This was everything she could've wanted. Standing there, rain and a cool breeze kissing her cheeks, was victory finally in reach, so close she could almost taste it? All the inhibitions holding her back before seemed so far away. The only step left now lay behind the door mere meters away…

"Congratulations, and welcome to team as our latest partner."

...

"Oh hey Shioriko-san, early again huh? Well, get yourself clocked in and help out on bar. The mobile orders are beginning to overwhelm the others."

Three years as Nijigasaki High School's student council president, a graduate of the University of Tokyo with honors, and an endless binder full of lucrative career choices in Japan's business-oriented society, Shioriko Mifune was what one could consider an academic prodigy. And yet, when it came to entering the workforce, the jade-haired woman didn't select the career of a salarywoman working in a cubicle or of a teacher within the Japanese education system.

Nope, she instead decided to throw on an apron and serve caffeinated concoctions for a little over ¥1,041 an hour at a Starbucks location only a six minute walk away from her old high school. It was a decision that her former classmates, who took Shioriko to be studious and admittedly above minimum wage labor, still scratched their heads about whenever they caught up with the former student council president, at least among those that still kept in touch.

"I'll get right on it." The jade-haired woman happily tied her apron on and washed her hands before approaching the espresso machine, taking one of the many order stickers lined up along the counter, reading it out loud.

"Let's see… a grande iced brown sugar oat milk espresso with 2 pumps of brown sugar syrup, 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla, a single blonde shot, and cinnamon dolce on top." Shioriko glanced towards one of the co-workers to her left, who looked both nervous and exhausted. "Do you not know how to make this one?"

The other co-worker, who with her short, olive-brown hair and pinkish red eyes, stuttered as she gave her answer reluctantly."Y-Yes… I mean no, I-I mean…" She tugged her messy stained apron as tears started to bubble up in her eyes." I do know h-how to make it, a-at least I tried to, b-but I kept messing it up, a-a-and then the orders j-just kept piling up a…"

The jade-haired girl softly placed her hand upon her older co-worker's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down… "Now now, there are much more important things that are more worth crying about than messing up a cup of coffee, w-well, this sugarized cup of dairy splooge, if you will. Let me showcase the steps for you."

Shioriko grabbed a shaker cup from the sink before pumping two pumps of sugar-free vanilla and brown sugar syrup each, simultaneously setting the espresso machine to pump out one blonde espresso shot into a glass. Grabbing a grande scoop of ice and dumping it into the shaker, the jade-haired woman grabbed the now-half full glass of espresso, poured the blonde shot over the ice, and shook its contents 10 times.

"Could you grab the oat milk from the fridge, Hanayo-san?

"O-oh, sure!"

With the contents shaken, it was now ready to be poured into a clear, plastic grande cup, which the barista did effortlessly with no spillage or mess along the counter. Instinctively grabbing the small carton from her co-worker's hand, Shioriko poured the oat milk near the top of the cup, finishing the drink off with two sprinkles of cinnamon dolce and topping it with a lid.

"And that's how you make a grande iced brown sugar oat milk espresso, additional modifications included. Pretty straightforward." Shioriko lightly patted her co-worker's shoulder before handing her the drink. "You can call this one out. I'll handle the rest of the orders for now."

Hanayo nodded, thankful for her senpai's guidance as always. "Thank you so much, Shioriko-senpai! Order for… uh, Rin…?"

The sudden sound of a wooden chair falling against the ground could be heard throughout the store. "Kayo-chin!?"

Huh, guess those two know each other. Wait, did Hanayo-san call me senpai? I'm a whole seven years younger than her though…

Shioriko's inner thoughts were interrupted when the paper machine pumped out another mobile order, reminding the barista her shift had barely begun. Chuckling to herself before properly tying her apron tighter around her waist, the workaholic quickly got back to work to steer the ship through a flood of mobile and cafe orders.

3:30 PM quickly became 6:45 PM, with only 15 minutes remaining before the cafe closed to the public and the remaining employees could properly begin the preparations to lock up. The store was empty of customers around this time, given the rush of students from Nijigasaki died down around two hours ago. Shioriko, the shift supervisor for the evening, instructed her other co-workers to begin closing: cleaning one of the two espresso machines, cooling down the ovens, taking back any dirty dishes and utensils to be cleaned in the back. At any given rate, the store would be vacant of its employees before the jade-haired woman's shift officially ended at 6:30 PM.

Shioriko had worked long enough though to know that there was always going to be last minute customers, so it was no surprise to her when the front door chimed open.

"Welcome i-" The barista stopped mid-mandatory line of dialogue provided by the company when she instantly recognized the customer. Donning an olive green jacket, black jeans, and dark brown boots, all while sporting a shorter but still instantly recognizable black and green set of hair, Shioriko was not expecting this reunion to occur at a Starbucks.

"Yu-san?"

The customer's eyes quickly became wide when she too recognized the woman donning the signature green apron, a smile instantly running across her face.

"Shioriko-chan! Wow, you look pretty cool in that apron."

"Look who's talking. I see you've gotten yourself a new hairstyle, which I must say makes you look very hot."

Yu couldn't help but giggle nervously. "Hearing you call me hot is kinda… unexpected, but so is seeing you working at Starbucks of all places."

"You didn't know? I thought Ayumu-san or Setsuna-san would've said something."

Shioriko noticed that Yu visibly shuttered at her last sentence, but didn't get the chance to dig deeper once her friend immediately responded.

"Well, truth be told, it's been a while since I've talked to anyone from the club. I just got back from a trip overseas and wanted to take a look at our school… for old times sake, y'know."

