Hot steam floated out from the depths of the ceramic cup as Honey Lemon poured piping hot, dark coffee into it. Three sugar cubes plummeted to the bottom of the black sea to dissolve and the cream dove down before resurfacing in an excellent explosion of neutral colors. She had been working at the Lucky Cat Cafe for a week now and making coffee was something that still hadn't gotten old.
She was working there as part of her new year's resolution to become less dependent on others, and part of her parents new year's resolution for her to get a damn job. Last week she only worked three out of the seven days, it was all training but still fun nonetheless, and so she decided she was going to ask Aunt Cass if she could just work everyday after school. It'd be super easy for her to help out a couple hours everyday before going home to do homework.
Aunt Cass obliged and so Honey was now on her third day in a row this week. She slid the door of the glass case around the pastries to the side so she could grab a slice of banana sesame seed bread. The white apron tied around her waist started to fall down so she re-tied it before making her way over to the customer with their order.
"Good afternoon, sir." She cautiously placed the very full cup down on the table after setting a napkin beneath it then pulled a paper packaged straw from her apron pouch, setting it down next to the cup before resting the bread on the wooden surface as well. "My name is Aiko, If there's anything else I can get for you just let me kn-oh!" She jumped a little when the man folded up the newspaper he was reading and set it down on the table, revealing his identity.
"Good afternoon Aiko."
"Mr. Callaghan, how are you?"
"I'm good, thank you very much, and yourself?"
"Oh ya know, busy, busy." She chuckled a little, pressing the plastic drink tray to her chest.
"That's good, very good, it's good to stay busy."
"Yeah, for sure.." Honey nodded for a second. "Uhm- is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No this is all, thank you." He smiled up at her from his chair, pulling his ceramic cup toward him then picking it up.
"Alright, great, well if you think of anything, just holler." She smirked and he jerked his head in a sort of nod back, about to take a sip when he paused, the ringing bell of the front door opening stopped him in his tracks, his gazed locked on whoever entered the restaurant.
"Actually -" He called to her as she was starting to walk away.
"Yeah?" She turned around and met him at his table along with the person he had been staring at.
"Robert Callaghan good to see ya, buddy." Honey Lemons principle, Mr. Krei, stood next to her, his hands resting in his khaki pockets.
"Alistair." He nodded along with his brief reply. Honey Lemon rocked on her heels, her line of sight wandered around the room, wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of this awkward encounter. "Aiko can I get this to-go?"
"Of course." She forced a smile before turning to leave the two of them.
"Of course…" She heard Krei chuckle half-heartedly before leaving the table as well.
Honey made a bee-line for the coffee bar and grabbed a paper to-go cup and a bag to put his bread in.
"Have a nice day, Mr. Callaghan." She spoke as she placed the containers on the table.
"Thank you Aiko." He transferred his order into the to-go containers before sliding on his coat and leaving the cafe.
Honey Lemon sighed as she returned to behind the counter, watching Krei approach her.
"Double-double, soy, to-go. Please." He ordered his drink mechanically, like it was something he did everyday, and it probably was.
She pulled the coffee pot from the machine and started to make his order. "What was that all about?" She laughed after a moment. "If you don't mind me asking."
"Ah, the old man's got an unforgiving mindset. You'd think after all these years he'd get over it, but I guess he just really wanted the principal position. We were both trying to get the job at the same time and they chose me. Robert just doesn't know when enough's enough, he can hold an incredible grudge."
She hadn't know that Callaghan was aspiring to be a principal, it seemed rather unlike him.
"Well for what it's worth, I think you were well deserving of the job." She smiled as the plastic lid popped onto the cup. She passed it to him.
"Thank you, Aiko." He took it from her in exchange for $2.59. "I'm looking forward to seeing your entry in the science fair. I hope this will be good for you."
"Thanks, Mr. Krei. I hope so too."
He nodded to her before turning to leave the cafe. The small golden bell that peeked over the door hinge jingled as he exited. From the spiral staircase, Tadashi emerged. He ran down the stairs tying on his white apron as he quickly made his way over to her.
"Good Morning," He planted a quick kiss on her cheek that warmed her heart.
"Morning." She smirked at him and gave him a side glance before looking down, her smirk stretching to a lovestruck smile. He reached around her to grab two menus then swiftly made his way over to attend to a couple that had just entered the cafe.
"Right this way." He waved and guided them to a table for two by one of the large windows. With no one currently needing her service, she was absentmindedly drawing hearts and other little doodles on her notepad that was meant for taking orders.
"You're awfully enthusiastic today, should I be worried?" She teased, glancing up from her notepad when he was back behind the counter with her. She scrunched up her nose when he gave her another quick peck on the point of it, interrupting her drawing.
"Oh come on, I have my good days." He chuckled, scratching his jaw in a casual motion.
