, slamming the door, leaving both Annie and Armin alone to tend the cafe.