"Ah I see. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk about that sometime. For now though, can I get your order? We close in a few minutes after all.

"Oh, sure! Uhh hmm, just a medium decaf coffee please."

"Sure thing, what type of coffee would you like?"

"H-huh?" Yu looked confused when posed with the question. "Um, just coffee coffee?"

"Like our Pike Roast blend?"

"…If that's what you call it."

"I see." Shioriko smiled. "We don't serve that at this time."

"W-what?" The black and green-haired woman was getting mildly agitated, but she would keep it to herself. "What do you mean?"

"We don't brew Pike Roast past 6 PM since it takes a while to make, and we almost never brew a decaf batch unless it's early in the morning. I can make you a grande decaf Americano though."

"Oh, I see… I guess I'll take the grande decaf Americano then."

"Alright, that'll be ¥400 please."

"Jeez, that's kinda pricey for coffee." Yu placed four ¥100 notes onto the counter that the barista quickly picked up, counted, and stored into the register.

"It's an Americano, not technically a coffee."

"Americano, frappuccino, macchiato, cappuccino, mocaccino, Al Pacino, does Starbucks even serve coffee-flavored coffee anymore?"

Shioriko couldn't help but laugh at the minor rant of her friend, with memories of the fun they and the others from the School Idol Club rushing back to her momentarily. "I'll get your decaf Americano out for you in a moment, so just si-I mean stand tight while you wait, Yu-san."

The barista grabbed a grande-sized paper cup before setting the espresso machine to release two shots of decaf espresso. 20 seconds later and with the shots of coffee espresso now present, she then filled the cup full of hot water through one of the facets attached to the coffee brewer, finishing the Americano off with a sleeve around and a lid on top of the cup, and placing it upon the counter.

"I still know you well enough that you dislike any condiments in your coffee, or at least I think."

"Nah, you're still very much on top of things as always, Shioriko-chan." Yu took the cup of Americano from the counter, not sipping it just yet though. "When me and Setsu were still living together at uni, she always put sugar in mine, despite my near-daily complaints about it."

"Has Setsuna-san become that clumsy since I last saw her?"

"Huh? Oh no it has nothing to do with her diligence. She's still as knowledgeable about things as you. She just really hates the idea of me consuming unsweet and bitter things, but… that kinda leads to territory of conversation I'm not comfortable enough to discuss."

"I see…"

Yu took a sip from her Americano, visibly showcasing an expression of disgust. "Agh…"

"Is something wrong, Yu-san?"

"N-no no, it has nothing to do with you. I just realized how much I really dislike the taste of decaf."

Shioriko looked at her dumb friend with a deadpan expression. "Why bother ordering it then?"

"I just wanted a bitter drink minus the whole 'staying awake for hours' part of coffee. Gotta get some proper sleep after all."

"If you led with that, I could've just made you a chai tea latte. And no, there aren't any espresso shots involved with it."

"Well, the next time I drop by, and there will be a next time, you can make me one of those then."

"Fair enough for me, Yu-san."

The two women smiled at each other as Yu slowly made her way closer to the exit, signaling to the barista she was ready to take her leave. The store did have to close in less than 10 minutes by now after all.

"You cool with hanging out sometime later this week? I still haven't gotten around to listening to that vinyl you sent me back in September, and it'd be nice to listen to it together."

"The one by Haruomi Hosono?"

"The one with the island on the cover, I think."

"Yep, that's it." Shioriko walked from behind the counter to the door where her friend was lingering at, keys to the store in hand, giggling to herself. "I'm sure I can find some time. Probably this Tuesday?

The black and green-haired woman nodded. "Sounds like a date."

"A hangout , Yu-san."

"Fine, a hangout." With that, Yu saluted the jade-haired barista with two fingers before waving hello to a pair of her friend's coworkers who stood awkwardly at the entrance to the back room.

"She's just a friend from high school in case you're wondering." Shioriko spoke seemingly to her coworkers as she locked the main door.

"You two seem pretty close with each other, Shioriko-chan." Hanayo spoke up with a slight amount of teasing in her voice.

"Think what you'd like, we're nothing more than friends. More importantly, have all the dishes been washed?"

"All good. We've also restocked the milks and syrups in their proper compartments." The other coworker who had ash-brown hair spoke up in a Shizuoka dialect.

"Nicely done, You-san. I think at this rate, I can have both of you out of here a little early. Thank you both for your hard work today, I'll be sure to tell Kotori-san about your efforts when I speak with her tomorrow. Please don't forget to clock out before you leave."

Both of the girls bowed and thanked Shioriko before disappearing into the back room to grab their belongings. For the jade-haired woman though, she returned to the register to properly count all the earnings that had been made throughout the day, a process that would take her more than 30 minutes.

Shioriko had no regrets though. Despite having any career she could've dreamed of within her grasp: doctor, professor, maybe even Prime Minister, there was something fulfilling to her by working as a blue-collar, or rather a green-apron barista for one of many global coffee conglomerates. The pay was above average, the interactions with customers could be tense, and the workload was near never-ending, and yet, it gave the jade-haired woman a sense of belonging.

If for whatever reason the job denied her the same satisfaction she's wanted from life at some point, she had a degree in engineering that could land her a stable income. For nearly three years though, with the new friends she's made, the smiles upon the customers faces, and just the fun of making drinks, her feeling of belonging had yet to disappear, and there wasn't any reason why it was going to anytime soon.

Yes, this is where I'll start to shine. Shioriko thought to herself. No, in fact, I'm already shining.