Honey raised a suspicious brow at him, knowing very well that he had ideas running around in his complex little mind and that this was more than just a 'good day.'
"Okay, okay, you got me!" He threw his hands up in the air dramatically as though she caught him red-handed. "Aunt Cass is covering for the both of us tonight which means, your shift ends in an hour… It also means that I am taking you out on a date," He pulled the notepad and pen from her hands, placing the items on the counter behind her then laced his calloused fingers between her slim, dainty ones. "A real romantic, stupid, sappy date; and there's nothing you can do about it."
"And what if I refuse to go on this perfect date? Because, I've been really intent on focusing on my work lately, I just don't know if I could sacrifice this loss of hours." She grinned up at him and he bit his lip thoughtfully.
"Well then I guess i'll just have to carry you out of here kicking and screaming." With that, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into a hug, lifting her up off the ground and spinning around in a circle. Her heart sang along with their laughter, everyday with him getting better and better.
"Excuse me." A cold voice interjected their joy and Honey Lemons smile left her lips as she was set back down on the ground, making eye contact with a still frazzled Mr. Callaghan who was not amused by their romantics.
She cleared her throat and turned to Tadashi "Sounds like a plan, Stan." She said awkwardly as she gave him a fake punch to his shoulder.
"I'll talk to you later." He nodded and grabbed his notepad from a shelf underneath the counter before walking to a table to take orders, leaving her and Callaghan alone.
"Uh, what can I do for you Mr. Callaghan-?"
"Oh, don't give me that crap!" Her eyes widened at his tone.
"I'm sorry?"
"You jipped me!"
"I really don't know what you mean.."
"Don't think your customers don't read the receipts, this is a cafe not a bank so when I give you money I expect to get all my change back!" When she didn't say anything except confused mumbles he slammed the paper receipt down on the counter and pointed to the numbers. "I gave you twenty dollars to pay for my order that was six dollars and forty-nine cents and all I got back was ten dollars and fifty one cents. Do you know what that means?" She looked at the receipt. "It means you stole three dollars from me!"
"Hey what's going on?" Tadashi walked over after hearing all the commotion, his eyebrows drawn up in concern.
"Your little girlfriend here is a thief, that's what." Callaghan shook an accusing finger at her.
"I think there's a misunderstanding here." He tried to defend her.
"It was an accident Mr. Callaghan, I really am sorry. I must've miscounted-" She added but she was cut off.
"If I wanted to give you a tip, I would've done it myself, but quite frankly I found my experience here to be rather unpleasant." Honey Lemon didn't know what to say, it really was an accident. She didn't know what the cause of the money mishap was - there were plenty of possible reasons like machine malfunction or even an instantaneous inability to count correctly - but regardless it was an accident and she couldn't help the fact that Mr. Krei happened to come to the cafe at the same time Callaghan was enjoying his afternoon coffee. She just couldn't get the words out quick enough to explain herself to her teacher.
Aunt Cass was strolling down the stairs on her way to take over the cafe for the night when she noticed the dispute and ran over to them.
"Once again I truly am sorry, Sir, I can just get you your proper change now, okay?" She started to type in the code for the register when Cass arrived.
"Is there a problem, Sir?" Cass brought herself into the situation very authoritatively and Callaghan looked from her to Honey Lemon a couple times before speaking.
"Bah," He scoffed, slowly realizing what a big fuss he had made. "Keep the stupid change, but learn to keep a better eye on your employees too." He shook his head and reluctantly left the cafe. Honeys hands dropped to her sides, she was so ashamed and embarrassed.
"What happened?" Cass interrogated the two and Tadashi explained the situation. "Okay well, just double check your counting next time, alright?"
Honey Lemon nodded, not making eye contact. It was only her second week and she had already caused a riot from a customer.
"How about you two call in early, go have your fun. Hiro and I have it under control." She smiled and patted Tadashi on the back.
"Thank you, Aunt Cass." He took Honey Lemon by the hand and pulled her out from behind the counter.
After going home and getting ready and talking to her mom, Honey Lemon felt better. She wouldn't let the incident with Callaghan ruin what was supposedly going to be her perfect date with Tadashi. At five thirty there was a knock on her door.
"Have fun sweetheart, be safe!"
"I will, mom! Love you!"
"Love you too." She kissed her mom on the cheek and said goodbye. When she opened the door she was greeting by a perfect looking Tadashi, Handsome as ever.
"You look great!" Tadashi looked her up and down as she closed the front door behind her.
"You look pretty great yourself." She took his hand in her own and they walked to the car.
"You still haven't told me where we're going!" A bubbly giggle escaped her lips as he nudged her with his elbow.
"I'm surprised you're so bad at guessing where we're going!" He joked with her, but she was seriously excited to see what tonight had in store. "Here we are! Our first destination." He spoke after five more minutes of driving, while they pulled into a parking spot.
"This is the golden gate park?" She said in almost a question.
"Yeah, I know the last time we were here wasn't the most pleasant moment in our relationship, but this place really is beautiful and I was hoping we could kind of make it our spot?"
"I'd really like that." She nodded
The two of them exited the car together and went to the trunk to grab a blanket then walked to the spot by the bench on the water. They spread the blanket out on the grass and laid down side by side. It was only six at night but because it was still winter, the sky was already dark and full of twinkling stars.
"So you know how I said I always come out here to think?" He spoke as they stargazed. "Well, the other day I was thinking, and I know that it's all kind of been unspoken and whatnot… But I want to make things official, just so there's no confusion or whatever."
She could hear that he was nervous but he really shouldn't have been. He sat up to look at her and she followed.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Honey Lemon gnawed on her bottom lip, trying desperately to bit back her smile and happy laughter. She laced her fingers into his before letting out a sing song, happy answer. "Yes! Yes a thousand times yes!" She fell into him, sinking into the warmness of his side as they tumbled back onto the blanket. Her laughter filled the air and he chuckled with her. "You make me so happy." She whispered into his chest, her words muffled by his shirt. The only way she knew he heard her was when he pulled her even closer, giving her a soft squeeze.
From there they went to a classy restaurant, in typical fancy date fashion, for their seven o'clock reservation. The dining room was filled with a bunch of stiff, rich people and the two of them nearly got kicked out for being too loud. It was an incredible experience nonetheless but the best part wasn't even the meal. Even though her meal was amazing too, she ordered takoyaki which was one of her favorite dishes, it consisted of pancake balls that were stuffed with octopus in the center and topped with mayonnaise and a soy sauce based sweet sauce. But what Tadashi surprised her with was even better.
"I have something for you." He pulled small a box from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table in front of her. "Open it." He waved to the box and gave an eager expression.
She raised her eyebrows, a little shocked that she was getting a present but also secretly very happy and trying her best to not freak out. Honey lifted the lid of the box off and inside was a beautiful golden chained bracelet with five little charms on it that read out 'PROM?' She put a hand to her mouth and covered her tremendous smile.
"So?" He shifted nervously in his seat, most likely worried about the quality of his proposal.
"Aw Tadashi of course!" She had to stand up and go around the table to give him a hug because she was just so ecstatic. "This is so cute, I love it!"
"Good, i'm glad. That means we have one more stop to make tonight."
They finished their meal, paid the bill, and went on their merry way getting back in the car to go somewhere else.
"Wait, what are we doing? This is Gogo's house." After ten minutes of driving, they pulled into the driveway of her best friends house and Honey was more confused than ever.
"Not what are we doing, what are you doing." He unlocked the car. "Have a good night, I will see you tomorrow!"
"Uhm, I still really don't know what's happening?"
"Come on girl." Gogo interjected, opening Honey's door suddenly. "It's time to move onto the next thing. Thanks for dropping her off, Tadashi, I got it from here." Honey slowly got out of the car, a perplexed look on her face.
"No problem Gogo, take good care of her for me! Only the best for my prom date!" He gave a wink and laughed as she closed the passenger door. He backed out of the driveway, heading back home to the cafe.
"Please tell me what the hell is going on.." Honey whispered a little and Gogo let out a loud chuckle.
"Okay I'm coming out!" Honey called from inside a dressing room. It turned out that the plan all along was for Tadashi to ask Honey Lemon to prom and then Gogo would take her out dress shopping after. She had been on a marathon of trying on dresses of all styles, lengths, and colors. There were a whole lot of 'oh god no's' and a couple 'well maybe's' but after about an hour of dress shopping, Honey was slipping on a long, light yellow dress with a halter neckline. Personally she loved it, it was her favorite color and she felt as though it suited her very well. It was virtually skin tight, the top was lace over the fabric and it had beads and sequins sewn in, and at the neckline, it tied tight around her neck with a bow in the back. She felt beautiful, but ultimately Gogo was the judge.
"Okay come on out! I'm itching with anticipation."
She clicked the door unlocked and stepped out from the dressing room.
"Wait. No way…" Her friend stood up from her chair. "Do the full spin around." Honey obeyed her instructions. "Oh my god… Oh my god! That's it! That's the one, it's perfect!" Gogo clapped her hands together in excitement.
Honey looked at herself in the mirror at the end of the hall of change rooms, she spun around again for herself to see and the dress twirled with her, curling at the ends and brushing her toes. She couldn't help but smile. Gogo was right; this was it, this was the one.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter of the day. I promise it gets more exciting from here there was just some normal boring teenage things that had to happen before it could get exciting haha. Anyway, please leave reviews to tell me what you think of the recent updates! I live for reading those things! Thank you and I'll see you tomorrow.